Pbw

Hi all....can anyone tell how much PBW I would need to clean a corny keg? I was going to let it soak for an hour or so. Thanks

I use a 1/2 cup of PBW per five gallons of hot water for cleaning out kegs and carboys.

I use between 1 and 2 Tbs/G

Rinse out keg, add 5 tbsp of PBW, fill keg with hot water. Turn upside down and bump liquid port to get the cleaner in the diptube. Let sit for 30-60 min, then drain and rinse.

FWIW, I then fill with StarSan and store my kegs this way until they're needed for service.

fwiw, oxyfree is way cheaper and just as effective. I ONLY use pbw to clean my copper cfc, it's expensive stuff.

_

wildwest450 said:

fwiw, oxyfree is way cheaper and just as effective. I ONLY use pbw to clean my copper cfc, it's expensive stuff.

_

Click to expand...

Long time PBW user, recently turned Oxy user. Why don't you use Oxy on your CFC?

Celticway said:

Long time PBW user, recently turned Oxy user. Why don't you use Oxy on your CFC?

Click to expand...

I've heard reports (although conflicting) that it can damage copper, not taking any chances. I know that pbw is a good cleaner and it's all I trust when I can't see inside a chiller.


_

wildwest450 said:

I've heard reports (although conflicting) that it can damage copper, not taking any chances. I know that pbw is a good cleaner and it's all I trust when I can't see inside a chiller.

_

Click to expand...

Huh. Well now that sucks.

Aren't they both pretty much just sodium percarbonate?

StMarcos said:

Aren't they both pretty much just sodium percarbonate?

Click to expand...

This from A guy at 5 star


There are similarities between the two and a reason why PBW is not found on the laundry soap isle at your local retailer (although it DOES do a GREAT job there and occasionally finds its way into our washing machine at home, too!)

Both are oxygenated Alkali cleaners. PBW, carrying numerous US Patents, set the stage by being a breakthrough product harnessing Oxygen as a solvent without being corrosive. Many other products now mimic that capacity but PBW was initially DESIGNED for a major U.S. brewery and goes much farther than just being an Oxygenated alkali.

In short, as PBW was built for the brewer, it has a package of chelators and surfactants chosen for that role. Chelation addresses mineral soiling and surfactants (detergents) also help the solution break down various soils. Products like the one mentioned and many others either have NO chelation or a very generic one not built for brewery chemistry, resulting in limited cleaning, especially over time. Yes, this can make PBW a tad more pricey, or does it? The recommended dilution for the home brewer is 2 oz per 5 gallons; spending about $1.75 to clean my gear with the finest alkali wash around seems reasonable to me (AND its biodegradable and yes, safe on aluminum and plastics as well as SS).

Lastly, do your own research, oh mighty and wise home brewers. You may well find what Denny found, a home brewer I spoke with at the AHA NHC in Oakland in June whom had also been using a 'less oxpensive item' such as the one mentioned here:

"Jim encouraged me to try cleaning stuff with PBW that had been cleaned in ***** previously. I did that and have to tell you I am amazed with the results. One beer line I had with heavy beerstone I no longer used. Repeated ***** soaks hadn't cleaned it nor had other cleaners I tried. A 2-hour PBW soak and the line was completely clean and is now back in use! I also recleaned buckets I use for fermenters, which I had already been cleaning with ***** and looked clean to me, and I was amazed to see how brown the water was after cleaning."
]

I use about 1/4 cup per 5 gallons. When a keg kicks, I'll rinse it and set it aside. Then when I have several kegs to clean, or some fermenters I'll heat water in my HLT up to about 180F and fill the first keg with the water and 1/4 cup PBW. Let it sit 30 minutes and use CO2 to push it to the next keg. I can easily do 4 or 5 kegs before the solution cools off very much, then I use it to clean the fermenters(with a little more hot water and maybe an additional 1/8 cup PBW.
I bought a 5 gallon bucket of PBW from a brewpub nearby for about $150 6 years ago and I still have 1/2 of it.

Has that been corroborated that PBW will remove beerstone? I was under the impression that acid cleaners were much more effective at this. I get a lot more beerstone since I've been using Ca additions for water treatment (my base water is very soft - 10ppmCa). The BLC I got from micromatic certainly does remove beerstone. I actually think that is a caustic cleaner, so maybe I've got things backwards.

I use a 70/30 mix of Oxyclean and the TSP substitute (metasulfite?) that Ubermick recommended. Works really well and far better than Oxy alone. Before I started making this stuff, I did a test on two better bottles that had really bad dried on krausen from an extended dry hop. This was PBW vs Oxyclean, and there was absolutely no comparison. The PBW melted the ring away in 10-15 minutes, the Oxy I kept swirling and shaking until the next day. Gave up and finished cleaning it with PBW. I haven't had a chance to test the Oxy/TSP recipe above yet.

Ricand said:

I use a 70/30 mix of Oxyclean and the TSP substitute (metasulfite?) that Ubermick recommended. Works really well and far better than Oxy alone. Before I started making this stuff, I did a test on two better bottles that had really bad dried on krausen from an extended dry hop. This was PBW vs Oxyclean, and there was absolutely no comparison. The PBW melted the ring away in 10-15 minutes, the Oxy I kept swirling and shaking until the next day. Gave up and finished cleaning it with PBW. I haven't had a chance to test the Oxy/TSP recipe above yet.

Click to expand...

Any chance to test this out yet?

HitTheTwit said:

Any chance to test this out yet?

Click to expand...

Sadly (or not) I got a conical so I don't have two gunked up things to do a side by side. I'm still really happy with the cleaning power of the 'fake' PBW and with Costco's pricing on Oxy I'm saving money. I considered adding a bit of phosphates to the mix, but if it works..