Wash out blow-off sanitation bucket

[blak97]

I have a carboy with a blow-off tube leading to a bucket with maybe 2 quarters of star-san solution. It's only day 2 of primary, and there's been a decent amount of blow-off into the sanitation bucket. At what point, if any, do I need to replace the star-san solution with fresh solution?

Additionally, I imagine bugs are not interested in star-san solution, but given the sugary-yeasty crud that begins to build up in the solution, will bugs or other creatures I don't want in my beer be attracted to it?

 

[kh54s10]

I have left my blow off tube in the crud for as long as 3 weeks of primary with no issues. One even molded. But, I would change it out. Be careful of suck back. You really only need enough starsan to keep the end of the tube submerged. I use about one cup in a margarine cup. That cup in a 2 quart pot in case the cup overflows.

 

[IslandLizard]

Starsan has a very low buffering capacity. A decent dose of wort or krausen in a quart of Starsan is capable of raising its pH over 3.5, reducing or even neutralizing its effectiveness. So yeah, wash out and refresh it.

I never use more than a quart, usually less, and submerge the end of the blow-off hose only an inch or so.