First use of kettle, rainbow discoloration, damaged?

[ILMSTMF]

First time using this kettle on a Blichmann. Entire affair was less than desirable. Didn't know I could/SHOULD adjust that damper but by that point, I guess damage was already done ([blue]flames rising up and touching the outside of the kettle). Bottom of kettle is colored as are the lower walls. Anyway, see photos please. Damaged? If yes, how to repair? Thank you!

 

[TX_Brewing]

Barkeepers friend to clean it. It's really not a big deal, several of my stainless pots have had those over the years.

 

[meridianomrebel]

Agreed on Barkeepers Friend - that stuff is amazing!

 

[Vandulus]

Make sure you try passivating the kettle after using Barkeeper's Friend. The easiest way to do this is soaking the inside of the kettle with an acid such as StarSan. When I get new stainless equipment, the first thing I do is a cleaning with PBW to get rid of any dirt and oil. I then fill it up with StarSan and let it sit for an hour.

 

[petrolSpice]

Mine looks like that, didn't think it was a big deal.

What's the proper way to adjust the damper? My burner has one but I rarely fiddle with it. I just leave it at roughly halfway open.

 

[ILMSTMF]

Make sure you try passivating the kettle after using Barkeeper's Friend. The easiest way to do this is soaking the inside of the kettle with an acid such as StarSan. When I get new stainless equipment, the first thing I do is a cleaning with PBW to get rid of any dirt and oil. I then fill it up with StarSan and let it sit for an hour.

So, before first use, I used Oxi free on it, rinsed, and then filled to capacity with water plus 4 ounces of Starsan. Still less than what I read was the ratio to do use (I believe that was half ounce per gallon). This is 15 gallons. I'm not gong to use that much Star San in the next round; especially if I can just "fix" this with BKF. What I'd like to know is...isn't using BKF going to repassivate the kettle? Scrub BKF paste, let it sit for a couple minutes, rinse thoroughly, air dry...and it passivates the steel, no?

Mine looks like that, didn't think it was a big deal.

What's the proper way to adjust the damper? My burner has one but I rarely fiddle with it. I just leave it at roughly halfway open.

Seconded. Sorry to go off topic in my own thread but any tips on the purpose and proper use of the damper would be appreciated!

 

[Bensiff]

Make sure you try passivating the kettle after using Barkeeper's Friend. The easiest way to do this is soaking the inside of the kettle with an acid such as StarSan. When I get new stainless equipment, the first thing I do is a cleaning with PBW to get rid of any dirt and oil. I then fill it up with StarSan and let it sit for an hour.

Barkeepers friend contains oxalic acid which is one of the better acids to passivate stainless without getting into commercial brewing chemicals like Acid #5 or playing with nitric acid.

The blue and tan colors indicate you lost passivation. Give it a good clean with a non-metallic scrubbing pad and bar keepers friend. This will remove surface contaminants and oxidation. Then rinse thoroughly and dry. With a clean, oxidation free surface in contact with the air the protective chromium oxide layer you want will form...can take a week or two apparently. Another avenue is using citric acid. I have not done this; but, it is highly effective and much safer than nitric.

 

[oujens]

I had those spots and bar keepers friend made it all shiny. I have some slight discoloration on my gallon markings that were etched, so I couldn't use BKF on it. Wonder if I could soak a paper towel with a strong star san mix and rest it over them. Of course, I could just let it go, but it's so shiny after BKF.

 

[petrolSpice]

So I clean with BKF and let it sit for a couple weeks for the oxidation layer to come back?

I thought that you let the BKF sit on the kettle for several minutes and that creates the oxidation layer.

 

[ZebulonBrewer]

So I clean with BKF and let it sit for a couple weeks for the oxidation layer to come back?

I thought that you let the BKF sit on the kettle for several minutes and that creates the oxidation layer.

Nope. By definition an acid will remove the mineral layer, plus any rust or surface discoloration, leaving the metal bare. It will then oxidize on its own, which is good in this case.

 

[day_trippr]

^bingo^

It's really that simple. Fry out the iron particles at the surface and the remaining chromium will oxidize on its own...

Cheers!

 

[Singletrack]

Sorry to go off topic in my own thread but any tips on the purpose and proper use of the damper would be appreciated!

Keep opening until you get blue flame. Yellow flame indicates too little oxygen and can cause soot on the bottom of the kettle. Since I brew at 7000 ft elev, the proper position for me is WFO.

 

[Vandulus]

Barkeepers friend contains oxalic acid which is one of the better acids to passivate stainless without getting into commercial brewing chemicals like Acid #5 or playing with nitric acid.

The blue and tan colors indicate you lost passivation. Give it a good clean with a non-metallic scrubbing pad and bar keepers friend. This will remove surface contaminants and oxidation. Then rinse thoroughly and dry. With a clean, oxidation free surface in contact with the air the protective chromium oxide layer you want will form...can take a week or two apparently. Another avenue is using citric acid. I have not done this; but, it is highly effective and much safer than nitric.

Thanks for the tip about BKF containing oxalic acid! I always thought it was just a gentle abrasive.

 

[petrolSpice]

So what is the recommended time to wait for the kettle to oxidize after using BKF? Someone mentioned 2 weeks above, is this go-to recommendation?

Can the oxidation process be enhanced or accelerated somehow? Leave it outside? Keep it somewhere hot?

 

[Bensiff]

So what is the recommended time to wait for the kettle to oxidize after using BKF? Someone mentioned 2 weeks above, is this go-to recommendation?

Can the oxidation process be enhanced or accelerated somehow? Leave it outside? Keep it somewhere hot?

I have read it can take a week or two for it to develop...that is reading articles that were not linked to research, so that doesn't make anything definitive. I figure oxidation happens pretty quickly on clean metal surfaces so when I BKF new stainless I have no issue with using it the next day and have never had rust or discoloration doing so. To that end, as best I can tell 24 hours is enough time.

 

[ILMSTMF]

All great feedback. Thanks very much all!