Evan! said:No, PBW is different---it's a caustic rather than an oxygen based cleaner. If you put an oxyclean solution into an aluminum kettle, it will turn dark gray from oxidation; pbw won't.
That post you quoted is wrong, PBW is not a caustic and this is why it is so great for homebrewers. Can you imagine what would happen if they were selling caustic to hombrewers? There would be a lot of dermatologists with full waiting rooms.Was curious and googled, it came upon this, from these forums, so I thought I'd post it:
Either cleaner will work fine on a plastic bucket. I've used both. I prefer oxyclean, just for it's soaking capabilities. That stuff takes everything off, love it. Make sure it's oxyclean FREE though.
That post you quoted is wrong, PBW is not a caustic and this is why it is so great for homebrewers. Can you imagine what would happen if they were selling caustic to hombrewers? There would be a lot of dermatologists with full waiting rooms.
It also is oxygen based as it's primarily sodium percarbonate, the same thing that is in Oxiclean. The primary difference is that PBW has water softeners in it.
If by caustic you mean alkaline, then yes many household chemicals including bleach are caustic. But in the brewing world when talking about cleaners "caustic" refers to caustic soda cleaners. PBW is a buffered alkaline cleaner and is considered non-caustic. Even if you do consider that a caustic by your own definition that post was still incredibly wrong because PBW uses oxygen to remove deposits.Five Star's Liquid Line Cleaner (LLC) product is caustic. I got it at my LHBS.
I find PBW to be superior and worth the minimal extra cost. I don't like using Oxyclean as I feel I never get it rinsed satisfactorily and PBW just does a way better cleaning job in way less time.
If by caustic you mean alkaline, then yes many household chemicals including bleach are caustic. But in the brewing world when talking about cleaners "caustic" refers to caustic soda cleaners. PBW is a buffered alkaline cleaner and is considered non-caustic. Even if you do consider that a caustic by your own definition that post was still incredibly wrong because PBW uses oxygen to remove deposits.
Right on, I should have read your post a little closer. That product isn't marketed specifically at homebrewers though and I have never seen it for sale in a homebrew store. Consider yourself lucky that your LHBS owner finds his customers responsible enough to use it.LLC is a 38% solution of sodium hydroxide.
PBW is not caustic. I didn't say it was. I was simply pointing out that you can buy ACTUAL caustic at your LHBS.
FWIW, I use Oxi to clean instead of PBW.
I have SOFT water
I think this is where I think you will see the most difference between people think that one is better than the other. If you have hard water, I think you will have less luck with Oxi and prefer PBW.
I think the cost is small because it translates into less that a cent per pour difference and I get away more enjoyment than that from the difference. I have used a ton of oxi in my day and honestly much prefer PBW.
I think the cost is small because it translates into less that a cent per pour difference and I get away more enjoyment than that from the difference. I have used a ton of oxi in my day and honestly much prefer PBW.
I work in a brewery and we use PBW and no you don't need to use as much as it recommends.
I find PBW to be superior and worth the minimal extra cost. I don't like using Oxyclean as I feel I never get it rinsed satisfactorily and PBW just does a way better cleaning job in way less time.
I guess all tastes are invisible, as far as I can tell.
At least I don't remember seeing any.
StarSan has almost no flavor.
It is actually safe to drink when diluted (don't drink the concentrate!).
See the Don't Fear the Foam threads.
I bought a pound of PBW recently, so I've been thinking about the cost of cleaners lately. I paid $6.75 for that pound jar of PBW. They recommend to use 1 oz. per gallon, so you can get 16 gallons of solution at their recommended rate. If I wanted to soak my fermenter, a 15 gallon conical, in PBW, I'd have to use essentially the entire pound. It would cost me almost $7 to clean my fermenter. If you want to break it down to pours, that's way more than 1 cent per pour. The total ingredient cost for my average batch is under $30. Adding $7 to clean my fermenter is adding a very significant percentage to my overall cost (not to mention cost for cleaning the kegs and other things that require cleaning throughout the course of a batch).
For a 10 gallon batch, if you were to soak your fermenter, two kegs and some other equipment in PBW, you're talking $10-$15 in cost of PBW for a single batch. That's just too much for me to swallow when there is a 90% as effective alternative available for half the cost, or less.
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