Who uses Star San

[Polcho]

I have a couple of questions for people using Star San.

Until now I’ve been using VWP. I’m seeing a lot of videos of people using this Star SAN. Quite often as a made up spray.

It appears to be a lot more expensive, doout in terms of going further?

Can you really leave it on without rinsing and not effect the beer?

how long will it keep and stay effective in a made up spray bottle?

 

[StJayJay]

I was sceptical when I first used but works well and never had an issue with any adverse affects on the beer. I’ve used it for the brew day, racking, bottling, kegging. I’ve had a small spray bottle on the go before now for quite a few months for some of the smaller applications (like removing the bucket lid for sampling. I tend to make up a big bucket of solution on brew days so I can dump all the bits and pieces into it, pour in and out of the fermenter etc. I’ve been brewing for around ( years and I’m only on my second bottle of it I think.

 

[RichardM]

Just remember it is a sanitiser, not a cleaner.
There is no need to rinse after use.
I make up 5 litres at a time. It lasts for months. I check the ph regularly, if is below 3.5 then I continue to use it and don't worry if it goes cloudy.

 

[StJayJay]

Also, make sure you rinse any cleaning product away before sanitising. Some total numpty on another thread washed his beer lines out with purple beer line cleaner and then flushed with Starsan solution, near miss for a chemical incident!

 

[chthon]

You don't need much. I have a bottle of 250 ml that I bought five years ago, and now it is nearing the end. I bought a new one recently, but now it is almost 0,5l, enough for the next 10 years.

I always mix it with demineralised/RO water in a small spray bottle of 0,25l.

 

[BarnBrian]

I don’t believe Starsan is available in UK now, Chemsan is the available alternative.

 

[HarryFlatters]

I just bought a litre of Chem San to replace the leaking bottle of Star San I've been using for a couple of years. I doubt I'll have to buy any more sanitiser for the rest of my life, given it's 10ml CS to 5 litres of water dilution.

 

[Braufather]

My bottle is about three years old now is still half full, despite using it on every brew and everything else.

my wife’s still shakes her head to herself though when I tell her I am not being lazy, you really dont need to rinse it!

 

[Brew_DD2]

I don’t believe Starsan is available in UK now, Chemsan is the available alternative.

It is. It stopped for a little while die to some red tape, but it's back.

 

[DocAnna]

I'm a bit of a convert to Chemsan/Starsan, having previously used VWP lots. It is especially useful for sanitising bottles due to the short contact time which otherwise needs ages soaking and rinsing with VWP. Of note the short effective contact time only applies to warm dilute solution, not when at cool room temperature - which then needs 3 minutes Yet another StarSan question

I still use VWP every now and then to clean plastic bucket fermenters, partly because I have lots, it cleans well when left overnight, and is relatively skin and fabric safe compared to strong alkaline or oxygen based cleaners.

Anna

 

[Galena]

I use Starsan, expensive but very economical to use. No need to rinse, I swirl it around my FV before decanting from the kettle and rinse my bottles and kegs with it prior to filling.
I also use VWP for cleaning down and sanitising equipment and soaking but do of course rinse well after use and prior to using starsan.
I lso use Oxiclean for lifting off dirt you cannot reach, though Oxy is not a sanitiser I believe.

 

[labrewski]

I have a 250 ml bottle last 3 years
I use 1ml per 1 liters of water never a problem
Dont fear the foam

 

[Polcho]

Thanks everybody, learned a lot there.
So I think in terms of a hand spray, just make up a litre with warm water and 1 ml.
interesting about the Oxyclean too. I think I’m settled on the Grainfather, still looking though, I worry a bit about the chiller. This pumping hot wort through it to clean it doesn’t fill me with confidence to be honest.

 

[damienair]

It is great. I make up 5 litres and I keep it in a 5l container, and pour some into a spray bottle. This will usually do me for 3-4 brews. Once I have sanitised everything I pour the ChemSan back into the container using a funnel. After 3-4 brews I just make up a fresh batch. I just have a small bottle but it should do me for years.

 

[markjohnl]

really? I thought i was pushing it keeping mine from brewday to bottle day and then a few squirts i to each bottle after drinking and capping to keep for the next brew. Does everyone keep theirs for multiple brews. Im in Belfast, and while chemsan isnt expensive, sometimes the postage is nearly as much

 

[StJayJay]

Thanks everybody, learned a lot there.
So I think in terms of a hand spray, just make up a litre with warm water and 1 ml.
interesting about the Oxyclean too. I think I’m settled on the Grainfather, still looking though, I worry a bit about the chiller. This pumping hot wort through it to clean it doesn’t fill me with confidence to be honest.

Re the Oxiclean, I couldn’t get some ages ago and someone recommended Napisan, I think it’s a similar thing. It works very well as a cleaner, particularly useful when I bottled, good at lifting the dried on sediment at the bottom. You have to give it a good rinse and then sanitise still. Each box is 800g and lasts yonks. Just be careful, some places sell it in packs of 10, didn’t read that properly so ended up with 8kg of the stuff!!

 

[dad_of_jon]

really? I thought i was pushing it keeping mine from brewday to bottle day and then a few squirts i to each bottle after drinking and capping to keep for the next brew. Does everyone keep theirs for multiple brews. Im in Belfast, and while chemsan isnt expensive, sometimes the postage is nearly as much

I keep reusing it with the proviso that it does get used and requires an additional 500ml or so to make up the losses you get when using. I filter it back into bottles to keep it clear as poss.

 

[DCBC]

Things I have learned about StarSan/Chemsan

- I love it
- It will only sanitise already clean equipment (shouldn't replace PBW etc)
- You can and should spray it and leave it on/in stainless kit between uses - it creates a layer that nasties find it hard to live on. My routine is clean, rinse, starsan circulation, air dry without rinsing
- You can add CRS to your StarSan/ tap water solution to ensure that you lower the pH of a solution enough to keep it from going cloudy (and supposedly ineffective)
- If you leave it on plastic things it can eat through them! I think it depends on the type of plastic but if I leave it on a bottling tree after bottling and expect it to air dry, it seems to pull the oil out of the plastic (a surprising amount of it!) and makes it more brittle

 

[Galena]

Im in Belfast, and while chemsan isnt expensive, sometimes the postage is nearly as much

Is NI postage that expensive? What about Geterbrewed?

 

[micklupulo]

I have used VWP for years but am about to pick up an order from Dark Rock which includes 250 ml of Harris Suresan (not sure how they manage this as there appears to be another product called Suresan) and is clearly their answer to Starsan being a no rinse sanitizer. The active ingredient appears to be sodium percarbonate but as I am no chemist and have never used the product before I wonder if anyone has any observations please?