Mash Tun Smells Odd

[carrsgarage]

I noticed a bit of a pungent smell coming from my mash tun, so I cleaned it with OxyClean, followed by two rounds of hot water rinse. It now smells more pungent than before (or maybe I just think it does).
I'm afraid to use anything else to clean the kettle because I don't want to taint future brews.
I haven't brewed anything in a couple of years (because I've moved and been slow to get back up and running at the new place), but the smell just doesn't seem to go away. If I recall correctly, I think I may have left some moist grain in the kettle for a week or so a few years ago, which started the odor.
I've got a rubber hose coming off the center of the false bottom and another hose coming off the inlet for recirculation. Could those hoses have become contaminated? If so, is there any saving them?
Im gearing up to start brewing again and, while I do enjoy a good sour, I have no interest in every beer coming off my rig turning into one.
Thanks in advance for any help and/or suggestions.

 

[day_trippr]

Well, the rubber can be a problem. After a few months and a dozen sessions of brewing, even though I "clean" them at the end of each brew session, if I then leave the 1/2" silicone hoses I use on my 3 vessel single tier rig tucked in a lidded mash tun, in a few days it'll smell like a locker room when de-lidded Indeed, it's the intensity of that funk that dictates when I finally replace those hoses - and it could easily be just once a year if I'm lazy about it

Otherwise the places to look at are ball valves and false bottoms or other lautering aids like braids, coils, or "bazooka tubes" as they are more difficult to truly get clean than bare metal kettles.

Do I worry about the odor translating into ruined beer? Based purely on almost two decades of dealing with it: not at all. If there was anything threatening there it always get killed by the boil as I've never had an evidently contaminated batch...

Cheers!

 

[carrsgarage]

Yeah, I don't "see" anything. The darn thing is spotless. No spots, stains, or discoloration anywhere; just a pungent odor. It's not an off-putting smell like rotting food or dead animal, it's just a smell that has a little bite to it.

 

[DosGatosBrewing]

Are you sure you don't have a bulkhead/ball valve connector setup with a small void that catches wort, etc? Once in a while I have to disassemble one of those and de-funkify it

 

[IslandLizard]

Is this a stainless or plastic (converted cooler) mash tun?
The latter tends to hang on to odors. But airing it out and get a few days of bright sunlight on it may alleviate some of the punginess. I leave mine open to air out.

As @DosGatosBrewing said, any valves could hold onto old wort that gets rancid. Take em apart or clean/flush them out well.

"Rubber" hose, or silicone?

 

[carrsgarage]

Stainless kettle with stainless ball valve. Silicone hose.

I'll take the valve off this evening and check it out.

 

[DosGatosBrewing]

Stainless kettle with stainless ball valve

You might find a crusty little surprise between the ball valve and the hose barb

 

[day_trippr]

I expect the silicone hose will provide more stank than the ball valve...

Cheers!