Can I use this Carboy?

[Tristero]

So I found a couple of carboys in an out building on my grandpa's farm. They look like they have some residue clinging to the inside so I filled them up with a bleach solution and let them sit about a week. Rinsed them out and the residue is still there. So I thought maybe the residue is alkaline and needs to be dissolved in acid so I filled one up with Star-San and left it alone again for about a week. No luck. Still appears to be something sticking to the inside. I have no idea what was ever in these carboys or how long they've been there, but now I'm thinking that they may have been cleaned with some type of lye based cleaner which left a slight etching. Are they usable despite their appearance? Can etched glass be made sanitary? As I look at the photo it occurs that I should add that scrubbing had no effect whatsoever, before or after soaking.

 

[bronzdragon]

If neither of those had an affect, did you try sticking your finger down in there and seeing if you could scratch some off with your fingernail?

If there's nothing to scratch off, it maybe possible that something chemically etched the glass on the inside and in that case, it would probably be ok to use it.

If you can scratch something off, then there's something else going on and I probably wouldn't use it.

Just an idea.

~r~

 

[abracadabra]

try some OXY-Clean and hot water

 

[SeamusMac]

try some OXY-Clean and hot water

1+

Make it a strong mixture and leave it for 48 hours, couldn't hurt.

 

[Modiano]

i'm assuming you've used a carboy brush with no effect. i would try the suggestions listed above, but if they don't work, i would not use the carboys for fear of infectious organisms taking up residency in the etches.

any idea what the carboys were used for? might have originally held pesticide or caustic chemical that left the etches.

 

[Tristero]

A brush had no effect. I did reach a finger in and not only could I not scrape it off but I couldn't even feel it. It feels as smooth as the glass. I guess I'll try the Oxyclean.

 

[Lcasanova]

This might be a really dumb question since I've been drinking some homebrew, but....is it on the outside?

 

[dontman]

People here are being awfully cavalier about tossing a really nice find. If I didn't feel anything on the glass after a good oxy soak then I would use them without a second thought. Plastic is probably more porous than that etching if that is what it is.

It might be a mineral deposit in which case vinegar and salt could help.

 

[homebeerbrewer]

try some OXY-Clean and hot water

Be VERY careful if you use hot water.

 

[babbott]

is it in the glass, one of mine has air or somthing in the glass

 

[passedpawn]

OMG, just use it. Make some beer, for god's sake. RDWHAHB.

You wouldn't believe what we would drink and smoke in the 70's.

 

[Noleafclover]

Lye dissolves in HCL I think. It'd tell you if that's lye (or some other metal/salt that dissolves in HCL) your dealing with, but then you'd have to get rid of the HCL.

So my answer really is spend the difference between chemicals and tiem you're using testing this carboy plus a little extra and get a new carboy/better bottle.

 

[Tristero]

The time is a non-issue. It takes 5 minutes to fill it up and it can sit there and soak as long as it wants without supervision. The cost of chemicals is negligible considering I already need them for cleaning and sanitizing.

A carboy is $40 and I have 2 like this. Besides even if I buy 2 new carboys, it's only a matter of time before they too are sitting there full and fermenting and my eyes will wander back to these two sitting there tantalizingly empty.

I think whatever is in there, if it wont come off with vinegar, bleach, star-san, Oxiclean, or elbow grease, it's not likely to affect the beer. My main concern when I originally posted was whether or not I could sanitize etched glass (if that's what it is). At this point I'm gonna just brew a simple and inexpensive pale ale, let it ferment in one, rack it to the other, and see how it turns out. I'll post my results.

 

[CereousBrewer]

I have two, 6.5 gallon carboys that look a lot worse than yours. I initially tried cleaning them with everything I had, including concentrated hydrochloric and amoniium hydroxide, with no success. The glass was etched.

I use them with no problems and presently have one full of EdWort's Apfelwein that I can't wait to get into.

I can't speak for your situation with certainty, but if they were mine I'd use them and sleep peacfully.