cleaning copper chiller for first time

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bringitonhome

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Hi-
Getting ready to use a copper immersion chiller for the first time on saturday. Anything I have to do to clean it before I use it? It doesn't have any of that green corrosion that copper sometimes gets, but it's slightly dull. I soaked it in oxiclean and it came out looking the same. It smells really strong of... copper (duh). Between my aluminum kettle and the copper chiller, i'm paranoid about metallic off tastes in my beer.
 
I dip mine in starsan for about 5 minutes to get it all shiny and to make me feel better. Then i stick it in the kettle about 10 minutes before the end of boil.
 
1/4 cup white vinegar and 1 tsp salt creates a mild acid to clean copper.

"Barkeepers friend" works good too. Available at the hardware store.
 
i tried some vinegar but it didn't seem to do much. Should I boil it with it, or just wipe/scrub it?
How do I know when it's clean?
 
I've used a mix of equal parts vinegar and hydrogen peroxide. It will turn the solution green and your copper nice and shiney. I usually soak parts in a bag, but that would take a large bag and a lot of solution for an immersion chiller.
 
Be careful using the vinegar and salt mixture; it can eat through copper pretty quickly if you use it over and over and let it sit too long.

In my opinion, some soap and water to scrub off the flux and dirt the first time is all you need. As long as you hose it off after each use and keep it from getting dusty or dirty between brews, there's no need to clean it any more. The 10-15 mins it spends boiling in the pot is enough.
 
In my opinion, some soap and water to scrub off the flux and dirt the first time is all you need. As long as you hose it off after each use and keep it from getting dusty or dirty between brews, there's no need to clean it any more. The 10-15 mins it spends boiling in the pot is enough.

+1

Quick spray with water before putting it in the boiling wort.

15 mins makes it nice and shiny.

You can always take some vinegar to the part that doesn't hit the boiling wort, if you really want.
 
+1

Quick spray with water before putting it in the boiling wort.

15 mins makes it nice and shiny.

You can always take some vinegar to the part that doesn't hit the boiling wort, if you really want.

My only problem with that is that the stuff that was keeping it from being nice n' shiny is now in your wort... Just not a fan.

5 min in Star San then into the wort works great for me.
 
Star San is amazing for shining up your copper wort chiller! I emailed Five Star to see if it was OK and they said to use it. I tried white vinegar earlier and it did remove the green stuff, but failed to shine it up. And by the way, if you have grime and stuff on your copper wort chiller Five Star says PBW is OK, but only for one hour.

3469435820_5da75d97d5_o_d.jpg

Note the before and after!

3468622989_7a28917ab2_o_d.jpg

Never thought I could get it this shiny.
 
I have put mine in with it being dull. I never noticed any off flavors. But the Starsan trick will be used next time I brew!
 
I leave mine outside most of the time.. and just hose it off and toss it in for the last 15 minutes of boil. Never noticed any flavors /shrug
 
I realize I'm a little late here but I'm curious if iodophor is OK to use on copper?

-Tripod
 
Five star say that:
"it is not recommended to use STAR SAN on soft metals because of the acid nature of this product"

However, it does make it nice and shiney...... :D
 
Just a quick rinse with water is ideal. While scrubbing and acid washing makes it nice and shiny, it also removes the passivated surface layer. The boil takes care of any sanitation issues.
 
1/4 cup white vinegar and 1 tsp salt creates a mild acid to clean copper.

"Barkeepers friend" works good too. Available at the hardware store.

Just Barkeepers Friend? If so, how much? I have some that's been sitting in my cleaning supplies thus this would be a great way to use.
 
There's no need to have the copper be bright and shiny when it goes in the wort. There's also no need to sanitize it. It is a good idea to clean it well before your first use to make sure any machining oils, flux, grease, etc. is gone, but that's it.

It's not shiny because there's an oxide layer built up on it, and as long as it's not thick and chunky this isn't a problem. Anything slightly acidic (Star San, vinegar, wort) will slowly corrode (dissolve) both copper and its oxides. You're going to get a tiny bit of copper dissolved into the wort no matter what, but the yeast will eat it as a nutrient. The chiller will look shiny after use, but it'll turn dull again as the oxide builds up. That doesn't mean you're doing anything wrong, it's just basic electrochemistry.

Put the chiller in at 10-15 minutes before flameout and it'll be sanitized. Rinse it immediately after chilling and it'll be clean. No need to use barkeepers friend, PBW, Star San, etc.

I'm all about keeping things clean/sanitary, but going overboard with sanitation is unnecessary and wasteful (both from a financial and environmental standpoint) and it's a huge pet peeve of mine. I hate seeing bottling threads where someone lists a 10 part routine for cleaning their bottles involving dish soap, PBW, hot water, the dishwasher, Star San, the oven, Oxyclean, and then Iodophor.

I know some people get off on taking something that's clean and cleaning it further, but that's environmentally irresponsible and just plain wasteful.

OK, I'm done ranting. :mug:
 
I just hose it off when I'm done with it and let it air dry before putting it away. Next brew, I put it in the pot for the last 5 minutes. I'm uncomfortable with the idea of cleaning it with any chemicals because I don't want them to end up in my beer somehow. The first time I used it, I believe I used a mild vinegar solution to clean it.
 
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