Infected plastics

[robsan77]

Bleach is fine as long as you don't leave it in contact for a sustained period of time.

 

[orlando]

i usually use an authosyphon but i broke it so this time i had to suck on the end of the tube which obviously isnt good. I will probably get a new autosyphon anyway because they are really handy. Im thinking i may try not doing secondary with the 2 brews i have on and see if they survive. All the brews i have on at the moment are between 4 and 5%. Im guessing i should just dump my tt landlord as it has visible mould on it?

If you have done this on each occasion you have had an infection it could easily be the cause. I have done this myself but have used a larger separate piece of tube over the syphon tube so no saliva comes near it. If you didn't do this for for all the infected brews then the starting point is to use a weak solution of bleach for every single piece of kit you use and the area in which you brew. Doing this just about eliminates every source of infection and a clean slate to start again from. Unless the buckets were very old and badly scratched there should be no need for throwing them away. Finally I wouldn't bother racking to a secondary as it only raises the chances of infection and does nothing for the beer, on the contrary, it can be counter productive in that the yeast can be separated from the beer before it has properly "cleared" up. Read the Yeast book on this subject, very enlightening.

 

[cwiseman77]

I was besieged with infected brews this time last year. What was the strength and how long were they in the secondry. All mine that were infected were in the secondry for aboiut 3 weeks which is to long especially if the abv is below 5%.

How long is too long is secondary>?

 

[graysalchemy]

I was besieged with infected brews this time last year. What was the strength and how long were they in the secondry. All mine that were infected were in the secondry for about 3 weeks which is to long especially if the abv is below 5%.

How long is too long is secondary>?

:grin: :grin:

It does actually depend on temp and the strength of the beer. Lower gravity beers IMHO need to be kegged or bottled as soon as they are clear, even a 5% beer in my experience will not last more than about 2 weeks in the secondry during the summer or autumn. However I had a 8.5% barley wine in a secondry for about 3 months with no ill effect and my ciders at 6% I leave for about 8 months in the secondary however they do get infected with lactobacillus but that is intentional.

 

[cwiseman77]

I was besieged with infected brews this time last year. What was the strength and how long were they in the secondry. All mine that were infected were in the secondry for about 3 weeks which is to long especially if the abv is below 5%.

How long is too long is secondary>?

:grin: :grin:

It does actually depend on temp and the strength of the beer. Lower gravity beers IMHO need to be kegged or bottled as soon as they are clear, even a 5% beer in my experience will not last more than about 2 weeks in the secondry during the summer or autumn. However I had a 8.5% barley wine in a secondry for about 3 months with no ill effect and my ciders at 6% I leave for about 8 months in the secondary however they do get infected with lactobacillus but that is intentional.

I tend to leave mine for 10-14 days then bottle and they tend to be 4-5% so should be ok!

 

[Morgan]

What type of water are you using for your Star San? Does your water go cloudy when you mix in the Star San?

 

[mmaguy41]

i use tap water but it doesnt go cloudy so ive always assumed its fine

 

[pittsy]

even cloudy can be fine but beware unless you have done some ph test you won't know . To be safe i get de-ionised water , its cheap and lasts plenty , i don't wont to lose a batch due to water issues

 

[cwiseman77]

i use tap water but it doesnt go cloudy so ive always assumed its fine

Just noticed ur screen name... first person I've came across that share these 2 interests! :thumb:

 

[mmaguy41]

Haha yes i was an mma fan first and then the homebrew bug bit. Ive trained in mma for about 4 years, i trained at the wolfslair until it burnt down last year, ive struggled to find a permanent place to train since, thats part of the reason ive got so into this new hobby i think, too much time on my hands now!