Rust in a Cornie?

[tankard]

Morning all,

I have a 'budget' type cornie keg which doesn't have the protective rubber rings at either end, it's just a plain old steal casing and handle.

On the inside of the keg at the bottom there are 4 weld seams which correspond with the 4 weld seams which show on the outside as attaching the steel base 'ring' to the bottom of the vessel. The inside seams are sharp/ rough to the touch and when wet with water seem to have some form of black/ brown residue. The sharp/ rough finish in itself seems odd because cornies generally seem well made. I cannot identify this specifically as rust, but then again I can't rule it out either. I'd put a photo up but that doesn't show anything either...

Anyone else come across this issue or have any suggestions or thoughts? It's quite worrying as I don't want to put beer in them which could be in there a good few months...

If it is rust, how the hell do I get rid of it and stop it coming back if the cornie is gonna be full of wine/ cider/ beer?

Regards, Stressed Eric!

 

[prolix]

I would not use anything I could not clean properly for my beer and rough and sharp edges sound great places for bacteria and wild yeast to thrive, can you grind them smooth?

Photo would help if you can.

 

[mashman]

I go with Prolix,,,, adding further to that, I've seen the results of stainless that has been welded and after it cools it carries the heat blueing that looks in part like rust.
I believe stainless welds are ground and polished on the outside of containers that gets rid of the weld detritus but of course this is not always possible or practical on the inside.

I would be inclined to put a small ball type grindstone into a dremmel and have a go if you can hit it even if you have to tape it to a stick so you can peer in as you grind, it's worth a go. :idea:

 

[tankard]

Thanks for replying guys, much appreciated. I have been trying my best to get a photo but I can't get anything other than a vague outline to show up on the picture. No point putting that up.

If i ever bump in to anyone that will lend me a dremmel then I'll give grinding it a go but until then if I do use them the I'll just give them a good soak and scrub.

 

[wiltshireborn]

I work with stainless everyday, the previous posts are correct and basically the blacK/brown marks are whats known as 'rougeing'. This is where the stainless releases the nickel and chomium contained within during welding and leaves free iron on the surface. This then oxidises (rusts) leaving the staining.

I big part of my job is removing this from stainless pipework for pharma installations (water used in injections and ointments) all you need to do is degrease the keg with a detergent (dishwasher type is best as it has antifoaming agents added) and then fill it with 20% citric acid at 20degC for 3 hours. This removes the free iron from the surface exposing the nickel and chromium and 'repairing' the stainless. Obviously you have to rinse the keg afterwards until you get a neutral pH reading (lipmus papers are fine for checking this).

One point however which has been picked up on already is that NOTHING used within the food/brewing industry has shrap edges or crevices as they are indeed 'bugtraps' Any welds with a missed edge or hole or severe oxidation are rejected and repaired.

Science lesson over :party:

 

[simonranson]

Great info there :thumb:

... That's worth getting in the 'how to' section.

Cheers
Simon

 

[tankard]

NOTHING used within the food/brewing industry has sharp edges or crevices as they are indeed 'bugtraps'

Well these ones slipped through the net because by your measure they are shocking. They must have had syrup (or something) in at some point so these have definitelat they y been used.

Not like norm to knock out rubbish but basically I have two cornies worth sweet FA to anyone. Great! I wonder what they fetch for scrap...

Thanks for all the info though, useful to know.

 

[luckyeddie]

Return them?

 

[Moley]

Not like norm to knock out rubbish but basically I have two cornies worth sweet FA to anyone.

Well if you got them off Norm, have you phoned him or sent him an e-mail?

 

[Cyclops]

Norm offers a 3 month warranty with all his kegs, i must ring him at some point though to ask him about the leaky post i have on mine, but i ordered some new ones from Germany anyway. I need another one off him too to sort my Cider and Lager out :)

 

[wiltshireborn]

Didn't mean to start a bad vibe hear or knock anyones work just my experience thats all.

Can you get inside with your arm and still see what you're doing? or can you see the weld from the outside? If so they can be repaired quite easily so maybe all is not lost, they just need the welds going over again.

If you don't have any luck PM me and i might be able to help.

Russ

 

[Growler]

Talk to Norm I had a prob with leaky posts on one of my kegs and he sent me the bits to fix it no bother