Newest Threads

ms8miranda · 08-16-2008, 05:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by orfy

Sanitisers.........

2) Bleach (15mL/gal) + HOT water rinse (Sodium Hypochlorite)

Description: Unscented household bleach can be used as a sanitizer and cleaner. For sanitizing, it is just as effective as Diversol. For cleaning, however, either Diversol or TSP would be preferable. Cleaning Mix 2.5 ml per litre of cold water (1 tbsp. per gal.) and follow the cleaning instructions for Diversol . When rinsing, remove all traces of chlorine smell. Sanitizing Using a solution of 5 ml per litre of cold water (1 tbsp. per gal.) follow the cleaning instructions for Diversol Cautions See above.

I'm a little confused here.....is the 1 Tablspoon per gallon the instructions for bleach? Or Diversol?

Baldy_Beer_Brewery · 08-16-2008, 01:17 PM

I use 1 tablespoon per gallon of bleach as a sanitizer. Bleach an cold water does a pretty good job of cleaning too if you can let the plastic or glass items soak overnight. Don't use bleach on metal objects overnight though.

**ajf** · 08-16-2008, 03:34 PM

According to The Complete Joy of Homebrewing - 3rd edition
"For homeberwers, an effective sanitizing solution can be prepared by mixing 1/3 to 1 1/2 teaspoons (3 - 10 ml) of household bleach in 5 gallons (19 l) of cold water. This mixture will yield chlorine in solution at 5 - 25 ppm - an effective sanitizer, with a 1/2 - 1 hour soak."
This concentration is approximately 1/40th to 1/180th of the concentration previously mentioned.

-a.

bergman1118 · 08-16-2008, 04:29 PM

+1 ajf, my first batch i used about 1.5 tsps for 5 gallons (based on the papazian book), which seemed to work fine seeing as the beer turned out great and had no off flavors or anything from the bleach..i would rinse out well though after using bleach. now i just use sanstar though, which is awesome stuff, no rinsing necessary and only need one minute of contact time to sanitize. pick that up the next time you brew (or something similar), you won't regret it

FlyGuy · 08-16-2008, 05:02 PM

Here is some detailed information on using bleach as a sanitizer that I copied from an article I wrote:

Quote:

Chlorine bleach is a very effective sanitizer, and it has the advantage of being widely available and very inexpensive. Mixed at a ratio of one ounce per five gallons (about 1.6 ml per litre), chlorine bleach will kill even the nastiest of bugs with a 5 minute soak. Charlie Talley, a founding chemist of Five Star Chemicals, provides some great advice on using household bleach as a sanitizer. First, only use unscented, no-name brand bleach because it is unlikely to have the laundry additives that are included in the brand-name bleaches. These additives may reduce the sanitizing power of the bleach and may leave a persistent scent or off-flavour on your equipment. Second, adding a small amount of vinegar to your water will lower the pH and make the chlorine a more effective killing agent. If you follow this advice, do so with caution! The correct procedure is to add one ounce of vinegar to five gallons of water and mix it thoroughly to lower the pH of the water. Rinse any residual vinegar off your measuring spoon, then add one tablespoon of chlorine bleach to the 5 gallons of treated water and mix well. Never mix bleach and vinegar directly because it will create poisonous chlorine gas.

Bleach sometimes gets a bad name in brewing circles because if you fail to rinse it properly, chlorine residue will react with phenols in your wort to create chlorophenols, which may produce medicinal or ‘band-aid’ off-flavours in your finished beer, even at very low concentrations. So two critical pieces of advice are: (1) after using bleach, rinse your equipment multiple times, and (2) don’t make your bleach solution stronger than it needs to be (e.g., in many popular homebrewing books they recommend using 1 tablespoon of bleach per one gallon of water, not five gallons, which is an unnecessary amount). Bleach will also pit glass or stainless steel, so it is not advisable to soak bleach for extended periods of time in things like glass carboys or stainless steel kegs.

Bob_E · 08-16-2008, 11:15 PM

I would recommend to anyone interested in the bleach, vinegar, water sanitizer to listen to the basic brewing podcast where Charlie Talley was interviewed, and talked about it. Have a pen and paper ready to take notes.
Basic Brewing Radio March 29, 2007 - Sanitizing with Bleach and Star San
I've been using it as a no rinse sanitizer with very good results.

rowespencer · 08-17-2008, 08:37 PM

Thanks for the link, Bob! My husband and I are gearing up to brew our first batch soon and have been contemplating all of the cleaners/sanitizers out there. Being a big proponent of all things cheap and effective, I think we're going to try the bleach/vinegar method.

hoplobster · 08-17-2008, 09:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rowespencer

Thanks for the link, Bob! My husband and I are gearing up to brew our first batch soon and have been contemplating all of the cleaners/sanitizers out there. Being a big proponent of all things cheap and effective, I think we're going to try the bleach/vinegar method.

I'd be hesitant to use bleach as my sanitize of choice and I would never trust it as a no rinse sanitizer. Every professional brewer and brew shop employee I have spoken with cringe at the mention of the "B Word".

Use Star San or Iodophore. Both are cheap, no rinse sanitizers that require just minutes of contact time to do the job and impart zero off flavors/aromas when properly diluted.

Just my two cents...

WBC · 08-18-2008, 02:44 AM

+1 on the Starsan and PBW (brewery wash). I have used both of these for years and they are much more effective than bleach and much quicker to sanitize because you can use Starsan in a spray bottle and do not have to rinse. This is the purpose for which they were manufactured.