Setting Up Brew Bucket & FTSs2 for First Use

I can only comment on the BrewBucket. I washed it with Trisodium Phosphate but did not worry about a long contact time - just a good thorough scrub everywhere. I then passivated with StarSan, filling it to the brim for a few minutes. Things are just fine 6 months later. Good luck and enjoy!

 

I would recommend that you contact SS Brewtech and ask them for specific advice on how to be compliant to their instructions. I know what I am about to say will appear as old fashioned but I would suggest you call them and have a verbal discussion.

Cheers!

 

From Ben Caya at Spike Brewing: "Passivation — as it relates to stainless steel, means creating a very thin (only a few atoms thick) oxide layer on top of the underlying stainless steel material. This oxide layer acts as a barrier and helps give stainless its ‘stainless’ properties. The misconception is that harsh chemicals or even Star-San should be used to passivate. The truth is stainless steel naturally passivates (almost instantly). The dish soap scrub described earlier would be plenty to passivate your new piece of stainless equipment."

Source

 

The quotation cited by @telejunkie makes complete sense to me, but there is some evidence that it's nevertheless helpful to passivate with concentrated StarSan (or maybe there is something besides passivation going on). Here's a blog post from Mike Tonsmeire that makes a somewhat cryptic reference to a previous batch of IPA that was ruined by his new stainless steel bucket. I can't track down any earlier posts on the ruined batch of IPA, but the post seems to indicate that a previous batch became discolored during fermentation. Anyway I would go ahead and perform the passivation step if I were you.

Edited to add: There are some details in the comments to the blog post I linked to. Here's the crucial one:

My first batch I washed the BrewBucket with alkaline cleaner to remove any manufacturing grime, rinsed, and then did a standard StarSan sanitation (normal concentration, didn't let it dry). Yeah, nothing in the process seemed out of the ordinary, and the other half of the batch in a plastic fermentor was unaffected.

Edited again: I didn't read his previous blog post carefully enough. Here's what he said in that post:

The other half of this batch fell off a cliff, so I won't subject you to a full write-up/tasting. It was identical through run-off, but received WLP007 and three 2 oz dose BRU-1 for dry hops. The color darkened compared to this one and tasted stale two weeks after brewing. It was the first batch fermented in my SS Brew Bucket. I glazed over the fact that the “periodic” passivation was supposed to include before the first use... "Iron ions can catalytically promote oxidative reactions."

 

OP, my guess is the Trisodium Phosphate (TSP) is recommended 1) for a good cleaning to remove residual oils and stuff resulting from manufacture, handling and shipping, and 2) to clean to the bare metal any surfaces that didn't have proper passivation prior to being shipped; but those spots might already be exhibiting minor (surface) rust if they weren't already adequately passivated.
If you're a worry-wart like me and are concerned about voiding some part of the warranty, you'd probably be well-served to follow advice by old-school @JackHorzempa and call SS BrewTech, ask about the proper procedure (get the email addy of the person who advises you).....then follow up with an email to document the conversation, requesting the favor of a reply.

Opinions vary on whether to assist passivation of stainless steel, or to let it self-passivate. Anecdotally, I drilled a bulkhead hole in a keg and have yet to see rust or any other type corrosion.
That being said, helping it along won't hurt.

Palmer comments on this in How To Brew at:
http://howtobrew.com/book/appendices/appendix-b/passivating-stainless-steel

Additional reading:
https://www.besttechnologyinc.com/passivation-systems/what-is-passivation/

Per Mike Tonsmiere via @minderbender (emphasis mine)

BestTechnologyInc, linked above, suggests nitric or citric acid cleaner, which forms an oxide layer. Palmer also references nitric acid.
I don't know if an alkaline based cleaner would similarly help form an oxide layer. Letting the parts dry after an acid (StarSan) rinse would seem to be part of an assisted passivation process.

 

Yes, I sprayed the lid with Star San and let it dry.

 

Passivation always seems to be made more complex then it really needs to be.

Dish soap is all that is needed to clean stainless. If the metal is particularly dirty scrub with a greeny and soap. Worst case use EZ Off. Avoid the tempetation to use bleach. It has little use in a brewhouse (which is unfortunate because it is great everywhere else). I am not sure why the manufacturer is telling you to manually passivate their product. They should be supplying the steel ready to use after a light cleaning. If their was any manufacturing that caused the steel to need passivation (welding, brazing, cutting, tooling etc.) it is 100% on the manufacturer to complete this prior to sale. Otherwise their SS equipment is not SS at all.

