Copper kettle - inside breaking up

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Gazza

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I have a much used, very battered, and pretty solid copper kettle which has covered some thousands of sailing miles. For this reason, I'm reluctant to get rid of it, but my other half has identified that the taste of the water from it is tainted (I can't really tell, but then I am male). Looking at the inside, which appears to be coated, there are places where the copper is showing through.

Is there any solution to this, or has my kettle reached the end of its life?
 
Gazza said:
I have a much used, very battered, and pretty solid copper kettle which has covered some thousands of sailing miles. For this reason, I'm reluctant to get rid of it, but my other half has identified that the taste of the water from it is tainted (I can't really tell, but then I am male). Looking at the inside, which appears to be coated, there are places where the copper is showing through.

Is there any solution to this, or has my kettle reached the end of its life?
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calcium build-up ?????
 
You could try a kettle descaler from the local chandler, hardware shop or Sainsburys. It's amazing how much limescale it clears away.
I use Steradent tablets to clean my Thermos flasks after a couple of uses, no medicinal taste and sparkling inside, may work on kettles too.

ianat182
 
Copper should be coated on the inside, and if it no longer is then it is toxic.

Will be enamelled or tinned.

In good old days was not a problem getting it re-coated. No idea how easy it is now.
 
Pye_End said:
Copper should be coated on the inside, and if it no longer is then it is toxic.

Will be enamelled or tinned.

In good old days was not a problem getting it re-coated. No idea how easy it is now.
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I know pans are tinned but does it matter with a kettle which only has water in it? The copper pipes and hot water tank at home don't seem to cause a problem.
 
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Rigger Mortice said:
I know pans are tinned but does it matter with a kettle which only has water in it? The copper pipes and hot water tank at home don't seem to cause a problem.
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Suspect it is a bigger problem with more acid foods, hence the pans. The fact it was coated in the first place indicates that it was considered a big enough problem to require the extra cost of production.

I was always taught never to drink from a hot water tap. Perhaps this is one reason why.
 
Gazza,
I had exactly the same problem. Buy a couple of bottles of the cheapest vinegar you can find and fill the kettle with it Leave for a few days and the deposits will have disappeared.
No need for special descalers.
Never heard of copper kettle liners.
Dave
 
Rigger Mortice said:
I thought the hot water from the tap thing was because of lead pipes, but I don't know either.:p
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The reason for not drinking water from the hot tap is because on some systems the water is stored in a tank in the roof before it is heated. On systems with combi boilers you can quite happily drink the hot water as it is cold water heated almost instantly.
 
Giblets said:
is because on some systems the water is stored in a tank in the roof before it is heated.
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......and I have seen decomposed mice in quite a few. Probably also the ones which have eaten the rat poison and are desperately thirsty. :eek:

(edit: the cold water supply to the bathroom taps MIGHT also come from the header tank!)
 
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DaveS said:
Hmm... Whisky (and other spirit) stills are made of copper and I don't think they're lined with anything. AFAIK copper isn't a significant contaminant of whisky.
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Don't know. Digging on the web looks as though the other side of the pond are more concerned about copper kettles than us. The FDA are quoted in a few sites as to not recommend uncoated copper. All I can find on the FDA site so far, particularly with comments on brewing is:

4-101.14 Copper, Use Limitation.

High concentrations of copper are poisonous and have caused foodborne illness. When copper and copper alloy surfaces contact acidic foods, copper may be leached into the food. Carbon dioxide may be released into a water supply because of an ineffective or nonexistent backflow prevention device between a carbonator and copper plumbing components. The acid that results from mixing water and carbon dioxide leaches copper from the plumbing components and the leachate is then transferred to beverages, causing copper poisoning. Backflow prevention devices constructed of copper and copper alloys can cause, and have resulted in, the leaching of both copper and lead into carbonated beverages.

Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc and contains lead which is used to combine the two elements. Historically, brass has been used for items such as pumps, pipe fitting, and goblets. All 3 constituents are subject to leaching when they contact acidic foods, and food poisoning has resulted from such contact.

The steps in beer brewing include malting, mashing, fermentation, separation of the alcoholic beverage from the mash, and rectification. During mashing, it is essential to lower the pH from its normal 5.8 in order to optimize enzymatic activity. The pH is commonly lowered to 5.1-5.2, but may be adjusted to as low as 3.2. The soluble extract of the mash (wort) is boiled with hops for 1 to 22 hours or more. After boiling, the wort is cooled, inoculated with brewers yeast, and fermented. The use of copper equipment during the prefermentation and fermentation steps typically result in some leaching of copper.

Because copper is an essential nutrient for yeast growth, low levels of copper are metabolized by the yeast during fermentation. However, studies have shown that copper levels above 0.2 mg/L are toxic or lethal to the yeast. In addition, copper levels as low as 3.5 mg/L have been reported to cause symptoms of copper poisoning in humans. Therefore, the levels of copper necessary for successful beer fermentation (i.e., below 0.2 mg/L) do not reach a level that would be toxic to humans.

Today, domestic beer brewers typically endeavor to use only stainless steel or stainless steel-lined copper equipment (piping, fermenters, filters, holding tanks, bottling machines, keys, etc.) in contact with beer following the hot brewing steps in the beer making process. Some also use pitch-coated oak vats or glass-lined steel vats following the hot brewing steps. Where copper equipment is not used in beer brewing, it is common practice to add copper (along with zinc) to provide the nutrients essential to the yeast for successful fermentation'

(site: http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/RetailFoodProtection/FoodCode/FoodCode2009/ucm189212.htm).

Mind you, if it came to poisoning from spirits, I suspect the alcohol will get you long before any other contaminant problems!

The UK agency seem to be more concerned with nickel coatings on copper as a health risk (in which case why are kettle elements coated at all?).
 
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