Homemade PBW Recipe

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So, Morebeer has a 50 pound tub of normal PBW on sale for $179.99 right now. That puts it at $3.60/pound. Looking at the costs in the first post of this of the DIY being $1.70/pound, and I know myself and most people on here probably spent more than that on the DIY, the $1.70/pound is best case I believe.

I'm honestly not sure how much I spent on the DIY last time I made it, I'm sure it's still much better than $3.60/pound and can probably figure out how much if I find receipts, etc, but I'm curious what everyone else is spending on the DIY recipe. I'll figure my cost out and post here once I do, but anyone else know what your cost per pound is?
 
Mine was 2.63/lb Canadian$. But I only had to invest in 16$ worth to get those savings instead of 180$ worth tied up. My figures include all taxes.
 
Ztup said:
So, Morebeer has a 50 pound tub of normal PBW on sale for $179.99 right now. That puts it at $3.60/pound. Looking at the costs in the first post of this of the DIY being $1.70/pound, and I know myself and most people on here probably spent more than that on the DIY, the $1.70/pound is best case I believe.

I'm honestly not sure how much I spent on the DIY last time I made it, I'm sure it's still much better than $3.60/pound and can probably figure out how much if I find receipts, etc, but I'm curious what everyone else is spending on the DIY recipe. I'll figure my cost out and post here once I do, but anyone else know what your cost per pound is?
Click to expand...

Mine is about half of local sales which puts it around $3.75. It's easy to make and I don't need to store 50 lbs of it. I just need to find sun oxygen cleaner now since Walmart apparently doesn't sell it anymore.
 
Subscribe.

Haha, just kidding.

But seriously, after a good 10 minutes of intense internet searching, I was unable to find sun oxygen cleaner... amazon and walmart (amongst a myriad of other online retailers) no longer carry it, apparently. Does anyone have any good substitutions for it?
 
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atoughram said:
Maybe here?

http://www.zoro.com/earth-friendly-products-laundry-whitener/g/00281390/

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000V9VSOW/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
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Thanks! The Oxo Brite seems like it'll do the trick, but after a bit of research I came to find that this product contains Sodium Metasilicate as well...

So would using this product potentially take the place of the Red Devil TSP as well?

Here's a link to the manufacturer's website and the product's specs:
http://www.ecos.com/oxo.html#spec

AND I just noticed something... the specs say not to mix with Acid products... and the Seventh Generation has Citric Acid in it... so maybe Oxo Brite is not a good alternative to Sun Oxygen Cleaner? :(
 
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Is this even still an issue with PBW being so low cost now? I get that when this was written 3 years ago PBW was more expensive (looks like up to $9/lb, yikes!). But now I routinely get 4lb refills from my LHBS for $12 ($3/lb), so it would seem that it may actually be more expensive to create your own now when you factor in spending time sourcing the ingredients and mixing it yourself, etc.
 
MagicMatt said:
Is this even still an issue with PBW being so low cost now? I get that when this was written 3 years ago PBW was more expensive (looks like up to $9/lb, yikes!). But now I routinely get 4lb refills from my LHBS for $12 ($3/lb), so it would seem that it may actually be more expensive to create your own now when you factor in spending time sourcing the ingredients and mixing it yourself, etc.
Click to expand...

Thats a good value LHBS you got there. Im seeing about $4/lb from online vendors for either 50 lb tubs or about same price/lb for 4lb refill bags.
 
MagicMatt said:
Is this even still an issue with PBW being so low cost now? I get that when this was written 3 years ago PBW was more expensive (looks like up to $9/lb, yikes!). But now I routinely get 4lb refills from my LHBS for $12 ($3/lb), so it would seem that it may actually be more expensive to create your own now when you factor in spending time sourcing the ingredients and mixing it yourself, etc.
Click to expand...

Dude, that's super cheap! The best deal I've found (in a reasonable amount; I don't have the room to store 50 lbs of the stuff at a time) is $50 for an 8 lb jar... that's $6.25/lb.

I'm going to call my LHBS later to see if they do PBW refills, cuz that's an amazing deal you've got there.
 
Deckers_Beers said:
Subscribe.

Haha, just kidding.

But seriously, after a good 10 minutes of intense internet searching, I was unable to find sun oxygen cleaner... amazon and walmart (amongst a myriad of other online retailers) no longer carry it, apparently. Does anyone have any good substitutions for it?
Click to expand...

I checked Dollar General near me and they don't have it anymore and went to their own house brand. I walked in the Save-a-Lot Food store next door and they had it. I bought all they had on the shelf. Checked back a couple weeks later and they still hadn't re-stocked. I'm wondering if they'll restock it or not. I'll check again and see if they re-stocked.
 
Interesting, I just figured that was the going rate these days. Y'all made me question the price so I checked an old receipt and sure enough it's actually $15 for 4lb refill. So more like $3.75/lb. I don't know why I had $12 stuck in my head, I've been going on that assumption for a while now. Oops.

BrunDog said:
I would query if the refills are legit 5-Star Chemicals PBW.
Click to expand...

It is legit PBW though. He gets the 50lb buckets (actually a palette of them I believe) and divvies it up.


Deckers_Beers said:
Dude, that's super cheap! The best deal I've found (in a reasonable amount; I don't have the room to store 50 lbs of the stuff at a time) is $50 for an 8 lb jar... that's $6.25/lb.
Click to expand...

Looking online, the cheapest I see is ritebrew.com has a 4lb refill for $15.99. That's $4/lb, not too shabby I suppose if you don't have a local source.

