Beer stone cleaner DIY options?

[SanPancho]

we have soft water so cant see this being anything else but beer stone. especially as it only hits the coil where its submerged. in any case, do we have any DIY/from the kitchen/garage/etc type remedies? brewed last weekend, must not have noticed it before it dried. today i was going to throw some cider together but i wanna get this off the coil before i make up the batch. and i wont be able to make it to a brew shop any time soon.

other than vinegar and concentrated star san i dont have any other acids around. i think i might be able to get some 30% vinegar, neighbor uses it for weed killer.

TIA

 

[day_trippr]

Fwiw, I use hot citric acid periodically on my ss ic. 150°F, ~8% solution, for an hour up to overnight. I buy 5 pound bags of CA from Amazon as needed.

Cheers!

 

[Bramling Cross]

The best thing I've found, after trying many methods, is boring old Bar Keeper's friend, a baseball game, and a blue Scotch Brite pad. I typically have my kettle looking presentable by the end of the first inning, no later than the middle of the second. It requires a very small amount of Bar Keeper's Friend, so it's a cheap treatment. Just make certain you rinse it thoroughly when you're done.

If you do nothing else, stay away from Five Star's Beer Stone cleaner. It's expensive and it's less effective than Bar Keeper's Friend.

 

[Bramling Cross]

Fwiw, I use hot citric acid periodically on my ss ic. 150°F, ~8% solution, for an hour up to overnight. I buy 5 pound bags of CA from Amazon as needed.

Cheers!

Do you have to scrub at all after the treatment? Or is this purely chemical?

In the past, I've tried doing it with phosphoric and it didn't seem to do much of anything. I suppose I was going with too light of a solution?

 

[sibelman]

Do you have to scrub at all after the treatment? Or is this purely chemical?

When I soak it my element in citric acid solution, any residue easily wipes/rinses away. No actual scrubbing. Of course, heavy mineral deposits may take more time and effort.

 

[Bramling Cross]

When I soak it my element in citric acid solution, any residue easily wipes/rinses away. No actual scrubbing. Of course, heavy mineral deposits may take more time and effort.

Thanks for that. The last time I tried something like that there wasn't much information available on the home brewing front, so I ended up using a two step alkaline/acid process from the dairy industry.

 

[sibelman]

two step alkaline/acid process

This is the gold standard. If you, pre-cleaning with a bit of Oxi/PBW will clear off vegetable detritus so the acid can do its magic on the mineral deposits.

 

[Bramling Cross]

This is the gold standard. If you, pre-cleaning with a bit of Oxi/PBW will clear off vegetable detritus so the acid can do its magic on the mineral deposits.

I originally tried it when I was home in PDX, but that was a few decades ago. I was likely using too dilute of an acid step.

 

[sibelman]

dilute

One ounce (weight or volume) per gallon seems sufficient.

 

[SanPancho]

welp, i totally forgot that i did have citric acid on hand. cant remember what it was for but i'll do 10%ish soak. now i just need to find a tall and relatively thin/narrow container so i dont have to make 5gallons of the stuff to fill a kettle or bucket.

 

[Skeeter686]

now i just need to find a tall and relatively thin/narrow container so i dont have to make 5gallons of the stuff to fill a kettle or bucket.

Make a cylinder out of cardboard and packing tape, line it with a plastic garbage bag, and set that into a kettle in case you end up with a leak?

Just a thought.

 

[SanPancho]

wife gave me an old tupperware pitcher out of the basement. just a little over 2liters.

 

[cfrazier77]

You could use a wall paper tray and flip it half way through your soak.
https://www.amazon.com/Zinsser-9803...refix=wall+paper+tray+for+wate,aps,192&sr=8-1
I use a 4" pvc pipe with an endcap. It works well for me.

 

[hopsnmalt]

The people who make starsan also sell a liquid beer stone solution in a small container (8 ounces?). The solution works really well. Make sure to repassivitate SS with Liquid Bar Keepers Friend rinse off well and allow to air dry.

 

[IDMaynard]

View attachment 876471
we have soft water so cant see this being anything else but beer stone. especially as it only hits the coil where its submerged. in any case, do we have any DIY/from the kitchen/garage/etc type remedies? brewed last weekend, must not have noticed it before it dried. today i was going to throw some cider together but i wanna get this off the coil before i make up the batch. and i wont be able to make it to a brew shop any time soon.

other than vinegar and concentrated star san i dont have any other acids around. i think i might be able to get some 30% vinegar, neighbor uses it for weed killer.

TIA

 

[IDMaynard]

View attachment 876471
we have soft water so cant see this being anything else but beer stone. especially as it only hits the coil where its submerged. in any case, do we have any DIY/from the kitchen/garage/etc type remedies? brewed last weekend, must not have noticed it before it dried. today i was going to throw some cider together but i wanna get this off the coil before i make up the batch. and i wont be able to make it to a brew shop any time soon.

other than vinegar and concentrated star san i dont have any other acids around. i think i might be able to get some 30% vinegar, neighbor uses it for weed killer.

TIA

Here is what I use for the exact same issue on those Spike coils

1) Rinse with water
2) Acid treatment: 50/50 mix of phosphoric/nitric acid rinse (~ 140F) for 15-30 minutes.
3) Alkaline clean: soak in 140F PBW (or other non-caustic alkaline cleaner) for 15-30 minutes
4) Rinse with RT water

Note: do not rinse between the acid and alkaline soaks, you can scrub the beer stone after the acid treatment (wear gloves!).

 

[SanPancho]

Here is what I use for the exact same issue on those Spike coils

1) Rinse with water
2) Acid treatment: 50/50 mix of phosphoric/nitric acid rinse (~ 140F) for 15-30 minutes.
3) Alkaline clean: soak in 140F PBW (or other non-caustic alkaline cleaner) for 15-30 minutes
4) Rinse with RT water

Note: do not rinse between the acid and alkaline soaks, you can scrub the beer stone after the acid treatment (wear gloves!).

10% citric worked fine. Mixed it at 130f and let it sit overnight. Very minor remnants found the next day, easily scraped off with fingernail in maybe 2-3 minutes.

 

[IDMaynard]

10% citric worked fine. Mixed it at 130f and let it sit overnight. Very minor remnants found the next day, easily scraped off with fingernail in maybe 2-3 minutes.

Nice, I will have to try that next time I see any build-up on my chiller coils.

 

[BasementArtie]

Milk stone cleaner

 

[SanPancho]

Milk stone cleaner

no tractor supply or farm store close to me. citric was cheapest option, and i happened to have some around. next time i head out to the ranch to visit inlaws i'll try and remember to buy some. but i've only seen it in gallons, which is way more than i'd need. citric might be best option in that case.

 

[day_trippr]

Along with cleaning, citric acid is great for re-passivating stainless gear like screens, chillers, funnels, kettles, etc, so it's good to have some on hand in the brewery...

Cheers!

 

[PCABrewing]

Along with cleaning, citric acid is great for re-passivating stainless gear like screens, chillers, funnels, kettles, etc, so it's good to have some on hand in the brewery...

Cheers!

Also handy for periodic cleaning of the dishwasher.