Idophor mixtures....

What is the rule of thumb? One cap full per gallon or 5 gallons of water??? What should I use?

that is about what I use but you want the water to take on an amber hue also.

I generally use star san now, but I used to use iodophor. I believe the correct ratio was 1 capful for 2.5 gal. So if you are filling up a 5 gal bucket use 2 capfuls

Thanks for the info! Why are you using star san now???

.5oz = 3 teaspoons: 5 gallons
.25oz = 1.5 teaspoons: 2.5 gallons
.1oz = .6 teaspoon: 1 gallon

jay29 said:

Thanks for the info! Why are you using star san now???

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I still have half a bottle of iodophor around, but I like to use star san because I can mix up 5 gal of it and keep it around practically forever. I keep it in a spare keg and just pull off a little bit when I need it. I also always have a spray bottle with it around for sanitizing things quickly.

If your iodophore is getting old, you may need more than the 1 tablespoon per five gallons. Just use the color as your guide.


TL

No!

2 cap fulls per 5 gal.

As it turns out, the cap on a one liter bottle of iodophor has a capacity of ¼ ounce. This means that I was using a concentration of approximately 19 ppm of titratable iodine. To obtain an effective sanitizer, no more than 2 capfuls, (1/2 oz.), need be added to 5 gallons of water. This creates a solution at 12.5 ppm.

Also don't worry about the shelf life of undiluted iodine unless you keep it stored where it's exposed to sunlight.

I asked Dr. Landman about the "shelf life" of B-T-F Iodophor and he related a story about one of their distributors who had found a case of the product that had been forgotten for 5 years and returned it to the manufacturer. NCI tested the 5 year old product and found that it still met standards. This was, of course, undiluted iodophor that had been well packaged and protected from exposure to light, air etc.

here's the entire article and interview with Dr. Landman

http://www.bayareamashers.org/content/maindocs/iodophor.htm

Yikes! I just noticed that I had "1 tablespoon per gallon" in my last reply, so I edited to change that. Two capfuls is equal to one tablespoon, and I find it much easier and neater to handle a tablespoon than the cap off the bottle. The cap is convenient if I don't have my measuring spoon handy, though.

And, I've observed a much more rapid drop in potency than stated in that article. I'm not measuring with any sophisticated equipment, other than my own eyes, but I had bottle of year old B-T-F. I had to use almost twice the amount to get the same color, and I did not notice any detrimental effect in the final product.


TL

How much rinsing (if any) would you guys generally do after you had sanitized with Iodophor?

I'm currently rinsing ALL my sanitized equipment after the Iodophor and now I'm wondering if I'm negating the sanitation or possibly risking contamination

Diablotastic said:

How much rinsing (if any) would you guys generally do after you had sanitized with Iodophor?

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None.

Diablotastic said:

I'm currently rinsing ALL my sanitized equipment after the Iodophor and now I'm wondering if I'm negating the sanitation or possibly risking contamination

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You are. I let mine sit upsidown for a few minutes then fill.

Thanks Wild....how about water temp when mixing a solution of sanitizer. I've been using hot water from the tap...does this mater or should I be using cold to room temp water to mix?

You can use cold or warm but it is not for use in hot water.

One tablespoon of Iodofor to five gallons of water is what I have been taught.

Thanks again....apparently I've been doing this all wrong cuz I was using hot water and rinsing after sanitation lol

I'm surprised I've avoided contamination on my 1st couple batches.

As far as contamination goes...how would tell if there is some. Is there very distinctive tastes or can there be mild contamination that may go slightly unoticed?

Sorry to drag up an older thread, but it seems forum friendly to recycle...

Since I'm doing the AG thing now I think I need to learn more about doing a proper iodine test of the mash.

I've been using potassium metabisulfite for my sanitizer, because that's what my LHBS (who's a mostly wine oriented guy) recommended, and had in stock. I've had no problems using it, but it does leave my hands smelling "sulfur-y" for a while after I'm done brewing.

Anyways, I was just trying to figure out if I could switch to Iodophor, or even just Betadine or Povidone Iodine available at most pharmacies, for both sanitizing use , as well as for doing the starch conversion testing?

It looks like B-T-F Iodophor has an apparent iodine concentration ~12%, and Povidone and Betadine are 10%.

I got a handout from my LHBS when I bought some more. It came from BTF...

1 tbs/5 gallons of water is the company's recommendation... I don't know if they've recently changed it or something, or if they thought people were confused...But the owner of the shop told me they were asked to give it to every iodophor purchaser.

