Plastic conical used for kombucha ok for beer?

[Bassaholic]

So my boss just gave me a conical fermenter that was previously used for kombucha. It still has a pretty distinct kombucha smell, but I was wondering if I could clean it and use it for beer. I'm thinking I might have to use it as a solera for sours or something along those lines. My hesitation with that would be airspace and permeability of the plastic over time.

My other concern with it is that there's a hole drilled in it where a spigot was placed so there could be microbes still living in the area that was drilled out. Does anyone have experience with a similar situation?

 

[ancientmariner52]

There is a thread on here discussing bottling beer in plastic kombucha bottles. You might find that thread and ask there. The concensus seems to be it's ok.

Just from experience in sanitizing plastic, your good if
a. No scratches or rough spots.
b. The smell doesn't have an off taste to go with it.

I'd make sure the spigot hole is clean cut and smooth. Wipe down the seating area with sanitizer and install a new spigot. Set it out in bright sunlight for a few days if you can. Sanitize and brew. The only real way to find out is a test run.

 

[Bassaholic]

Thanks for the feedback. Upon further inspection it appears all the fittings were installed by the manufacturer. They looked drilled because of whatever they used to seal the fittings in. I checked their website and have since switched to stainless steel weldless fittings. But I guess you're right, I'll just clean it out as best I can and do a test batch. After sitting in the sun all day the smell seems to have dissipated some.

 

[augiedoggy]

if you sanitize it correctly yeah no reason it wont be fine.. I second leaving it in the sunlight for a bit too as the uv light will help sanitize.