Sanitizer strength

[brewhaus88]

I have a 5 gallon bucket of sanitizer that has been sitting in the basement for close to a year now. I’m almost sure it has lost strength (am going to get pH strips to test today). My question is should I dump the whole bucket and start fresh or could I just add some more star san to the bucket to the correct pH strength?

Thanks

 

[McMullan]

Won't pH strips cost more than just prepping a fresh bucket of working conc starsan? Or am I missing something?

 

[marc1]

It's a year old. Make a fresh bucket. Or make a smaller amount for just what you need. Spray bottles work great.

 

[Broken Crow]

I've noticed a sediment in the bottom of my buckets of Star San after a period of time and since that strongly suggests some kind of chemical breakdown, I figure if it has any life left in it I can use it for keeping my drains clean. I rotate which drains in my house I dump it down and it seems to do a nice job of cleaning some of that grey film away from inside the pipes. The cost for an ounce of Star San is far less than the cost of a batch of beer and using it as a drain-rinse makes me feel I've more than got my money's worth.

 

[IslandLizard]

I figure if it has any life left in it I can use it for keeping my drains clean. I rotate which drains in my house I dump it down and it seems to do a nice job of cleaning some of that grey film away from inside the pipes.

Glad to know I'm not the only one...

We have a sewer ejector system for our lower level bathroom. It doesn't get much use, so I like to see that holding tank getting flushed more often than only sporadically. It also certifies the pump is still working as it ought to.

Once or twice a year I even let the washing machine drain into buckets, which get dumped in there for an even better rinse-out.

 

[IslandLizard]

I've noticed a sediment in the bottom of my buckets of Star San after a period of time and since that strongly suggests some kind of chemical breakdown

Same here, about 2-4 weeks after mixing. And our water is quite soft.
Although it still seems to work fine, and the pH remains well under 3.0 (around 2.7-2.8), something essential may be missing to obtain good and proper sanitation.

I’m almost sure it has lost strength (am going to get pH strips to test today).

StarSan, right?
Save your time and money. Chances are the pH is still fine, but as I said above, other components you can't measure may well have broken down, so as a sanitizer it would not live up to its task anymore.

Make a fresh solution.
You may not need 5 gallons of it, so only make as much as you need for brew day and store some in a spray bottle for "touch ups" while fermenting. Use 6 ml (1/5 of a fl.oz) of concentrate per gallon of (soft) water.

 

[brewhaus88]

thanks all. What I usually like to do is make 5 gallons and fill up the keg and push the sanitizer solution out during fermentation (free CO2) then I have a completely empty sanitizer keg when keg time comes around. So saving the sanitizer solution is always my goal but you’re all right. A year old is probably too old lol.

Cheers

 

[marc1]

thanks all. What I usually like to do is make 5 gallons and fill up the keg and push the sanitizer solution out during fermentation (free CO2) then I have a completely empty sanitizer keg when keg time comes around. So saving the sanitizer solution is always my goal but you’re all right. A year old is probably too old lol.

Cheers

You can sanitize the keg with a gallon or less, drain it out, seal it up, then purge with the fermentation gas on its own.
There's more than enough CO2 created during fermentation that you don't need the liquid to purge.

 

[IslandLizard]

thanks all. What I usually like to do is make 5 gallons and fill up the keg and push the sanitizer solution out during fermentation (free CO2) then I have a completely empty sanitizer keg when keg time comes around. So saving the sanitizer solution is always my goal but you’re all right. A year old is probably too old lol.

Cheers

After I clean and sanitize kegs (with a proper, active solution of Starsan) I do use that old saved starsan solution, to purge the kegs like you do.
But with a note:

After about a month (or 2) that old Starsan solution becomes crystal clear (probably just like yours), with a layer of white sludge on the bottom.​

​

Decant it, slowly and carefully, into a 6.5 gallon brew bucket or so, through a strainer (double paper towel in a large colander). Don't get greedy, leave the white sludge that has settled on the bottom of the original bucket behind:​

As soon as you see that cloudy liquid from the bottom starting to appear in the stream, tilt the bucket back and stop pouring.​

So, that cleared old solution of the Starsan may not be as good of a sanitizer anymore, but is great for 100% liquid purging of clean and already sanitized kegs. The purging solution can be recovered and reused almost indefinitely.

I keep a full 6.5 gallon bucket of it around, just for that purpose. Its pH is 2.5-2.8, and you can always add some phosphoric acid to correct it. Nothing can grow in it AFAIK.

I keep it covered with a loose lid on top, but you got keep an eye on the underneath of lid and the headspace in the storage bucket, as it is damp and dark in there, and can grow some mold. So mop/clean that every few weeks with some "real" Starsan to prevent that from happening.

 

[balrog]

fill up the keg and push the sanitizer solution out during fermentation

@doug293cz has done the math to show you simply need to vent fermentation gas through the liquid out of keg, with gas in piped to jar of sanitizer, and a 5 gallon batch of normal beer produces enough CO2 to purge the keg.

 

[doug293cz]

@doug293cz has done the math to show you simply need to vent fermentation gas through the liquid out of keg, with gas in piped to jar of sanitizer, and a 5 gallon batch of normal beer produces enough CO2 to purge the keg.

You can find the analysis here.

Brew on

 

[McMullan]

The most starsan I ever prep is 2L. More than enough to sanitise an FV, kegs, etc, then refill a spray bottle and store the rest in a 2L bottle for 'just in case I need it'. There's really no need to prepare gallons of sanitiser in most situations. Exploit the foam, save money and respect the environment. Consider too that stored starsan working solutions potentially contains viable wild yeast cells. It makes sense to prep less and use it up.

 

[Wolfbayte]

And here I am using what's left of 5gal of RO water plus 1oz of StarStan I mixed back in 2019. It's just a little over half full, but the solution is still clear, still foams up, and none of the numerous batches I've bottled this year have shown any signs of infection. I've been re-filling my spray bottle from it as well as my bottle washer. I promised myself I'd dump it and mix up a new batch next time I brew. We'll see.

 

[McMullan]

Well, Five Star Chemicals don't seem to know how long a working solution of starsan lasts. If it's best used fresh (within hours of being mixed with water, as they claim) it implies its effectiveness declines over time. We can only assume you follow good cleaning practices, @Wolfbayte. Cleaning representing about 99% of sanitation. I can't see a working solution lasting for years. If it does remain stable for that long there's a serious conflict with the marketing speil.

Thinking about it, FSC claim starsan's 'biodegradable' and 'environmentally friendly' but, in fact, this hasn't been established, according to the SDS. They don't actually know what its half-life is either. It's potentially accumulating in the environment. And, given it's apparently 'hazardous to aquatic life' and 'harmful to animals' it doesn't sound so environmentally friendly at all. As an animal myself, I'm sat here thinking, 'I see. Should I be prepping even less of this stuff?'

 

[mud1070]

I always keep some sanitizer in a spray bottle.
I find I use it more often than not, & it usually doesn't last very long, so it is always fresh.

I would dump, rinse, and re-fill your sani-bucket. I think it is a giant waste of time to try to save the unknown solution. In my experience, old sanitizer in a bucket leaves a white slimy film.

As others have stated, an ounce or two of fresh sani is cheaper than a compromised batch of beer.

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

Great advise of the sink drains; I have a corny keg of left over sanitizer I've been saving. Some goes for cleaned up kegs but I always seem to have lots on hand, old but not a year old.