Cloudy ChemSan woes

[Tetsuo1981]

Hi all

Been trying (and failing) to grow yeast from the new Stella Artois Unfiltered beer, first attempt went south with my wort getting infected. Going to try again with light DME this time but that's not why I'm here.

I've had a bottle of chemsan stored in my shed for over a year. First time I tried it with tap water it went cloudy which the bottle says is bad, and to use to bottled water. Cut to recently and I've used value bottled water and it's still cloudy. Not as much but not crystal clear. I've got some PH strips coming to test it but my questions are:

If not bottled or tap water, then what?
What PH should it be?
Does ChemSan expire? Do I need a new bottle?

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated

 

[The Baron]

mine always goes cloudy just test it for PH to make sure it is within the correct range. I have used it with RO water and it goes cloudy with that too, maybe not quite as cloudy.
I have used it cloudy for years and on several brew batches just test it.
I am sure you will get various answers so await them then form your opinion

 

[Tetsuo1981]

Thanks for the reply, I really appreciate it

test it for PH to make sure it is within the correct range

What is the correct range? EDIT: 3.5 Or below, sorry for being lazy

RO water

What is RO water? Is that like de-ionised water? EDIT: Google says Reverse Osmosis water. Got to admit this is a new one on me, is this a global thing or a US thing, call me dim but I've not heard of it before

 

[The Baron]

Sorry Tetsuo I did not read the thread correctly and I was referring to Starsan, sorry

 

[Tetsuo1981]

Sorry Tetsuo I did not read the thread correctly and I was referring to Starsan, sorry

Not a problem, thanks for the help anyway

 

[The Baron]

This might help
The solution should remain at a pH at 3.5 or below to maintain proper sanitizing level. 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 e ective.

Reverse Osmosis (RO) is used to partially clean-up tap water to make it roughly 90% to 99% pure. Deionization (DI) filters exchange positive hydrogen and negative hydroxyl molecules for positive and negative contaminant molecules in water. DI filtering and other processes are sometimes referred to as "water polishing."

 

[The Baron]

So do not worry about cloudiness just keep the PH below 3.5 by testing it

 

[Tetsuo1981]

Reverse Osmosis (RO) is used to partially clean-up tap water to make it roughly 90% to 99% pure

Thanks for that, it's a new one on me, will have to have a look for it

keep the PH below 3.5 by testing it

Thanks for that, I really appreciate it. Last question: to keep the PH low do I dilute more or add more Chemsan? EDIT: I ask because maths and science were never my top subjects. I can record and mix you an album or write a brilliantly worded letter but numbers do me in!

 

[Dutto]

Now using two-year old “cloudy” Star-San!

Bought a load of Litmus Papers and checked pH is below 3.5 and it was!

Assuming that Chem-San is identical to Star-San, then make up as per recommended ratio and then INCREASE the amount of Chem-San if the pH is ABOVE a pH of 3.5.

Enjoy.
:hat:

 

[The Baron]

Thanks for that, it's a new one on me, will have to have a look for it

Thanks for that, I really appreciate it. Last question: to keep the PH low do I dilute more or add more Chemsan? EDIT: I ask because maths and science were never my top subjects. I can record and mix you an album or write a brilliantly worded letter but numbers do me in!

When it goes too high on the PH throw it and make up a new batch its false economy to risk a brew. I usually keep my Starsan for a couple of months then make up a new batch just cause that me whether it needs it or not as a bottle of Starsan lasts years and I would expect Chemsan to be the same

 

[Tetsuo1981]

@Dutto @the baron Cheers guys, I really appreciate the help. No to thoroughly scrub and sterilise my brew gear ready for my first all grain / BIAB (once I've from my yeast)

 

[prog99]

I know this needs to be in a different forum but do you reckon there’s any viable yeast in it?

 

[Davegase]

Hi all

Been trying (and failing) to grow yeast from the new Stella Artois Unfiltered beer, first attempt went south with my wort getting infected. Going to try again with light DME this time but that's not why I'm here.

I've had a bottle of chemsan stored in my shed for over a year. First time I tried it with tap water it went cloudy which the bottle says is bad, and to use to bottled water. Cut to recently and I've used value bottled water and it's still cloudy. Not as much but not crystal clear. I've got some PH strips coming to test it but my questions are:

If not bottled or tap water, then what?
What PH should it be?
Does ChemSan expire? Do I need a new bottle?

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated

use spotless water, if you have a filling station near you you it's very cheap.
https://www.spotlesswater.co.uk/

 

[Dutto]

use spotless water, if you have a filling station near you you it's very cheap.
https://www.spotlesswater.co.uk/

Sorry, great concept, but in Lincolnshire?

Anglian Water in Sleaford provide some of the hardest water in the UK and Spotless Water is sorely needed; but the nearest place to me is over 30 miles away.
:hat:

 

[Agentgonzo]

If you have a condenser dryer, the use the water that comes out of the collection drawer. It's pure distilled water.

 

[The Baron]

Try your nearest Aquarium shop, mine does RO water for the Marine tanks and aquarists so that you can add your own minerals. They charge a little higher than Spotless but mine was 25lts for £2.50 which I used to split 50/50 with my tap water.

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

If you have a condenser dryer, the use the water that comes out of the collection drawer. It's pure distilled water.

I'm not sure I'd want to drink it though... I'd be concerned that the parts of the drier it is collected in and dribbles through could be less than sanitary.
Fair enough the ChemSan will kill anything biological in it, but if it picked up any oil or off flavours then could those still be present?

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

What is RO water? Is that like de-ionised water? EDIT: Google says Reverse Osmosis water. Got to admit this is a new one on me, is this a global thing or a US thing, call me dim but I've not heard of it before

Apologies if anyone has already answered this. RO water is water that has been partly de-ionised by filtering it through a semi-permeable membrane. This is a quick process that removes most of the mineral ions like salts of calcium, sodium and magnesium, but it still leaves a small quantity of other ions.
To make fully de-ionised water you typically take RO water and feed it through a final stage 'polishing' filter comprised of granules of positively and negatively charged resin. This is called a 'DI stage'. The DI resin granules attract and absorb any ions that managed to sneak through the semi-permeable membrane. But eventually they become saturated and stop working - at which point you have to replace them with fresh resin.
Therefore the purpose of doing RO filtering is to preserve the life and cost of your DI filter; however for many purposes (like brewing) the RO process alone may well be sufficient on its own with no need for a DI stage.

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

You can make your own RO water easily and cheaply using a three-stage aquarium filter like the one below, which is the one I use (£39.99).
The standard unit produces quite a slow flow rate but you can upgrade the membrane if you like (see this thread).
My tap water is hard as nails but using the water from this filter gives me 100% clear ChemSan.

https://www.waterfilterman.co.uk/fi...r-filter-for-aquarium-discus-fish-marine.html

 

[foxbat]

Hi all

Been trying (and failing) to grow yeast from the new Stella Artois Unfiltered beer, first attempt went south with my wort getting infected. Going to try again with light DME this time but that's not why I'm here.

I've had a bottle of chemsan stored in my shed for over a year. First time I tried it with tap water it went cloudy which the bottle says is bad, and to use to bottled water. Cut to recently and I've used value bottled water and it's still cloudy. Not as much but not crystal clear. I've got some PH strips coming to test it but my questions are:

If not bottled or tap water, then what?
What PH should it be?
Does ChemSan expire? Do I need a new bottle?

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated

When they say use bottled water what they really should say is use Tesco Ashbeck bottled water. Do that and all your problems go away.