Fermenting Bucket Scratched

[h_doody]

Recently I bought a bunch of used equipment from a guy on Gumtree, and one of the fermenting buckets has some pretty big scratches on the bottom. Is it still safe to use as long as I sanitize it properly or would I be better off getting rid or just using it for storage?

 

[Andyhull]

FV are prety cheap to buy, wilkinsons ell them cheap and you can get them off Amazon for around £5 +p&p
I would get rid and buy a new one :thumb:

 

[h_doody]

Cheers!

 

[Andyhull]

:thumb:

 

[Baz Chaz]

certainly better safe than sorry, you'd be gutted if you lost your brew the first time you used it, still, you can always use it to sanitise your bottles and other bits in it eh :thumb:

 

[calumscott]

Pssst! Word to the wise, the ones that The Malt Miller sells are the dogs danglies. Sturdy and the lids actually seal! And a bit bigger than the Young's ones too...

 

[Andyhull]

Is it this one?

http://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/index.ph ... ductId=363

 

[Baz Chaz]

Good price as well :thumb: £13.50 with tap fitted :thumb:

OK theres carriage as well, but with careful planning it could come filled with bags of grain and hops

 

[graysalchemy]

All mine are scratched and I have no bother with them :whistle:

 

[RobWalker]

it's just a place where bacteria can live and not be easily touched with sanitizer, but keep on top of it. i keep my stuff in sodium metabi solution anyway, you might consider doing that to stop bacteria growing in the first place. plus it makes your brew day 10x easier...

 

[graysalchemy]

I steam mine before use usually 10 mins with a kettle underneath, the plastic gets really hot so that probably does the trick. :thumb:

 

[wezil]

Hi, why should bacteria hide in scratches and not get touched by sanitizer? Do we all use liquid concrete? A liquid should reach every point within the scratch. Think about how it works, if it didn't reach the microscopic scratches would't be much good would it? so a big scratch should be no problem!! And as always im open to proof that im wrong!

 

[calumscott]

Is it this one?

http://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/index.ph ... ductId=363

That's the doozie. I have one, currently in the christening process with a wheat beer from the recipe book of pittsy... My youngs ones will gradually be replaced as fermenters and take up new roles as general buckets...

 

[ScottM]

Hi, why should bacteria hide in scratches and not get touched by sanitizer? Do we all use liquid concrete? A liquid should reach every point within the scratch. Think about how it works, if it didn't reach the microscopic scratches would't be much good would it? so a big scratch should be no problem!! And as always im open to proof that im wrong!

It doesn't work like that unfortunately. Think about the surface tension of water, it won't go everywhere.... if it did we wouldn't be water proof as it would soak into our pours and fill us up like a big sponge.

 

[jonnymorris]

http://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=363

That's the doozie.

Me too. Much better than my other FV, a Youngs 25L. A bit scratched but not caused any problems yet. Am considering replacing it though because of the scratches, just to be sure to be sure.

 

[ScottM]

Those buckets look great! Think I'll definitely be trying them out.

http://www.brewuk.co.uk/store/33-litre- ... uated.html

Those are the ones that I like. They are night and day in quality from the other youngs buckets.

 

[wezil]

It doesn't work like that unfortunately. Think about the surface tension of water, it won't go everywhere.... if it did we wouldn't be water proof as it would soak into our pours and fill us up like a big sponge.

The surface tension of water is called the meniscus . And only applies were the water is exposed to air above it and is still permeable to gases etc.Surface tension is what causes water to bead .Our skin is like a fabric called Gortex it will allow sweat out but not the larger water molecules in, not because of surface tension but because of the size of the pores! So long as the scratches are larger than the water molecules the water will enter and steralise it. Otherwise the big scratches would be clean and the small one not! I still say this is one of brewings old wives tales and would love to know who started it!!

 

[ScottM]

It doesn't work like that unfortunately. Think about the surface tension of water, it won't go everywhere.... if it did we wouldn't be water proof as it would soak into our pours and fill us up like a big sponge.

The surface tension of water is called the meniscus . And only applies were the water is exposed to air above it and is still permeable to gases etc.Surface tension is what causes water to bead .Our skin is like a fabric called Gortex it will allow sweat out but not the larger water molecules in, not because of surface tension but because of the size of the pores! So long as the scratches are larger than the water molecules the water will enter and steralise it. Otherwise the big scratches would be clean and the small one not! I still say this is one of brewings old wives tales and would love to know who started it!!

Our pours are surely larger than water molecules though?

Also, you said about air above causing water tension, what about when a bottle of water is turned upside down and the water stays in the bottle when held still? Surely that's the tension at a different angle?

 

[taxidiver]

All mine are scratched and I have no bother with them :whistle:

If I haven't had a brew on for a while, I tip about half a gallon of sterilizing solution into my scratched bucket, slosh it around and leave it overnight with the lid on. I may be lucky, but I haven't lost any to infection in 40 years.

:thumb:
Geoff

 

[wezil]

Hi, the air will still be above the water the angle of it dosen't matter and will pour out of the bottle if the lids not on!! (thats gravity)! Unless you introduce centrifigaul force (spin it at high speed). And yes our pores are larger than individual water molecules, which consist of 2 hydrogen ions and 1 oxygen in it's pure form, however they clump together to form a larger whole (atoms protons,neutrons etc, attracting to each other). Thus being unable to penertrate our skin or leak out unless through special sweat glands, a bit like gortex fabric! It also takes a lot of energy to seperate the molecules, hence why it is so difficult/expensive to make hydrogen from water! I hope this answers your questions (as my head hurts now, let alone my fingers) :rofl: