As a homebrewer, I only utilize stainless steel, glass, or food grade silicon on any surface that comes in contact with liquids. Knowing what I do regarding brass fittings, I prefer to use stainless steel in almost every application possible - even garden hose.
Using bleach to clean or sanitize stainless steel is a big no-no as it can cause pitting in the metal, leading to crevices for harmful bacteria that can contaminate the wort. The pitting will also lead to rusting.
Because of this and the other, more obvious reason (taste!), brewers do not use bleach and instead use iodine, or some type of acid-base sanitizer. Boiling wort, hops and the alcohol in the finish product should take care of the rest of the nasties that could infect the liquid.
Have any forum members used any other method for sanitizing their fresh water tanks? I use Five Star's Star San for my brewing kit, but thinking about using IO Star, which is a low foam iodophor (iodine) sanitizer. The dilution for sanitizing tanks is 1oz per 5gal.
Anyone else use stainless fittings or prefer not using bleach for sanitation? What other methods do folks use to sanitize the fresh water system? Am I ridiculous? (Probably)