CAMELBAK SS WATER CARRIER - I may have been mistaken

MikoDel

MikoDel

Participating member
Location
SE PA
I purchased a 64oz insulated SS water carrier from CamelBak (directly from their website) last summer. The other day I looked inside it and to my horror, it looks like old teflon!!! I don't know what I've been drinking (ingesting), but the interior lining of this product is most definitely deteriorating, and I've been drinking it.

You gotta understand, I'm a water snob with my Berkey filters that I've been using/selling for 10 years now, and cooking (mostly) organic. plant-based foods on cast iron, and blah blah blah. So the thought of ingesting WTF this is... has me very angry.

CamelBak "assures me" there is no lining in their products. Yeah... pleeeeeeeze. I've been emailing back and forth w/their cust. svc - they won't cop to anything. Also, their website is big on REPURPOSE, ECO this and that... well that's all well and good, unless your RE-PURPOSED s__t is poisoning your customers. I'm trying to speak w/someone who really knows how the product is engineered, but the plant in China could also be manufacturing a sub-par version that's not to spec w/what it's supposed to be. Imagine that?!!?!!!

I have several other SS water carriers by HealthyHuman and KleenKanteen, older than this CamelBak, and none of them have any kind of nonsense like this. The color of the insides are all uniform. I have been drinking diluted lemon water for years and this is the only product that has ever done this. In 64oz of water I squeeze half (2 quarters) a lemon into it. In the smaller carriers, I squeeze one quarter of a lemon.

Bottom line - CamelBak's current SS product line is SHIT. Don't do it.
 

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If the container is stainless steel and has no lining, why doesn't the interior look like stainless steel? It's looks more like the powder coated exterior than bare stainless.
 
evo said:
There’s many different types of stainless, curious if the lemon is doing it?
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IIRC from glancing at their website, it's 18/8 (aka 304) stainless, the grade typically used for food service items. A little lemon juice shouldn't have a significant effect. Obviously, the interior has some type of coating, deposit or buildup on the stainless that is flaking off.

I've had success with this method for removing vapor deposited carbon that's well bonded to stainless. Put it in the freezer for a good while. Take it out and immediately fill with boiling water. Repeat if needed. The rapid expansion may cause the coating to flake off and leave you with bare stainless.
 
Barc Buster said:
I have several ss insulated water bottles from different manufacturers that all do the same thing. A soak with simple white vinegar usually removes all the mineral deposits over night. A quick scrub with barkeepers helper removes anything else left behind.
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I have 2 Yeti s.s. Jugs. They say:

"We do not recommend freezing any of our drinkware as there is a possibility it could mess with the double vacuum insulated seal."

Therefore:
Ice is OK; as it is only around 32°F.

No Freezer ( < -0°F); or Dry Ice !
 
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If the container is not going to be used as-is, what's to lose by doing something that may possibly damage it?

I suppose some time with a drill, extension and wire brushes could get it down to clean metal if chemical and thermal methods are ineffective.
 
Personally, I would believe the manufacturer; there is no liner, only s.s. itself.
What ever is in there, the owner put in.
Lemon juice could cause some s.s. corrosion; mineral deposits; etc.

Stainless steels do corroded; some will rust easily under the right conditions.
 
Ok.
Fair enough. I don't have a thermometer on mine.

I don't believe mine is set that low, and had worked fine.


Everthing but pure water ice is a solution so the freezing point is depressed below 32f.
 
Hmmm, lots of input here. Well, I kind of poo-poo'd the comment about residue from SouthSound... but I think he's right. The first thing I tried was, I took a metal scrubby and scrubbed inside the mouth and down the sides, hard, as far as I could reach. Then I checked w/a flashlight inside - I couldn't see any change in the color of the metal. Or even scratches, for that matter. I'm sure they're there, but if the lining was as delicate as I prev. thought, it would have come off quite easily.

Then I used some Dawn and my plastic bottle brush and scrubbed the inside again, really well, and this pic is what it looks like now. (still wet) Under magnification I still see some curious spots where the 'sparklies' look like they've worn away. But all in all, aside from where the water inside is drying and there are obvious shading changes... I think I was wrong. I don't usually post full res pics but in this instance I believe it's warranted.

I owe CamelBak an apology and I have to edit the title of this post so no one else gets the wrong idea. I believe it WAS residue from the lemons or the cranberry I diluted for flavor. I really did clean it w/a brush the first time, but I may not have used soap. The appearance was SO MUCH like wear that I thought I was correct, and the interior was wearing off. Now, I believe I may be wrong.

Sorry to waste your time.
 

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GregManning said:
I have 2 Yeti s.s. Jugs. They say:

"We do not recommend freezing any of our drinkware as there is a possibility it could mess with the double vacuum insulated seal."

Therefore:
Ice is OK; as it is only around 32°F.

No Freezer ( < -0°F); or Dry Ice !
Click to expand...
Yeah extremes of temperature and vacuum insulated bottles usually don’t mix well. Manufacturers also don’t recommend running them through the dishwasher which is why I clean mine with vinegar and barkeepers helper by hand.
 
MikoDel said:
Hmmm, lots of input here. Well, I kind of poo-poo'd the comment about residue from SouthSound... but I think he's right. The first thing I tried was, I took a metal scrubby and scrubbed inside the mouth and down the sides, hard, as far as I could reach. Then I checked w/a flashlight inside - I couldn't see any change in the color of the metal. Or even scratches, for that matter. I'm sure they're there, but if the lining was as delicate as I prev. thought, it would have come off quite easily.

Then I used some Dawn and my plastic bottle brush and scrubbed the inside again, really well, and this pic is what it looks like now. (still wet) Under magnification I still see some curious spots where the 'sparklies' look like they've worn away. But all in all, aside from where the water inside is drying and there are obvious shading changes... I think I was wrong. I don't usually post full res pics but in this instance I believe it's warranted.

I owe CamelBak an apology and I have to edit the title of this post so no one else gets the wrong idea. I believe it WAS residue from the lemons or the cranberry I diluted for flavor. I really did clean it w/a brush the first time, but I may not have used soap. The appearance was SO MUCH like wear that I thought I was correct, and the interior was wearing off. Now, I believe I may be wrong.

Sorry to waste your time.
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You didn’t waste my time! You inspired me to up my water game!
 
Dehydration plays into so many work accident, I'd wager.

Urine volume and quality is a better measure of hydration than fluid intake.


I've been paying attention to hydration for 25 or more years. People are strange in ignoring it.


Wilderness First Responder:
Don't Be A DIChead Disoriented (confused, where are my gloves?), Irritable, Combative (try to convince a dehydrated person to drink water).

Umbles:
Fumbles
Mumbles
Stumbles
Grumbles


Encourage your crew to start hydrating when they wake up, and continue after work.

Drinking drying alcohol while hydrating is like pulling the drain plug from the boat while trying to bail it out, in the water.
 
Barc Buster said:
Yeah extremes of temperature and vacuum insulated bottles usually don’t mix well. Manufacturers also don’t recommend running them through the dishwasher which is why I clean mine with vinegar and barkeepers helper by hand.
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Yeti says dish washer for drinkware is OK !

www.yeti.com

YETI Rambler Reusable One Gallon Jug

Our dishwasher-safe one gallon jug comes in many colors. Made of kitchen-grade stainless steel, double-wall vacuum insulated and 100% leakproof.
www.yeti.com www.yeti.com

Check w/ your particular maker !
 
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