first kegging tonight , few sterilizing question :)

[Toastie]

hi , please could you confirm a couple of points before i start :)

iv got ritchies citric acid that came with the kit .

how much to how much water ?

how much of the mix will i need to clean the keg and the few bits and bobs ?

can this stuff be reused ?

ones if done it and rinsed it does id need to be dry before a start ?

many thanks for all you help the week , hopefully this will be my last lesson for a bit :)

cheers d

 

[klaus]

Hi,
never used citric acid for cleansign/sterilising so really can't comment on that product.
I use VWP for everything, that's a chlorine based cleanser/steriliser.
I am surprised there are no instructions for the stuff you got ...
Quantity depends on your gear to be treated - you don't need to dry the equipment.
It's normally worked out like x tea spoons to the gallon of water or per litre.
Anyway, good luck.

 

[StrangeBrew]

Citric acid isn't usually used as a sanitiser / steriliser and a quick google didn't seem to come up with anything on how to use it for that purpose. In Brewing citric acid is normally used to add acidity to a wine or cider etc ..

I'd suggest nipping down your nearest home brew shop or wilkinsons and getting some more normal sanitisers... Youngs... VWP... etc...
They will come with full instructions on how to use on the tub.

:

 

[Toastie]

cheers , i will have to use this stuff today cuz its all iv got this time , by the sounds of it its not a lot of the stuff in the mix then .

i dont spos you can over do it as long as you rinse it well ?

cheers d

 

[StrangeBrew]

cheers , i will have to use this stuff today cuz its all iv got this time , by the sounds of it its not a lot of the stuff in the mix then .

i dont spos you can over do it as long as you rinse it well ?

cheers d

Your brew will hold a few days while you get some sanitiser...

Rather than risk using something not really ideal for the purpose and no instructions !

 

[Toastie]

Citric acid isn't usually used as a sanitiser / steriliser and a quick google didn't seem to come up with anything on how to use it for that purpose. In Brewing citric acid is normally used to add acidity to a wine or cider etc ..

I'd suggest nipping down your nearest home brew shop or wilkinsons and getting some more normal sanitisers... Youngs... VWP... etc...
They will come with full instructions on how to use on the tub.

:

hmmm , when i popped in the locla home brew shop he said to use this stuff i was sent in the kit , maybe i should put it off a day and get this other stuff . i wonder what time wilco's shuts on a Sunday

cheers for advice d

 

[Toastie]

cheers , i will have to use this stuff today cuz its all iv got this time , by the sounds of it its not a lot of the stuff in the mix then .

i dont spos you can over do it as long as you rinse it well ?

cheers d

Your brew will hold a few days while you get some sanitiser...

Rather than risk using something not really ideal for the purpose and no instructions !

ye i think you may be rite , bugger , i was all keys up to do it tonight :)

 

[StrangeBrew]

Wilkinsons are open to 4 on a Sunday ... get your skates on and you still have time !

:

 

[mattjazz2000]

Failing that get some milton baby sterilizing stuff from your local supermarket.

 

[Runwell-Steve]

You could always use bleach, plenty of people use bleach for sanitising their brewing equipment.

Just make sure you give everything a good rinse afterwards to remove all traces of the smell.

 

[Toastie]

just to correct myself the kit dint come with this citric acid . it came with the other stuff in almost identical pot , i used all that and amused this was the same stuff , just dug the first pot out the bin and it was the over stuff , now i need sterilizing :)

at least now i know i did the first kit with the rite stuff .. feew

 

[Bluebottle]

When you do come to keg your Wherry make sure you tighten the brass nut with a spanner as they're only hand tight. Or else when you come to check that the barrel is pressurising and its not, so you fire up a CO2 bulb to see what the problem is then the loud squealing lid will wake the kids

First kit is a learning curve, or thats the way I see it

 

[Toastie]

When you do come to keg your Wherry make sure you tighten the brass nut with a spanner as they're only hand tight. Or else when you come to check that the barrel is pressurising and its not, so you fire up a CO2 bulb to see what the problem is then the loud squealing lid will wake the kids

First kit is a learning curve, or thats the way I see it

nice one thanks :)

 

[StrangeBrew]

When you do come to keg your Wherry make sure you tighten the brass nut with a spanner as they're only hand tight. Or else when you come to check that the barrel is pressurising and its not, so you fire up a CO2 bulb to see what the problem is then the loud squealing lid will wake the kids

I have 3 barrels and none had this problem they were all tight and sealed perfectly...

