Do you oil or seal a mash paddle?

[Happyrock]

I bought a wooden mash paddle from Craftbrewer over the Christmas break and I'm wondering if its worth putting some oil or something on it to protect it? Will that leech out into my mash? Just wondering if this is the done thing or do you just leave it. In the past I used a piece of conduit so it wasnt an issue. :lol:

 

[Lyrebird_Cycles]

Use a "drying" oil, it won't leach.

IMO pure tung is the best to use but it's hard to get and requires patience and fortitude to get the best results. I use it as the finish on my bikes.

 

[BJB]

Needs nothing, leave it how it is.

 

[barls]

id use this if i was going to. its what i use on my knife handles and chopping boards
https://www.carbatec.com.au/sanding-and-finishing/coatings/organoil-woodwipe-250ml

 

[Lyrebird_Cycles]

Basically tung oil + solvent. Being a bit of a wonk with such things, I prefer to add my own solvent to the tung oil: 50 / 50 tung to solvent for the first go then decreasing by about 10% each time.

This gives greater control over what's happening, it's also cheaper in the long run. I prefer cineole (eucalyptus) to d-limonene (citrus) but then I got good results when I was still using d-limonene.

 

[Feldon]

Olive oil.

 

[Danscraftbeer]

No oil. Wood is good as is. Its the way we got away with it for centuries. It has its own antibacterial properties.
That could be a poem! Is it? It should be.

 

[Lyrebird_Cycles]

Work with barrels for long enough and you will be completely disabused of the notion that wood has antimicrobial properties.

 

[TidalPete]

Danscraftbeer, on 02 Jan 2017 - 8:45 PM, said:

No oil. Wood is good as is. Its the way we got away with it for centuries. It has its own antibacterial properties.
That could be a poem! Is it? It should be.

+1

Chuck it in the boil as well if you're worried about microbes.

Me!
I've always used a ss mash paddle which has no antibacterial properties or anything else to fret over.

 

[Danscraftbeer]

Work with barrels for long enough and you will be completely disabused of the notion that wood has antimicrobial properties.

Of course wood can also be a harbour of bacteria. Its just the way you can use it to advantage. As has been done for centuries etc.
Modern day science has compared say Plastic or Teflon chopping boards compared to wood chopping boards after years of use and I think wood won in the end.

 

[AJS2154]

I use a paddle that I made years ago, all I ever do is wash it thoroughly at the end of brew day and then hang it out to dry completely. It is made of jarrah, and looks as good as the day I made it. Don't forget, if it is thoroughly dried and then only used in the mash, and maybe the boil, what bacteria will survive through the finished beer?

 

[wide eyed and legless]

Wooden spoons and spatulas for cooking are raw timber usually Beech as is my paddle, so I wouldn't bother with any coating, and I believe the Viking totem sticks were generally Beech and they collected their yeast on them, so the practice has been done for centuries.

 

[BJB]

I would rather not start putting anything on my mash paddle that will end up in your brew.
Do you really worry about the bacteria on your paddle? but not worry about what in on the grain you are adding?
A 60 min. boil fixes all.

 

[Rocker1986]

Just because something was done for centuries doesn't mean there aren't better methods available these days. That way of thinking always amuses me. I guess we should all throw out our fermenting fridges and hydrometers too, since it was "done that way for centuries".

 

[manticle]

People have died of curable diseases for centuries.

 

[wide eyed and legless]

Just because something was done for centuries doesn't mean there aren't better methods available these days. That way of thinking always amuses me. I guess we should all throw out our fermenting fridges and hydrometers too, since it was "done that way for centuries".

Yep, progress has moved us on, but the old bare beech is still with us, there are some things that have been done for centuries that scored a hole in one and still can't be bettered.

 

[BJB]

Perhaps we should stop using floor malted grain....rather old fashion don't you think? Perhaps stop using grain at all and use extracts, and hops! Now we have ISO hops.
I fact perhaps a teaspoon of some chemical in a glass for beer is the best these days.

 

[Rocker1986]

Point is, you pick and choose the best methods. Some might be old school, and others more modern. Just because a method has been around for centuries doesn't make it the best, but in some cases they are still the best. I'm not saying anything against wooden mash paddles, I'm not saying all old methods are crap and all modern ones are better, all I'm saying is some people have a mentality of shunning modern methods that do work better, for the sole reason that the old method had been done for centuries.

 

[Happyrock]

Thanks for the replys everyone. I hadnt considered the bacteria angle at all. I was more just thinking about protecting the paddle itself. Plus I thought it would look good with a bit of oil on it. I think I'm just going to leave it uncoated for the time being. Tung oil does sound good though.

 

[Mr B]

Either use it and dont worry, or oil it, make it beautiful and hang it on the wall, and buy a sweet stainless paddle for $25 from a catering shop.

So many optons...