FV Scratches

[Oldbloke]

I just picked up a Coopers FV very cheap. It will just be a spare. Along with a very good capper + some odds and sods.

But just noticed the inside of the FV has a few scratches.  I always use use bleach to sterilise. 

Is it likely to be a big deal/issue?

[ben 10]

1 hour ago, oldbloke said:

Is it likely to be a big deal/issue?

Can harbour stuff, just make sure you clean it properly

[Shamus O'Sean]

2 hours ago, oldbloke said:

I always use use bleach to sterilise. 

Is it likely to be a big deal/issue?

You should be fine.

I did replace two Coopers FV's after 2 years of use because I had badly scratched the bottoms of them over time.  I had a couple of not quite right batches from them.  I am really careful to not let the spoon touch the bottom of the FV now.

[Oldbloke]

@Shamus O'Sean Yeh, that's my feeling.  Good cleaning and sterilisation so should be OK. 

Over emphasised by many me thinks.

 

The one I'm currently using must be 20 years old. Lol. Was my father's. Still makes good grog. 

Edited September 18, 2022 by oldbloke

[BlackSands]

18 hours ago, oldbloke said:

The one I'm currently using must be 20 years old. Lol. Was my father's. Still makes good grog. 

 

I purchased a plastic FV around 1999 which I used for a while...then lost ineterest for quite some years.  When I eventually returned to brewing it was black and green with mould and slime!  I cleaned it up and subsequently used it regularly up until just a few years ago. I did actually have a run of bad batches with that FV though but I traced that to contamination in the tap.  Since that discovery I now always boil the taps prior to use.   Problem solved.   Sadly the lid later cracked and I couldn't get a replacement so out it went. 

While I did replace it with a new one I really needed two FV's so I picked up a secondhand FV - a "vintage" plastic one off some old dude (well, older than me anyway!) for $1.    I suspect the FV is also older than me!     The bloke had used it for many years for making mead.  It was in a pretty grubby state, and not without fine scratches.  I cleaned it up though and have been using it regularly now for 4 - 5 years and haven't had a single bad batch out of it - so far! 

So, based on my anecdotal experience the commonly held belief that fine scratches in plastic FV's are a significant contamination risk hasn't actually proven to be the case for me.  

 

[Classic Brewing Co]

1 hour ago, BlackSands said:

 

I purchased a plastic FV around 1999 which I used for a while...then lost ineterest for quite some years.  When I eventually returned to brewing it was black and green with mould and slime!  I cleaned it up and subsequently used it regularly up until just a few years ago. I did actually have a run of bad batches with that FV though but I traced that to contamination in the tap.  Since that discovery I now always boil the taps prior to use.   Problem solved.   Sadly the lid later cracked and I couldn't get a replacement so out it went. 

While I did replace it with a new one I really needed two FV's so I picked up a secondhand FV - a "vintage" plastic one off some old dude (well, older than me anyway!) for $1.    I suspect the FV is also older than me!     The bloke had used it for many years for making mead.  It was in a pretty grubby state, and not without fine scratches.  I cleaned it up though and have been using it regularly now for 4 - 5 years and haven't had a single bad batch out of it - so far! 

So, based on my anecdotal experience the commonly held belief that fine scratches in plastic FV's are a significant contamination risk hasn't actually proven to be the case for me.  

 

I would agree with that, over the years I have had many fermenters, even chucked a few, really small scratches are almost impossible to avoid as careful as you are stirring ingredients.

Once it gets to the point that you would actually call it a scratch - then I would begin to worry.

I have only ever had one infection in all of my years of brewing, it was caused by a pinhole in the bottom of a brand-new fermenter, the brew started turning a funny colour & I kept noticing small drops of wort underneath the FV, eventually I got sick of cleaning it up & decided to investigate & remove the lid, the smell nearly knocked me over. There was also a thick coating of mucky stuff on top (below) it got chucked, I cleaned up the FV, took it back to the LBHS, got a refund - I kept the lid/tap etc & they just chucked the faulty drum in the skip.

I don't know why I kept this photo but maybe it will help someone sometime.