Using old Aluminum BK as a Primary

[Yankeehillbrewer]

So I'm just about done upgrading all my stuff to bigger and better. My initial thought was to use my old BK as my HLT, but then I thought maybe I could use it as a 2nd primary. I could drill a hole in the lid for an airlock, put a rubber seal on it, and a couple clamps and be good to go. That would be a 7.5 gallon primary.

Any thought on why I shouldn't? It's well seasoned

 

[wilserbrewer]

There was a recent thread here dealing w/ using an aluminum kettle as a primary. Apparently the guy was having success. The long and short was that the ph of fermented wort was borderline for long term aluminum storage??? Not sure I would bother w/ the airlock. I primary in a ss kettle w/ just the lid and plastic wrap sealing the lid tight...works well for me.

I'm interested in that I just bought a new larger alum. pot.

 

[Yankeehillbrewer]

Just googled "Aluminum Fermenter" and got some hits over on the Northern Brewer forum. Pretty much everyone strongly suggested against Aluminum during fermentation due to the Low pH and Acidity.Here's an exerpt......

"I found this at http://www.nickelinstitute.org/index.cf ... /12606.htm. This is part of an article on the history of beer containers titled Beer Barrels: from Roman times to the Present Day

Beer has a pH of about 4 when fresh, but this can drop to 3.5 or below if the beer is exposed to oxygen such that it sours, as is inevitable in a traditional cask after dispense. Fresh ciders may have a pH as low as 3.3 and, when oxidised, even below 3. Stainless steel is generally impervious to these levels of acidity, but the oxide layer with which aluminium alloys protect themselves from corrosion is attacked by any pH less than about 4 or over about 9. Aluminium alloy containers are therefore internally lined at manufacture by a sequence of steam-sealing, anodising and epoxy lacquering. However, if that lacquer lining is broken down (such as may be caused by impact to the keg during handling), then not only can flakes of lacquer get into and jam the extractor valves but also the keg itself can be corrosively attacked. This is most prevalent at exposed welds and can threaten the structural integrity of the container."

Guess I'll just forget about this Idea.