All sticky with malt any ideas how to clean

-- Thanks (help@thanks.com), September 13, 1999

Answers

Pour some Dawn soap into barrels and then fill with water and let sit a couple of days. If you can get into them, used a brush. If not I would then drain them out and take to a do it yourself car wash and stick the wand into them. Also, if you drive a pick up truck, carry then around for a week of so with soapy water in them.

Taz

-- Taz (Tassie@aol.com), September 13, 1999.

Just came up against problem. Thanks Taz.

-- Dave (aaa@aaa.com), September 13, 1999.

This post recalled a recent incident that caused me some trouble. I have a small Kubota diesel tractor, and one of our preps was to buy a 250-gallon tank which we subsequently filled with diesel.

Before that, however, we pumped about 50 gallons from my Dad's motor home into a 55-gallon barrel we had gotten from a local restauranteur. Like an idiot, I didn't make sure the barrel was clean of whatever it previously contained.

It previously contained vinegar, and the mixture didn't set well with the little tractor. Naturally, Dad told everyone at the coffee shop, and I haven't lived it down, yet.

Make sure your containers are clean!

-- Vic (rdrunner@internetwork.net), September 13, 1999.

In a similar situation, what should be done to clean out barrels which contained medical-quality, pure grain alcohol? (Everclear in a handy fifty-five gallon container?) I'm not concerned about bacteria, but just what is a good method of "lowering the proof" of the water you store in such a container?

We have friends who have gotten a good deal on containers which used to contain the alcohol and we may buy a few ourselves. But while having some "high octane" drinking water might be some good for making punch on the rollover evening, I don't think it's what we need for everyday use.

And since our friends are the local minister and his family, I really do think we need to find a way to remove most of the alcohol. ;)

Any help?

WW

-- Wildweasel (vtmldm@epix.net), September 13, 1999.

WW Come on. THIMK WHat is the ONE thing you remember from Chemistry and Physics about Alcohol?? it'll evaporate ALL on it's lonesome, as long as the barrel is vented (muffin fan in one hole, no cap on the other) and it is heated even a little bit. It also dispolves in water so just rinse the barrel if you don't have the day or two for it to evap.

Chuck

who would probably not clean THOSE.

-- Chuck, a night driver (rienzoo@en.com), September 14, 1999.

I've been cleaning up malt barrels all summer, and it's easier than it looked at first. I thought the malt would be more resistant. I just turn the barrels over in the back yard to let excess syrup out, then fill with water (after some experimenting I put in liquid clothes detergent and bleach, figuring I am getting disinfecting along with the cleaning) (nb for some reason dish detergent says in the small print not to combine with bleach). I leave it to warm in the sun a day or two. Haven't found it necessary to scrub, the stuff just sloughs right off, I dump the water out & rinse, and all done!

-- Deb (deb@needhelp.com), September 14, 1999.

I too use liquid soap (and I don't skimp), then let the water run through the barrel via a garden hose for a few hours, until no more suds. The tip it over let it dry fuly. A good rule of thumb to make sure that the barrel is absolutely clean is to look inside from the top holes and see that it has a "sparkle" to it. If it doesn't, back to the soap & water.

BTW, if you are storing diesel fuel, you sure want to treat it for storage. I use PRI-D, one ounce per 16 ounces of fuel. You can get it from SKYLAR GROUP (RJK POWER), 888-436-0172, at $24.95 for a 1 quart bottle (UPS charge extra). (If you are storing gasoline, there is a similar product: PRI-G.)

-- Jack (jsprat@eld.net), September 15, 1999.

malt plus water plus hops plus yeast plus time equals beer. You're not going to just dump on the GROUND, are you??

-- Jim (Jiminwis@yahoo.com), September 16, 1999.