Homemade PBW Recipe

Brooothru said:

I use Oxi Scent-Free frequently for pre-soak stubborn gunk, and add a healthy squeeze of 7th Generation (plant based) detergent, either liquid or dry granules, which is a strong surfactant that lifts and suspends the solids for a simple cleaning rinse. I then follow up with a small amount of PBW, if necessary, and then sanitize with Star San.

Oxi + TSP works well for getting rid of the gunk, but adding a surfactant detergent reduces residue from the percarbonates.

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I just ordered the sodium percarbonate and the sodium triphosphate. 2 kg and 1 kg. I will give it a try and if this also results in residue, then I will try adding detergent or EDTA.

I am a bit "afraid" of detergent as it is, like soap, a terrible head killer. I actually do not want stuff like that in my cleaning solution. That was basically the main reason I switched to these Oxiclean based cleaners.

I follow the advice of @day_trippr ( I think) that the white residue comes off easily if you rinse in water as warm or warmer than your PBW.
I'm still using the edta, sodium percab and sod metasilicate and no problems.

balrog said:

I use the 2:1 sodium percarbonate and sodium metasilicate, sourced via ebay or amazon, but prices in the last 3 years have exploded
I have soft water, and do not have residue

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I used to make PBW clone, but with those high prices of ingredients today, there's just not enough savings versus buying 4 lb. refills of the real thing for $20 from Ritebrew.

This costs more than Oxiclean, but I have been using it with great results for a few years now:

https://www.williamsbrewing.com/Hom...anitizers-Gloves/Brewers-Edge-Oxygen-Cleanser

DuncB said:

I follow the advice of @day_trippr ( I think) that the white residue comes off easily if you rinse in water as warm or warmer than your PBW.
I'm still using the edta, sodium percab and sod metasilicate and no problems.

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Tried it, doesn't work for me unfortunately.

MaxStout said:

I used to make PBW clone, but with those high prices of ingredients today, there's just not enough savings versus buying 4 lb. refills of the real thing for $20 from Ritebrew.

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In Germany, PBW is massively expensive and I don't know of a reasonably priced local alternative. So for me, it's great to have the option to make it myself.

Miraculix said:

The original is 70% sodium percarbonate, 30% sodium triphosphate plus a bit of EDTA. The sodium triphosphate must be substituted in some countries but there are alternatives listed above.

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Have I misunderstood or is this in error? I thought it was Trisodium Phosphate. I have no chemistry background but those sound different to me.

PBW in NZ expensive now, 16 US dollar equivalent per pound.
Homemade a lot cheaper.
I have been interested in some stuff on the malt miller channel called enzyclean that looks good. But unavailable to me here.

InspectorJon said:

Have I misunderstood or is this in error? I thought it was Trisodium Phosphate. I have no chemistry background but those sound different to me.

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You are correct, they are different. But to make things even more complicated, both are used in cleaning agents. I have no idea which one is the better one, I just found that sodium triphosphate is often used in detergents.

I have no idea if I now ordered the right stuff or not .

Thanks for the information!

MaxStout said:

I used to make PBW clone, but with those high prices of ingredients today, there's just not enough savings versus buying 4 lb. refills of the real thing for $20 from Ritebrew.

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Holy cow, you're right! That's a great deal.
I've been trying to source ingredients for the homemade stuff (TSP Substitute with Sodium Metasilicate has become tough to find), and the best I can come up with (which involves too much driving around and I'm not even calculating the cost of my time and gas) is only about a buck cheaper per pound (and I'd have to make 15 pounds of it). I'll be placing and order with Ritebrew soon.

Cameronl said:

Holy cow, you're right! That's a great deal.
I've been trying to source ingredients for the homemade stuff (TSP Substitute with Sodium Metasilicate has become tough to find), and the best I can come up with (which involves too much driving around and I'm not even calculating the cost of my time and gas) is only about a buck cheaper per pound (and I'd have to make 15 pounds of it). I'll be placing and order with Ritebrew soon.

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I found the same thing. By the time I add up everything and do the legwork, I am not saving that much. Just a note, the Ritebrew stuff comes in a plastic bag, so hopefully you have a container to put it in. Just was reading the fine print and saw that. Still a fantastic deal no doubt.

redrocker652002 said:

I found the same thing. By the time I add up everything and do the legwork, I am not saving that much. Just a note, the Ritebrew stuff comes in a plastic bag, so hopefully you have a container to put it in. Just was reading the fine print and saw that. Still a fantastic deal no doubt.

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The bakery at my supermarket was happy to hand me half a dozen 5 and 2 gallon buckets (with lids) that had contained frosting. I just had to clean them.

Check the shipping costs of the Ritebrew offering against Amazon. A couple years ago I got 8 lbs PBW in the big plastic jar for around $45 and free shipping. Now I have the nifty jar to refill.

At the time of this writing, the Amazon cost is $53. ($6.63/lb.) I keep seeing the "buy it again" thing on Amazon, and it's been at $53 for some time.

Still, the 8 lb jar from Amazon with free shipping might be about even with two 4 lb. refill bags from Ritebrew once you add shipping.

OTOH, if you're already ordering other stuff from Ritebrew, adding the PBW may not bump up the shipping very much. Do the math and see.

Then there's the 50 lb bucket for $270 ($5.40/lb.), which might be worth considering if you split it up in a group buy.

MaxStout said:

Still, the 8 lb jar from Amazon with free shipping might be about even with two 4 lb. refill bags from Ritebrew once you add shipping.

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RiteBrew's model seems to be pretty close to charging actual shipping costs with tiered discounts for larger orders. So it's going to depend on where you live and whether you're buying other stuff at the same time. Right now, I'd save about $4 ordering two bags from RiteBrew vs one container from Amazon. Ritebrew would be about a buck more expensive if I lived in Tucson.

I just bought 5 of the All Free and Clear (52 oz) for $5.99 each at Big Lots. I had some TSP left over but also ordered six pounds of Sunnyside TSP from Home Depot for $16.01 shipped free. Works out to be $2.09/lb using a 70% oxi to 30% TSP mix.

Just rechecked my figures and even adding in the EDTA it's costing me US $ 1.66 a pound. So basically a tenth of the price of the shop bought PBW. I'll keep mixing.

I use the OXYFree chlorine free variety to kill ants. A pinch on some syrup placed in a water bottle cap and carefully balanced on the mound. All ants gone in 3 days total.

AmarikinBrew said:

I use the OXYFree chlorine free variety to kill ants. A pinch on some syrup placed in a water bottle cap and carefully balanced on the mound. All ants gone in 3 days total.

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Good tip and great skill for the ants to be able to balance a bottle top!

DuncB said:

Good tip and great skill for the ants to be able to balance a bottle top!

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I told then it was an IPA an don spill it! -eheh.

AmarikinBrew said:

I told then it was an IPA a don spill it! -eheh.

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But then they saw it was a hazy and wouldn’t touch it…

Miraculix said:

You are correct, they are different. But to make things even more complicated, both are used in cleaning agents. I have no idea which one is the better one, I just found that sodium triphosphate is often used in detergents.

I have no idea if I now ordered the right stuff or not .

Thanks for the information!

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Just to follow up on this one, my mix seems to be working fine. I had less residue than I used to have and I think it might be possible to just rinse it away.