PVC tubing smell

[ltp]

Hi All,

I wasn't able to find an existing thread on the same so apologies in advance for creating a thread surplus to the same.

Due to certain factors I've neglected both kegs in my kegerator for a period of a about six months. Two months in, knowing I wouldn't be drawing any beer soon, I disconnected the beer line and did my best to purge the head space and also disconnected the posts.

Four months later, I got around to brewing again and had pretty much wrote off the two kegs as bad fortune. On opening the fridge it had an odd kind of stink that I hadn't encountered before but for which I took as extremely sour and lambic. But; not mould, and not stale beer. I tipped the kegs.

I took the opportunity during the boil to clean the inside of the fridge by scrubbing with detergent and then wiping down with metho. The smell still lingered, so I decided that I'd also pull the taps apart and replace the lines even though I'd done so about a year prior. On cutting a piece of line for reference and keeping it in my pocket it seemed that the line was the source of the smell - I assumed that maybe the beer in the line had been infected.

After purchasing new PVC line a minute or so into the drive home I smelled the same stink. Sure enough, the new line smells slightly worse than the old line in the same way. It's a sour, chemically smell - I really can't put my finger on it other than it does not smell good.

Has anyone ever experienced the same? Any suggestions for beer pipe retailers?

 

[MHB]

Proper beer line won’t smell of plastic at all. Did you go to Bunning’s or a real home brew shop?
Personally I always get Dual Layer barrier tube. The inside is Nylon which is smooth (low turbulence) and resists bacteria imbedding in the surface as well as being opaque to Oxygen transmition, flavour uptake... The outer layer is EVA which is much more flexible than solid Nylon (which is a bit like heavy fencing wire).
I wouldn’t touch the crap that comes with most of the kegorators from the much talked about retailers on here.
My local home brew shop stock 4, 5 and 6 mm ID line and I would just order whatever I needed, its nice having a local who sells quality stuff.
Mark

 

[ltp]

I bought it at Clark Rubber because I was short on time and they are located much closer than my LHBS and I (probably wrongly) assumed they should know their product.

It has "Food Contact CVT" printed along the length but the smell is very off-putting. Searching online since I've found a couple of other instances where people reported the same.

I'll hit up my LHBS on the weekend and see what they have in stock. Failing that I'll go to Bunnings and sniff their pipes.

 

[TwoCrows]

Get yourself silicon tube if transferring to keg from a ferment bucket.
Beer line as stated above, 4mm is good at about 2mtrs long.
I don't use PVC tubing. It maybe food contact if used with 1000 litres and the smell or taste would not be acute, but with 20 litres it will.