We're talking preboil. Sanitation has nothing to do with it, unless you plan on mashing for hours and hours and creating all sort of off flavors with the microbes. If you've ever read your cities water report and seen all the heavy metals and other chemicals, I'm wondering if you guys would be even drinking the water that comes out of your faucet, water that has likely journeyed many miles through the earth or collected in an open reservoir that picks up runoff from a massive watershed. I can't speak to the insulation in coolers, but the manufacturer would be insane to fill it with anything that contains harmful levels of something knowing what people use it for. The tape I used to fix my cooler has been used by aquarium enthusiasts to fix/repair/attach items in their fish tanks and has remained submerged for years (not minutes) without harming the fish. Being a former aquarium enthusiast myself, I can tell you that fish are very sensitive to differences in the water supply used to fill the tank. Does 3M list their product as "food safe"? No, but there is nothing in the safety information that gives me grave concerns. That said, I'll likely replace the cooler this weekend as I don't want to create a perception that I am not careful with my process.
1. "Sanitation has nothing to do with it." Wow. I guess you are sure that nothing can leach out of the foam into the water. I'm not so sure.
2. "If you guys read the water report, I doubt you would be drinking it."
I do not drink water out of a faucet. Any water I drink has either been processed through reverse osmosis or is distilled.
3. "The manufacturer would be insane to fill it with anything that had harmful levels of something in it."
Really? How many products have been recalled because of carcinogens, lead content, or other toxic substances in the past 10 years?
4. "Being a former aquarium enthusiast I can tell you that fish are sensitive."
I have never been that much of an aquarium enthusiast, but I did breed and raise tropical fish for local pet shops for a few years. Just for your info, I imagine quite a few folks on the forum are familiar with aquariums. I also know that many fish can thrive in water that has much heavy metal and many carcinogens in it. I live on such a river and will not eat any fish caught out of this river.
5. "I do not want to create the perception that I am not careful with my process."
Whatever makes you think that we would feel that way?
6. You are good to go now... you have absolutely worn me down on this subject... you win... I am giving up on you.