August 1, 1912.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



531 



DETERIORATION IN QUALITY OF BREWERS' 

 HOSE. 



IN a recent address before the technical section of the local 

 ^ Experimental Brewery of Berlin, Dr. G. Bode, of that city, 

 remarked that any one who has for years been examining the 

 rubber hose used by brewers, will have noticed an increasing 

 deterioration in quality. For this circumstance he considered the 

 brewers as weil as the rubber manufacturers are to blame. A 



Rings for Ice .\nd Refrigerator Machinery. 



system of economy prevails in the brewing industry. Formerly 

 it was thought that only the best appliances could be used for 

 the production and preservation of a good quality of beer. Now, 

 in purchasing rubber articles their durability is less regarded than 

 their price. 



The simple consideration of the question will show that this 

 course is not right. A good quality of rubber hose, with a life 

 of perhaps six years may be dear, but an inferior grade which 

 only lasts three years, while a little lower in price, is not cheaper 

 in proportion to its reduced durability. Inferior qualities of hose 

 are more easily torn, when they become a source of infection. 

 While part of the blame thus falls upon the brewer the manu- 

 facturer, who has lowered his quality, is also to blame. 



Rubber manufacturers, it is remarked, used at one time to 

 make a specially high grade hose for brewers, which, they claim, 

 they cannot afford to do at the prices now current. A price is 

 fixed on as low a basis as possible, in accordance with which the 



Pump Valves. 



article made is compounded. The manufacturer is obliged to 

 deliver an inferior product if he is not to lose money, while the 

 increased necessity for repairs is a loss to the brewer. 



Dealing with the question of restricting this evil and of the 

 properties called for in rubber hose or discs, Dr. Bode remarks 

 that it is difficult to find a property of rubber goods which can 

 be expressed by a standard. The German navy used to prescribe 

 certain compounds but has now given up the plan, which Dr. 

 Bode considers is of little practical use. 



It is further stated that rubber substitutes are often mixed 

 -with rubber for the purpose of cheapening the product, but the 



compound obtained is not homogeneous as the substitute can be 

 extracted by pressure. It can also be dissolved by the beer, im- 

 parting a taste of a rubbery character. The use of reclaimed 

 rubber as a substitute for part of the crude rubber Dr. Bode 

 considers allowable, provided that the former contains no lead. 

 As the beer comes into contact only with the interior of the hose 

 it is suggested that an ideal article could be obtained by using 

 Para rubber for the inner layer, while the external layers might 

 be composed of a less valuable material. In any case the hose 

 should be of a character to resist too rapid wear. 



In conclusion Dr. Bode expresses the hope that the increasing 

 production of plantation rubber will tend in the direction of 

 steadying the market. Should this result be attained, the manu- 

 facturers will again be able to make the old "brewers quality," to 

 which reference has been made. He adds that it lies with the 

 makers to produce these better qualities which would certainly 

 prove popular; such an improvement of quality being to the 

 advantage of manufacturers as well as to the profit of brewers. 



In a later communication. Dr. Bode supplements his pre- 

 ceding remarks, expressing the opinion that while the de- 

 terioration in quality of brewers' hose and bottle discs, is 

 partially due to the action of the brewers and partially to 

 that of the manufacturers, it may be likewise in part at- 

 tributed to the dealers in the articles named. 



Without modifying his previous approval of the use in their 

 manufacture of reclaimed rubber free from lead, he remarks 

 that rubber substitutes should as a rule be avoided for that 

 purpose. While small quantities and even certain qualities 

 of substitutes may not exercise any influence upon the beer, 

 he asks whether, with the numerous grades on the market, 

 anyone can be sure the substitute used will not produce any 

 efifect. For the above reason. Dr. Bode has constantly rec- 

 ommended that brewers use only qualities free from any ad- 

 mixture of substitutes. 



Brewers' hose, to be serviceable, should, he also remarks, 

 stand proper disinfection. If the texture suffers from this 

 cause, he considers the hose should be rejected. He further 

 recommends the adoption of several standards of quality; 

 the prices of which would necessarily vary with the market 

 fluctuations of the crude material. 



Particular care should be taken with the interior surface of 

 hose, with which the beer comes in contact. This he specially 

 connects with the possible bursting of inside seams and the 

 risk of the consequent infection of the beer. 



MEETING OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY. 



A meeting of the Council of the American Chemical Society 

 will be held in New York on the evening of Monday, September 

 9, 1912, to consider changes in the constitution rendered neces- 

 sary by the growth of the society. 



A general meeting of the society will be held on the Wednes- 

 day following, September 11, in the Doremus Lecture Theatre 

 of the College of the City of New York, to pass upon the action 

 taken by the Council. 



The president and secretary of the society urge its members, 

 of whom there are now 6,100, making it the largest in the world, 

 to hurry in their applications for membership in the Eighth In- 

 ternational Congress. This membership carries with it the 

 privilege of getting the printed proceedings of that Congress, 

 which are considered very valuable by the chemical fraternity. 

 Dues for membership in the Congress should be sent to W. J. 

 Matheson, Treasurer, Eighth International Congress of Applied 

 Chemistry, 182 Front street, New York City, New York. 



The accepted authority on South American rubber — "The 

 Rubber Country of the Amazon," by Henry C. Pearson. 



