Decade old equipment... use, or replace?

[DutchDitch]

I am about to take my first steps into home brewing.
In my basement I currently have 3 boxes of bottles, an Ale Pail, bottling wand, caps, airlock, hydrometer, and tubing. Thing is, I "inherited" these from my father-in-law (figure of speach, no one died.), who used them once, after which the stuff sat in his basement for about 15 years.

My question now is, is it safe to use this kit (after cleaning and sanitizing), or has it been stitting around for too long, and is it better to just chuck the lot and get new?

Any and all input is appreciated.
Ta.

 

[Sadu]

I would use it if it cleans up ok. Chances are it has been boxed up in the basement. Give it a real good soak in starsan or bleach.

I would probably buy new caps in case the old ones have weakened or rusted, since the caps will be in direct contact with the beer and they are cheap to replace.

 

[dmcman73]

The only thing I would suggest in replacing is the Ale pail if it was used as a fermenter. 15 years not being used and chances are, some things were stored inside of the pail which may have caused some scratches, it will be difficult to sanitize. Fermenter pails are cheap, just use the old one as a cleaning pail.

Also, don't use bleach on stainless steel!!!! use PBW to give everything a good cleaning with hot water. The only thing you need to use starsan on are the items that will be touching the beer after cooling the wort down such as the bottles, bottling wand, bottling bucket, etc.