Chemsan neutralised by tap water?

The Homebrew Forum

Help Support The Homebrew Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
There is for everything we use, are you going to stop home brewing, or shopping at the supermarket because of this so called impact from the transportation and the packaging etc ? Top scientists are saying whatever we do to try and reduce green house gases is a waste of time, it's all negated by volcanic activity around the world.
No, I'm not going to stop home brewing or shopping at the supermarket but I'm not going to buy bottled water I can get perfectly good water from the tap.
 
Apparently the appropriate response to this is
And this is why its bollox.
Climate Change Facts.👇👇

Courtesy of Jela Lyn.👊👍👇👇

🇨🇦 Boy is this going to bum out Greta and Gore:
Ian Rutherford Plimer is an Australian geologist, professor emeritus of earth sciences at the University of Melbourne, professor of mining geology at the University of Adelaide, and the director of multiple mineral exploration and mining companies.
He has published 130 scientific papers, six books and edited the Encyclopedia of Geology.

Born 12 February 1946
Residence Australia
Nationality Australian
Fields Earth Science , Geology, Mining Engineering
Institutions University of New England ,University of Newcastle,University of Melbourne,University of Adelaide
Alma mater
University of New South Wales ,Macquarie University
Thesis
The pipe deposits of tungsten-molybdenum-bismuth in eastern Australia (1976)
Notable awards Eureka Prize (1995, 2002),Centenary Medal (2003), Clarke Medal
(2004)
Source. Wikipedia

Where Does the Carbon Dioxide Really Come From?
Professor Ian Plimer could not have said it better!
If you've read his book you will agree; this is a good summary.


PLIMER: "Okay, here's the bombshell. The volcanic eruption in Iceland. Since its first spewing of volcanic ash has, in just FOUR DAYS, NEGATED EVERY SINGLE EFFORT you have made in the past five years to control CO2 emissions on our planet - all of you.

Of course, you know about this evil carbon dioxide that we are trying to suppress - its that vital chemical compound that every plant requires to live and grow and to synthesize into oxygen for us humans and all animal life.

I know....it's very disheartening to realize that all of the carbon emission savings you have accomplished while suffering the inconvenience and expense of driving Prius hybrids, buying fabric grocery bags, sitting up till midnight to finish your kids "The Green Revolution" science project, throwing out all of your non-green cleaning supplies, using only two squares of toilet paper, putting a brick in your toilet tank reservoir, selling your SUV and speedboat, vacationing at home instead of abroad, nearly getting hit every day on your bicycle, replacing all of your 50 cent light bulbs with $10.00 light bulbs..... well, all of those things you have done have all gone down the tubes in just four days.

The volcanic ash emitted into the Earth's atmosphere in just four days - yes, FOUR DAYS - by that volcano in Iceland which has totally erased every single effort you have made to reduce the evil beast, carbon. And there are around 200 active volcanoes on the planet spewing out this crud at any one time - EVERY DAY.

I don't really want to rain on your parade too much, but I should mention that when the volcano Mt. Pinatubo erupted in the Philippines in 1991, it spewed out more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere than the entire human race had emitted in all its years on earth.

Yes, folks, Mt. Pinatubo was active for over one year - think about it.

Of course, I shouldn't spoil this 'touchy-feely tree-hugging' moment and mention the effect of solar and cosmic activity and the well-recognized 800-year global heating and cooling cycle, which keeps happening despite our completely insignificant efforts to affect climate change.

And I do wish I had a silver lining to this volcanic ash cloud, but the fact of the matter is that the bush fire season across the western USA and Australia this year alone will negate your efforts to reduce carbon in our world for the next two to three years. And it happens every year. Just remember that your government just tried to impose a whopping carbon tax on you, on the basis of the bogus 'human-caused' climate-change scenario.

Hey, isn't it interesting how they don't mention 'Global Warming' anymore, but just "Climate Change" - you know why?

It's because the planet has COOLED by 0.7 degrees in the past century and these global warming bull**** artists got caught with their pants down. And, just keep in mind that you might yet be stuck with an Emissions Trading Scheme - that whopping new tax - imposed on you that will achieve absolutely nothing except make you poorer.

It won't stop any volcanoes from erupting, that's for sure.
 
No, I'm not going to stop home brewing or shopping at the supermarket but I'm not going to buy bottled water I can get perfectly good water from the tap.
Which will probably need chemicals to bring in down to a ph of 3 as most water coming out of a tap is ph 7.5, Chemsan needs a ph of 3.
 
