14 replies to this topic

[Spoon]

I am planning to use a copper choir boy scrubby in place of my beat up bazooka tube. Any precautions I should look out for? Should I preboil it, or wash it up w/ some dawn prior to using?I am going simple and cheap and since I have had these in my brew gear for a while I am going to use it, so I am checking out what folks muight have to say on the subject. Does anyone use these? I know the copper is good for the yeasties, kinda of a trace mineral that gives them a boost. Any forseeable problems?Thanks

[Deerslyr]

I am planning to use a copper choir boy scrubby in place of my beat up bazooka tube. Any precautions I should look out for? Should I preboil it, or wash it up w/ some dawn prior to using?I am going simple and cheap and since I have had these in my brew gear for a while I am going to use it, so I am checking out what folks muight have to say on the subject. Does anyone use these? I know the copper is good for the yeasties, kinda of a trace mineral that gives them a boost. Any forseeable problems?Thanks

How beat up is your bazooka? Mine had a lot of gunk in it, but that cleared up with a multi-day soak in Oxy-Free

[BrewerGeorge]

It may have oil on it from manufacture. Just wash it well. Run it through the dishwasher, maybe?

[Deerslyr]

It may have oil on it from manufacture. Just wash it well. Run it through the dishwasher, maybe?

I put the filter over the stove in Oxy and it gets all the grease out... perhaps a good soak in Oxy would help. on a side note... perhaps they should just dump some Oxy into the Gulf of Mexico to help break up the slick???

[AiredAle]

In addition to a good degreasing, make sure the scrubby is actually copper. Some are copper colored steel and won't be suitable for immersion in your hot wort, might be better if you can't find a pure copper one to get a stainless steel one instead.

[Spoon]

In addition to a good degreasing, make sure the scrubby is actually copper. Some are copper colored steel and won't be suitable for immersion in your hot wort, might be better if you can't find a pure copper one to get a stainless steel one instead.

Can you tell me what grade of copper is used in the Chore Boy Copper Pads?The copper is 99.997% pure copper. Technically the answer is "pure copper".So I guess I would just have to wash them up good then. Ny tube has a bunch of holes, I'm sure it is ok I just want to change it out. I read sometime ago that folks had a good success rate w/ them so I bought a pack on day on impulse at the grocers. Then I forgot about them. Now I found them I have rekindled my desire to use them.

[AGrandDesign]

Glad to see someone else is playing with these. I bought the same copper choreboys and used on my last batch. Seemed to do a dandy job and cleaned up great but would love to hear some more feedback from others who use.

[djinkc]

I've tried the SS ones. AG (lots of break), lots of hops and 10+ gallons clogged it pretty quickly. Maybe it'll work better on a 5 gal batch.

[CaptRon]

on a side note... perhaps they should just dump some Oxy into the Gulf of Mexico to help break up the slick???

Omg dude, can you just see Billy Mays out there on a barge with a big ass load of Oxy Clean, all coked up and excited on how good oxy clean does on oil spills?That's funny.Back to topic though, how are you using these copper pads anyway in your boil kettle?

[Sidney Porter]

I've tried the SS ones. AG (lots of break), lots of hops and 10+ gallons clogged it pretty quickly. Maybe it'll work better on a 5 gal batch.

+1 I also tried to use it 1x. Clogged up real quick, the brew day was a pain because I had 9.5 gallons of hot wort that I could not get out of the kettle ended up pushing co2 into the valve from the outside to clear it ended up repearting this process 5 or 6 times and 4 hours.

[stangbat]

I used one once and it was the worst mistake I've made in my brewing experience. 10+ gallons of chilled wort stuck in the keggle. It took 45 minutes to siphon it out. I don't know how that batch didn't get infected considering what I had to go through to restart the siphon I don't know how many times and to keep going. Never again.

[BrewerGeorge]

I wasn't going to mention it and be discouraging, but since others have already gone there...I've had terrible luck with these in the boil kettle, too. They seem to get clogged with hops very quickly - especially leaf hops. They work marginally better in sparge, IME, and I used them for my coffee pot starters back in the dday.

[stangbat]

I wasn't going to mention it and be discouraging, but since others have already gone there...

Yeah, I'm not trying to be negative or a stick in the mud. But based on my experience, I'd feel worse if I didn't say anything. I just wouldn't want anyone to have to go through what I did.

[Spoon]

Thanks for the honesty. I will take your word for it and just do the SS braided line then. It would have sucked to be stuck w/ 10 gals waiting to chill.Thanks again.

[djinkc]

Thanks for the honesty. I will take your word for it and just do the SS braided line then. It would have sucked to be stuck w/ 10 gals waiting to chill.Thanks again.

I had the same luck with a SS braid in the kettle as I did with the scrubby. 10 gal of wort just sitting there while I figured out how to siphon it. That amount plus AG and a lot of hops makes a clean drain tough around here. I settled for a SS false bottom for whole hops. It works just OK. For pellets I'm using a paint strainer bag, a 1.5" dam, 20 minutes of settling and draining up off the bottom. I lose a lot of wort but it's probably a swap with pellets not absorbing as much wort. I boil down to the same level in the kettle using whole or pellets. Almost always end up with the right amount to eventually fill two kegs.This is using an IC so I have cold break to deal with too. You might have better luck with a smaller batch and using a plate chiller of CFC.