I noticed a warning on the PBW bottle today that mentioned not using with teflon. Is this a problem with teflon tape?
Never noticed that before. I’d be willing to bet the issue is not dangerous, more of a breakdown of the material over time and pointed more towards pots and pans. Teflon tape is dirt cheap and easy to replace. A quick email to fivestar would be good.
I was wondering about this just this morning. I almost threw a scoop of PBW in my dishwasher with my pots, pans and mason jars, but I was worried about my nonstick pots and pans.
Welp…while their customer service rep. responded in five minutes, the reply left me wondering. I don’t plan on using PBW anymore in my MT, but the initial soak has me (OCD) wondering whether or not Teflon tape will be dissolving into my beer going forward. Transcript below…
Me- I’m curious if PBW is safe to use in brewing kettles/ mash tuns that have threaded fittings with teflon tape. I noticed the warning on a bottle of PBW and I’m curious if the chemical will break down the teflon tape. Thank you!
Them-Hi Justin,
In order to really clean and sanitize you need to take all of the parts off and then you will have to put new tape on them. Bacteria will hide in those crevices that threaded fittings have. If you don’t want to do that you can use PBW but it will not properly clean everything.
Me- Thanks for the quick response! I understand your email, but just to clarify…the PBW won’t break down the teflon tape?
Them- It probably would eventually but if you leave the parts connected there’s really no way for it to get to the tape.
Me- In my case, there are threads that are exposed with the teflon tape.
Them- Exposed threads are just asking for an infection so be very careful!
Me- Thanks again. Can you give me an indication on whether or not I can use the PBW with the exposed teflon tape?
Them- I’m going to say no.
:o
Upstream from the boil kettle is nothing to worry about. Honestly, I only breakdown my kettle twice a year. RDWHAHB
Yeah, good point, but it was exposed to it for 15 min. or so…again, won’t be using this going forward, just wanted to clean off the metal in there.
For my money, PBW is just too much. I have good success with oxyclean free.
Im trying to figure out why there is teflon tape inside a kettle. Those fittings don’t need to be that tight. I use it on any fittings outside the kettle and primarily to keep stainless on stainless threads from galling.
Jim, the tape is in my Rubbermaid MT from Morebeer. Perhaps they want to ensure I taste Teflon in my beer? 
Teflon in question…
I use it in the kettle for two reasons.
1 - keep the threads from galling
2 - keep the siphon so the dip tube, which picks up below the ball valve, keeps its siphon.
Not that I think it really matters one way or the other, but I haven’t found teflon tape to be necessary in my kettle for this purpose. Even though the dip tube screws in pretty loosely, it is apparently still airtight.
Again, I’d say remove the teflon tape from the inside of the mash tun. There is simply no need for it. Then PBW away.
Per aussiehomebrewer, PBW is bad for teflon pans, not teflon tape.
http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/32902-pbw-and-teflon-tape/
Thanks for this!
I’d still go with what Five Star is telling you. In the same cleaning podcast I’ve posted before, Jon from Five Star talks about PBW and teflon tape. His answer was the same as the one you received from Five Star today. http://thebrewingnetwork.com/shows/Brew-Strong/Brew-Strong-11-10-08-Cleaning
Edit: I see this link was also provided in the aussie link.
If I removed the tape from the fitting wouldn’t this affect the water tight seal?
IF any wort made it through there, it would end up in your boil kettle, which is where you want it. The risk of losing suction from that point is negated by the lbs of wet grain you have compacted on top of that fitting through the lautering process. I screw mine in finger tight, no tape. Never lost suction yet and it allows for easy removal for cleaning.
Good audio…he did mention it would break down the tape over very long periods, weeks, months etc.
You guys are really over-thinking this. Teflon tape and teflon coating are entirely different subjects. The tape is there to seal the threads. What little you see on the visible portion of the threads is doing you no harm or good. It’s the tape that you cannot see that is working on your behalf to seal the threads. Subsequently, since it is on the part that you can’t see it also is not coming into contact with almost all of the fluids. So it doesn’t make any difference if you use PBW on it.
Justin,
You dont need tape on that fitting. Just tighten it finger tight. You also dont need the hose clamps if they become a pain to deal with, just don’t be a spaz and knock the hose loose when you are stirring and you’ll be fine.
Jim, I took everything apart (got to know my valve very well) and took the tape off along with the metal clamps. Of course there is still teflon within the 2 way valve, but c’mon already! I can’t imagine PBW is destroying teflon tape in valves like that!!!
Anywhoo, I’ve got to water test it later today. If it leaks Jim, please send me a new MT ;D