BeerBorg

OK metal heads-here is the question. does anyone know if it is safe to use a steel (not stainless-just plain steel) tank for mashing. i've got a couple of well pressure tanks-cut the top off one of them, removed the bladder, cleaned the rust out, but don't know if it will pick up any minerals from the steel and taint my wort? it is slightly conical shaped on bottom, built in drain line, and i can easily use screen in the bottom for the filter. does anyone know of a safe material i could coat it with? thought about just lining with a heavy gauge trash bag. this will strictly be a mash tun-no higher temp than 168. been using a converted 5 gallon round cooler, but its a little small for higher gravity brews. Thanks for any input!

I don't believe you can use it...

Steel oxidizes (rusts) easily and you already mentioned it had some rust.

I think it will release iron, giving your beer a metallic taste at the very least...

And at the worst, raising the iron content of the beer to extremely unhealthy (unsafe) levels.

Using a trash bag is also not a good idea as the plastic is not food grade and will leach unhealthy and potentially carcinogenic chemicals into your wort.

Try to find a beer keg you can cut the top off of (Craig's list maybe?), or get a 10 gallon water cooler at home depot and build a simple mash tun...

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Rubbermaid-1 ... pDR0qN5mSM

Thanks PapaG, thats kinda what i figured. i can use my valve and filter from my 5 gallon cooler in the ten gallon one. that will limit the cost to just the cooler.