Stainless steel wine vat with Brass fittings

You might want to try that search again and this time look for casse. There's a distinct problem associated with using copper in long term contact with wine.

Grainger ships to me the next day if orderd by 3:00 pm!? Of course, your results may vary.

clyde

What is "Casse", some form of stainless?

A fancy-ass word for "haze."

:-)

Dave

**************************************************************************** Dave Breeden snipped-for-privacy@lightlink.com

Hey, I resemble that statement!!

Pardon my French.

clyde

Dave The problem with using nonferrous metals such as brass or copper is their low resistance to wines ph values. Yes, they are good with mildly corrosive beer or sea water for a comparision, based on ph. Wine is much lower (3.8-2.9 average) and stainless steel fittings are worth it only if your fermenter is made of stainless steel! Copper and brass are soluable in wine! Also be sure and use grade 316 stainless steel rather than 304 due to it's acidic (low ph) resistance properties. Check the yellow pages for industrial fittings and you'll find what you plan on. Zinman

My tank/lid is 304...316 was not an option. They told me it would be OK and they understood my use. What should I look out for? Will I get sick?

I found a fabricator who can "sanitary" weld a fitting to the tank bottom, also 304. I also found SS 304 fittings at the local beer/wine making shop.

Am I putting my health at risk?

Copper casse and iron casse are two wine ailments which can result from the acid in wine reacting with the metals to form metallic compounds or salts. Casse is a French word meaning damage , breakage or loss. The ailment is characterized by a metallic taste and a persistent haze. And it doesn't take a lot of metal to cause the damage. I'd stay away from brass.

Having been introduced to wine in France I found that they have built an entire vocabulary to describe it. If the Eskimos have a hundred words to describe snow, the French have a hundred words to describe every possible aspect of wine and wine making. For what it's worth, I'll post a message listing these words and their meanings. With a little familiarity no one need ever again feel intimidated by wine experts dropping obscure terms into his discussion. And you can drop a few yourself !

Regards, Bill.

"Dave A." wrote

Not from using 304 SS. Type 302 is the basic "18-8" chromium-nickle stainless steel. It is resistant to most corrosive agents encountered in domestic and industrial use. Type 304 has a lowered carbon content, which provides good resistence to corrosion in WELDED construction where subsequent heat treatment is not practicable. Type 304L is an extra-low carbon steel. If there were no welded seams, type 302 would be sufficient. Type 316 has even greater corrosion resistance, but is overkill for most applications.

As to getting sick:

Type 304 has a maximum percentage of .08 Carbon, 2.00 Magnesium, .040 Phosphorous, .030 Sulfur, 1.00 Silicone, 18-20 Chromium, 8-10.5 Nickel, .75 Copper, and .75 Molybdenum.

Safe as drinking water.

I dunno. I'd be leary of 304. I'v seen rieslings with pH's way closer to 2.9 than 3.1 . I'd rather not have my ttank dissolve while my wine's in it. :-)

Dave

**************************************************************************** Dave Breeden snipped-for-privacy@lightlink.com

I don't think that copper is an issue with beer (seems to me that the fermenters at AB are made of copper!?), but it is with wine. I'm sure your point about lead is pertinent too, but I doubt that any treatment of the brass would render it suitable for long term contact with wine.

clyde