Stainless is already passivated. Unless you are living on Mars, atmosphere does the job on its own.
Stainless Steel is not actually stainless and should be called Stain Resistant Steel. Yeah you have to work to screw up SS but it can be done. Only then would you need to passivate the steel, in which case you would be re-passivating.
Cheers.

 

I got a Brew Bucket mini for Christmas and did the TSP wash, used a microfiber towel to scrub and wipe everything and covered it in grease from cleaning the inside of the lid where the gasket was. Didn't have enough StarSan to fully fill the bucket, so made a solution of similar strength (just must less quantity) and shook it around the bucket every 5 minutes for 30 minutes. It's now sitting open to the atmosphere for a few days in re: @billandsuz's note about atmosphere doing the trick and @riptorn talking about self-passivation.

First time stainless steel fermenter user here, so I guess I was a bit paranoid about getting it done right. Good to know the homepro's go through less trouble...

 

From the John Palmer link provided above:

“To passivate stainless steel at home without using a nitric acid bath, you need to clean the surface of all dirt, oils and oxides. The best way to do this is to use an oxalic acid based kitchen cleanser…”

The ingredients of Barkeepers Friend: “mineral abrasive, oxalic acid, surfactant, water-softening agent”.

https://www.barkeepersfriend.com/cleaning-products/cleanser/

My personal practice is to thoroughly clean my stainless steel kettle with Barkeepers Friend using a ‘regular’ sponge. I prefer to not use a green scrubbe per the discussion in the link that @telejunkie provided above:

“Green scrubbing pads used to clean cookware can quickly ruin polished surfaces because these pads contain bits of mineral crystals bonded to the fibers of the pad causing scratches to the surface.”

Cheers!

Edit: I am not sure if everybody is aware of this but John Palmer is a Metallurgist (BS Metallurgical Engineering).

 

Never had any issues with my 2 Brew Buckets. Just gave them a quick cleaning with PBW when I got them and StanSan on brew day. Like @frozyn said it was already ready to go when I got it. I've heard some people mentioned theirs being covered in a greasy film but my two showed no signs of that.

Side note: Love the brew buckets. They are so easy to clean.

 

Yeah, I remember being puzzled the first time I read How To Brew and got to the part about brew equipment maintenance, thinking "this guy must be a metallurgist or something because he sure seems to think it is important."
We are all better off because of his expertise. His book is just jammed with info.

Cheers

 

I didn't catch this before when reading info from the SS Brewtech site. There is one issue with using BKF on some areas of SS Brewtech vessels with etched gallon markers and logo, and perhaps other etched SS equipment.
According to the mfg. the oxalic acid in BKF "will fade them rapidly especially if wiped with a rag, etc."

 

I have a brew kettle that I have been using 20+ years that has marking on the side for liquid quantity and my regular cleaning with Berkeepers Friend has not faded them. Maybe these marking are not etched the way that SS Brewtech does?

Cheers!

 

Quite possible and maybe even likely. After all it has been more than 20 years, which is a testament to the durability of your kettle (who makes/made it?).
I infer from your query that yours are sho'nuff etched and not embossed. Is that accurate?
Either way, quoted from SSBT:
"Removing brown spots or dark staining (especially see on lids):

These spots can be cleaned very nicely using Bar Keeper's Friend. This is an oxalic acid. But BE VERY CAREFUL NOT TO USE ON THE ETCHED GALLON MARKINGS OR LOGO because those etchings use an oxidization process as well and Bar Keeper's Friend will fade them rapidly especially if wiped with a rag, etc. Bar Keeper's Friend should ONLY be used in a very localized and tactical fashion on any stubborn lid stains that are bugging you, but again just be careful not to use around gallon markings or logo etchings."

 

I bought it so long ago I really don't recall details.

Folks who purchase SS Brewtech products should follow their directions for their specific products.

Cheers!

 

New guy. Here. Not to brewing.
OP... If you use it to clean with after you brew, then it's OK to clean with it before.
Rinse well.
No need to overcomplicate it.
I use PBW on my SS Brewtech equipment all the time.