Can I get some actual Oxiclean volumes rather than 'scoops'?

I've gone through dozens of Oxiclean threads on here and get hugely conflicting answers and almost everyone quotes the amount they use in in 'scoops' (as if that's some standard volume).

My Oxiclean Free bucket I bought today (3.5 lbs) says 1/8 cup to 1/2 cup per gallon (too large a range for my comfort). The odd person on here says they use 2 tbsp (1/8 cup) per 5 gallons; this is much less than the product label says.

Are we intentionally diluting it down significantly (4 or 5 times the minimum amount on the label) on purpose for some reason? Why not just follow the label? Is the stuff I got somehow weaker (I got it from wal-mart)?

PLEASE tell me how much you use in some volume other than 'scoops' please!

PS why does everyone spell it "OxyClean" when it is "OxiClean"?

Thanks

Loosely defined measurements such as "scoop" go with the plastic SCOOP that comes packaged with the cleaning product. The ranges you refer to are common for cleaning products. If the product you are cleaning is just a little dirty, use the lower end of the range. If really dirty, use the higher end of the range. Most people are fine with this for cleaning purposes because as long as the item comes clean and rinses off, who cares. But then I see you are bothered when people spell it "Oxyclean" so I doubt you will be satisfied with anything short of gram weights measurements.

I recommend 5 grams per gallon. If that's not enough, double it. Still not enough? Double it again. The manufacturer prefers that you use more than enough and I can fully understand why. This should be obvious to you as well. Beware that not all scoops are equal. There are small scoops, large scoops and partial scoops too. Oxycleen is your friend.

I use 1 Tbsp per gallon.

Catt22 said:

Oxycleen is your friend.

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I see what you did there...

Mals

I use the Voldemort brand of Ockseekleen. I have used as much as twice what the label calls for, depending on how dirty the item is. - Dwain

I use 1 or 2 full or half scoops per 1 to 5 gallons.
Actually, I have never measured my scoops. I add a full scoop, (two taqblespoons maybe?) to five gallons. The solution has a slightly slimy feel to it. If my equipment is visably clean then I rinse it. I sanitize right before anything touches my cooled wort with StarSan.
I'm not sure why I think OxiClean has a Y in it. Maybe because it is a made up word, and I don't bother to check it when I am posting, because I think most HBTr's get the point.
Oh, one more thing, I don't use OxiClean. I use Sun Oxygen Cleaner that I get for half the price of OxiClean at Dollar General. Same stuff.

eanmcnulty said:

I use 1 or 2 full or half scoops per 1 to 5 gallons.
Actually, I have never measured my scoops. I add a full scoop, (two taqblespoons maybe?) to five gallons. The solution has a slightly slimy feel to it. If my equipment is visably clean then I rinse it. I sanitize right before anything touches my cooled wort with StarSan.
I'm not sure why I think OxiClean has a Y in it. Maybe because it is a made up word, and I don't bother to check it when I am posting, because I think most HBTr's get the point.
Oh, one more thing, I don't use OxiClean. I use Sun Oxygen Cleaner that I get for half the price of OxiClean at Dollar General. Same stuff.

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I always type oxyclean. Why? Well, it's the generic that I use. I don't capitalize it either. I guess I need to call it "generic oxygen based cleaner" since I don't use the real Oxiclean. I use what I call oxyclean.

As far as the amount, it doesn't matter. You only use enough to get the job done, but since you're rinsing it it doesn't matter how much you use. Kinda like Dawn dish soap when I do the dishes. I use two squirts. I guess that's too much, and I could use less, but it's cheap and it rinses off and it cleans my dishes.

Once scoop of generic oxygen based cleanser in a keg with some hot water cleans the keg just fine.

One cautionary note if you're using OxiClean or PBW on Better Bottles - the BB web site says using too strong a solution can damage the BB. The web site specifically mentions PBW, but I assume the same applies to OxiClean.

http://www.better-bottle.com/technical.html
Click on the Wash/Sanitize tab


Max. of 0.5% solution (5 grams/liter) and add the water first, not the powder.

I've found the generic stuff from the dollar store (LA awesome or something like that) is inferior to the real thing. It just doesn't dissolve as well and I am assuming they are using some cheaper filler material to dilute the cost of the product. Trader Joe's used to sell Oxo-Brite at a reasonable price and that worked the best for me, plus it is easy to spell.

Many of the generic oxygen cleaners use a smaller percentage of the active cleaning ingredient in their products. You'll only find out my trial and error comparison. I recently bought a generic brand and had two carboys from a split batch. I put a "scoop" of the generic in one and a "scoop" of oxiclean in the other. The oxiclean had eaten all the krausen ring off the inside in about 30-40 mins. The generic one never ate it all away and it required shaking with hot water after 4 hours to clear it.

samc said:

Trader Joe's used to sell Oxo-Brite at a reasonable price and that worked the best for me, plus it is easy to spell.