You guys all mix up 5 gallons of Iodophor? I usually mix no more than 1/2 gallon (2 litres). I add 1 ml of Iodophor per litre of water, so 2 ml for my 2 litre pail.

I asked my pharmacist if she had something to measure the Iodophor with and she gave me a handful of droppers with 1ml marked on them. I guess they come with some medication that she dispenses but the customer doesn't always need the dropper. I'd actually gone to her to see if she could get me bulk Iodophor so I wouldn't have to spend $7 per 500ml bottle at my HBS.

That brings up another point. People are talking about measuring using capfuls. I would think that a capful would vary depending on the size of the bottle and where you buy it from. The LHBS might buy different shaped bottles to decant their product based on price and availability. You really should get some reliable method of measuring. Once I started measuring, I found that I was using WAY too much for simple sanitizing. So while she couldn't get me bulk Iodophor at a cheaper price, she did give me the ability to conserve such that my 500ml will now last twice as long.

Fingers said:

You guys all mix up 5 gallons of Iodophor?

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I have a 5 gallon soysace bucket I fill with four gallons of water and less than 1tb of Iodophor. Since I'm usually bottling, racking to secondary, making a mead or cider and brewing on the same weekend, if I'm lucky, the batch last me through those uses...I cover it overnight with tinfoil...

For small jobs I mix up just what I need, like you do...but I don't really measure the small batches...I just add enough iodophor to match the same straw color as the 4 gallon batches.

Fingers said:

...I'd actually gone to her to see if she could get me bulk Iodophor so I wouldn't have to spend $7 per 500ml bottle at my HBS.

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You can buy concentrated bulk Iodophor for 8 dollars a gallon at a farm and feed store...there's a picture of the stuff on a thread from 2 weeks ago....

Here it is from someone's thread...Nipple Sanitizer. I know it says 19.00 on this gallon...but someone posted last week they bought it for 8 bucks.

It's foodgrade because it's used to sanitize the nipple and the milking machine prior to milking cows...so go figure.

So I thought I'd be some kinda bargain hunter and check out the Rite Aid on the road between jobs. They had Betadine for $19.99 for 8 oz, which ain't a deal by any means compared to BTF's Iodophor, and they had their Rite Aid brand Povidone Iodine solution. The Rite aid brand not only had a 10% iodine active ingredient, but a number of "inactive" ingredients that I balked at, including Nonoxyl-9, which to my memory is a spermicide, WTF does that belong in an iodine solution for. There was also citric acid, sodium hydroxide and finally some water. It was kind of scary to read and ruled it out for me right away.

.6 teaspoon: 1 gallon is what I use

ma2brew said:

So I thought I'd be some kinda bargain hunter and check out the Rite Aid on the road between jobs. They had Betadine for $19.99 for 8 oz, which ain't a deal by any means compared to BTF's Iodophor, and they had their Rite Aid brand Povidone Iodine solution. The Rite aid brand not only had a 10% iodine active ingredient, but a number of "inactive" ingredients that I balked at, including Nonoxyl-9, which to my memory is a spermicide, WTF does that belong in an iodine solution for. There was also citric acid, sodium hydroxide and finally some water. It was kind of scary to read and ruled it out for me right away.

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I've been using WalMart's Povidone for many, many batches and haven't had a problem. The other inactive ingredients don't bother me.

Revvy said:

You can buy concentrated bulk Iodophor for 8 dollars a gallon at a farm and feed store...there's a picture of the stuff on a thread from 2 weeks ago....

Here it is from someone's thread...Nipple Sanitizer. I know it says 19.00 on this gallon...but someone posted last week they bought it for 8 bucks.

It's foodgrade because it's used to sanitize the nipple and the milking machine prior to milking cows...so go figure.

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THANK YOU, Revvy! That's great! I just happen to live in an agricultural area. Is there a particular concentration that I should be looking for or is it a standard? One of the issues I had with the Iodophor from my HBS is that the concentration isn't listed so I don't know what to replace it with.

Lil' Sparky said:

I've been using WalMart's Povidone for many, many batches and haven't had a problem. The other inactive ingredients don't bother me.

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To what ratio are you using this?