I was sure I had seen something from Starsan saying it is fine to use if it is cloudy so I went to there to look but couldn't find anything. What I did find was "Star San is an EPAs registered sanitizer and must be used immediately. We do not recommend using it if has been in solution longer than an hour. " This is news to me, I mix a 5 litre solution and use it up over a few months, checking the ph every now and again.
I do much the same checking both pH and clarity. I think that this is fairly common practice but not what's officially recommended by either the Star San or Chemsan manufacturers. The best & most relevant information that I have heard came from a couple of interviews with Charlie Talley (03-29-07 Basic Brewing Radio - Sanitizing with Bleach and Star San from Basic Brewing Radio | Podcast Episode on Podbay and The Session 03-19-06 Sanitation w/ Charlie Talley | The Brewing Network both long but worth a listen). If I recall correctly he confirms that as long as the diluted product is clear & pH < 3 then to all intents and purposes it doesn't really have a shelf life. The danger I believe is that these sanitisers break open the cell walls with a carefully optimised combination of acidity and I guess low surface tension due to the surfactant. So it the surfactant action is degraded by calcium & magnesium ions then the sanitiser is likely to be less effective.
 
And this is why its bollox.
Climate Change Facts.👇👇

Courtesy of Jela Lyn.👊👍👇👇

🇨🇦 Boy is this going to bum out Greta and Gore:
Ian Rutherford Plimer is an Australian geologist, professor emeritus of earth sciences at the University of Melbourne, professor of mining geology at the University of Adelaide, and the director of multiple mineral exploration and mining companies.
He has published 130 scientific papers, six books and edited the Encyclopedia of Geology.

Born 12 February 1946
Residence Australia
Nationality Australian
Fields Earth Science , Geology, Mining Engineering
Institutions University of New England ,University of Newcastle,University of Melbourne,University of Adelaide
Alma mater
University of New South Wales ,Macquarie University
Thesis
The pipe deposits of tungsten-molybdenum-bismuth in eastern Australia (1976)
Notable awards Eureka Prize (1995, 2002),Centenary Medal (2003), Clarke Medal
(2004)
Source. Wikipedia

Where Does the Carbon Dioxide Really Come From?
Professor Ian Plimer could not have said it better!
If you've read his book you will agree; this is a good summary.


PLIMER: "Okay, here's the bombshell. The volcanic eruption in Iceland. Since its first spewing of volcanic ash has, in just FOUR DAYS, NEGATED EVERY SINGLE EFFORT you have made in the past five years to control CO2 emissions on our planet - all of you.

Of course, you know about this evil carbon dioxide that we are trying to suppress - its that vital chemical compound that every plant requires to live and grow and to synthesize into oxygen for us humans and all animal life.

I know....it's very disheartening to realize that all of the carbon emission savings you have accomplished while suffering the inconvenience and expense of driving Prius hybrids, buying fabric grocery bags, sitting up till midnight to finish your kids "The Green Revolution" science project, throwing out all of your non-green cleaning supplies, using only two squares of toilet paper, putting a brick in your toilet tank reservoir, selling your SUV and speedboat, vacationing at home instead of abroad, nearly getting hit every day on your bicycle, replacing all of your 50 cent light bulbs with $10.00 light bulbs..... well, all of those things you have done have all gone down the tubes in just four days.

The volcanic ash emitted into the Earth's atmosphere in just four days - yes, FOUR DAYS - by that volcano in Iceland which has totally erased every single effort you have made to reduce the evil beast, carbon. And there are around 200 active volcanoes on the planet spewing out this crud at any one time - EVERY DAY.

I don't really want to rain on your parade too much, but I should mention that when the volcano Mt. Pinatubo erupted in the Philippines in 1991, it spewed out more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere than the entire human race had emitted in all its years on earth.

Yes, folks, Mt. Pinatubo was active for over one year - think about it.

Of course, I shouldn't spoil this 'touchy-feely tree-hugging' moment and mention the effect of solar and cosmic activity and the well-recognized 800-year global heating and cooling cycle, which keeps happening despite our completely insignificant efforts to affect climate change.

And I do wish I had a silver lining to this volcanic ash cloud, but the fact of the matter is that the bush fire season across the western USA and Australia this year alone will negate your efforts to reduce carbon in our world for the next two to three years. And it happens every year. Just remember that your government just tried to impose a whopping carbon tax on you, on the basis of the bogus 'human-caused' climate-change scenario.

Hey, isn't it interesting how they don't mention 'Global Warming' anymore, but just "Climate Change" - you know why?

It's because the planet has COOLED by 0.7 degrees in the past century and these global warming bull**** artists got caught with their pants down. And, just keep in mind that you might yet be stuck with an Emissions Trading Scheme - that whopping new tax - imposed on you that will achieve absolutely nothing except make you poorer.

It won't stop any volcanoes from erupting, that's for sure.
If I could be bothered I could point you to many eminent scientists who argue that climate change is real and that if we change the way we consume we can make a difference.
 
