Sterilising long things?

[Bigcol49]

Hi!
Anyone else out there who doesn't use total immersion to sanitise?

 

[StFlipper]

Star San seems to be everyone's favourite, and I'll give it a go. Like other no-rinse sterilisers the instructions say to leave things to dry afterwards, which presumably takes some time with narrow tubing. I hang my wet siphon tubing on a hook over a dehumidifier in a warm room so it's got the best possible chance of draining and drying, and it still takes several days to dry (I just looked at some I used yesterday and it's still got beads of moisture in). Is that the same with Star San, or does the active ingredient evaporate much quicker than the water it's diluted in so you're not going to get that delicious taste of dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid in the beer?

 

[Baggins]

I bought a long box with lid from rymans. It has marks for litres. Not sure what it's intended for. Plenty long enough for Syphon and degasser and I store brewing kit in it. It takes a lot of fluid to get enough depth for the Syphon but you could lay a couple of full 2L bottles in it to take up some space. I sanitise the lid and use that as a clean surface in kitchen. A bit pricey at about £10 but tidy and fits under my bed.

 

[StFlipper]

This one? https://www.ryman.co.uk/really-useful-storage-box-22-litre

 

[Mavroz]

I Use a lot of my brew equipment straight after using starsan. Bottles, buckets, taps etc etc. They are never dry.
Again instead of using box lids as a clean surface, why not give an area of the kitchen worktop a good wipe down with a cloth and starsan? Job done. No more box lids.

 

[LeeH]

You don’t have to let star san dry, just give it a shake to remove the excess.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Anything hollow like a DJ or FV I just slosh the stereliser ar

Hi!
Anyone else out there who doesn't use total immersion to sanitise?

Me.

 

[Bigcol49]

Like other no-rinse sterilisers the instructions say to leave things to dry afterwards

Hi!
I always use equipment immediately after applying sanitiser. There's nothing in Star San that's going to harm you or your beer, so apply, wait 30 seconds and then use.
I sanitise bottles as I fill them - slosh the solution around, pour into the next bottle and put to one side while I fill the one that's already been sanitised.

 

[Baggins]

That is the rymans box I bought. I'll have to try starsan. I've been using VWP and assuming immersion for 10 minutes or frequent splashing over 20 minutes is required. Makes for long brew and bottle sessions.
I've seen people online using work surfaces but doesn't seem clean enough to me. Maybe I'm overdoing it. Would be great to speed things up...

 

[Mavroz]

Unless your worktops are really unclean and grotty, which I doubt they are, a wipe down with a regular damp cloth and cleaner, followed by a spray of Starsan and a wipe over a couple of times if you are twitchy. This will be just fine for the time you make a brew, transfer a brew, bottle a brew etc etc. It has worked for me after initial doubts which seem a long time ago now.

 

[Bigcol49]

Hi @Baggins
I thought that VWP was not a no-rinse sanitiser, i.e. you need to rinse with plenty of water after application of VWP.
It is easy to become overly anxious about sanitisation; if your work surface is clean it will be fine for home brewing, even without application of a sanitiser.

 

[Covrich]

Also with an autosyphon easy wy to sanitise one internally just stick it in the bottle of your star san with the tube at the otehr end in the bottle too and just pump it .. it will fully flush through submerge and sanitise the inside..

 

[Richard Brown]

https://www.diy.com/departments/har...gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=COKfoeTs7N0CFQ8WGwodgjAFdA

 

[StFlipper]

@Bigcol49 - that's right, VWP is chlorine based and and everything needs a thorough rinsing with water afterwards. I don't thing @Baggins was saying he/she didn't rinse, just that the immersion times make for long sessions. Currently VWP is also my steriliser of choice, firstly because it's dead cheap, but also because it's great at cleaning and deodorising items over a longer period. Over 1-2 days with VWP all smells from the previous brew disappear from a fermenting vessel. Rinsing's a chore for sure, but I can sterilise and rinse (3 times) 48 bottles in just over an hour, so not too onerous.

I agree with you that it's easy to be too obsessive about sanitisation, especially when everything is basically clean to start with. After all we don't worry about using plates and cutlery that have been stored dry in a cupboard for days, and they haven't got a 5+% ABV solution of beer in them to deter bacterial and fungal growth.

 

[StFlipper]

and for what it's worth it looks like http://www.argos.co.uk/product/8339058 is the same thing as that Ryman's box.
Argos have decided that it's for storing wrapping paper.

 

[-Bezza-]

I read somewhere that in small quantities Starsan acts as a yeast nutrient so definitely worth not rinsing off or leaving to dry.

 

[Gunge]

I've stopped sterilising everything. It's a right p*** around and completely unnecessary. I'm as filthy as hell and can't remember the last time I had a bacterial infection. What makes beer think it's so special?

 

[StFlipper]

I read somewhere that in small quantities Starsan acts as a yeast nutrient so definitely worth not rinsing off or leaving to dry.

I just emailed Five Star Chemicals, who make Star San, and they said "Starsan does break down into a yeast nutrient if you let the equipment dry for an hour you should be fine to use it.". So there you go, it's true.

 

[telenomus]

Was just thinking about this sort of thing this morning. This guy on youtube uses a wallpaper trough (skip to about 2:10)

A wallpaper tray is what I use for racking canes, etc and small bits and bobs that are easily misplaced. The one I use is about 23" in length and fits most of the odd shaped stuff I use.

 

[foxbat]

Years ago I once made the mistake of leaving VWP to soak overnight in a plastic pressure barrel. It took a major effort to get it free of the chlorine smell afterwards because plastic is porous and the damn stuff had soaked in.