No rinse sterilizers: issues?

[Poly Hive]

My LBS told me today that none of the three wholesalers they deal with will stock these products "due to concerns"

Any idea what the issues might be?

PH

 

[serum]

It depends which ones. Star san is no-rinse and it's excellent. Saves loads of time!

 

[Slid]

It depends which ones. Star san is no-rinse and it's excellent. Saves loads of time!

I agree - Star San is like fairy dust for homebrewers. I spray it fairly liberally from a spray gun from B&Q

If you read what it says on the label, though, there is an "issue" in that it may react with sodium metabisulphite to produce chlorine. A lot of "old school" homebrewers, me included, still use sodium metabisulphite to keep empty PET bottles and FV's sterile. So you need to rinse an FV fairly carefully with water, not only to remove any smell, but also to minimise the risks associated with the production of a particularly unpleasant chemical, before spraying with Starsan.

Another thought is that you need to spray Star San at arms length. In a confined space, it can "blow back" into your face and that is not nice. Bit like powerwashing.

 

[Slid]

This looks like the same thing, from a scientific standpoint

http://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=497

Note the advice regarding "other chemicals".

 

[chastuck]

I noticed one issue from using Star san. I sprayed inside my my black plastic Dalex taps when I stored them away. Several weeks later I noticed when I removed them from their plastic storage bag that black marks were coming off the taps onto my hands. It also looked like that the end of the taps were lightly etched. As Star san is rather acidic I am now wondering if over time it could eat into hard plastic.