Sanitation Question

[Hong Kong Dave]

Hi,

When I mix up a batch of sanitiser on my brew day, do you think if I store it it will be ok to use on bottling day?

Thanks for helping the newbie out.

David

 

[LeithR]

Hi there Dave,
Welcome to the forum, you will get lots of support here, don't forget there are no stupid questions!!

I use TSP (TriSodium Phosphate) which I keep diluted in a 2L PET bottle and use over a 2 week period. It does not smell but the feel of the water changes so you know when you have sanitiser present. My dilution rate is 5tsps/2L but it can be varied depending on what you want to sanitise, but you need to be careful as it is slightly corrosive.

It was fairly cheap and I got it from [email protected]

 

[danb]

I use videne, its that cheap and you use so little I don't worry about it keeping. I just make fresh every time. In just over a year I've not used half a bottle yet and at £6 a bottle, it isn't worth risking.

 

[Hong Kong Dave]

Thanks,

The sanitiser that came with my kit is Brewcraft one step cleaner. It is a pre carbonate.

Do you think if I mix up a batch of this to sanitise everything it will store in a soft drinks bottle until bottling time?

 

[rpt]

Sodium Percarbonate isn't the greatest sanitiser although it is great for cleaning brewing equipment. It is the active ingredient in the various oxiclean products available. I'm pretty certain it won't store well. I'd use it up as quick as possible and then get a decent sanitiser such as Starsan. This is no rinse and you can make up a solution and keep using it. In fact, you can use the same solution over and over. It will last for ages. I add 7.5mL to a 5L bottle of Tesco Ashbeck water. It lasts for many brews.

 

[phettebs]

I use starsan and I keep a large bucket of it handy at all times. I check the ph with strips just to make sure I'm in the ballpark. Periodically I'll add a little more concentrated starsan to drop the ph if it's off. Every 3 months or so, I will dump it and start fresh.

 

[rpt]

Periodically I'll add a little more concentrated starsan to drop the ph if it's off.

You need to be careful with that as it will no longer be no rinse.

 

[Fil]

lots of sanitiser choices, imo no rinse sanitisers are a real time saver, ive used both videne, and starsan, both are dirt cheap in the long run as u use so little.

afaik videne isnt persistent, and expires within 15-20 mins after mixing a rough indicator of 'use' is the solution colour, when it reverts to clear from slightly red/brown its spent.

Starsan is persistent so u can mix up a batch of 5l and re-use it the next time u brew, its an acid and the ph of the solution is an indicator of its potency, so a cheap book of indicator papers is a useful tool to check the sanitiser. (ph 3 and lower is good) if it goes cloudy its also probably spent.


both are sensitive to the water used to make the solutions, if too hard with a high ph starsan will go cloudy straight away, im in a hard water area so i use tesco ashbeck bottled water for mixing up the sanitiser,

according to its manufacturer starsan residue will decompose into yeast nutrients..


If bottling beer a no rinse sanitiser will save you the 120 odd bottle rinses to remove a chlorine based sanitiser from 40 odd bottles.. That alone is worth it in my book.
(rinse a chlorine based sanitiser 3 times to be safe)

 

[Maysie]

If bottling beer a no rinse sanitiser will save you the 120 odd bottle rinses to remove a chlorine based sanitiser from 40 odd bottles.. That alone is worth it in my book.
(rinse a chlorine based sanitiser 3 times to be safe)

^^^ I totally agree.

I have loads of spare sanitiser which came with my kits, but I dont use them at all now I have starsan. Principally due to the fact that I bottle my beer and it is SO easy.