I have sinned. Please advise.

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bredmakr
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I have sinned. Please advise.

Post by bredmakr »

My sins I must confess to this forum for I can no longer hold them to myself for fear of total loss of brewing fever.

I have not brewed in more than six months. AAAHHHH!

What is worse? I have two secondary fermentors that have been neglected for the better part of this period. When I uncovered the area in the dark recesses of my garage that use to be the brewery, I discovered that they are now home to what could possibly be the first occurance of a sulfur based lifeform within the biosphere of EARTH.

My question to the forum is do I throw them out or is there some possbile method of cleaning and sanitization out there that I can employ to save them from the recycle bin.

many thanks.

Mike
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KBrau
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B-Brite

Post by KBrau »

A B-Brite soak might do the trick. Good Luck.
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Push Eject
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>laughing< Toss 'em

Post by Push Eject »

Are they plastic or glass?

If plastic, I would just toss 'em. They're too inexpensive to warrant your time and effort and perhaps risk a contaminated batch.

Just my two cents.

Cheers,
Charlie
bredmakr
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glass

Post by bredmakr »

they are 5 gal glass carboys
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Push Eject
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Carboy Scrubber... anyone?

Post by Push Eject »

I've heard good things about these things, but haven't used them myself...

http://www.carboyscrubber.com/

Anyone?

Cheers,
Charlie
Dr Strangebrew
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Sounds risky...

Post by Dr Strangebrew »

Is saving a few bucks worth even taking the risk of spoiling a batch? Imagine thinking you got them cleaned and sanitized only to contaminate your first batch in six months! That sounds too risky to me, I say toss'em.

But if you really want to keep them I would reccomend soaking them in hot water and 'One Step' to clean them. Then after running a carboy brush through the inside and rinsing them thoroughly I would pour boiling water into the carboy. Then sanitize as normal. Hope this helps

Another option would be to heat them up in the oven, but this may weaken the glass. I'll throw this idea out there maybe someone can pick it up and run with it.

Cheers
Nate
BillyBock
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PBW & Star San One-Two Punch

Post by BillyBock »

Clean it with PBW (or similar percarbonate-based cleaner). Just mix it in the carboy with hot tap water to the brim and let it soak. The muck will slide off like nothing.

Come back the next day, rinse it out until the surface is visually clean. Then fill it to the brim with Star San which is by far the best sanitizer I've used to date. I can't say enough about it. No affiliation yodda yodda. Just a happy customer.

The Star San only requires a two minute contact time to kill the nasties. But if you're worried let it sit in there a day--what the heck right? Let's make sure there are no nasties left.

v/r
Bill
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Bio advise

Post by Freon12 »

I vote for the bleach treatment.
Clean carboy and.....

1/4 cup of bleach in five gallons of cool water for 20 min.

I will put my personal stamp on this, send me the culture if it does not die and we'll make a couple bucks off it!


Steve
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That would be NO on the heating

Post by Push Eject »

My personal advice:

Do NOT heat your carboy nor pour boiling water into it.

When those things break it's a trip to the emergency room.

Just MHO.

Cheers,
Charlie
bredmakr
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upon closer inspection...

Post by bredmakr »

After the many votes of confidence that in fact the invading bacti could be thwarted from further evil in my brewery I forged ahead. Ahead, past the tricycles and bouncy balls. Ahead, further I went, grass seed to the left, fertilizer to the right. I could see the entire carboy now up close. Yes, despite the obvious coersive powers these beings had used against my children to prevent me from ever returning to my brewery, I had reached the system and the resting place of the carboys.

Carboy number one, airlock intact. Only a weak ground force and half beached navy of lifeforms in this one. I'm going to go ahead with saving this one.

Carboy number two. OH MY GOD THERE AIRBORN! airlock must of gone dry. maggots everwhere. in the airlock on the interior surface of the carboy. the airlock is a goner for sure. This one I'll have to think about.

The procedure I have chosen is as follow.

1 - good rinse with the garden hose to clear out anything that has not developed its own support structure.

2 - 24 hours with a PBW soak in hot water.

3 - 24 hour soak with 1/2 cup of bleach and cold water.

I'll let you all know the results.
vtterror
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lol - sulfur based life forms

Post by vtterror »

You poor thing! (I'm still giggling...no offense.)
I'm confident you'll get plenty of good advice on cleaning/sanitizing your gummy fermentors from the rest of the forum, but I couldn't resist informing you of the existence of a number of sulfur based life forms already present in our biosphere; many of which thrive around and on volcanic vents on the ocean floor. Sorry if I've burst your balloon! Good luck cleaning those carboys!

Terry
bredmakr
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you got me...

Post by bredmakr »

HA! let me qualify....'terrestrial sulfur based life forms'
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