Coming back from 8 years hiatus

[TheLionDragon]

So o moved to a house where finally I’ll be able to brew again. I had lots of equipment sitting in the storage for the last 8 years or so. I brewed my last batch on 2014 and want to get back to it. I know I need to catch up on techniques and new recipes etc.

However I found that in some of the equipment there were some rat droppings , Tun, jars, etc.

Is there a safe way to clean all of this? I was thinking cleaning everything thoroughly, run boiling water through my system and then sanitize it. Let it sit and then do it all over again.

I don’t want to spend thousands on getting stuff back.

There’s a pic of my stuff.

Cheers

 

[day_trippr]

Yes, thorough cleaning then sanitation is the way to go, no reason you can't save your gear.
I'd be tempted to use a sanitizing bleach solution on anything not stainless steel just on GPs as it's a much wider spectrum killing agent than Star San, for instance...

Cheers!

 

[GrowleyMonster]

So o moved to a house where finally I’ll be able to brew again. I had lots of equipment sitting in the storage for the last 8 years or so. I brewed my last batch on 2014 and want to get back to it. I know I need to catch up on techniques and new recipes etc.

However I found that in some of the equipment there were some rat droppings , Tun, jars, etc.

Is there a safe way to clean all of this? I was thinking cleaning everything thoroughly, run boiling water through my system and then sanitize it. Let it sit and then do it all over again.

I don’t want to spend thousands on getting stuff back.

There’s a pic of my stuff.

Cheers

You've had a hiatus for 8 years? You really ought to find a good surgeon and get that fixed before it starts giving you problems.

 

[passedpawn]

Rat droppings sounds gross, but a normal cleaning is all you need. Just put it out of your mind.

Looking forward to the many future successes. Please include us in those. See you 'round the campus.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

Did you actually leave a dirty carboy around for 8 years??

Everything on the hot side just needs to be cleaned. If you feel like you can get it to a point where you would be willing to use them to cook food, then they are fine. I have moved away from glass, but a benefit in your case is that glass can be cleaned. A soak in PBW or Oxiclean along with a good cleaning (looks like you have a cleaner...but you might need to get in there with a brush) should get the carboys into shape. I would toss anything plastic or vinyl that you would use after chilling the wort. The pump should be disassembled and cleaned well.

Good luck with your brew!

 

[TheLionDragon]

Yeah, I moved from FL ,where I used to brew biweekly to OH where I thought I was going to keep the trend but finances and work kept me away. Then moved to tx and lived in small apartments. So some car boys are still dirty, Kegs, and tools. The HLT and Tun were kept covered. Esta mainly got into the boxes where I kept the hoses, and tools.

I will get new hoses for sure, What’s the go to store nowadays to shop around?



Thanks for the support!

 

[McMullan]

Bleach solution is fine on stainless as long as contact time isn't too long and it's rinsed well. It's difficult to beat, in terms of effectiveness, cost and avalaibilty. Iodophor solution after bleach for extra points.

 

[rhorwitz]

Last October I finally got around to brewing again after a 4-year hiatus. Like yourself, mice dropping cockroaches had contaminated much of my equipment and required a lot of cleaning. However, what really messed me up is that I purchased a lot of new equipment like an upgraded pump, wort chiller, and a hopper spider. Couple this with my improperly gapped grain crusher and beers turned out to have this crazy BH efficiency while having weak bittering hops. Reducing your variables will provide you with the best results. So, getting back into the swing of things, I suggest that you use your existing equipment on your first batch.

 

[NewJersey]

The equipment on the market now is SO much better. If finances allow I'd suggest looking into some of the stuff available today. Electric, SS stuff, etc

 

[rhorwitz]

The equipment on the market now is SO much better. If finances allow I'd suggest looking into some of the stuff available today. Electric, SS stuff, etc

It is! Those 5 gallon self-contained electric Grain Fathers look very compelling.

 

[Brewdog80]

I brewed in the early 1980s to mid 1990s. occasionally till we moved into the 2000s. Brewed one batch in the 10s, and it was close to 5 years between last two. Bought new electric anvil last fall. So much easier and more efficient than with my 3 burner propane setup. Hate I waited so long between.