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Hello,
I purchased a new Polyethylene drum for sap collection. It is food grade. Upon receiving this, there was a very strong plastic odor within the drum itself. I have used vinegar and baking soda, and it does help, but the strong odor always seems to come back.
Anyone else had similar problems? Is this something I should worry about?
You can leave it sit for a few days filled with water and baking soda and then rinse and let dry. It may just need to air out also, leave it open and use a fan or the wind move air through it.
are barrels that contained Table Salt considered food grade? Is there an issue using them for sap after rinsing?
Pretty sure that food grade refers to the plastic itself- meaning the type, such as polyethylene, and if virgin, and also if any dies are food grade safe. I have read that many new plastic buckets are all made by one company, and are actually food grade, but not certified to be food grade. I paid a bit more for white, new, food grade buckets.
On the other hand, I have a possible source for USED food grade barrels, that had citrus products previously. A great price, but I am concerned that I may not get the citrus odor, or worse, taste out.
You should be able to get a citrus smell out of a barrle by filling with clean and letting it sit overnight then rinse it. Might have to repeat that cycle once or twice. No rinse brewers sanitizer/cleaner can help speed the process of cleaning. Or a mild rinse with bleach if you have time to let the chlorine oxidize and evaporate.Quote:
Originally Posted by Helicopter Seeds
Where in CT? I'm looking for a couple barrels and the on guy near me wants 40 and up for used barrles. Last year I got 3 clean no odor barrles for 35 bucks. That guy isn't advertising anymore.
Helicopterseeds, I used to work for Lowes part time after I retired. I called the company that made all their buckets and they told me all the buckets they made for Lowes was food safe. They said they only certified the white ones because they met all FDA requirements for putting the label on. The gray ones were made from the same materials, but may have not been through all the safe guards. So technically yes they are virgin material and safe, but they won't stand by that. I imagine a lot are like that. I'd feel ok using them, but they aren't officially food grade.
On barrels, I got some used for wine. One use and they smelled real fruity. I rinsed them good with a light bleach solution and used them. I never had any issues.
would a barrel that formerly contained hard cider be usable for sap? I am looking for concentrate storage and I don't know if the alcohol residue will clean out with a bleach solution