Do you use it for starch conversion testing as well?

ma2brew said:

So I thought I'd be some kinda bargain hunter and check out the Rite Aid on the road between jobs. They had Betadine for $19.99 for 8 oz, which ain't a deal by any means compared to BTF's Iodophor, and they had their Rite Aid brand Povidone Iodine solution. The Rite aid brand not only had a 10% iodine active ingredient, but a number of "inactive" ingredients that I balked at, including Nonoxyl-9, which to my memory is a spermicide, WTF does that belong in an iodine solution for. There was also citric acid, sodium hydroxide and finally some water. It was kind of scary to read and ruled it out for me right away.

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Geez...nonoxyl 9...What the hell for? I can't even begin to understand why?

Fingers said:

THANK YOU, Revvy! That's great! I just happen to live in an agricultural area. Is there a particular concentration that I should be looking for or is it a standard? One of the issues I had with the Iodophor from my HBS is that the concentration isn't listed so I don't know what to replace it with.

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I couldn't tell you...It might have been mentioned in the podcast but I can't recall...and it's probably propriatary anyway...

I doubt there will be different concentrations to chose from...They'll probably only carry one brand..since it changes shades depending on the dilution if it's as dark in the concentrated form as what's in your bottle I would assume it's going to be close..

If it's good enough to sanitize milking machines and cow's teets, it's gotta be strong enough for us...

Keep me posted on the brand/cost and any info you find out.

Revvy said:

Keep me posted on the brand/cost and any info you find out.

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Done. Just keep in mind that I'm in Canada so prices could be radically different one way or another.

ma2brew said:

To what ratio are you using this?

Do you use it for starch conversion testing as well?

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There was some discussion on this a while back. It requires roughly the same concentration. I just look for that light amber hue like others have said. You can use it for starch conversion, too, but I use iodine tincture (when I do it, which isn't often anymore).

Revvy you stole my iodine picture! Fingers, if you want the particulars off that bottle I can read the ingredients off later today when I get off work.

EvilTOJ said:

Revvy you stole my iodine picture! Fingers, if you want the particulars off that bottle I can read the ingredients off later today when I get off work.

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Because you're my hero for saving us boucoup bucks on sanitization!!!!

I'd like the particulars on the stuff too. I think finding this stuff is the single most important discovery for the cost effective (I.E. broke) brewer.

EvilTOJ said:

Revvy you stole my iodine picture! Fingers, if you want the particulars off that bottle I can read the ingredients off later today when I get off work.

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Thanks ETOJ, but I think anything I buy will have mixing instructions anyway. Unless I get the exact same product you have the concentration might be different so I'd be better off just following the directions on the bottle. I'll buy the strongest stuff I can that is meant for consumption. I hope to be able to look around sometime in the middle of next week or so. I'm not in that big of a hurry because I just bought a bottle so I won't need anymore for a couple of months.

Revvy said:

Because you're my hero for saving us boucoup bucks on sanitization!!!!

I'd like the particulars on the stuff too. I think finding this stuff is the single most important discovery for the cost effective (I.E. broke) brewer.

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I'm not a broke brewer, but I am of Scottish descent and common sense dictates that I'll not pay more for a product than is necessary. Not only that, I'd rather have a gallon sitting around than a small bottle. It's annoying having to remember to pick up more. I'd rather do that once a year or so.

Fingers said:

Thanks ETOJ, but I think anything I buy will have mixing instructions anyway. Unless I get the exact same product you have the concentration might be different so I'd be better off just following the directions on the bottle. I'll buy the strongest stuff I can that is meant for consumption. I hope to be able to look around sometime in the middle of next week or so. I'm not in that big of a hurry because I just bought a bottle so I won't need anymore for a couple of months.



I'm not a broke brewer, but I am of Scottish descent and common sense dictates that I'll not pay more for a product than is necessary. Not only that, I'd rather have a gallon sitting around than a small bottle. It's annoying having to remember to pick up more. I'd rather do that once a year or so.

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Now my question is, how do you partial out the gallon? Do you just grab the gallon whenever your mixing up a batch, or do you pour off some of it into a smaller container...I can just see me trying to tip a hole gallon to get a tablespoon full...and the picture ain't pretty.

Once a year? heck, I've had this jug for almost three years and it's still half full. I'm not stingy with it either, I just dump it into a bucket with wild abandon. I don't really portion it out, per se, just a small bloop until the water turns iodine color.

