One of the things I've continually read since I started brewing is how plastic gets to be unsafe over time. Buckets need to be replaced, hoses get replaced even more frequently. Before the carboy crisis you'd have thought the better bottle was pure evil, now it seems like most people love them.
So where do you stand? How often do you replace your hose and buckets? Do you go overboard and replace other plastic stuff like the autosiphon? My autosiphon broke years ago at the bend in the inner tube. I jammed a hose on it, clean it well, and dare not remove it. So far no evidence of trouble. One of my buckets is the bucket I got with my starter kit, I can't even guess how many gallons of beer have been through it.
So where do you stand? How often do you replace your hose and buckets? Do you go overboard and replace other plastic stuff like the autosiphon? My autosiphon broke years ago at the bend in the inner tube. I jammed a hose on it, clean it well, and dare not remove it. So far no evidence of trouble. One of my buckets is the bucket I got with my starter kit, I can't even guess how many gallons of beer have been through it.