Acaciadrian
Well-Known Member
How do you use it? How long do you use it? What do you use it In combination with? How do you not use it? Open to anything and everything!
What are your PBW best practices?
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I use it mainly on the cold side. Pumped through spray balls in my conicals, soaking any dirty fittings, and cleaning my kegs.
I spray out the hot side with hot water and attach all my ball valves to my sink faucet and give them a good cleaning that way. I’ll pbw the hot side once a year or so.
I spray out the hot side with hot water and attach all my ball valves to my sink faucet and give them a good cleaning that way. I’ll pbw the hot side once a year or so.
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Acaciadrian
Well-Known Member
How long do you usually soak? Also do you usually just rinse with water?
fwiw, I run a quasi-cip with hot pbw on my brew rig after every other brew. I use 6 gallons of water with 6 ounces of PBW and bring it up to ~160°F then recirculate it through all the pumps/plumbing/valves/kettles/etc for a good 30 minutes, drain it into a bucket, stick my SS spider in that, then rinse the rig thoroughly with hot water.
I've noticed whatever temperature you run the PBW is the temperature the rinsing water should be for best results. Hot wash followed by a cold rinse will leave a film...
Cheers!
I've noticed whatever temperature you run the PBW is the temperature the rinsing water should be for best results. Hot wash followed by a cold rinse will leave a film...
Cheers!
universalfrost
Keep your stick on the ice.
Cold or hot...if cold then long soak and if hot I use in cip balls or soaking..
I've made the mistake of leaving stuff soak for weeks in pdw and no harm yet...a simple runse with water and let dry...
I've made the mistake of leaving stuff soak for weeks in pdw and no harm yet...a simple runse with water and let dry...
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Acaciadrian
Well-Known Member
Do you recommend always going that high with the water temp? The bottle I got recommends about that temp as well but wondering if there is anything negative to colder water?
Thanks for the advice!
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Acaciadrian
Well-Known Member
Awesome! Thanks!
universalfrost
Keep your stick on the ice.
Sorry for the mis-spelling... I blame it on my phone and or the Sierra Nevada Torpedoes...
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Acaciadrian
Well-Known Member
Lol that is understandable!!
Nothing "negative" but I expect the higher temperature at least accelerates the cleaning process if not increasing the effectivity...
Cheers!
If I’m soaking parts I leave it for like a day then just rinse with hot water. Some things like my fermenter get hit with saniclean, gaskets and TC go in a drying area then in a dry bucket with a lid. Brew day they all go into a bucket small bucket of saniclean until I rebuild the fermenter. Then the blowoff tube goes into the bucket.
BostonianBrewer
Well-Known Member
Always rinse PBW and be sure not to let aluminum items such as a blichmann thermometer to soak in the solution
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Acaciadrian
Well-Known Member
Thanks! Didn’t know that about the aluminum! Do you just wipe them down with PBW or just use a different cleaner on that stuff?
I made a batch of the homemade stuff and had it affect glass as well. The Tri Sodium Phosphate says on its label that it is not to be used with glass. I had some fogging occur. I do not think the real PBW has the same issue with glass. One of the reasons to use the real stuff.
I designed my current rig to be CIP as much as possible. I heat water a lot during the brew day and try to run PBW through everything. In my experience, if you do a little cleaning every time you brew it does not take very much to do the job. Also, cleaning before stuff dries (like boiled wort) makes it easier on the CIP or soaking approach.
Heat really helps PBW do its job so using it hot speeds up the process. For example, when I run PBW through my boil kettle-chiller path it does not take very long for the colored water flow to turn clear. It is an amazing product. The only thing I am unsure of is how much rinsing is enough?
RPh_Guy
Bringing Sour Back
My mixture has metasilicate (not trisodium phosphate), same as PBW. Metasilicate can etch glass.
Exactly what I do except I do it every time (I may be paranoid) and I don't use a spider. I use (all static soak of at least an hour) it on a 10 gallon open square fermentor, and sankes that have gone through fermentation, or the first time, when I've removed the spear and want to use them as a fermentor. I will sometimes use my 20 gallon MLT as a fermentor so it gets the same thing. Only thing about that is that with a sightglass, not too sanguine I've actually "cleaned" the glass. I need another solution for 12 gallon open fermentation.
