• Welcome to the new forum! We upgraded our forum software with a host of new boards, capabilities and features. It is also more secure.
    Jump in and join the conversation! You can learn more about the upgrade and new features here.

Polyvinyl chloride tubing

ouldefauder

Apprentice
Joined
Jan 21, 2013
Messages
16
Reaction score
0
Found the following on the local Home Depot website.

"IT handles a wide variety of chemicals, gas, and liquids, with excellent resistance to acids, alkaloid, and many solvents."

Does anyone know if PVC tubing is safe to transfer wort with at 70%. I know it off gases chlorine when burnt but is it a low temperature risk?

Our local brew supply store provides vinyl tube for bottling purposes and I understand that this tubing is not suitable for wort transfer which is almost the same as bottling temperature.
 
Ours around here sell 'heat resistant' tubing. It's not clear like the 'pvc' types, it's white, thick walled...something like 1/8" or more? I use it in my mash tun to connect the false bottom to the valve, and I use it from the that valve to drain to the kettle, never an issue.
The PVC types I use are food grade, clear. Transfer from kettle to carboy at 700, from carboy to bottles, same. I think the key is making sure it is 'food grade'....not just any ol' tubing.
 
I got tired of asking myself this question and bought silicone.
 
Silicon is definitely the preferred tubing for all brewing applications, it is only the cost and diameter that is an issue.  $3.00 per food compared to PVC at $0.49 and I need a lot of tube of 2 different diameters.
All "food grade" means is that the item has been tested by Health and Safety or some other agency depending upon your government designation and found to not introduce contamination's into the food product. The same tube sold as industrial tube may be exactly the same as food grade tube produced by the same manufacturer on the same production line using the same materials.
Before the advent of Polyolefin films, PVC was the film used to shrink wrap things. The film was applied with a heated wire system which caused off gassing. The operators would some times get head aches and in prolonged usage nose bleeds from the usage of this film. Goodyear manufactured a food wrap, similar to Saran Wrap,in their Etobicoke, Ontario plant a few years ago and this was a PVC product. I think it is probably safe to use in a low temperature environment but without knowing for sure I will be purchasing Silicon and reducers to get down to the size I need.

Thanks for your comments.
 
Back
Top