Hi all. I had some badly burnt wort on my new stainless steel boiler, got some of it off with cleaner and non scratch pads, but I had to use a spoon to gently scrape a lot of the crud off. There are a few small scratches as a result. Why is it a bad idea to scratch stainless steel for Homebrew? It can't be because of infection as it's a boiler, so what's the reason and should I be worried about these scratches? Thanks
No
Just to understand it more, why do they say not to use scourers? Is it a long term thing? Thanks again.
Simple rule is hot side is not an issue, cold side it can harbour bugs. That said, I use non scratching pads on all my stainless gear, simply as scratches make it harder to clean over time. a good soak in an oxi cleaner gets all the crud off and leaves no beer stone.
Many thanks. My burnt wort hasn't totally shifted even after 4 days of soaking. It was hard to stir during the boil as there was a bazooka restricting stirring and I think it could be burnt on malt extract. I am looking to get a circulating hose and pump soon which would hopefully help.
Drain cleaner will remove it or barkeepers friend. Are elements too close to base and you have local hot spot? Show us pics?
Yes, elements seem to be right under the base, but not sure just how close as it's sealed. Pic attached showing remnants of the burnt wort. Mostly gone but it took ages.
Here's the picture.
Ok don't be afraid to have a go at that with a Brillo pad then a scrubbie with neat starsan to repassivate it and leave air dry.
Next time you are boiling give it a stir or two on the bottom, can you adjust the boil temp. On gf on the ap you can set boil temp
Thanks a million. The last bits actually came off with scraping with my fingernail! Actually a friend of mine did it. And yes, I can adjust the temp of the boil. Might help next time. Boiler uses 2 elements, one is 1600w and one is 900w, so use both to get to 110c boil, then switch off the 900w element to maintain it. I might try it with just using the 900 to maintain the boil and see if it does. Can also manually reduce temp too. Anyway, I bought a pump too, and will leave the bazooka off next time so I can stir it where the elements are. Thanks again
No worries, I was burning the arse out of the bottom of my grainfather and 0.5 degree made all the difference. A good rolling boil is more important that a slightly burnt base tho.