 

[Toastie]

worth check ether way . cheers for heads up



so do you keep and reuse the sterilizer ?

 

[Bluebottle]

When you do come to keg your Wherry make sure you tighten the brass nut with a spanner as they're only hand tight. Or else when you come to check that the barrel is pressurising and its not, so you fire up a CO2 bulb to see what the problem is then the loud squealing lid will wake the kids

I have 3 barrels and none had this problem they were all tight and sealed perfectly...

I wish mine had been tight but it wasn't. As a result of spending 4 days in secondary fermentation I thought I would try a little bit out of the tap to see if it was pressurising, it wasn't. I was gutted so stuck the CO2 bulb and let rip. In under a second the barrel almost doubled in size and the rubber washer under the brass valve started whistling like a kettle through a loud tannoy :shock: I jumped out of my skin and the youngest daughter (who is almost 5) came running downstatirs saying there was a monster under her bed whistling :rofl: Ive now got to decide what to do with it, but I'm probably going to leave it as it is for a few weeks to condition before doing anything major. Oh well. Next kit is on tonight so should do better.

 

[StrangeBrew]

I wish mine had been tight but it wasn't. As a result of spending 4 days in secondary fermentation I thought I would try a little bit out of the tap to see if it was pressurising, it wasn't. I was gutted so stuck the CO2 bulb and let rip. In under a second the barrel almost doubled in size and the rubber washer under the brass valve started whistling like a kettle through a loud tannoy :shock: I jumped out of my skin and the youngest daughter (who is almost 5) came running downstatirs saying there was a monster under her bed whistling :rofl: Ive now got to decide what to do with it, but I'm probably going to leave it as it is for a few weeks to condition before doing anything major. Oh well. Next kit is on tonight so should do better.

Guess you were unlucky with the gas valve on yours. The only problem I have had to date with my barrels is the tap sealing washer weeping a little when the barrels are really pressured and bulged. Use a little vaseline on the washer now and that seems to do the trick although if a barrel does get really bulged with pressure I sometimes take off a pint for 'quality control testing' and that seems to avert any leaks !

:

 

[Bluebottle]

Guess you were unlucky with the gas valve on yours.

I never have good luck anyway, and usually I check everything but this time I didn't, so whether its bad luck or my own fault is still open for decision.

The only problem I have had to date with my barrels is the tap sealing washer weeping a little when the barrels are really pressured and bulged. Use a little vaseline on the washer now and that seems to do the trick although if a barrel does get really bulged with pressure I sometimes take off a pint for 'quality control testing' and that seems to avert any leaks !

:

Unlike most people I don't keep any Vaseline in the bed-side chest so all I had to hand was a Vaseline brand, red-coloured lip balm stuff which I pinched out of the eldest daughter's Christmas box. Its the same consistency as normal Vaseline but is bright red, meaning you can see clearly where you have and haven't put it. You can even see it through the cheap plastic of the barrel. I was worried about tainting the colour of the beer but it is such a small amount and seems ok so far.

Anyway, enough de-railing the thread. This is my return to homebrewing after my earlier attempts ended with me being very ill due to bad sterilisation. All I would say is, and I'm happy to be corrected, is that you can never sterilise enough and even though re-using steriliser may be fine, I would say use new stuff every time. There are cheap sterilisation techniques out there so may aswell use them. Its better than feeding your precious brew to the sewer rats.

 

[shocker]

This vaseline on seals thing that I keep reading about - we all know that vaseline rots rubber , right ? So it should only be used with synthetic seals ? Learned about the vaseline/rubber thing the hard way...tattooing , that is for all of you jumping to conclusions ..... :lol: :lol:

I often think instructions by manufacturers like this are put out to ensure the ongoing sale of their goods ..."smear it with vaseline"...."buy our replacement seal pack"...."smear seals with vaseline" ...and so on

 

[StrangeBrew]

I often think instructions by manufacturers like this are put out to ensure the ongoing sale of their goods ..."smear it with vaseline"...."buy our replacement seal pack"...."smear seals with vaseline" ...and so on

They're all synthetic on barrels anyway so that's a non issue...

so do you keep and reuse the sterilizer ?

As to re using sanitising / sterilising solutions most you cant so it's throw away after a few hours. There are a couple types around I believe have some limited storage / re use so as with all these things. Check the instructions for the product you've got

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