Rust on kettle normal?

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marjen

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So I just got a new kettle, a 10 gallon tall boy. I filled it with water once over the weekend to test boil times on my stove. When it was done and I emptied the water it has rust stains all over the bottom. I used PBW and cleaned and it still looks the same. Is this normal?

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Give it a good scrub with Barkeeper's Friend.
That should take care of it, but if it doesn't call NB customer service.
 
That looks like beer stone, not rust. I'd suggest picking up some FiveStar Beer Stone Remover and saving yourself further scrubbing. Once the beer stone is removed, you may want to passivate your kettle. I've used concentrated StarSan, but other acids such as nitric and citric can work also.
 
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It's a brand new kettle, never brewed in. That's not beerstone.

Hit it with Bar Keeper's Friend to get the rust off. Wash the kettle out with a good non-scented dish soap to get the manufacturing oils off of it.

Get some powdered citric acid. It's cheap and most homebrew stores carry it. You'll need about 2 cups. Put that in the kettle with hot water, all the way to the top. Let it sit for about an hour, then drain and let it air dry. Give it a quick rinse after it dries off, and you'll be good to go.
 
I ordered some Bar keepers friend. Will give that a go. We will have well water so that seems like it might be contributing to the issue. I will be brewing with RO water once I actually brew. Thanks for the suggestions.
 
looks like they used something to finish/polish the corner that had steel contamination in it. Id use bar keepers friend with a green scotchbrite and let the BKF paste sit on there for a bit before rinsing clean to passivate.
 
Probably the rollers when they formed the lower section of the kettle.
 
I ordered some Bar keepers friend. Will give that a go. We will have well water so that seems like it might be contributing to the issue. I will be brewing with RO water once I actually brew. Thanks for the suggestions.

FWIW bar keepers friend is readily available in all my local grocery stores or wollyworlds... It's in the cleaning isle.
 
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