Bleach in Swamp cooler?

[kevinb]

Is this common? I have a swamp cooler running with a acquarium heater. I have seen a couple posts that reccomend putting a splash of bleach in the water to keep it from getting funky. I did put a splash in mine. My closet smells more like bleach than beer. I don't want the "bleach flavor" to end up in my beer.

 

[nelven34]

You should be ok. I don't think the smell would penetrate your fermenter and airlock to cause any off flavors. Dirty socks or clean bleach.

That's what I think. What I know is that I'm liking that pic. Nice.

 

[mcbaumannerb]

The CO2 pushing out of your fermenter will keep you safe. Once active fermentation ends, I'd pull it out of the swamp cooler though...

 

[kevinb]

Do you really think it will make it back through the airlock?

 

[mcbaumannerb]

No. During active fermentation there is pressure out of the bucket/carboy so no fear of bleach flavor being absorbed. Once fermentation slows the risk for bleach flavor will rise so don't risk it then (plus temp. Doesn't matter as much when things slow down.)

 

[masskrug]

I use a splash (~ 1/2 cup) of bleach in my cooler. One time I had some krausen escape from my airlock. Things got funky over the next two weeks. Luckily, the mold and fungus did not get into the beer.

 

[kevinb]

I did a little more research and this is what I found on the Clorox website:

When boiling off water for 1 minute is not possible in an emergency situation, disinfect water by:
1. Remove suspended particles by filtering or letting particles settle to the bottom. Pour clear water into a clean container.
2. Add 8 drops of Clorox® Regular-Bleach to one gallon of water (2 drops to 1 quart). For cloudy water, use 16 drops per gallon of water (4 drops to 1 quart).
3. Let treated water to stand for 30 minutes. Water should have a slight bleach odor. If not, repeat and wait another 15 minutes. The treated water can then be made palatable by pouring it between clean containers several times.

Per the CDC:

To use bleach, add 1/8 teaspoon (or 8 drops; about 0.625 milliliters) of unscented liquid household chlorine (5-6%) bleach for each gallon of clear water (or 2 drops of bleach for each liter or each quart of water), ◦Stir the mixture well.
◦Let it stand for 30 minutes or longer before you use it.
◦Store the disinfected water in clean sanitized containers with tight covers.

I guess you don't need much! I actually drained my swamp water. Added a fresh 7 gallons and about 1 tsp. Hopefully it goes well.

 

[masskrug]

Thanks, kevinb, I'm using too much as well!