Lead solder on Immersion Chiller

[Kylev]

Hey everyone, this past weekend I came into a free (score!) corona style mill and copper coil immersion chiller from a buddy I work with. He had it from an uncle who used to brew, so I have no idea how old these things are.

I tuned up the mill as best I could, taking a dremel to grind off all the rust, and mounted it to a pail, following the "My Ugly Junk - Corona Mill Station" thread here on hbt. Ran a pound of rice, and half a pound of 2 row through to clean it a bit, and seems to do the trick. We'll see how my efficiencies are in the next couple batches.

My question is, is there any way to tell if lead solder has been used on the joints of the coil? It's pretty heavily tarnished/spotted, and I'd like to know if it's worth salvaging.

Is this something I should worry about or just another case of RDWHAHB?

Thanks!

 

[WayFrae]

I would think that he would have used a lead-free solder but I guess you never know. Any soldered joints should be above the wort line anyway so I wouldn't worry about any lead getting leached into your wort.

RDWHAHB!

StarSan usually cleans any tarnish off of my chiller.

 

[Brew_Dude41]

You could always cut before the joints and replace using compression fittings as well.
+1 on the starsan taking off the tarnish. Give it a 10 min soak and it will be bright and shiny.

 

[Kylev]

Gave it a soak in some star San, but not much luck (we're talking green, not just a bit of tarnish, sorry should've been more clear)

Unfortunately as well, it's not all of one piece, there's an elbow at the top where the coil starts, and one right at the bottom, returning up to the top, so there will be at least one soldered joint in the wort. I'll see if I can snap some pictures tomorrow to show exactly what I mean.

Thanks for the quick responses!

 

[WayFrae]

A good cleaning of vinegar should remove the all the crap the Starsan didn't. That is unfortunate that there is an elbow at the bottom. If I were in your shoes I would probably replace it just for peace of mind but I do feel like the risk if you leave it is minimal.