How old is too old?

[duskb]

I have some older plastic 5 gal fermenters, maybe 4-5 years old. Battle worn but still worthy, maybe. Permanent stains from idophor and beer with the occasional krausen stains that I can't seem to get out.

At what point does one retire the buckets or is it ths sorta thing where you use it till you stop doing it?

 

[GySgtLynn]

As long as they are not scrached on the inside they are good to go...

 

[duskb]

As long as they are not scrached on the inside they are good to go...

Visible scratches, to the naked eye or really small stuff too hard to see without aid? I don't see anything of note but I'd hate to miss something that matters.

 

[LimerickBrewCo]

Clean them very well, sanitize very well. As long as there wasn't mold or large bateria harboring scratches you should be fine as long as you are thorough in your cleaning and sanitizing processes.

 

[Calder]

I'm still using the plastic fermenters I bought 30 years ago.

 

[TimTrone]

As long as they are not scrached on the inside they are good to go...

This. Even 1 small scratch inside the bucket can ruin a entire batch.

 

[duskb]

This. Even 1 small scratch inside the bucket can ruin a entire batch.

Thanks for the replies. On closer inspection I did see a couple of gouges (probably from shoving the oversized top of my brew kettle in) and several rash like patches of what appears to be a chemical reaction of sorts (raised blotches in the plastic near the krausen line).

I just decided to promote them to sanitizing buckets and spent $20 on a new fermenter system yesterday. $20 isn't worth the risk of ruining a $40 batch because of something I can't see.

 

[captianoats]

A strong bleach solution takes care of those stains and smells of brews. I dump in bleach while cleaning every few batches. My buckets are several years old but look new.

 

[cockybitz]

I would love to see evidence of these multi-molecular microbes that can fit into a crack in which a molecule of chlorine can not.

 

[rico567]

HDPE will eventually get old and start cracking. Notice the emphasis on "eventually." That can be a lot of years, and I've never had any problems with my white plastic bucket fermenters. I clean with good old Dawn dishwashing liquid and sanitize with Star San. I'm always careful to store the buckets individually, and never nest them (stack them one inside the other), as this is conducive to scratching the inside.

As for stainage, when I was new to this insanity, I tried destaining my buckets, but the stains came right back, so I quit. Doesn't seem to bother the beer.

 

[TopherM]

How old is too old?

Under 18 is too young.

Over 50 is too old for my tastes, but your tastes may vary!