which website has the cheapest star san?

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the stuff will last you a LONG time if you use it right also, and the simplicity of use is well worth is. don't be turned off by the price.
 
Yes if you get the 32 it can last over a year....one thing to do is only make up a gallon or so (I usually do 2.5 gallons on a typical brew day), and slosh it around in your fermenter then pour it in a bucket and dunk stuff in. Then soak your autosiphon hose, then use your autosiphon to run it to another container, this will sanitize your autosiphon.

Also use a spray bottle with Distilled water (I bought a quart spray bottle and use 2 ml/quart) and spray stuff rather than mixing stuff up everytime you need it even for small things. And keep it hand...any time I need to take a hydro reading , open the fermenter or to clean up and re-sanitize after a blow off, I just spritz it with sanitizer...

And it can last a long time?months in a tight spray bottle with distilled water.

You can also store any size of it for a long time if you mix it with Distilled/RO water and keep it sealed between uses....With distilled, as long at it says clear then it is still usable.

If you buy the largest amount and do like I recommend, you will actually end up saving money in terms of re-use and how long it lasts.
 
I know the price seems high, but I am still on the same bottle I bought in November 2007, come this nov. it'll be 2 years since I've needed any. I have brewed 71 batches with it, and its between 1/3 and 1/2 still!
 
Just bought a 32 oz bottle from austinhomebrew.com for cheap. I as well use a spray bottle for just about everything except when I have to sterilize on brew day or bottling day. I also bought some iodophor to use from time to time to combat any growing resistance to starsan. I don't think this is necessary but it gives me piece of mind.
 
Do you guys mix Star San with water and keep it in a bucket or something? I've been going through this stuff like water! I just filled a spray bottle but I didn't use distilled water, just regular tap water with Star San. Right now I've got about 2 gallons of water/Star San in a primary bucket that I've used for dunking things while brewing today. If I cover it and stick it in the basement to save it?
 
Do you guys mix Star San with water and keep it in a bucket or something? I've been going through this stuff like water! I just filled a spray bottle but I didn't use distilled water, just regular tap water with Star San. Right now I've got about 2 gallons of water/Star San in a primary bucket that I've used for dunking things while brewing today. If I cover it and stick it in the basement to save it?

Buy a couple jugs of distilled water and mix it up in there. I fill my spray bottle from the jugs and pour a gallon in my buckets and carboys to sanitize them. When I'm finished, I just shove a funnel in the jug, pour everything back in, and seal it up.

It takes me a couple months to finish off a gallon jug. I check it with a pH strip to ensure it is still effective.
 
Do you guys mix Star San with water and keep it in a bucket or something?

I have an apple juice 1 gallon jug, I mix up a gallon at a time. I use the spray bottle for everything, even carboys, I lay them on their side on a towel and roll them whil spraying till there is about a cup worth in there, then dump it. The only time I don't use the spray bottle is on the kegs, after cleaning, I dump in a cup or 2, swirl it around and leave it in there in the closet till I'm ready to fill it, then I swirl again and invert in the sink 30 minutes before filling.
 
Very interesting. I didn't know the mix would be reusable. I've got a few gallons of distilled in the garage I use when mixing coolant for my car. I'll have to pick some more up for brewing.
 
I mix up a 5 gallon batch in a bucket and that lasts me several weeks. I bought some pH test strips so I can verify that it is still good-- pH must be lower than 3.5-- before I use it if I haven't used it in over a week. After a month or so, I dump it because I've lost a gallon or so during use, plus I feel better having a fresher batch for new brews.

Go for the big bottle-- you won't have to buy it again for a few years.

-Steve
 
When Star San is diluted with distilled water has a pretty long shelf life. I just add 6ml with a syringe to the jug of distilled water and use a spray bottle for nearly every purpose including my fermentors. I used vinator for sanitizing bottles. A 32oz bottle makes 160 gallons of sanitizer.
 
I was told that as long as it foams when stirred its ok. I never heard of RO or distilled water. I have a 5 gallon batch I made up with tap water about a month ago and it still foams.

Have I been misinformed?
 
I was told that as long as it foams when stirred its ok. I never heard of RO or distilled water. I have a 5 gallon batch I made up with tap water about a month ago and it still foams.

Have I been misinformed?

Yes, you have been misinformed. StarSan is effective only as long as the pH of the diluted mixture stays under 3.5. Whether it foams or not or whether it is cloudy or not is irrelevant. The acidic nature of StarSan is what makes it an effective sanitizer.

-Steve
 
I only use it from a spray bottle so it lasts forfriggingever. I don't see any need to have a large volume of starsan since only the part that's actually touching things is working and the rest is a waste. A spray bottle full of starsan lets you spray down your buckets inner surface and it's done.

For a better bottle or carboy, 5 or 6 sprays will coat most of the inside and leave enough in a puddle in the bottle to swirl around and make sure every inch is coated.

For hoses, I actually put the hose up to the sprayer and send a few pumps into the tubing then let it run through to the other end before spraying the outside down.

Everything can be sprayed so there's no reason to make a whole bucket of it!

Then we use the stuff on cutting boards, dog dishes, everywhere! Just make sure you're careful so you don't stain your countertops or anything.
 
So I've been looking to get some star san but I'm turned off by the price....which website has the cheapest star san? Thanks for the help!

If you are chasing cost efficiency, mix it with distilled and it will last nearly forever. Mine is still clear and 3.2 pH* after a few months. Get distilled on sale for 50c gallon and premix it. Live large.

And this is from someone who prefers iodophor, so you know I'm not blowing smoke in your nether regions....

* as far as my aging strip-assessing eyeballs can tell
 
If I mix up with tap water, it gets cloudy almost immediately. With distilled, it lasts much longer. However, you use very little, and a spray bottle is a fantastic method of applying. I use mine instead of a vinator, and for sanitizing caps, hoses, and lots of other stuff when breaking out the big bucket is not necessary. Add a few drops to the bottle and add some more RO water...
 
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