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Acaciadrian
Well-Known Member
So if I want to wash out some glass car boys you would recommend not using PBW at all or just not letting it soak in the PBW?
RPh_Guy
Bringing Sour Back
Use hot water and a short soak, no more than a couple hours.
Or, don't do that and avoid thermal stressing the glass which will lead to a dropped bottom eventually.
I dump a tablespoon of OxyFree in a carboy and fill it to the top of the neck with water that is the same temperature as the carboy.
Let that sit for anywhere from a few hours to overnight if needed - it'll be evident when it's done as virtually everything will have fallen off and dropped to the bottom - then empty and rinse with water that is again the same temperature as the carboy. Given enough patience I haven't had to break out the carboy brush...
Cheers!
I dump a tablespoon of OxyFree in a carboy and fill it to the top of the neck with water that is the same temperature as the carboy.
Let that sit for anywhere from a few hours to overnight if needed - it'll be evident when it's done as virtually everything will have fallen off and dropped to the bottom - then empty and rinse with water that is again the same temperature as the carboy. Given enough patience I haven't had to break out the carboy brush...
Cheers!
RPh_Guy
Bringing Sour Back
Doh! You're right.
My glass carboys are all only 1 gal. I forget other people live dangerously with larger sizes
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Acaciadrian
Well-Known Member
Sorry for the 100 questions but what about plastic? I have a couple standard buckets and some PET Carboys. Any thing to watch or be aware of with those?
I have no first-hand experience with "better bottles" and similar vessels, but I've read that extended exposure to PBW and maybe even OxyClean can cause problems.
For example https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/warning-dont-soak-your-better-bottles-for-a-week.206052/
Cheers!
For example https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/warning-dont-soak-your-better-bottles-for-a-week.206052/
Cheers!
rideincircles
Well-Known Member
I have been using pbw or oxiclean for all of my beer cleaning. I always use hot water with it, but there have been times where I left it for a few days and I got a film left on the glass along with some specks stuck at the bottom which I read is calcium carbonate precipitating out.
What is the easiest way to clean that out? I read vinegar can help with it, but want to see what other people have done to clean off the film and specks on the bottom of my carboy. The film usually can be brushed off, but the specks are stuck on and wont clean off.
Will that affect the beer if it isn't totally cleaned off, or can it not be sanitized if the film is still there.
Also, on the starsan side, why does tubing get cloudy if it sits in starsan for a few days? It leaves a film that can be weirdly slimy if you get it on your hands, and can be hard to come off. Is the acid destroying the plastic, will that wash off into my beer if I still use it?
I probably need to stop soaking things for longer than a day, but it happens on occasion.
Also, as mentioned above, aluminum will start pitting if left in starsan too long.
What is the easiest way to clean that out? I read vinegar can help with it, but want to see what other people have done to clean off the film and specks on the bottom of my carboy. The film usually can be brushed off, but the specks are stuck on and wont clean off.
Will that affect the beer if it isn't totally cleaned off, or can it not be sanitized if the film is still there.
Also, on the starsan side, why does tubing get cloudy if it sits in starsan for a few days? It leaves a film that can be weirdly slimy if you get it on your hands, and can be hard to come off. Is the acid destroying the plastic, will that wash off into my beer if I still use it?
I probably need to stop soaking things for longer than a day, but it happens on occasion.
Also, as mentioned above, aluminum will start pitting if left in starsan too long.
RPh_Guy
Bringing Sour Back
Any and all film needs to be removed in order to sanitize.
I soak in warm homemade PBW, then water rinse.
Next I use an acid rinse with citric acid. This removes inorganic residue. Then another water rinse.
I have dedicated blow-off tubing. I'd speculate that extended exposure to low pH/strong acid affects vinyl.
I soak in warm homemade PBW, then water rinse.
Next I use an acid rinse with citric acid. This removes inorganic residue. Then another water rinse.
I have dedicated blow-off tubing. I'd speculate that extended exposure to low pH/strong acid affects vinyl.
