Boiling water to sanitize

[ajm163]

I think this will work but want others to check me if this is not a great idea because if something I’m not seeing.

just got a ss brew tech 14 gallon unitank. And thinking of an easy way to sanitize it. Was thinking before I brew put 5-6 galling of water in my boil kettle. Get that to a boil and then transfer the boiling water into the fermenter. Let the boiling water and steam do the job for 20-30 mins and then drain.

that heat for that long should sanitize or even sterilize the fermenter correct? Since everything is stainless don’t think the heat would be bad for anything

 

[Chorgey]

It sounds like a lot of excess work, especially when Starsan would do a great job with a spray bottle

 

[BrewZer]

You're trying to sanitize a 14 gallon stainless steel vessel with 6 gallons of hot water. How long do you think that vessel (a massive stainless steel heat sink) will maintain sanitizing temperatures after you pour in that water?

I'm not comfortable that it's long enough to sanitize those parts not immersed.

If you can't fill the whole fermenter with water hot enough to sanitize over a couple of minutes, I'd rely on a better, more reliable method like a no-rinse sanitizer.

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

Why waste 5 to 6 gallons of water? Simply clean, sanitize and good to go.

I do recommend a GOOD cleaning of anything we use before the first use. For stainless, clean thoroughly with TSP.

 

[ajm163]

already cleaned everything with PBW.

as far as extra work goes with my setup its pretty easy press some buttons and play with a couple valves so im not concerned about that. the whole point is that the stainless will act as a heatsink and the heat will be transfered to the fermenter the heat is what is doing the work. at boiling temp i believe you need something like 20 seconds of contact to sterilize. Yes it will cool over time but even down to 160F it will still sanitize but needs longer time i believe it is something like 45 mins at 160F.

since this will be just water (no chemicals) i can easily reuse the water to water my trees (yes in Colorado i need to water my trees especially this time of year)

 

[BrewZer]

I think this will work but want others to check me if this is not a great idea because if something I’m not seeing.

If you're determined to do it anyway in spite of the advice you've received here, at least run a test batch and take temperature readings throughout the tank, not just in the water but at key sanitize points up the sides and on the top, and see if you're getting 160 degrees for 45 minutes. Incidentally, Inkbird's IBS-TH2 would be ideal for this since it's moisture resistant -- you could suspend it in the airspace under the lid and see just how hot the space remains over time using the graph capability of the Engbird app.

 

[ajm163]

thats a good idea. i need to run some tests on my boil kettle anyways to get boiloff rate

 

[Vale71]

I do this with my corny kegs prior to performing a closed transfer. This has the advantage of purging the keg of air as I push the water out with CO2. But:

1 - the keg will be filled with beer and not wort and that's much more resistant to microbial infection
2 - I fill them completely with hot water (have to because of the need to purge of air) and let them sit a half hour as they slowly cool off

I really wouldn't trust the indirect heat in the headspace to be enough to sanitize every nook and cranny of the top part of your fermenter.