Best Method to Sanitize Wine Thief

[Jota21]

Unforunately, I dont have the extra space/bucket to keep 5 gallons of Starsan around, nor do i brew frequently enough to justify mixing such a large batch, so i'm wondering how people sanitize longer items like their spoons/wine theif.

When you check the gravity for consecutive days, it always makes me wonder if i'm doing a good enough job of sanitizing the thief.

Am i right in assuming most people just use a spray bottle?

 

[IrregularPulse]

Spray Bottle is the win for all sanitizing needs from airlocks to thieves to fermenters to blah blah blah.

 

[BoxofRain]

Spray Bottle is the win for all sanitizing needs from airlocks to thieves to fermenters to blah blah blah.

This. I'll take it apart, spray the inside, put back together, then spray the outside.

 

[Pappers_]

I use iodophor, make up a small jar of it, pour into and over the thief.

 

[SixFoFalcon]

Star*San plus distilled water in a spray bottle lasts indefinitely.

For racking canes, wine/beer thieves, keg diptubes, etc. I often use a wallpaper tray (hardware store item) and it only takes a couple quarts to cover long skinny items, rather having to fill a keg or bucket.

 

[samc]

StarSan spray for a single item like a thief is what I do. Multiple items during a brew day are more likely in wallpaper tray or bucket with Iodophor as it is just easier to deal with that way. I like having the StarSan around in spray bottle to hit the beer taps with after use.

 

[nefarious_1_]

Spray bottle'd.

 

[hillhousesawdustco]

I believe some people have fashioned long skinny starsan-holding-contraptions out of capped pvc pipes.

 

[Rusty18]

spray bottle, it works great.

 

[Bombo80]

When I am doing alot of racking, I will make up a gallon or two of iodophor sanitizer and put it in this.

It's long enough to lay my auto siphon, racking cane, tubing, etc., without wasting too much.

 

[greenbirds]

I believe some people have fashioned long skinny starsan-holding-contraptions out of capped pvc pipes.

Yes. one of the best time and mess savers in my brewery.

Here are some that others made: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/racking-cane-sterilization-88030/index4.html

Also great for soaking in PBW, bleach, or whatever. Thief, racking canes, lengths of tubing, autosiphon.. If you use a wide base and mouth and a narrower tube in between, it doesn't use that much star-san. Mine takes 1/2 gal to fill, and I use it for a few weeks at a time.

 

[cincybrewer]

okay, maybe this is a dumb question, but my thief is pretty big, so how do you ensure you spray the entire inside of the thief? it seems a spray bottle would be difficult to ensure that the entire inside of the thief comes in contact with the starsan.