If I could be bothered I could point you to many eminent scientists who argue that climate change is real and that if we change the way we consume we can make a difference.
And I can show you many more that say it isn't, it's another money making scam, and some scientists see it as a way of getting funds.
 
And I can show you many more that say it isn't, it's another money making scam, and some scientists see it as a way of getting funds.
Odd how Plimer is a director of multiple mineral exploration and mining companies, I mean there is no environmental impact there is there? As @RichardM said I could point you at many scientists that would counter your argument but there is no point arguing with a flat earther
 
Based on information from the Chemsan data sheet and from comments made by Charlie Talley who invented this type of acid/surfactant mix steriliser then what you are saying is incorrect. If the steriliser mix is not crystal clear then it's an indication that its effectiveness will be degraded.
It's fair enough to make one's own decisions but I think a forum like this should always promote best practice.

Well bugger me if I only went and looked it up. The MSDS doesn't make any comments about the effectiveness of cloudy Chemsan, but the Chemsan information FAQs (compressed) PDF which is self titled as the Technical Data Sheet says this in the How to Use Section:

"Chemsan will go cloudy if it has been diluted with hard water. This is normal and provided the pH of the solution is 3.5 or less the diluted Chemsan will still be effective."
 
"Chemsan will go cloudy if it has been diluted with hard water. This is normal and provided the pH of the solution is 3.5 or less the diluted Chemsan will still be effective."
Well found and now we know :) and if anyone wishes to check it is HERE
 
Well bugger me if I only went and looked it up. The MSDS doesn't make any comments about the effectiveness of cloudy Chemsan, but the Chemsan information FAQs (compressed) PDF which is self titled as the Technical Data Sheet says this in the How to Use Section:

"Chemsan will go cloudy if it has been diluted with hard water. This is normal and provided the pH of the solution is 3.5 or less the diluted Chemsan will still be effective."
ok, can't dispute that. However a lot of homebrewers like to save money by hanging on to pre-mixed sanitiser. Both Chemsan and Star San recommend the product is used within a few hours of mixing. Also listen to the Charlie Talley interviews I linked in a previous post. I've made my mind up, you make up yours.
 
Odd how Plimer is a director of multiple mineral exploration and mining companies, I mean there is no environmental impact there is there? As @RichardM said I could point you at many scientists that would counter your argument but there is no point arguing with a flat earther
And Chriss Whitty is a major shareholder in a vaccine company he he also received £32 million from Bill Gates so what's your point ? And I would say Pilmer is probably the best person to in those positions given his degree of education in those fields.
 
And Chriss Whitty is a major shareholder in a vaccine company he he also received £32 million from Bill Gates so what's your point ? And I would say Pilmer is probably the best person to in those positions given his degree of education in those fields.
To quote from his wikipedia page
He was Professor of Public and International Health at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) where he was also Director of the Malaria Centre.[11] He worked as a physician and researcher into infectious diseases in the UK, Africa and Asia. In 2008, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation awarded the LSHTM £31 million for malaria research in Africa.
. I don't see how that is relevant, may be you can explain. While you are it you could also tell us which vaccine company he is a major share holder in.
 
ok, can't dispute that. However a lot of homebrewers like to save money by hanging on to pre-mixed sanitiser. Both Chemsan and Star San recommend the product is used within a few hours of mixing. Also listen to the Charlie Talley interviews I linked in a previous post. I've made my mind up, you make up yours.

Yeah no worries man, I'm definitely not trying to pick a fight. Everyone has their own practices and methods, you do you.

Buuut...
This is also in the technical data sheet:


Once the solution has been made up can I continue to use over several days?
Yes you can but before use check that the pH of the solution is 3.5 or below. If it is higher than this then make up a fresh dilution

How long does diluted Chemsan last for once is has been made up?
Chemsan will remain effective for many days once made up provided the pH of the solution remain at 3.5 or less.

The diluted Chemsan is cloudy, is this a problem?
No it is perfectly fine. Chemsan will go cloudy if it has been diluted with hard water.
This is because the calcium and magnesium carbonates in the water react with the Chemsan and produces a cloudy precipitation. Provided the pH of the solution is 3.5 or less the diluted Chemsan will still be effective.


Interpret that how you will
 
I haven't read through all the responses but I have what I think is a really easy solution to cloudy chemsan in hard water areas (and sorry if this is obvious)..

Most of us have CRS on hand.... I make up my chemsan as per the instructions and dropper CRS into it until it becomes clear again (shaking occasionally). That way I know it's the correct pH and it usually stays clear permanently.

EDIT I still try to use bottled water with a low pH actually, because it gives me a head start and because the bottles are handy. But if I can't get low pH bottled water I use the CRS approach, or a combination.
 
Last edited:

Latest posts

Back
Top