Cleaning Copper Pipe

[Henno]

Found the below post while trolling away about my new adventure into the world of chilling. Thought I'd take this guys advice and look for the correct type of vinegar. All the cheapy vinegar I have looked at so far list the ingredients to be 'vinegar'

It's no biggy but the quote below does mention live acetobacteria cultures in some and as I'd hate to get my first infection from buying the wrong type of bloody vinegar!

Interesting though in the post before this one Sqyre mentions he only uses cheapy vinegar so maybe it's no biggy.

Any ideas vinegar gurus?
Cheers
H

Acetic Acid
Acetic acid, also known as white distilled vinegar, is a very effective cleaner for copper. Brewers who use immersion wort chillers are always surprised how bright and shiny the chiller is the first time it comes out of the wort. If the chiller wasn't bright and shiny when it went into the wort, guess where the grime and oxides ended up? Yes, in your beer. The oxides of copper are more readily dissolved by the mildly acidic wort than is the copper itself. By cleaning copper tubing with acetic acid once before the first use and rinsing with water immediately after each use, the copper will remain clean with no oxide or wort deposits that could harbor bacteria.
Acetic acid is available in grocery stores as white distilled vinegar at a standard concentration of 5 percent acetic acid by volume. It is important to use only white distilled vinegar as opposed to cider or wine vinegar because these other types may contain live acetobacteria cultures, the last thing you want in your beer! Some brewers use a number of brass fittings in conjunction with their wort chillers or other brewing equipment and are concerned about the lead that is present in brass alloys. A solution of two parts white vinegar to one part hydrogen peroxide will remove tarnish and surface lead from brass parts soaked for 15 minutes at room temperature. The brass will turn a buttery yellow colour as it is cleaned. If the solution starts to turn green, then the parts have been soaking too long and the copper in the brass is beginning to dissolve.

 

[katzke]

Found the below post while trolling away about my new adventure into the world of chilling. Thought I'd take this guys advice and look for the correct type of vinegar. All the cheapy vinegar I have looked at so far list the ingredients to be 'vinegar'

It's no biggy but the quote below does mention live acetobacteria cultures in some and as I'd hate to get my first infection from buying the wrong type of bloody vinegar!

Interesting though in the post before this one Sqyre mentions he only uses cheapy vinegar so maybe it's no biggy.

Any ideas vinegar gurus?
Cheers
H

Cider or wine vinegar is not the cheapy stuff. It is also not "white" or clear and rarely comes in big bottles. Stick with the clear or "white" cheap stuff and you will be fine. Over here most of the labels say 'distilled white vinegar' and can be bought by the gallon.

 

[seemax]

Home brand vinegar does the trick, no infections thus far!

 

[matho]

if your worried about using vinegar you can citric acid or even idophur to clean copper. anything that is acidic and is safe to use around food

 

[TidalPete]

Henno,

Took Sqyre's advice too & just use the el-cheapo vinegar from Aldi. Leave my chiller in one of those plastic mini garbage bins with 2 litres vinegar + water just covering the chiller. Chiller neads a bit of a quick clean up before dumping in the kettle but is the hell of a lot cleaner than it used to be.

By cleaning copper tubing with acetic acid once before the first use and rinsing with water immediately after each use, the copper will remain clean with no oxide or wort deposits that could harbor bacteria.

Wish I'd known this when I used my chiller the first time yonks ago.

TP

 

[Screwtop]

At Woolies you will find Cleaning Vinegar in 2L bottles. Most vinegar is pasteurised to kill the madre (acetobacter) except the stuff you find at health food shops, particularly cider vinegar containing the madre or live cultre (non pasteurised).

Totally OT if you would like to have home made vinegar get a hold of some of this and mix some 50/50 with water and keep it in a large open jar in the pantry, cover with some muslin cloth or cheesecloth to keep bugs out. Every time you have some left over wine, mix it 50/50 with water and add it to the madre. Use cheap shitty red wine or cheap cleanskins if you like, you will soon (around 4 weeks) have some of the smoothest vinegar to use on salads, you can keep adding more wine/water as you use the vinegar once it is mature, way better that bought stuff, but do keep this stuff well away from the brewery.

Screwy

 

[manticle]

I mix homebrand white with water and it still clenas the copper up sweetly. This is for my manifold so oxide is the worry, not infection as its preboil.

 

[Henno]

Rightio then copper/vinegar soakers. Got 4L of cheap white vinegar today. The expensiver brand, Cornwells, had it's ingredients listed as 'distilled white spirit' I think. The Woollies brand is listed as only containing vinegar. Should do the trick. I borrowed an immersion coil from QldKev today so am ready to do this thang.

Screwy you amaze me again with your range of knowledge.

Thanks all. Now do you soak it in a vinegar water mix the whole time between brewing? If so how long before you need to change the mix before it gets urky and full of bugs?

H

 

[Spartan 117]

Rightio then copper/vinegar soakers. Got 4L of cheap white vinegar today. The expensiver brand, Cornwells, had it's ingredients listed as 'distilled white spirit' I think. The Woollies brand is listed as only containing vinegar. Should do the trick. I borrowed an immersion coil from QldKev today so am ready to do this thang.

Screwy you amaze me again with your range of knowledge.

Thanks all. Now do you soak it in a vinegar water mix the whole time between brewing? If so how long before you need to change the mix before it gets urky and full of bugs?

H

You can buy glacial acetic acid, this is pure acetic acid with no water. When you want to make up a solution just ad 100ml to 2 litres of water and this will give you a 5% v/v solution.

Aaron

 

[manticle]

The vinegar removes the oxide from the copper but vinegar is also used a food preservative and helps kill/resist bugs.

As I said, I'm using it on a manifold rather than a chiller but a simple soak after use and a simple soak before use seems to do the trick for me. Rinse quickly with water before use to remove vinegar residue.

 

[avaneyk]

Will have to give that a go on my immersion chiller - its only 4 brews old but is not nearly as shiny as when I put it together.

 

[Screwtop]

Look......Henno..........clean the fcuking thing with something to remove any organics, then rinse it and dry it. 15min before end of boil up the burner a bit (to prevent going off the boil due to heat absorbtion when you drop the coil in) and toss it in no hoses connected. Now it's gonna boil in your wort for 15 min you paranoid ******* and kill every living thing, or most of them. Then it's gonna deposit minute amounts of copper oxide copper sulfide in your very mildly acidic wort and they will help out your yeast during fermentation, see, good things. At flameout connect hoses and punp water through the chiller (keep the kettle covered to stop bugs getting in, maybe a teatowel). Until you get the temp as low as it will go, maybe 30. Stop your fcuking stressing the sky wont fall, the full moon will be gone soon and all will return to normal. Put it in your fermenters and put them in the fermenting fridge, within 24 hrs the temp will right for pitching.

I want Teri to stand by with her Naginata, ready to apply anti stress measures at the first sign of eyes together :lol:

Screwy

 

[Henno]

I love you Mike.

Glad to see they are weening you off the meds it was no fun while you were being nice to me. Now go to bed.

 

[Screwtop]

I love you Mike.

Glad to see they are weening you off the meds it was no fun while you were being nice to me. Now go to bed.

:lol: time for my pre bed valium milkshake, I look forward to it so much. Usually from almost immediately after my morning one. :blink:

 

[Henno]

If u can stash some away for a rainy day i think i may be able to move some for you? The only thing better than a valium milkshake is a beer and valium milkshake.