Sanitizing a carboy advice

Hey there guys - newbie question...

What is the best way of sanitizing a carboy? I've read that in order to sanitize something the object should be exposed to, in this instance Star-San, for 2 minutes. Seems like a lot of sanitizer is to be used to get one carboy sanitized if I had to fill it up and then dump it. Or do you just pour some in there and shake it for a few minutes then dump it?

Rookie I know. Thanks guys!

I just pour in some Star San in and shake it so the entire surface had contact with it. I then let it sit for a minute or so and then give it another shake and pour it out.There's no need to fill it up completely - although I know there are sanitation nazi's out there that will refute that. You can reuse Star San too if you keep it in a covered bucket/container. Also, Star San sanitizes in only 30 seconds.

+1 on the fill-a-little-and-shake method, that's what I do. The foam will coat the sides and sanitize.

Star San is something like 1 oz per 5 gallons of water so it's not really a lot of sanitizer. But rather than dump it down the drain I dump it into a clean 6 gallon bucket and use that as my sanitizer solution throughout the brew day. I just leave my carboy drain upside down over a drain with one of those carboy drainers.

I use the bucket of sanitzer for sanitizing tubing, ez siphon, bungs, airlocks, hop/trub strainers, etc, etc. So it doesn't go immediately to waste.

I do the same bucket method. It made my life so much easier, especially since on my first couple batches I "sanitized" with bleach and then rinsed with water as How to Brew mentioned. I'll never go back to that method. A spray bottle of Star San is handy too. FYI, if you are worried if your Star San is still effective you can test the Ph to be sure.

I will never fill a carboy up with sanatizer again. I filled my carboy to the brim with one step. Then I was going to pour it into a bucket for use for the rest of the brew day. Well one step is slippery ..... so I broke my first carboy and wasted a lot of one step. So now its just star san and shaking ( in the grass incase I slip again)

Fill your bathtub with a Starsan solution then completely immerse your carboy in it overnight. Or, just put a cup or so in your carboy and give it a good shake, wait 30 seconds and drain.

I put 7 tbsps of easy clean or star San. Which ever I have in my Carboy and fill it with warm water. I let it sit while I am filling brew pot and getting my water going. Then I dump the Carboy into my stainless steel sink and fill it up. I flip the Carboy over and dunk the top in for a few min then I take a piece of 6"x6" piece of foil and cover the mouth and set aside. Then my auto siphon bungs air locks and tubing all go into the excess San. It gets me through brew day with minimal sanitiZer use. I also lay foil out on my counter space and coat with the solution then wrap all my stuff in it while I am boiling so there is no chance of nasties blowing on the equipment

I fill mine up and then drain it into the other side side of my sink with an auto-siphon. That way I sanitize it and the tubing at the same time, then I have a sink full of star san for misc. things that need it along the way.

bourgeoisbee said:

I do the same bucket method. It made my life so much easier, especially since on my first couple batches I "sanitized" with bleach and then rinsed with water as How to Brew mentioned. I'll never go back to that method. A spray bottle of Star San is handy too. FYI, if you are worried if your Star San is still effective you can test the Ph to be sure.

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Do you put pure star-san into a spray bottle or do you dilute it first?

Dilute it I fill my bottle on brew day from my mt

JoeyChopps said:

Dilute it I fill my bottle on brew day from my mt

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Alright, good idea.

I guess putting it in a spray bottle and then spraying it into a carboy will make sanitizing a carboy a lot easier than filling it up with 5+ gallons of water and having to pick it up to drain.

I make up a one gallon batch of star-san and use it over and over on multiple brewdays and to sanitize kegs. When I run low, I make up another gallon. You only need enough to wet the surface of an item, so one gallon will last me a long long time.

Yooper said:

I make up a one gallon batch of star-san and use it over and over on multiple brewdays and to sanitize kegs. When I run low, I make up another gallon. You only need enough to wet the surface of an item, so one gallon will last me a long long time.

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Exactly what I do. Make up a small batch and use it over and over until it starts running low then make more. I usually have 2 gallons and a couple small spray bottles hanging around.

diddlydumper said:

Do you put pure star-san into a spray bottle or do you dilute it first?

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I use a spray bottle and just fill it with the solution per Star San directions. I actually use it a lot around the kitchen. I will spray my counter tops and cutting boards every now and then. I do so especially after working with meat.

osagedr said:

Fill your bathtub with a Starsan solution then completely immerse your carboy in it overnight. Or, just put a cup or so in your carboy and give it a good shake, wait 30 seconds and drain.

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:rockin:

I have been using a 32oz spray bottle to use for sanitizing. Since 1oz of StarSan treats 5 gal of water, I figured .05oz or 1.5 grams is what I need to treat 32oz of water. This method has worked for me on my first 4 batches and seems to conserve the SratSan. Who would of thought when I was sitting through all those math classes saying "When will I ever use this" I would actually use it for brewing. I guess math does have it's good points.