Plastic Fermenter THREAD cleaning and general technique

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Andoe

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I hear everyone say just mix up a chemical cleaning solution and slush it around in the container or let it soak to clean it.

What about cleaning the threads on the tap and the threads on the plastic fermenter? Do you unscrew the tap and scrub both threads with a spounge and cleaning solution?

How do you soak the threads on the fermenter once the fermenters tap is out? You could remove the tap and soak that but it's hard to soak the fermenters threads? How is it done?
 
Most people completely disassemble the spigot every few batches to clean it thoroughly. There are plenty of cleaners that work well. I use oxyclean.
 
If possible, get a bucket without a spigot to primary in. A spigot just offers so many more grooves and surfaces for infection to hide on. A more or less seamless bucket is really easy to clean.
 
I also suggest getting a primary without a spigot. When i clean my bottling bucket whih has a spigot. I mix up starsan in a two gallon kettle i have. I soak everything in there that needs to be cleaned at the time, in cluding the spigot. Then i just use my hand to scoop out some sanitizer and rub it around the whole on the bucket where the spigot goes and i fill the hole with starsan bubbles to clean it. Then i put the spigot on and pour all the sanitizer solution from the kettle into the bucket, add anothe gallon or two of water and some more starsan, cover the top, and shake it for a bit. My lids pop on. I dont have any threads on them but if i did, i would wipe them with solution and try to get some of the starsan foam to sit on them.
 
so...apart from rubbing the threads with sanitiser, and maybe a spounge or cloth, there is no way to soak the threads unless you use a bath tub or have a reall big sink? :cross:

what about not removing the spigot at all? would that seal out the bacteria? Surely if beer can't get out through the threads then not much bacteria is going to be able to hide in the start of the plastic thread, and if you shake the bucket around with a sanitizer inside then won't it get the bacteria? :drunk:

BTW I have a COOPERS Larger going in the brewing kit and it's been going for 7days now at about 24C (75F) and there's still activity in the air lock. I thought that, at that temperature, it would be finished fermenting by now.
 
When i clean my bottling bucket whih has a spigot. I mix up starsan in a two gallon kettle i have. I soak everything in there that needs to be cleaned at the time, in cluding the spigot

StarSan is a sanitizer NOT a cleaner! You need to use PBW or OxiClean Free or some other type of cleaner to CLEAN your fermenter before SANITIZING. Sorry for all the caps, but something that has been sanitized is not necessarily clean. You want your fermenter to be both clean and sanitary.

I soak my fermenter with oxiclean free overnight, then rinse like mad and store it with about 1/2 gallon of star-san in it. If you've got one with threads I'd soak it overnight, then disassemble and soak those parts in a bowl with a little oxiclean. After your finished rinse it all really well, reassemble then store until you need it again.
 
a bit off topic but I realised something

I was going to buy some Star san to use as a sanitizer so that I wouldn't have to rinse with tap water which could possibly have bacteria in it.......but I never planned to use anything but tap water to fill up the fermenter when I use a premixed beer pack anyway.
I thought I was going to eliminate bacteria by not rinsing with tap water but then use tap water anyway in the brew hahahaha :drunk: stupid


ANOTHER QUESTION - when I filled the hydrometer test tube with beer (through the tap) air got sucked into the plastic fermenter through the air lock.

Should I not get beer out through the tap anymore to prevent oxygen getting in? I wont be able to take hydrometer readings then
 
I don't like to get into my fermenter in any way...I use a satellite test bottle. my experience shows me its pretty darn accurate.
 
I thought I was going to eliminate bacteria by not rinsing with tap water but then use tap water anyway in the brew hahahaha :drunk: stupid

You can use tap water, just make sure it's boiled and cooled first.

ANOTHER QUESTION - when I filled the hydrometer test tube with beer (through the tap) air got sucked into the plastic fermenter through the air lock.

Should I not get beer out through the tap anymore to prevent oxygen getting in? I wont be able to take hydrometer readings then

I wouldn't use the spigot to get a sample, use a turkey baster or wine thief, or even a sanitized ladle to pull the sample out of the top and pour the sample in to your test jar. By using the spigot you're rousing the yeast more than is necessary and potentially giving bacteria a place to grow on the outside of the fermenter.

what do you mean and what is a satellite test bottle?

A satellite test bottle is nothing more than a smaller version of what is going on in the fermenter. Say he has a 1gal jug, and places 1/2gal of wort from his batch in there. He adds the appropriate amount of yeast at the same time he pitches yeast in to the big fermenter. The theory is that both of them will ferment the exact same way as long as they are kept in the same conditions, so he takes his gravity readings on this satellite instead of taking them in his main fermenter. A lot of large breweries do this, but their satellites are 7gal buckets. :rockin:
 
exactly. I use a regular beer bottle for my 5 gal batches. (usually its one I'm enjoying while the wort is cooking) I store it with my fermenter...then check gravity on it instead of getting into my bucket. Its usually very close to the actual gravity.
 
Say he has a 1gal jug, and places 1/2gal of wort from his batch in there. He adds the appropriate amount of yeast at the same time he pitches yeast in to the big fermenter. :rockin:

So could you just mix the wort and pitch the yeast in the big fermenter and THEN scoop out a satellite jug full of what's already mixed......instead of making a seperate mix, which could be slightly different?
 
It's NEVER going to be exact, there are too many variables in play, but it can be very close. For me it's not worth the extra work, I take samples directly from my fermenter.
 
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