TOPIC:

How are people cleaning their immersion chiller. Ive left mine go a bit and it now displays nice green shading in places!! <!-- s:oops: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_redface.gif" alt="" title="Embarassed" /><!-- s:oops: -->

On the one occasion I didnt clean my chiller properly I found one of them sponge scrubber pad things (that you buy in packs of 6 for a euro or so) along with the appiclation of a liberal portion of elbow grease did the trick nicely - it came up all shiny!! <!-- s;-) --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_wink.gif" alt="" title="Wink" /><!-- s;-) -->

Yep, just a thorough scrub with a washing up sponge should do it.

I leave mine in oxi clean over night and then a good wipe!

The reason its gone green is its oxidising as its being attacked by the boiled wort you never washed off.
Its also not a good idea to use oxi or any other chemical treatment on your copper you will eventually corrode it. even by soaking and letting drip dry.
The chlorine and hypochlorites in bleach cause oxidation and blackening of copper. If the oxides come in contact with the mildly acidic wort, the oxides will quickly dissolve, exposing yeast to unhealthy levels of copper during fermentation.
When I first started AG I used to mist with starsan for storage <!-- s:( --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_sad.gif" alt="" title="Sad" /><!-- s:( -->
Vinegar/bleach, mixture including starsan etc will cause the copper to oxidize (green powdery oxide on the surface of the copper. This will cause your chiller to become weaker and more brittle over time, especially in the high thermal shock environment of a heat exchanger.

Ideally you want a oxide layer Copper forming a slightly dull layer on the surface of the metal that is also caused by oxidation. But this oxidation forms a protective layer that prevents the metal under it from oxidizing. Don't scrub this layer off, or you will be opening up the fresh metal underneath for oxidation. This cycle will continue with each scrubbing (abrasive or chemical cleaning). It will look nice and shiney, but the tube wall thickness will be getting smaller and smaller

At the end of every brew I set the hosepipe to spray and 3-5 minutes just neutralising what your wort has already cleaned will render you ready for the next day.
Before I immerse I also spray clean with water.
Sometimes the simplest solutions are best <!-- s:) --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_smile.gif" alt="" title="Smile" /><!-- s:) -->

&amp;quot;Ciderhead&amp;quot;:8knlynr8 wrote: At the end of every brew I set the hosepipe to spray and 3-5 minutes just neutralising what your wort has already cleaned will render you ready for the next day.
[/quote:8knlynr8]

Yup that's all you need. A spray with the hose and then let it dry. A shower curtain rail is perfect for hanging it up to dry.