No Chill Cube - Bunnings Blue BMW Containers

[Spiesy]

OP, what is the BMW? Is that the brand?

Mine are willow brand and have treated me well for years and hundreds of brews.... multiple cubes, too.

Damn this thread, I need/was going to buy 2 in the morning and now will be wondering if my years of experience will over rule something someone said on the intergoogle machine.

Seriously though, what is the rating for? Rated to what? Not explode? Leach chemicals?

Or is this just a cat amongst pigeons post?

Seriously dude...

 

[Cocko]

sc.

 

[MastersBrewery]

Brewing with no pants on is definateley not a good idea

Damn and you had to bring this up just before Vic swap day brew. (a couple of the attendees swear their secret to great brewing is nudity h34r: )

 

[dammag]

There is a podcast about toxicity in brewing material's. It will put your mind at rest. Search for it and have a listen.

 

[brewermp]

Was it this one?

December 12, 2013 - Homebrew Toxicology Pt. 2
Toxicologist Paul joins us again to follow up on your questions about possible toxic materials in homebrew.


http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=75092679

 

[dammag]

Yes. Well worth the listen.

 

[Blind Dog]

'rated' for most manufacturers simply means 'tested to' usually for the purposes of a local, industry or international standard. it costs to test so they only test to comply with applicable standards. I doubt very much there is a standard to test a potable water container above 40C, so why pay for the tests?

As Manticle said, HDPE is rated to 120C (for short periods; 110C continuously). so I do t see the issue

 

[Coalminer]

Something to consider

I had a look at all the HDPE cubes/jerrycans etc at Bunnings and some other places and found that whilst they containers are HDPE mostly the lids are plain PVC

I found that the Dangerous Goods cubes that I sourced work well

They are HDPE with HDPE lids and and without the bunghole drilled out ( makes cleaning much simpler)

And they were less than $9.00 each :super:

 

[brewermp]

Something to consider

I had a look at all the HDPE cubes/jerrycans etc at Bunnings and some other places and found that whilst they containers are HDPE mostly the lids are plain PVC

I found that the Dangerous Goods cubes that I sourced work well

They are HDPE with HDPE lids and and without the bunghole drilled out ( makes cleaning much simpler)

And they were less than $9.00 each :super:

Where did you get them from?

 

[slcmorro]

bunghole

Heheh... he said bunghole.

I've used these jerrys for no-chil and fermenting before. I'm not dead yet. Yet...

 

[Coalminer]

Where did you get them from?

Plasdene

http://www.plasdene.com.au/category/index/cat1/Industrial/cat2/Plastic/cat3/Dangerous+Goods+Approved+%28DGA%29/total/25/page/1

 

[StewTurner]

I bought a blue 20 liter Jerry can from Bunnings a month or so ago (not Willow brand) and it split when I put no-chill wort in. Luckily I had a clean fermenter, so I no-chilled in that instead.

 

[brewermp]

I bought a blue 20 liter Jerry can from Bunnings a month or so ago (not Willow brand) and it split when I put no-chill wort in. Luckily I had a clean fermenter, so I no-chilled in that instead.

I was going to test it this weekend with the blue and green no chill containers (BMW from bunnings). Now I am worried

 

[wide eyed and legless]

BPA free does not mean that it is safe, it just means that Bisphenol-A has been substituted for something else which hasn't been tested and could still leach estrogenic chemicals.

 

[manticle]

I'll take the risk.

 

[kaiserben]

Been using the 10L BMW jerry cans exclusively. I no-chill and ferment in the same container.

Had no problems at all, except these little things:

1. Don't trust the Volume/Litre markings on these containers.
I know people say the 20L ones can hold 23L due to heat/expansion, but I think you'll find the containers (certainly the 10L ones) are already a fair bit over what those markers indicate. I found this out when using a brand new one to measure out water for my mashes and wondering why I kept getting way under my target gravities; it was (partially) too much strike water due to trusting the markers in the BMW jerry cans.

2. Possible leeching issue.
Some of the blue colouring seems to leech out after first use, so that some areas of the container, particularly the corners, have become a bit see-through (and look like they're thinner than other areas of the container). I didn't notice any plastic flavours in the beer (and hopefully haven't absorbed too much plastic). Before first use, I'd recommend filling it with plain boiling water and leaving it overnight (I've been too lazy to follow this advice).

 

[wide eyed and legless]

Yep we all take that risk. We will all have BPA in our bodies in low doses, but the good news is the estrogenic chemicals that we will be consuming will not affect us directly it is more likely to kill our grandchildren.
"A poison kills you," says biology professor Frederick vom Saal. "A chemical like BPA reprograms your cells and ends up causing a disease in your grandchild that kills him."

 

[pist]

Wikipedia

HDPE is known for its large strength to density ratio.[2] The density of high-density polyethylene can range from 0.93 to 0.97 g/cm3.[3] Although the density of HDPE is only marginally higher than that of low-density polyethylene, HDPE has little branching, giving it stronger intermolecular forces and tensile strength than LDPE. The difference in strength exceeds the difference in density, giving HDPE a higher specific strength.[4] It is also harder and more opaque and can withstand somewhat higher temperatures (120 °C/ 248 °F for short periods, 110 °C /230 °F continuously)

If it's HDPE it should in theory withstand the temperature of hot wort post whirlpooling.

There will be a reason why the manufacturer recommends a lower temperature, usually a reserved figure to cover their arse, and more than likely the dyes they put into the plastic to turn it blue or whatever colour has a risk of leeching from the plastic at elevated temperatures.

My HDPE cube I purchased from Craftbrewer is a BMW plastics (white colour) container. Given they sell these promoting use for no chilling would suggest theres little to no risk associated with the use of these containers for the purpose of no chill. The quote above seems to support this argument. I feel more than comfortable using the container, as the temperature which I normally around 80-90oC, well below the 110oC limit of HDPE.

This is however, only my personal opinion and I take no responsibility for the decision of others to use these containers.

 

[pat_00]

Are they Phtalate free?

 

[Major Arcana]

Gonna pick up a few from Bunnings this weekend, looking pretty safe to me!