Metallurgy

[BierMeister]

Recently whilst making my new kettle out of an old 1980's West End Keg that my dad had lying around on his farm I came to the decision as to whether to use all Stainless steel or to use some of the brass fittings lying around and therefore save money. I knew that brass contains lead and erred on the side of caution and went all stainless. This brought me to the dilema of my mash/lauter tun which has been in loyal service for quite some time. I have used copper for my manifold and brass for the connection out of the esky. All up there is about 4 inchs of 3/4 tube and a 1/2inch nipple that are brass so there is minimal exposure to the brass by the mash apart from when I sparge. My question (as I have noticed there are many scientists on this forum) is, is there any danger in lead leaching out from the temp and acidity or is the amount so minimal that its not a worry. Mash temps would only be max 70C for a total of no more than 2 hours (only on very rare occasions) and I do clean the copper and brass with a white vinegar solution from time to time to get rid of any corrosion.

Am I being paranoid or is it best to just replace the brass with stainless?

[Ross]

Am I being paranoid?

yes ..... The brass will be fine.

cheers Ross

[BierMeister]

Thanks Ross.

Well sometimes one thinks things over too much and with my lack of knowledge added on top, paranoia sets in.

[gregb]

Palmer is a metallurgist by avocation so his writings on the subject should be reliable.

Cheers,
Greg

[Trough Lolly]

Ahhhh, Galvanic reactions, schmalvanic reactions - go with the brass!

Cheers,
TL

[Chris]

The worst that can happen is that you'll die a slow, excruciating death. But think of the beer!

[Trough Lolly]

I'll give up drinking beer when you prize the glass out of my cold dead hands!!

[Chris]

And scrape the aluminium out of your cold dead brain

[Biernut]

I'll give up drinking beer when you prize the glass out of my cold dead hands!!

Yes but wasn't he a great actor. Might be a bit late with this one but I read somewhere that if you dunked your brass fittings in a mixture of Hydrogen Peroxide and Vinegar it took the lead content off the surface.