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Hmmm.... I thought that was spelled Oxa-Brite?

I use 1 scoop per 5 gallon and then add just a bit more for good measure.

Hmm interesting, I guess I didn't realize that it was that unimportant how much was actually used, to within reason. I guess I will try the minimum on the label first and see how that goes (1/8 cup per gallon)

The problem with the scoop measurement is that I am guessing that the scoop that comes with different sizes of these products are also different sizes. Is this true?

I have 2 different size scoops that came with Oxiclean packages. One of the scoops is 1 oz and the other is 4oz so "scoop" as a measurement is useless. I use 1 scoop per gallon. How much am I using?

iaefebs said:

I have 2 different size scoops that came with Oxiclean packages. One of the scoops is 1 oz and the other is 4oz so "scoop" as a measurement is useless. I use 1 scoop per gallon. How much am I using?

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exactly my point, thanks

Zen_Brew said:

Many of the generic oxygen cleaners use a smaller percentage of the active cleaning ingredient in their products. You'll only find out my trial and error comparison. I recently bought a generic brand and had two carboys from a split batch. I put a "scoop" of the generic in one and a "scoop" of oxiclean in the other. The oxiclean had eaten all the krausen ring off the inside in about 30-40 mins. The generic one never ate it all away and it required shaking with hot water after 4 hours to clear it.

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My experience was exactly the opposite. The dollar store Awesome stuff worked better than the brand name Oxiclean on two essentially identical carboys that were about equally cruddy. I'll try it again next time I have two carboys available to clean. It may have been a fluke for some reason.

Bithead said:

I use 1 Tbsp per gallon.

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ditto

I use plain sodium percarbonate.

Zen_Brew said:

Many of the generic oxygen cleaners use a smaller percentage of the active cleaning ingredient in their products. You'll only find out my trial and error comparison. I recently bought a generic brand and had two carboys from a split batch. I put a "scoop" of the generic in one and a "scoop" of oxiclean in the other. The oxiclean had eaten all the krausen ring off the inside in about 30-40 mins. The generic one never ate it all away and it required shaking with hot water after 4 hours to clear it.

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You're right. It doesn't disolve as easily a the real thing. So, I stir it a little. And, when fill my Better Bottle and leave over night, there usually is a bit of the krausen left. So, I pour out 90% of it and toss in a wash cloth and shake it around. Takes a couple of minutes. Then I rinse and use. Shaking a Better Bottle is easy. I just like that it works well and costs half as much.
I suppose I could buy OxiClean and use half as much...
Time for some experimentation!

The bottom line is just use the directionsnon the side of the package you have and it should correspond to the scoop that came with it. It's really not a big deal since it gets washed away in the end. Use as much as needed to clean specific crud. Relax........ Homebrew

pickles said:

The bottom line is just use the directionsnon the side of the package you have and it should correspond to the scoop that came with it. It's really not a big deal since it gets washed away in the end. Use as much as needed to clean specific crud. Relax........ Homebrew

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While I haven't yet seen the directions on the side of the package tell me how much to add for a glass carboy vs better bottle vs keg vs bottle cleaning vs bottle label removal. I do see a lot of posts that say to use 1 scoop or 2. The question was how big is a scoop? This is one of those threads that come up and members add a definitive answer... 1 scoop... or 4 scoop and it confuses the questioner. We break down recipes to grams, break down water to PPM but use the term scoop...like we know what we are talking about will make sense to the questioner.

I use half a fistfull per carboy. A fistful in an 18 gal tote for bottle cleaning.

I use 1 scoop - 4 ounces as marked on the side of the scoop - dissolved in 6 U.S. gallons of water. That is approx. a 0.5 % by weight solution.

orangehero said:

I use half a fistfull per carboy. A fistful in an 18 gal tote for bottle cleaning.

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Now that is a better description than a scoop...you are using a closed hand fistfull or is it a fistful ? One l or two?

I always use between a granule and a whole tub per cleaning..
A granule if I'm cleaning a filthy thimble, and a whole tub if I'm cleaning the swimming pool..

beer stuff is somewhere inbetween...

joeybeer said:

beer stuff is somewhere in between...

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Exactly... that is a much better answer to a question than an authoritative ½ scoop.

I've never measured ........ just scoop a little and dump it in. I would say probably about 1/4 of the green scoop they give you or maybe even a little less is what I use for cleaning a keg/carboy/5 gallon bucket full of bottles.

I casually dump a little in the carboy or keg (whatever I'm cleaning) and fill with water. I've never had a reason to use more than that as even the dirtiest of carboy is pretty much sparkling clean without ever even busting out the carboy brush ..............

I am usually lazy and end up letting it sit there with oxy clean in if for 3 days to .................. 4 weeks was my record. By the time I get around to rinsing it my oxYclean has more than done it's job.

Since its just a cleanser, not a sanitizer, the dilution doesn't matter...as long as it gets your stuff clean.