Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

So I was down the local Dulux shop for some paint for the shed door and while waiting for the colour to mix, I got to poking about and looking at the accessories in store. I came across their paint stirrers. They had plastic paddles and steel machine stirrers. Obviously the plastic ones are for hand stirring, but the range of steel ones were bare steel, anodised Steele (brass colour finish) and zinc plated steel stirrers.

I’m no metallurgist nor have much experience with still washes. When people use a paint stirrer, is it Stainless Steel?

Also, is zinc plating or anodised steel safe to use in the wash? As long as it’s washed & cleaned obviously and not been used to stir paint.

Not that I'm anything to go by as I'm probably the most unhygienic brewer here but..... my paint stirrer was a painted one. It is now a half rusty manky looking thing. I do spray some sterilizer on it and pick some more loose paint off it before I use it each time. What I'm trying to get at is that I don't find any rusty or off flavors and I don't get infected washes apart from my rum which I don't use this stirrer for anyway. So in my humble opinion (which means very little if you've read the above :laughing-rolling: ) I don't think it will matter what stirrer you use.

I use the zinc plated one from bunnings it is holding up well and a clean after each use is about all I do. :handgestures-thumbupleft:

:laughing-rolling: good one woody! That was fun to read!! :laughing-rolling:

But essentially I, too use a painted paint stirrer!

Haha we must have the exact same stirrer woodduck!
My drill has been 4makita's so far and the stirrer is doing a fine job

A&O wrote:So I was down the local Dulux shop for some paint for the shed door and while waiting for the colour to mix, I got to poking about and looking at the accessories in store. I came across their paint stirrers. They had plastic paddles and steel machine stirrers. Obviously the plastic ones are for hand stirring, but the range of steel ones were bare steel, anodised Steele (brass colour finish) and zinc plated steel stirrers.

I’m no metallurgist nor have much experience with still washes. When people use a paint stirrer, is it Stainless Steel?

Also, is zinc plating or anodised steel safe to use in the wash? As long as it’s washed & cleaned obviously and not been used to stir paint.

Are you sure its anodised steel and not anodised aluminium or stainless steel?
Anodised carbon or mild steel would be a specialty product (if you can get it at all). I expect beyond the price of cheap stirrers.
If its anodised aluminium or stainless go for it. Why you would anodise stainless for this application is beyond me but aluminium for sure as it would strengthen it. Native aluminium is fairly soft. An anodised material with some sort of coating should be less reactive than a zinc coating in regular washes but a zinc coating should last a long time as well.
Paints ok but once it gets a scratch and moisture can get under it it slowly peels off over time.