Old Copper

I went out garage sale shopping today to try to find potential brewery equipment and lo and behold I found this...



Obviously I was excited, and for 15 bucks I couldn't pass it up. It's probably about 25 feet (haven't measured yet) so the price was right for me.

Now what I'm wondering is...should I be concerned about what this was used for in the past. I'd like to make an immersion chiller with it, but could there be something wrong with the copper if it were used for some weird chemical application? Anyone have any experience with this?

I would clean it real good and boil it. Then perhaps taste the water you boiled it in after it cools see if it taste funny more than likely it wont but just an idea. A quick dip in starsan will shine it up. Then your good to go. Good luck!

Hot pbw or oxyclean free soak for 4 hours, rinse thoroughly and follow with a warm starsan bath overnight. Nothing that could mess with your beer would survive that.

Another way to clean it is to boil it with about two cups of white vinegar. It will come out shiny.

Oh great, that all sounds quite simple. Thanks!

let us know what you do

Bobby_M said:

Another way to clean it is to boil it with about two cups of white vinegar. It will come out shiny.

Click to expand...

I have been boiling my Chiller in about 4 gallons of white vinegar! Is that just a waste and I should only be using a few cups diluted in water?