Plastic Smell/taste From Cubes?

[jaup]

Hi,

I was going to rack my gluten free brew into a 25 liter water cube. Does any one have any ideas how to get the smell out of the cubes first? As i figure this will taint the flavor of the brew.

If i soak it in a sterilizing solution will that help and if so how long can i soak for?

Thanks,
Paul

 

[dj1984]

im not an expert at this at all dont even own one but i think they put boiling hot water in them first to get rid of it

 

[raven19]

I just bought one too on the weekend.

Others posts here have used bleach, then hot water, then more hot water.

Keep soaking (an hour or so should be fine), then flush, then continue the process until all off flavours are gone.

2c.

 

[Lachlan]

You have 2 options that i know of,

1. Leave it out in the sun for a couple of days. The UV helps leech out the plastic smell.

2. Fill with water and add 1gm/L of Drain-O

I had a fermenter that had a bad plastic smell and i went for the Drain-O treatment first, it worked but the smell was still there so i put it in the sun for a week and that really help get rid of the smell. I was still worried as it still smelled of plastic when i first used it but after the first batch the smell was gone and the beer was good.

Good Luck

Lachlan

 

[reviled]

h34r: Flame suit on...

I noticed a plastic smell when I got my first cube, didnt think anything of it and no chilled in it without doing the boiling water or sitting in the sun thing, beer turned out absolutely fine, no more plastic smell, no worries :beerbang:

 

[buttersd70]

for me, a couple of days in the sun, then rinsed, then hot water to fill. When cold, rinse again, then sanatise and use as normal.

 

[nifty]

h34r: Flame suit on...

I noticed a plastic smell when I got my first cube, didnt think anything of it and no chilled in it without doing the boiling water or sitting in the sun thing, beer turned out absolutely fine, no more plastic smell, no worries :beerbang:

I did the same as reviled. I just gave it a quick rinse with warm water to make sure there were no bits of plastic or other crud, then sanitised and used. No plastic smell at all.

 

[Cortez The Killer]

Gave mine a shot with bleach

Smell gone

Cheers

 

[Effect]

I bleached them heaps and left em in the sun.

Did a quick sanitize and away they went...haven't had any problems with plastic smell at all.

 

[matti]

As above solutions.
If you are in a hurry boil water and put it in the cube around 80 degrees.
Swish around hehehe only kidding
Empty and add a gentle sanitiser with warm water (35-40 degrees) and rinse with cool water.
Have a smell.

Repeat until the smell is gone.

 

[buttersd70]

This is another one of those things where all roads lead to Rome, as they say. Different methods, same results......depends on how bad and persistant the smell is.

I must admit, the first time I NC'd, I did the same as reviled....sanatised, nothing more....and I must admit, there was no noticable difference from the quick chill I had been doing before. That being said, I now like to get rid of the plastic smell (edit - when using a new cube for NC)....but it's more for peace of mind, than anything.

 

[Thirsty Boy]

hmmm - I'm not sure that being able to smell it is enough.

When I got my first cube I did some tests. Rinsed out teh cube really well, then filled it with very hot tap water and let it cool down. Gave samples of the cube water and tap water to my wife in a blind triangle test - several of them. Se was able to pick the cube water every single time and preferred teh non-cube water by a long way. The cube water tasted wrong - flat - chemical - and a little plastic.

I repeated boiling and very hot water soaks till she could no longer pick the cube sample from the tap sample - it took half a dozen or so.

So whatever method you use to clear the plastic smell up... I'd be doing a test run and letting some boiling water cool down in that cube. If you cant tell teh difference between it and water that hasn't been in the cube - then the cube isn't contributing anything you will notice.

 

[Fermented]

An old method used for people with an allergy to just about everything, including plastics, is to wash a few times with a solution of baking soda in warm water.

If you clean at 10 to 15C above the intended temperature at which you will use the item, then there is a better chance that you would remove / lessen the unpleasant aromatics from the plastic. Please try to stay under 120C (not as hard as you think to get there) else the problem will just get worse.

Bear in mind that plastic is a petrochemical by-product and that various quality resins will have vastly different chemical properties and therefore odours / tastes. I know that we're all trying to be sensibly economical, but please avoid plastic products made in China for food / drink purposes if you can. Certainly, there are quality manufacturers who use quality resin but regrettably local buyers for wholesalers / chain stores tend to try to drive the price down and the result is poorer quality products from poorer quality raw materials.

If you can buy Aussie, then you've a better chance at better quality although local injection and blow moulders here are using cheaper resins in order to compete with cheap imports. If you can find real Japanese product (and not falsely labeled goods made in China) then your tastebuds and long term health will benefit. Their market acceptance of PP, LDPE and ABS products for food use is very restrictive. They're utterly anal about just about anything where an impurity could be perceived to exist.

Just my $0.02.

Cheers - Fermented.

NB - This is based on experience with resins from the same company but from different plants. Eg Material from Chiba, Japan plant was odourless and performed well and left no plate-out on the moulds; material from the same firm's USA plant was malodourous and left corrosive plate-out on the moulds; material from the same firm's Cartagena plant smelled OK but left some plate-out: three resins, same firm, purportedly the same recipe, but three different results.

 

[FireBlade]

I bought a 25lt cube some time ago. All I did was sanitise it, put beer in it and then it smelled like beer.

 

[Fermented]

OK - really dumb-assed question: When you get a new plastic fermenter, other than scrub the crap out of it, wash it with pink and rinse it like fury to get rid of the alkaline stench and drop a brew into it, what do you do to it?

Cheers - Fermented.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Dog urine


Gets ride of the plastic smell... h34r:

 

[Fermented]

Dog urine

That's an innovative use of Heineken.

Cheers - Fermented.

 

[Thirsty Boy]

OK - really dumb-assed question: When you get a new plastic fermenter, other than scrub the crap out of it, wash it with pink and rinse it like fury to get rid of the alkaline stench and drop a brew into it, what do you do to it?

Cheers - Fermented.

nothing much - but I'm not dropping 95 degree wort into a fermentor - All I know is that hot water into a fresh cube, allowed to cool down overnight... tasted like crap. It took a bit of work to make it stop tasting like crap.

Maybe I wouldn't have even noticed in a finished beer, I'll never know because I got rid of the nastiness before I let it anywhere near my brew.

 

[daemon]

Is there any hope for a brew that does have some of the plastic taste to it? Although I had soaked and flushed my new racking tube, I think some of it leached into the brew as it's certainly got that taste to it. Just wondering if it will subside over a few weeks/months or if it's not worth keeping. I've bottled it anyway (plenty of bottles) but wanted to know if I'm wasting my time or not.

 

[DKS]

Interesting posts on food grade plastics etc. you would think it was all good wouldnt you. I use 25lt vinegar drums from our restaurant at work. They will still have some odour if hit with hot water. Not sure what the quality of plastic is but I havent been able to taste anything bad after using warm water wash then sod-met then rinse. Following on from that how do you guys clean out the tuffer stains etc ?I use a garden hose at full blast. If in doubt chuck it and get another. Always plenty in stock but I wouldnt like to be paying for them.
Has any one tried conditioning in one of these for an extended period say 2 - 3 months or more. Maybe the nasty plastic taste would come through. :icon_cheers:
Daz