will my new barrel be ok?

[rhoptowit]

i just got this new barrel today for free. the thing is it use to contain some chemicals inside of it. on the side of the barrel it states that the chemical's product name to be FS formula 4089, made from the manufacture Zep chemical company. the sticker on the side goes on to further descride the chemical contents as a concentrated, chlorinated, foaming, highly alkaline cleaner. often used in the meat industry and such to clean blood and stuff.

here is the msds----> here (http://webfiles.acuitysp.com/MSDS/2465_1_EN1_USA.PDF)

and their website. here (http://www.zep.com/products/products.aspx?CatalogMode=1&CategoryID=2&SearchTerm=FS%20formula%204089)

so will just a couple of renses with a garden hose be suffecient to clean this thing?

[jansenwrasse]

Be extremely careful there are very strong chemicals inside of that container. See if you can get ahold of someone to dispose of the chemicals for you. If you spray it with a garden hose it could foam up. I would not recommend you to clean this yourself (personally, but don't take it personally ;) )

If you can dispose of the chemicals properly then yes rinsing the barrel out will work fine. On the last fill I personally would add some tap water conditioner to the barrel and then test the pH of the water before using it.

I hope this helps :)

[rhoptowit]

the barrel was completly empty prior to me having it and was rinsed also but not to well. it did foam up a small bit but not much. the chlorine smell is still reconizeable though, but that only if you put ur nose right next to the container's opening.

thanks for the advice.

[pdelcast]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12916389#post12916389 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rhoptowit
the barrel was completly empty prior to me having it and was rinsed also but not to well. it did foam up a small bit but not much. the chlorine smell is still reconizeable though, but that only if you put ur nose right next to the container's opening.

thanks for the advice.

If you read the MSDS carefully, you will see that the main ingredients are not very toxic:

Potassium Hydroxide :
ORAL (LD50): Acute: 365 mg/kg [Rat.].
Sodium Hydroxide :
ORAL (LD50): Acute: 500 mg/kg [Rat].
Sodium Hypochlorite:
DERMAL (LD50): Acute: >10000 mg/kg [Rabbit].


Those are all quite low toxicities. Those chemicals are Potassium based Lye, Sodium based Lye and Liquid Bleach.

They are corrosive and will burn your skin at high concentrations, but once they are heavily diluted they are harmless.

You might want to clean the barrel with a weak acid (some full strength vinegar) to remove any remaining Lye, and then rinse well afterwards.

[rhoptowit]

sounds like a plan, anymore input for you chem guys?

[coralfragger101]

IMO I would not use this barrel until you cure it.

Soak it with a mix of saltwater and bleach (Rock salt will do) for about a week.

Rinse well

Soak it with Tap water and a dechlorinator for about a week

Rinse well

Let air dry for about a week

Smell it

If it has any chemical or plastic smell at all - do it again.

[rhoptowit]

wat exactly will the salt and bleach do? thanks for the advice.

Coral springs, is that in florida?

[coralfragger101]

Yes - Coral Springs is Florida.

Bleach will help to oxidize anything leaching. I recommend using saltwater for curing because I assumed that you wanted to ultimately store saltwater in the barrel. During a curing process you want anything that can leach out, to leach out. The possibility exists that there may be something (although I don't know what) that could in theory react with saltwater and be able to leach out that wouldn't necessarily leach out if you were just using tap water to cure. Hence - use saltwater.

IF this barrel is going to ultimately be for RO/DI water storage then you don't have to use the salt.

I'm sure there will be lots of folks that say this is overkill. To each his own. That's the way I do it.

[rhoptowit]

do you know morgan from reef gardenerd then? i think thats were she is located.

[coralfragger101]

Morgan is further South. She's down close to Miami. Which is probably only about 25 miles or so but I rarely get down that way. I know who she is but have never personally met her.