50% sodium percarbonate Ecogeeks
TSP/90 **is** sodium metasilicate. It was used in this DIY PBW because PBW listed sodium metasilicate. But good luck finding it. Even just the sodium metasilicate pentahydride you used to be able to find on Amazon/Ebay has kinda dried up, or gotten prohibitively expensive.
TSP/90 is a non-phosphate substitute for TSP, which was "banned" for ecological reasons, back in the days (70s, 80s?).
When I wrote what you quoted I was up to speed on them being the same. I had forgotten prior to that though and had been looking up sodium metasilicate but hadn't seen any references to TSP90 when searching on Google. I was thinking out loud a bit until Post 972. As far as the sodium metasilicate, I was wondering what it does as a chemical in the real PBW. Somewhere in the thread it is posted that sodium metasilicate is a base and removes fatty acids but I don't know enough about chemistry to understand why that might be important for a powdered brewery wash. I've always had more of an affinitiy for acid than bases. There's only a small percentage (1-3%) of sodium metasilicate in the SDS for the PBW liquid and the PBW powder at the five star links. I just don't know what it's for in the real PBW formula.
The 30 lb box of Oxyclean Versatilie is only $53.86 at Home Depot. It has slightly more sodium percarbonate (good). I think it just needs a little sodium metasilicate (1-3%) to be a very close approximation to PBW. It just needs a little bit of sodium metasilicate (or perhaps just some a little TSP), a half ounce or less per pound Oxyclean Versatile. That's $1.80 lb. + a little bit for the sodium metasilicate (or perhaps the TSP).
I've been looking for a local source or free shipping on the BIG boxes of Oxy. Is the Versa stuff without the fragrance? So far the ones I have seen do have it.
I did some searching too and it appears there's fragrance in those 30 pound boxes. I looked at several spots and your recent Home Depot and they all appear to be the same cardboard box with the black label.
AFAIK, PBW is, or used to be, ~70% Sodium PerCarbonate (Oxygen component in Oxiclean) and ~30% Sodium MetaSilicate (TSP/90) with a little bit of EDTA added.
YW. Yeah, annoying that Google page says fragrance free but every link led to that box like you say except perhaps the Staples page. But I don't have one local to bring it back or pick up from.
So a few posts I linked to the SDS pages for multiple 5 star products. The PBW powder which adds low suds after the name has a lower % than 70. Also there's a liquid version, similar % as low suds. I don't know if the dry low suds is a different product than regular offering at the LHBS.
For keg and carboy washing I use my homemade version, 70/30, All free and clear 70% and 30% TSP90 or TSP as I mentioned I switched by accident. I have a DIY carboy/keg washer. I have to use less than suggested for both kegs carboys because it foams quite a bit and traps suds when cleaning carboys. Krusty krausen rings sometimes leave a little buildup but it's mostly the trapped suds interfering in my opinion. Kegs do okay. I think I will try them separate just to see which causes the foaming. I end up soaking the carboys a second time and brushing or just not using the keg washer at all because I am worried of missing just a little something and getting an infection.
That's interesting. I've never had foam, but I just use the two ingredients, percarb and metasilicate.
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.
