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  • Infection in plastic fermenters

    Well, the worst has happened. We've lost three (possibly four) batches of beer due to infection (room next to brewery was used by the building owner to stock vegetables recently, which started to rot and infected the beer via the shitty airlocks and possibly when having the tops open when filling).

    We're using some large Speidel plastic fermenters (similar to these http://speidels-hausmosterei.de/shop...Oval-container).

    We're vary hesitant to use them again for fermenting (or even keep them for that matter), thinking once infected the plastic will never rid itself of the mould no matter how harsh a chemical we throw at it.

    Any thoughts?

    Thanks,
    FB
    Last edited by FatBrewer; 11-05-2014, 04:31 AM.

  • #2
    I had a plastic fermenter that caused the 3 following batches in it to be lost to infection.

    I heated about 30 gallons of tap water to boil and recirculated it from fermenter to boil kettle for an hour, continuously reheating the water to boil. I wanted it to go on long enough to heat all the way through the plastic.

    Two batches have gone through it now without infection, so it seemed to work.

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    • #3
      Originally posted by FatBrewer View Post
      Well, the worst has happened. We've lost three (possibly four) batches of beer due to infection (room next to brewery was used by the building owner to stock vegetables recently, which started to rot and infected the beer via the shitty airlocks and possibly when having the tops open when filling).

      We're using some large Speidel plastic fermenters (similar to these http://speidels-hausmosterei.de/shop...Oval-container).

      We're vary hesitant to use them again for fermenting (or even keep them for that matter), thinking once infected the plastic will never rid itself of the mould no matter how harsh a chemical we throw at it.

      Any thoughts?

      Thanks,
      FB
      What temperature are they rated at? You can heat sanitize at as low as 145 if you hold it for long enough. If they can take 180 then you can sanitize in seconds.

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      • #4
        And to further the Kill It With Fire theme, remove and boil any valves and fittings that can be removed and boiled.
        Russell Everett
        Co-Founder / Head Brewer
        Bainbridge Island Brewing
        Bainbridge Island, WA

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        • #5
          Thanks for your replies, we decided to replace them to avoid any potential future loss.

          Cheers,
          FB

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          • #6
            replacing them was a waste of money. its only a matter of time before your new plastic tanks get an infection too. There are threads on this forum explaining how to properly maintain plastic fermenters.

            here's what we have learned over 2 years of using them

            They do not sanitize properly using traditional sanitizers because they are too porous. Any batch you run through plastic fermenters without doing a heat cycle is a batch that you run the risk of your fermenter not being properly sanitized. After a period of time infections will build up and spoil beer if you are not doing a heat cycle.
            Our SOP is to do a preliminary 160-170 degree PBW cycle, then use 3 full buckets of 180-190 degree water from our chiller water output and pump the water through a spray ball in a re-circulation SIP cycle. The thermal inertia of the empty 60 gallon fermenter drops the temperature of the first water bucket considerably, thats why a three hot water bucket cycle is needed and works well for us. After the heat cycle we wait a bit with the lid covered and then run another sanitize cycle through the fermenter to cool it down the rest of the way before knockout.

            good luck
            Dan
            Last edited by Junkyard; 11-09-2014, 08:29 PM.

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            • #7
              I know this is an old thread but I just started working in a brewery with plastic fermenters and wanted to add another point for anyone who still searches this thread. We had an issue where when trying to wrench off some of the fittings on an infected tank it damaged the sealing ability on the fermenter, which junked it. We had two tanks with an infection, so we had to take another route. We ran 1 hour 170F caustic, 1 hour acid. After rinsing out the acid wash, we filled the fermenter to the brim and dosed with sani approiately. This allowed the sanitizer to really seep into the pores in the plastic. We left it soaking for 24 hours. Just for good measure we ran another full CIP after draining the sanitizer. Havent had an issue for a few months now. It may come back again, in which case we might use an oxidative barrel cleaner sold by barrel builders, used the same way we did the sani soak. It works well on barrels, stripping out microbes from the first 1/4 inch of wood in infected barrels. If it doesn't get rid of the infection altogether, we may do another soak, then use it as a souring vessel.

              So far this method seems to have worked. If you can't strip all the parts off without damaging the tank, I would suggest this method.

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