BeerBorg

My new conical came with first time cleaning instructions. They say to clean inside and out with a grease cutting soap. Would dish soap work for that? I don't think oxyclean cuts grease. Then it says to use Bar Keepers Friend as my cleaner. This has Oxalic Acid which passifies my kettle. Again would oxyclean or PBW passify my Conical?

I would think an unscented dish soap would work for the initial cleaning and subsequent cleanings. Especially if you clean immediately after emptying it.

Good dish soap cuts grease. Oxiclean would not. Many metal pots and such come with a coating of machine oil. If it were me, I'd wipe the entire thing down with paper towel until I can't get any more off. Then, I'd use very hot water and dish soap and wash it very good.

Neither oxiclean nor PBW would passify the conical, you need something that is oxalic acid based such as Bar Keeper's Friend. Most cleaning products don't have that in it.

I just wiped it down as hard as I can with a paper towel. I am not getting anything on the paper towel at all. And the metal does not feel oily or greasy at all. Do they really need to protect stainless? This literature says it needs to air dry for a week to passivate. How important is passivation before one batch?

I not a pacifist, so I have no opinion...

Don't know. That's a bummer if you were planning on brewing this weekend. They don't say a week for no reason I'm sure.

I would use a dish soap but still give it a soak in PBW afterwards to remove any soap residue.
You might also want to call the company and ask them for a suggestion.

I emailed them yesterday and haven't gotten a response yet. I have been trying to call them this morning and they are not in.

Good questions. I don't know the answer, but following the instructions has tended to work well for me over the years.

Yeah..I was just kinda looking forward to playing with the thing this weekend.

Rebel_B wrote:Good questions. I don't know the answer, but following the instructions has tended to work well for me over the years.

Wow. I guy with the name "REBEL" says "following the instructions has tended to work well for me over the years". REALLY?

RickBeer wrote:Wow. I guy with the name "REBEL" says "following the instructions has tended to work well for me over the years". REALLY?

Since most people *don't* follow (or even read) instructions, I'd say yes, that is very rebellious.

I got a call from Stout Tanks. They said it is ok to use the conical one time before passifying it. I got the call on my way to the hardware store to pick up some barkeepers friend. As long as I had it I went ahead and used it. And I must say I am impressed with that stuff. I didn't get anything on my paper towels when scrubbing with dish soap. When wiping down with barkeepers friend my paper towels were turning dark gray. That stuff really does some cleaning. The Stout Tanks website says it takes 7 days to passify after using barkeepers friend. So This time won't really get the job done. But I am going to do it again after this batch.

Did he say what the passifying actually is/does? I've never heard that before.

Brewbirds wrote:Did he say what the passifying actually is/does? I've never heard that before.

Read this and the page after that. http://www.howtobrew.com/appendices/appendixB.html

Thanks Rick I bookmarked it.