initial cleaning of new cooler mlt

[Homer]

I'm just about to finish my new mash tun, but have some questions before I use it for the first time. I did some searching but didn't find what I was looking for.

first:
I used a rubber washer that I found in the plumbing section of menards for the balkhead, can I assume this would be safe to use in the mlt?

Second:
Also do I need to clean the plasitc (prep) in the cooler any special way before the first use, like maybe with PBW?

Last:
I'm using a copper manifold, and will probably only solder one joint, should I boil these parts (I read that in another thread), or just let soak in PBW or something?

Thanks

 

[android]

you can boil the copper in a 50/50 mix of water/vinegar. that will get them real clean and shiny. i'm sure the washer won't kill you... and lastly, just wash with soap in the MLT, no need for an aggressive cleaning IMHO.

 

[JJL]

You may want to wash the inside of the cooler with a weak bleach and water mixture. Some guys recommend this because they want to get rid of the plastic smell for fear it will impact the beer. But, I honestly can't remember if I did this when I built mine.

 

[Homer]

Thanks for the replies, I'm always afraid to use bleach on my brewing stuff, because I think that I will have a hard time rinsing it all off.

 

[DrawTap88]

I let my copper manifold soak in star san for a while before it's first use. That got it nice and shiney.

 

[Homer]

I let my copper manifold soak in star san for a while before it's first use. That got it nice and shiney.

Would this do the same thing as a bleach solution?

 

[rosier9]

All I did to my cooler mlt was run some hot water (trial run) through the thing... drinking the first batch right now and no plastic flavor... stop worrying... about the star san doing the same thing as bleach, my answer is kind of but not really.... hope that helps. star san is an acid cleaner while bleach is a base cleaner (think pbw) i assume they both sanitize by being drastically out of a standard pH range...

edit (sp)

 

[JuanMoore]

Bleach causes copper to oxidize, corrode and turn black. I wouldn't reccomend it. Any mildly acidic solution (vinegar, star-san, etc) will work great on the copper, and pretty much anything is fine for cleaning the cooler.

 

[DrawTap88]

Bleach causes copper to oxidize, corrode and turn black. I wouldn't reccomend it. Any mildly acidic solution (vinegar, star-san, etc) will work great on the copper, and pretty much anything is fine for cleaning the cooler.

+1 to that. Don't want any of that black crud getting in your beer.