Might Be A Solution.....

[johnnyboy1965]

I had a rep visit me today from www.chemisphereuk.com, trying to flog me something that I dont need.....Anyway, we got talking about Homebrew and sanitising equipment. He says that they make a product called "Tap and Keg Sanitiser" he gave me a bottle. I read the ingredients and it stated :-
0.02 % Lactic Acid
98.8% Non Ionised Water.
I cant remember the exact amounts as Ive left the bottle at work.
So I said "thats just lactic acid and distilled water?"
He replied "Yes, just hang on and Ill phone Head Office and speak to senior chemist, type bloke.
A few minutes later, senior chemist type bloke phones me back and confirms that that is exactly what it is. There is another chemical in there, but he said that was just to hold the lactic acid in suspension. He went on to tell me that it drops the Ph oh the water so low that bacteria cant survive. Ideal for what you want.
Take a look at there site and tell me what you think.

 

[Linalmeemow]

Looks alright but it works out many hundreds of times more expensive than Star San.

 

[johnnyboy1965]

Looks alright but it works out many hundreds of times more expensive than Star San.

Not if you make your own.
100g Lactic Acid ��£3.00 You only need 0.02%
Distilled water ��£3.50 per 5li (Halfords)
Thats about 15p per ltr
How much is Starsan?

 

[user 18729]

Not if you make your own.

100g Lactic Acid ��£3.00 You only need 0.02%

Distilled water ��£3.50 per 5li (Halfords)

Thats about 15p per ltr

How much is Starsan?

I've wondered about this sort of thing for ages because I've got 500ml of 85% phosphoric in the fridge (cheap from eBay) [emoji23] is it as simple as lowering the ph of water or does starsan have something else in it

 

[johnnyboy1965]

The above calculations are wrong
2g of Lactic Acid..... 6p
Distilled water 70p

76p per Ltr

 

[johnnyboy1965]

I've wondered about this sort of thing for ages because I've got 500ml of 85% phosphoric in the fridge (cheap from eBay) [emoji23] is it as simple as lowering the ph of water or does starsan have something else in it

Ive just checked exactly the same thing
Yes, you just have to lower the Ph of the "water" so bacteria cant survive

 

[Linalmeemow]

Starsan requires 2ml to make 1 litre of solution. It works out at around 3p per ml if you buy a larger bottle, and works with tap water so 6p per litre.

 

[Saisonator]

I am sure you can just use lactic acid and tap water, just get the PH down to the required level.
I don't know how much benefit the agent which makes Starsan foam and stick to the class a bit more is?

 

[Zephyr259]

My non-branded StarSan also has 15% Dodecylbenzenesulfonic Acid, I've zoomed in on the picture of starsan and it has has the exact same ingredients. This is the surfactant which creates the foam, it's the 50% phosphoric acid which does the sanitising.

 

[blawford]

Is the foaming part of StarSan not necessary then? I find it quite annoying that it gets so foamy.

 

[strange-steve]

Is the foaming part of StarSan not necessary then? I find it quite annoying that it gets so foamy.

The foam isn't necessary but it helps the sanitiser cling to surfaces better. If you don't like it then I believe Saniclean is a low foaming equivalent.