Have I been wasting sanitizer?

pardon me for adding to the thousand posts on proper concentrations for sanitizer, but I've always sort of glanced around the boards because I routinely forget the amounts required to mix up a batch of sani-clean solution.

Well today I finally look directly at the tech sheet and realize it's 200ppm for a no-rinse solution. I had seen people say that something like a fluid ounce per two gallons is needed, some even higher: at 200ppm you only need 0.05oz of saniclean!

Now, is my math wrong? Should I be mixing it to a higher concentration, or can less than 2 mL of sani-clean actually change the acidity of two gallons of water to below 3pH?

The Star San bottle says 1 fl oz per 5 gal water . For amounts less than 5 gal:

1 Tablespoon = 1/2 fl oz
1 Teaspoon = 1/6 fl oz

so what I do is mix
1 Tbls in 2 1/2 gal water
2 Tsp in 1 gal water

PH test strips always indicate PH < 3

Charlie Tally, maker of Star San, did a podcast on his product and other ways to sanitize. Find it in the 2007 archives of Basic Brewing Radio

Yep, total mistaken assumptions on my part, this is the email I got directly from Five Star:

Dave,

Always great to hear from home brewers working with Five Star items to make
the finest beer on the planet! As specified on the label, the proper
dilution of Saniclean is one ounce per three gallons of water. The PPM you
see is in reference to the root active ingredient, Sulfonate Oleic acid, not
the Saniclean, itself. Thus, by following the directed dilution of one
ounce per three gallons water, you will be below the 200ppm thresh hold and
able to go right from your Final Rinse into the brewing or bottling step or
whichever step is next for you at that time.

Cheers!


Man, wish I still had that original label, it'd totally clear up this useless post =) Hopefully someone finds this informative anyway

And I didn't read your post correctly as I gave StarSan instructions instead of Saniclean, 2 different products

Oops