Cleaning aluminum burco

[Drafty]

Hi all,

I've got a 'baby burco' that's so old it's made out of aluminum. I'd like to give it a good clean before I try my first brew. I'll give it a good going over with a plastic scourer and washing up liquid, but is there anything else that could shift the limescale without attacking the aluminum too much?

Cheers, Matt

[leedsbrew]

Hey Drafty

I use a SS burco, don't know if its contraindicated for Ali but couldn't you use a calgon tablet (the ones for descaling a washing machine!)?

[Graham]

I use a SS burco, don't know if its contraindicated for Ali but couldn't you use a calgon tablet (the ones for descaling a washing machine!)?

Calgon (Graham's salt ) isn't really a descaler but is a sequestering agent. It locks calcium into solution and prevents scale forming in the first place. It isn't a busting lot of good once scale has formed. In fact, although Calgon, or more correctly trisodium phosphate, is useful and powerful as an ingredient of many products, the use for which it is advertised for on the telly is quite pointless, almost fraudulent, and amply demonstrates the power of advertising.

[Drafty]

Hi,

Thanks for the opinions. Looks like there isn't much to be done, so I'll live with the scale rather than risk taking off the inside of the boiler The boiler should never be sat with water in it after use, and I can skim off the worst of the chalk as I do the water treatment, so I doubt if it'll make any real difference.

Cheers, Matt

[Graham]

Hi,

Thanks for the opinions. Looks like there isn't much to be done, so I'll live with the scale rather than risk taking off the inside of the boiler The boiler should never be sat with water in it after use, and I can skim off the worst of the chalk as I do the water treatment, so I doubt if it'll make any real difference.

Cheers, Matt

Bad scale may noticeably reduce your boiling efficiency.
Using a mild acid to descale should be fine - vinegar or citric acid is easily obtainable. If the scale is bad, try brushing neat vinegar on it. If it fizzes its doing its job. A soak with a vinegar solution should be fine for light scale. Rinse well before storage.

You do not want to use ordinary alkaline descalers, because they will attack the aluminium.
The same with alkaline cleaners, which is most of them.

[Drafty]

Thanks Graham. I'm guessing you're the same GW who wrote the book I'm using... and a very fine book it is too

Matt

[Danmet]

Hi, I've just managed to lay my hands on an old aluminium Baby Burco that I need to remove limescale from too!

How did you get on with removing it using vinegar etc?