Star San Warning

[RedRaiderDavid]

Hello, I'm a new brewer and after a failed first batch I just pulled out my supplies to give it another go. I had put all of my brewing supplies in a covered plastic tub for safe keeping. Unfortunately I also put my bottle of star-san in the tub. The bottled turned over and most of it leaked out. Everything on the bottom on the tub was damaged. My SS stirring spoon had the finish ate off, my bottle capper had holes in the plastic and some of the remaining plastic was like melted chocolate, it just wiped off. I don't think anything was completely ruined just looks like it is well used now. lol This stuff is great diluted but in concentration its nasty stuff. I guess this proves why you store it in glass after its been mixed for use. :cross:

 

[kh54s10]

After Starsan is mixed the acid strength is really low. You can drink it. A tech from the company did a video of him drinking it. Remember you are putting one ounce in 5 gallons!!! No need to use a glass container. Mine has been in a 5 gallon plastic water bottle for 4 years.

Added: The caution about the full strength Starsan it warranted though. Too bad about your equipment.

 

[FrozenOcean]

Wow, that sucks. I'm not surprised though... That stuff must be a pretty concentrated acid when it's not mixed. Thanks for the warning/reminder to be careful.

And I store my starsan in a plastic spray bottle... No problem.

 

[olotti]

Yeah it's very caustic. I have a crack in the cap of my star San bottle and spilled some onto my basement carpet and yeah well luckily it's crap carpet cuz it just adheres to it. Good stuff though for cleansing anything. Pbw is the same way but it's a base but also very caustic on certain items and damn slippery when wet.

 

[MaxStout]

I keep my bottle of full-strength Starsan on a shelf in my basement, near my other supplies. A little bit dribbled down the side of the container once and it burned a black mark in the wooden shelf. Potent stuff.

 

[harrydrez]

Yeah it's very caustic. I have a crack in the cap of my star San bottle and spilled some onto my basement carpet and yeah well luckily it's crap carpet cuz it just adheres to it. Good stuff though for cleansing anything. Pbw is the same way but it's a base but also very caustic on certain items and damn slippery when wet.

I've learned that lesson the hard way as well. Make sure you are not over tightening the cap or it will crack eventually.

 

[mrgrimm101]

I store my starsan in a plastic spray bottl

I've seen many people do the same thing. Does it need to be a "food grade" plastic spray bottle (such as the one in the link), or will any plastic spray bottle work?

http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?sku=66764&gclid=CJ_94K_4scMCFZOCaQodU2UAkg

 

[unionrdr]

I use a spray bottle with graduations on it I got from dollar tree. Been fine for the last couple years.

 

[Jawbox0]

I cracked my cap, then realized I could switch the caps on the bottle since I never opened the seal on the side where you don't measure. I also never over-tighten anymore.

 

[mrgrimm101]

I use a spray bottle with graduations on it I got from dollar tree. Been fine for the last couple years.

Awesome, I just wanted to make sure that I wouldn't get any weird off flavors from the plastic..or that the star san would eat through it..

But it sounds like I should be good to just get any ol' plastic spray bottle.

 

[Newsman]

Yeah, I accidentally spilled a little from my bottle when I was mixing up some and it bleached my faux wood counter top. Fortunately there's no SWMBO to complain.

 

[unionrdr]

Yeah, the cheapy store spray bottles are fine when the Starsan is mixed with water. But I don't trust using empty windex bottles, as I think it'd be hard to get the chemical smell out of them.