Cloudy with a chance of Star San

I've been reading about the length of time Star San stays effective, and the consensus seems to be as long the pH is low and the solution is clear, it's ok.

My problem is that when I mix up a batch, it goes cloudy within an hour or so. So I mix some up at the start of the brew day, or bottling day, and by the time I'm finished, it's cloudy. Presumably there's something in my tap water that's reacting, but is it enough to make the solution useless after this short a period of time?

I'm planning of getting pH test strips with my next order of goodies, but should I be worried in the meantime? And what if the pH is still appropriately low, but the solution is cloudy?

Cheers,
Dan

No way of knowing without testing the PH. I had the same issue so i started using distilled water instead of tap. Now it stays clear for weeks.

If it's cloudy, add more StarSan. My RO/ Starsan mix has been fine for 2 years. I just keep it in a spare keg.

This is NOT entirely true. If it TURNS cloudy after being clear for a period of time, i.e. a couple days, the ph has changed and it is no longer good.

HOWEVER If you MIX it with water and it is cloudy initially it is STILL usually fine, and is only reacting to minerals in the water. The ph most of the time is still in the safe zone. It is recommended that you verify this with ph test strips. But usually the starsan is still good. But there's been threads where folks have done tests with ph meters and various waters, and if it changes within the first few hours the ph still is in effective range. Mine goes cloudy within a couple hours and I've never had a problem.

So yeah, if it's been a couple hours assume it is fine. If it's the next day however I would either confirm with ph strips or go fresh.

The cloudiness is the dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid coming out of solution which makes it ineffective (the pH may still be low as the phosphoric acid is what is lowering the pH and it will remain in solution). So you need it to be at the correct pH and clear. If either of these conditions is violated it is not effective.

What is the effective pH range on starsan? is it below 3 pH?
I saw this listed before, but I can't find it now...

If it was on the bottle it's warn off, my bottle is in bad shape!

3.0 or lower.

Thanks!

remilard said:

The cloudiness is the dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid coming out of solution which makes it ineffective (the pH may still be low as the phosphoric acid is what is lowering the pH and it will remain in solution). So you need it to be at the correct pH and clear. If either of these conditions is violated it is not effective.

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Pretty sure in the podcast with the inventor of star-san he said that was not the case. cloudy due to hard water, but a proper pH, means its still effective.

malkore said:

Pretty sure in the podcast with the inventor of star-san he said that was not the case. cloudy due to hard water, but a proper pH, means its still effective.

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Mine goes cloudy and I haven't had an infected batch yet.

remilard said:

The cloudiness is the dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid coming out of solution which makes it ineffective (the pH may still be low as the phosphoric acid is what is lowering the pH and it will remain in solution). So you need it to be at the correct pH and clear. If either of these conditions is violated it is not effective.

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I have been making fresh batches of cloudy star-san with my well water for months, and no infected batches.

Hermit said:

Mine goes cloudy and I haven't had an infected batch yet.

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I second that. I think that as long as your water is drinkable i.e. not acid or base, which water usually (a neutral 7) is I presume, you are okay. I don't keep it mixed for more than a few hours though. Still, no problem batches due to infection as of yet.

hmmm. So if it is clear a week later is it still good or do I need to do a ph test.

As long as it is clear you can safely assume that the pH is in the right range. If you are interested in seeing how long you can keep reusing it, then go to a pool supply store and buy some testing strips.

its the pH. That is your indication. It can (sometimes) be effective when cloudy. But is still "good" at a pH less than or equal to 3.0