Only need to sanitize my wine thief - Starsan question

Do I have to use a full 1 oz/5 gallon mixture of Starsan? Hate to waste it since I'm probably 1 week away from bottling so don't have anything else to sanitize...I just want to do a hydrometer reading since my bubbling activity was slow and minimal...want to verify everything is progressing.

I don't guess the starsan solution will keep for a week if I plan to bottle next weekend? I don't have a spray bottle, but I guess that is the way you guys deal with this situation right? Just have a spray bottle full of a starsan mixture that you can always use on one-off sanitizing situations like this one?

There is no reason the star san won't be good when you get ready to bottle next week. As long as you have a good place to store it. You can measure ph to tell if it is still good but I usually just check to see if it looks cloudy. AS long as it seems clear it should be good to go.
BTW I rarely mix 5 gallons anymore. I just do 1/2 oz per 2.5 gallons and store it in a glass carboy with a stopper. I can use my auto siphon to take out what I need to sanitize and then I have sanitized my siphon as well. Afterwards I dumps what I can back in the carboy. It doesn't take much to do the job and I have kept batches around for 3 months that still worked great.

I use a spray bottle, I've got a small graduated cylinder to measure with. I also make up gallon jugs from time to time... usually before bottling day....and then have some left over for the next brew a day or two after that....

If you're using tap water, and it's fairly soft, it could last up to a week. If you have hard water, I wouldn't trust it after 24 hours, but some people will tell you 48 hours is fine. I don't have litmus paper handy, so I just dump after 24 hours if I use tap water.

If you can get your hands on some distilled water (any grocery store, most convenience stores) it's good for at least a few weeks.

The mix ratio is 2.8 ml per 1/2 gallon, or 5.6 ml per gallon. Use a glue pipette from the hardware store or a baby med droper from where ever you get a baby med dropper.

SnickASaurusRex said:

The mix ratio is 2.8 ml per 1/2 gallon, or 5.6 ml per gallon. Use a glue pipette from the hardware store or a baby med droper from where ever you get a baby med dropper.

Click to expand...

Or just make an estimation, erring on the side of caution. Too much Star San might foam up a bit more than usual, but it isn't going to hurt anything.

Edited: Well, unless you're using pure concentrated Star San. Don't do that.

1oz/5gal. is a ratio so any measurement that follows the ratio will be fine. Make a half gallon using 1/10th an ounce of Star-San

spray bottles a cheap, I picked up mine at wally world for around $1

I always refill my spray bottle on brew day and keep that around until i make the next big bucket of starsan. It's a great investment for a buck or two. And there is no reason you can't make less than 5 gallons of starsan solution now.

1 ounce per five gallons
six teaspoons in an ounce
means six teapsoons per five gallons
in turn this is one and one-fifth teaspoons per one gallon
I use 1 and one-quarter teaspoons per gallon and call it close enough!