Green Leaf Ball Valves

[davealicious]

ok, so I'm doing the cheap conical thing with the rotomold inductor tanks, instead of spending a bunch of money on stainless hardware I was thinking pvc or something similar for the drain, then I ran across these:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00271HSGE/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

super rad looking, four bolt ball valve.

the website lists these for components:

• Stainless Steel Bolts • Precision molded in polypropylene. • Polypropylene is reinforced with berglass for additional strength. Self-aligning ball moves freely against the Teflon® seats for smooth operation. The valve opens and closes with little pressure on the handle. • Ball is diamond turned, after molding, to make it spherically perfect, which provides precise contact between ball and seats. • Viton® “O” rings. • Teflon® self-lubricating stem bushings and seats cannot stick or bind.

HOWEVER: here's where I get... questionable, I contacted the company if the item was food safe, and they stated it was not FDA approved...

so, the component list all seems food safe, therefore one would imply from that the valve is food safe, but not fda approved. Any expert thoughts out there on this?

 

[davealicious]

Bueller?

 

[BarleyPopBrewer]

Umm why wouldn't you just get a stainless 3pc valve??

https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/3pbv.htm

 

[davealicious]

Umm why wouldn't you just get a stainless 3pc valve??

https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/3pbv.htm

because 1.5" NPT three piece stainless valves are costly/impossible

most valves of that size are Tri-Clamp, so now we're talking tri-clamp 1.5" npt to 1.5" or larger triclamp, then a tri clamp valve, gaskets, 1.5"tri-clamp to whatever outlet i'd use etc. would easily cost over $100 to valve it that way, vs 25 to valve it with a ball valve such as this.

 

[Jayjay1976]

Not FDA approved only means it wasn't submitted for testing. That kind of compliance costs a lot of money and in their industry it simply ain't worth it. This is why food grade anything costs so much more than general use products. If I were in your shoes, I would go for it. You might want to completely disassemble it and clean each part to get rid of any non-food grade mold release agents or lubricants/residues before use. Polypropylene is one of the most food safe materials you can find, it is totally inert. The glass filler is also non-reactive and besides is locked up in the resin.

 

[davealicious]

Not FDA approved only means it wasn't submitted for testing. That kind of compliance costs a lot of money and in their industry it simply ain't worth it. This is why food grade anything costs so much more than general use products. If I were in your shoes, I would go for it. You might want to completely disassemble it and clean each part to get rid of any non-food grade mold release agents or lubricants/residues before use. Polypropylene is one of the most food safe materials you can find, it is totally inert. The glass filler is also non-reactive and besides is locked up in the resin.

these were my thoughts, everything on the list is generally considered foods safe, polypro, teflon, and viton (a brand of florocarbon o ring) I was just wondering if anyone would find a reasonable point disagreeing with my deductions.

The green leaf company does have items that they list as FDA approved, so it would seem odd that these wouldn't have gone through FDA compliance testing?

 

[Jayjay1976]

There are all sorts of additional logistical requirements involved in maintaining FDA compliance, all of which add to the manufacturing costs.

 

[davealicious]

Update: I'm gonna use this valve. Currently have it disassembled and All the components in the dishwasher. It was thoroughly coated in what I assume to be petro grease of some sort.

I'm planning on conditioning the works (tank and valve) with a half keg of an IPA that's fallen off in flavor then dumping it down the drain before fermenting in it. I figure this way I can sample the beer and determine if it's imparted any off flavors or not before throwing 15 gallons of fermenting wort in there.