Anyways, the active ingredient is Iodine at 1%. The inactive ingredients is Citric acid, nonoxynol-12, purified water, and sodium hydroxide. The nonoxynol is an additional microbe killer. Since it's for use on horses, cattle, swine, and sheep prior to surgical procedures such as castrating or docking, the instructions say to shake well, then apply the iodine directly on to the area to be treated. It says it can also be used in a pump sprayer with no dilution. There's no mixing instructions at all. So unless you plan on swabbing down big jim and the twins, you'll have to use your own discretion. As I said, I've used it for years and never had a problem either with contamination or with off flavors. I use it just like a no rinse sanitizer, just letting bottles air-dry.

EvilTOJ said:

Once a year? heck, I've had this jug for almost three years and it's still half full. I'm not stingy with it either, I just dump it into a bucket with wild abandon. I don't really portion it out, per se, just a small bloop until the water turns iodine color.

Anyways, the active ingredient is Iodine at 1%. The inactive ingredients is Citric acid, nonoxynol-12, purified water, and sodium hydroxide. The nonoxynol is an additional microbe killer. Since it's for use on horses, cattle, swine, and sheep prior to surgical procedures such as castrating or docking, the instructions say to shake well, then apply the iodine directly on to the area to be treated. It says it can also be used in a pump sprayer with no dilution. There's no mixing instructions at all. So unless you plan on swabbing down big jim and the twins, you'll have to use your own discretion. As I said, I've used it for years and never had a problem either with contamination or with off flavors. I use it just like a no rinse sanitizer, just letting bottles air-dry.

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You dilute it right? At the same ratio as Iodophor- 1 tbs/5 gallons?

Yep, I dilute it, I never put it on full strength. I'd have to say I put at least a tablespoon into 5 gallons or so. I don't measure exactly, it's more like what you see on the cooking shows where they dollop it in and call it good

So I don't know if it was this thread or some other regarding Idophor, but info indicated this could be bought at farm supply stores in bulk for astronomically cheaper prices than LHBS's. So I read this info about 20 minutes ago, and then came past a Countrymax. I go in and ask the manager if they have this, he says they used to as of a month ago but are no longer allowed to carry Iodine containing solutions in anything larger than 32oz at 7% strength max by law. Why you may ask this is a law in NYS now apparently? Methheads use it to make crank. Un - f'in - believable.

Any other NY'ers heard of this law? Anyone buying sanitizer at Farm Supply stores? What Countrymax did have was not deemed a food safe sanitizer and was similar to Betadine antiseptic - $26 for 16 Fl Oz. Off to the LHBS I go I guess!?!

JohnA111 said:

So I don't know if it was this thread or some other regarding Idophor, but info indicated this could be bought at farm supply stores in bulk for astronomically cheaper prices than LHBS's. So I read this info about 20 minutes ago, and then came past a Countrymax. I go in and ask the manager if they have this, he says they used to as of a month ago but are no longer allowed to carry Iodine containing solutions in anything larger than 32oz at 7% strength max by law. Why you may ask this is a law in NYS now apparently? Methheads use it to make crank. Un - f'in - believable.

Any other NY'ers heard of this law? Anyone buying sanitizer at Farm Supply stores? What Countrymax did have was not deemed a food safe sanitizer and was similar to Betadine antiseptic - $26 for 16 Fl Oz. Off to the LHBS I go I guess!?!

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You're the first to mention it....grrr.....I'm running low on Iodophor and was planning to hit the farm and feed soon....

I'm digging google for it, but I can't find any "law" regarding the ban of the sale of iodine in certain quantities. (Numerous cases involving empty iodine bottles being the tip to a DEA search warrant for methlabs can be found though )

Maybe this is just a store policy? I dunno. Any info would be appreciated if anyone knows of such a ban.

JohnA111 said:

I'm digging google for it, but I can't find any "law" regarding the ban of the sale of iodine in certain quantities. (Numerous cases involving empty iodine bottles being the tip to a DEA search warrant for methlabs can be found though )

Maybe this is just a store policy? I dunno. Any info would be appreciated if anyone knows of such a ban.

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I'm going to hit my local Tractor Supply Company shop this weekend to see if they still carry the stuff. I'll let you know....

I get mine at Blain's Farm & Fleet.

They have 16 oz and 1 gal jugs in 1% and 2.4% concentrations. The Brand is Dionne out of Des Moines, IA

My bottle says this:
Active ingredient: 2.4% Titratable Iodine......Antiseptic
Inactive ingredients: Isopropanol, purified water

In regard to the meth thing (**** them) it says:
Restricted drug, use only as directed

Even though I can't find it on their website, I paid $8 for 1 gal of this.