They have the 8lb for $42.49 though ($5.31/lb), if you wanted a cheaper source for that quantity. Also the 50lb from them is $159.99 ($3.20/lb).
 
Sorry to side track your thought MagicMatt. Your original question was at $3/lb why are we looking go homemade? So its really $4/lb...I think your question is still valid.

This is a hobby that attracts a lot of engineers. My guess is more than a few are following this thread (I'm one too). I think it is the challenge not the economics. The economics are just part of the story to add a little sizzle. Sort of like the many debates about the cost of homebrew.

But I think you are right. At $4/lb I'm pretty happy using the brand formula. I use maybe 4 oz in a typical brew session thats about $1...and I split that cost with my brewing friend...
 
Likewise engineer here... And I sincerely value my time. But this is one area where I have been able to justify the cost as it seemed like a lot of $$ going to PBW.

Really what is needed is legit PBW competition. That will drive price down.
 
BrunDog said:
Likewise engineer here... And I sincerely value my time. But this is one area where I have been able to justify the cost as it seemed like a lot of $$ going to PBW.

Really what is needed is legit PBW competition. That will drive price down.
Click to expand...

I agree on that. I think the problem may be the patent though. Wonder when that runs out...

Hrmm...looking at the patent linked in the first post...
Nov 6, 2001 FP Expired due to failure to pay maintenance fee
Effective date: 20010902

I'm no legal expert but...
 
MagicMatt said:
Is this even still an issue with PBW being so low cost now? I get that when this was written 3 years ago PBW was more expensive (looks like up to $9/lb, yikes!). But now I routinely get 4lb refills from my LHBS for $12 ($3/lb), so it would seem that it may actually be more expensive to create your own now when you factor in spending time sourcing the ingredients and mixing it yourself, etc.
Click to expand...

That same 4# tub at my LHBS is $29 - nearly $7.50/pound.
 
atoughram said:
That same 4# tub at my LHBS is $29 - nearly $7.50/pound.
Click to expand...

To clarify it's not the 4lb tub I was talking about, but a "refill", which is just 4lbs of PBW in a sealed bag, that you pour into your empty 4lb tub (that you already own). It's just a 50lb bucket that is broken down into 4lb bags.
 
Ztup said:
I agree on that. I think the problem may be the patent though. Wonder when that runs out...

Hrmm...looking at the patent linked in the first post...
Nov 6, 2001 FP Expired due to failure to pay maintenance fee
Effective date: 20010902

I'm no legal expert but...
Click to expand...

Soooo... who wants to become a millionaire and create the only commercially-available PBW competition? ;)
 
target online has 75oz of detergent for 6.50 a box and oxyclean free (3lb) for 6.90 with a buy 2 get 5$ gift card. And free shipping on orders over 25.
So 2 oxy free and 1 pack of detergent runs 20$ but that's twice the detergent I need. I need to find something else for 5$ to get free shipping then turn around and use the 5$ off gift card and pick up 2 more oxy free perhaps and make a double batch of this stuff on the cheap. Target does have mason jars and beer glasses etc on sale at the moment too.

EDIT: Chocolate for SWMBO, pushes cart to $25 for the free shipping. Smooth as hell right there.
EDIT2: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FZRSMDA/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 sodium metasilicate cheapest I can find. and its prime so win win. $12 a bag is cheaper than original recipe quotes even :)
 
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kombat said:
I've never heard anything along these lines. What have you heard about Oxyclean? What's the (alleged) problem with it?
Click to expand...

You know it's funny...

When I was doing heavy research on PBW alternatives last week I found all these posts talking about how Oxiclean isn't a good substitute because it can leave chemical residues (like bleach does) or fragrances that will affect the final product (and I now know if you use oxiclean FREE that isn't an issue)...

but now that I'm trying to find that info to link to, I can't seem to find much of anything against it besides individual preference. Perhaps all those threads are much older, and so they aren't coming up as easily without a deep search. Seems to me that the general consensus on the interwebs is that it works almost as well, and I'm seeing info on adding in the Red Devil TSP in other places as well.

I think I may just try the Oxiclean Free, TSP & 7th Generation recipe once I'm out of my current stock of PBW.
 
I've had oxyclean leave a residue on bottles after a prolonged soak (days to weeks) but not after a few hours (which is more than enough to remove labels for instance). But even that comes off with a short soak in star san. I believe the other stuff added to the oxy to approximate PBW act to reduce the chalky residue.

I think Oxyclean can pit aluminum if left too long, as well. But then so will PBW, since the main ingredient is the same as oxyclean...
 
Here, Midwest/Northern gets $30 for 4 lbs. of PBW, $50 for 8 lbs. My LHBS is a little cheaper, at $28/4 lbs. OxiClean brand is about $10 for 5lbs. at Wally World, and my success with that has been close to that of PBW. Close enough to where I cannot justify paying almost 4X as much for PBW. At $2/lb., it's a no-brainer for me.

Someone earlier mentioned the two patents for PBW. The patentee failed to pay maintenance fees, so those patents have since expired and the invention has now fallen into the public domain. We are all free to make it, market it, etc. Even if Five Star HAD paid the USPTO fees, the later patent (5,789,361) would expire in March 2016 anyway.
 
akthor said:
The only Seventh Generation dish detergent I see in Amazon is a 50 oz unscented version. Is this the right one to use?
Click to expand...
That is it, as long as it's the powder, not the liquid or pods.
 

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