How rough is too rough on a seam?

[mcgimpkins]

So I recently bought a 10 gallon Challenger VI keg off of a guy and am in the process of cleaning it up to use as a fermenter. Upon inspecting it during cleaning I noticed there is some grinding marks in it near the bottom which are what I can only guess to be cleaning up excess weld slag.

Is this something that is sanitary? Would I be able to ferment in this? I own a couple of other 10 Gallon kegs and they work great, but I don't have marks like this inside.

 

[day_trippr]

SO wish I could zoom in on that spot. No joy. Higher res picture possible?
I dunno, I can actually reach the bottom of my 5 gallon cornies and if I had one that looked like that I'd go to town on that spot with a green scrubby and BKF paste just on principle. After a good rinse and a Star San soak I wouldn't worry about it.

I have zero experience with 10g cornies. Can you reach that spot?

Cheers!

 

[FunkedOut]

You can. I can’t. They’re the same height as a 5 gallon and have the same opening.
I can get my forearm in and out while leaving behind some hair and skin samples. Forget the elbow.

 

[mcgimpkins]

You guys must have more dainty arms than me . I can only get 3/4 of my forearm into the hole and I run out of room. Have not tried jamming harder to see if I can leave behind hair and skin samples. @FunkedOut is right, it is pretty much the same height as a standard Pepsi ball lock keg, just fatter.

Unfortunately my actual good camera with a zoom lens broke about a month ago so this was about the best shot I could get with my cell phone. Maybe if I were a Millennial I would have a selfie stick on hand that I could reach right down there with...

I cleaned it out with a CIP keg washer then also scrubbed it some with a handled brush. It looked pretty clean and good, no rust or any sort of discoloration. There is just some grind marks (scratches) on the stainless steel, and I am unsure what is considered a fine enough grind for "sanitary". I have a lot of experience in fermenting with Better Bottles and not a lot with Stainless Steel, so I guess I'm rather paranoid about scratches harboring stuff. Is this a big deal or not? I assume if I am having problems with sanitation in this keg, I can always sanitize it with boiling water.

While I was cleaning this out I was making Summer in Sommelsdijk Belgian Single and was debating on fermenting in it, then decided screw it, I'll see how it turns out. As always I made a 2 L starter so the yeast should be ramped up and ready to go. If it is infected or has some off-flavor I'll know why. I can try and take some better pics in a couple of weeks when I move the beer to another keg.

 

[Drumminguy81]

I dont think it looks bad at all. I wouldn't worry one bit.