Questions about copper poisoning/copper pipes + hoses in herms system

[kingoslo]

I like (and many others do, too) the silicone hose at Austin Homebrew Supply. Here is a link their hose:
http://www.austinhomebrew.com/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=silicone+hose
You'll see this on many rigs on the forum, it's around $2 per ft.

- Good tip. Thanks!M

 

[dwarven_stout]

People are too worried about transition metal oxides. Yeast love them- they'll get scooped up and pooped out long before they ever touch a beer bottle. This goes for copper tubing, aluminum pots, brass (that's copper + zinc) fittings, and so forth.

Frankly, I'd be more worried about hot temps and low ph extracting something from plastic hoses/better bottles/racking canes that will give me man ****s than I ever would be about copper poisoning me.

 

[ftlstrings]

Copper has been used for centuries in brewing, and is a traditional material for boil kettles.

You aren't going to poison yourself or others by recirculating wort in copper.

Copper oxides do have a toxicological effect if ingested, so if you sse blue-green oxides on the copper, you need to remove them, but otherwise, copper is an excellent material for brewing applications.

By the way, I'm a metallurgist: I actually know what I'm talking about here.

What about copper contact with already fermented beer? I saw a how to on a copper conical and wondered if this was a baaaad idea or not...

~M~