So when I placed my Zd clone in the basement I used a blowoff for the first time and I had some starsan water left over from sanitizing during brewing so I figured my 5 gal aluminum BK would b fine so I dumped the water in the BK, attached said blowoff tube and let the yeast do their thing. Tonight 12 days later I pulled the blowoff tube after dryhopping and replaced with an s shaped airlock. So I washed out the kettle but beforehand noticed some starsan granules stuck along the pot where the top of the waterline was. After I washed and scrubbed with soap and water it appears where those granules were actually pitted the aluminum. Didn't know this was going to happen. I really have to watch these for rust but I only use this BK to heat Sparge water in so I'm guessing it should b ok. Just a heads up not that anyone else would possibly do this. Lol
starsan, aluminum and 14 days later= bad idea
- Thread starter olotti
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Malted_hops
Well-Known Member
Aluminium won't rust.
It's probably more like mineral deposits from your water. Try making an acidic solution with plain vinegar and water soaking/swishing it around. I did something similar with my corny kegs and that took care of it no problem. Good luck.
pricelessbrewing
Brewer's Friend Software Manager
That's a different metal. Starsan+Al=bad. You'll want to be careful around it. Try and get a nice passive layer on it by boiling some water for awhile. Can't really do much about the pitting.
olotti
Well-Known Member
I had an issue with the starsan sticking to my carboy after I left it for 24hrs and plain vinegar and water cleared that up right away so I thought maybe Id do the same thing here and let it sit a bit then wash it out with soap and water. Like I said didn't realize starsan was so corrosive to aluminum but I guess it shouldn't hurt me in the future as I just use this bk to heat up sparge water with so I'll just have to dry it real good after I'm done. The pitting can't really ruin anything can it as far as effecting my sparge can it? I wouldnt think so but again I have no idea
There's some confusion here.
Aluminum and an acid, especially concentrated is not good. Aluminum oxidizes which is the dark protective layer that builds up when you boil water and "season" the pot. This layer stops aluminum from being dissolved into your beer. When you leave an acid in this pot it will remove that protective layer and also can cause pitting. If you had left beer in the pot it would also remove this layer. Vinegar is also an acid, so this isn't going to help you either. Your best bet is to learn from the mistake and boil some water for an hour to get your oxide layer back. Its as simple as that. It will not affect the pots functionality, just looks.
Your carboys and kegs might have built up a carbonate (lime scale) or protein crud. In these cases you want an acid or oxidizer to clean since these materials (glass, stainless, plastic) are safe with either. Acid for the the carbonate and oxidizer for the protein.
Aluminum and an acid, especially concentrated is not good. Aluminum oxidizes which is the dark protective layer that builds up when you boil water and "season" the pot. This layer stops aluminum from being dissolved into your beer. When you leave an acid in this pot it will remove that protective layer and also can cause pitting. If you had left beer in the pot it would also remove this layer. Vinegar is also an acid, so this isn't going to help you either. Your best bet is to learn from the mistake and boil some water for an hour to get your oxide layer back. Its as simple as that. It will not affect the pots functionality, just looks.
Your carboys and kegs might have built up a carbonate (lime scale) or protein crud. In these cases you want an acid or oxidizer to clean since these materials (glass, stainless, plastic) are safe with either. Acid for the the carbonate and oxidizer for the protein.
olotti
Well-Known Member
Ok this is good thank you. I also noticed that that layer on the bottom of the pot got darker also. I cleaned with vinegar and water then soap and water and it's clearly pitted. Oops. So if I boil 5 gal of water then it should re-season the pot again??? I also misspoke before it was oxyclean I used on my carboy that cleared after using vinegar and water.
yup. there was a brew strong episode with I believe it was Charlie Talley from five star. star san is fine to use on aluminum, but don't leave it sitting in it for a real long time. being a softer metal, the acid etches the aluminum. I believe it's also not good to leave pbw in aluminum for a long time either (but fine to use for a short period)
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