SS Brewtech Unitank Issues

[Pintabone]

I seem to have an issue with my unitank's coil. I just received it this week and was going through the recommended TSP wash and noticed this on the bottom ring of the coil. It would not wash away and there is what looks and feels like a small hole in it. Any thoughts? I did also reach out to SS support.

 

[Vale71]

Looks like somebody's hand slipped while doing welding work on this part. I'd definitely ask for and expect a replacement as this can become a problem for sanitation and corrosion too, as since it's an involuntary weld it probably hasn't been treated properly to prevent corrosion.

 

[Pintabone]

Looks like somebody's hand slipped while doing welding work on this part. I'd definitely ask for and expect a replacement as this can become a problem for sanitation and corrosion too, as since it's an involuntary weld it probably hasn't been treated properly to prevent corrosion.

Thanks. I did send them a note so hoping they’ll replace it. It’s literally a hole. I don’t think it’s quite all the way through but it’s more than just cosmetic.

 

[dipa2]

I received my new unitank body on Wednesday. I've cleaned it thoroughly and it is much better than the previous. However, there is still some minor issues with the weld in the exact same spots as the previous, but much less pronounced. It is minor enough that I don't think there will be any problems with using and cleaning the conical. The fact that I have had two unitank bodies now with the same problem (one being very minor) to me points to more than just quality control, but manufacturing problems.

Anyways, if you can live with the lid design of the Spike conical, I would highly recommend it. Maybe Spike will come out with another version of the conical someday that uses a 6" triclamp lid? I would buy that immediately, as I really liked the quality of the CF5 I owned.

Any update on how brews have turned out? I've been fighting infections for three months and am at my wits end. Stumbled upon this thread and now looking at my tank it has a similar flaw and was purchased around the same time as yours. It's not as pronounced as yours (photos below), but the same flaw is there. Is barkeeper's friend sufficient or replacement/refund??

 

[Bobby_M]

That finish is sanitary as it is not rough or pitted.

 

[dipa2]

Thanks. We'll find out. I did three iterations with BKF and it removed nothing. Then did CIP with alkaline brewery wash at 140 F for 25 minutes followed by a 10 minute rinse at 165 F. Then disassembled everything including butterfly valves and cleaned with TSP, rinsed, boiled everything for 5 minutes, soaked in alkaline brewery wash for 20 minutes, let dry, then sanitized everything with StarSan. If I get an infection on this batch I have no clue where it is coming from.

I have two tanks, only this one has a persistent infection so it's not my general process. Hopefully I got it with all the above cleaning.

 

[BarleyPopBrewer]

That finish is sanitary as it is not rough or pitted.

I'm seeing a weld seam that was not properly finished. I'm also seeing a pretty good pit mark which could be the source of the issue.

I've been watching a thread in Ss Facebook user group about some rust/welding issues as well. It seems like they might be dealing with some big quality issues with their Chinese supplier. I was looking at their e-kettles but I'm nervous now after seeing all the issues. I posted a thread about it a week or so ago.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/ss-brewtech-ekettle-line-rusting.666930/#post-8614951

 

[dipa2]

Dang! You got some good zoom and eye balls! So....... I didn't realize the sanitary sample valve needed to be fully disassembled. While CIPing I opened and closed it several times and gunk came out. On the last batch, everything was disassembled, cleaned, boiled, cleaned again, and sanitized. Its fermenting away, I'll update if the infection continues or not.