How do you mix your Starsan? Do you use in your airlock?

[Daveyg]

I only do one gallon batches, but I mix 2.5 gallons in the morning of my brew day in a 5 gallon bucket and that makes enough for me to sanitize everything I need for the day, including topping off my spray bottle, some for the jar that I run my blow off tube into and then I save a small amount for sanitizing airlock a few days later.

 

[Minky]

It seems very viscous to be super accurate with when mixing at smaller quantities. How do you dilute and mix your Starsan?

Starsan is supposed to be mixed at the ratio of 1 fluid ounce in 5 gallons of water. A fluid ounce is 29.6 milliliters (ml), so about 6 ml per gallon.

You're right that it is a small quantity and, being as viscous as it is, can be difficult to measure accurately due to the fact that so much of remains as a coating on the surface of your measuring implement. I use a dropper that's intended for giving liquid medications to children. They are generally marked in teaspoons and milliliters, and are available in the drug store in either dropper or syringe style. I prefer the dropper style because the acidic Starsan eats up the o-ring in the syringe after awhile. For larger quantities I also use a small graduate cylinder left over from my photo lab days.

 

[xcfgj]

Simple. I mix it by the gallon (using distilled agua from Wally World) and store it in my bottling bucket. Lots of items get tossed in there for a few minutes as needed. A funnel, turkey baster (great for the inside of tubing and siphons) and extra airlocks get stored in that bucket.

 

[Singletrack]

I buy the mondo 32 oz bottle of Star San with built in measuring reservoir. The cost per oz is less for a big bottle, though I have to eat ramen for a month to afford it. (But I have delicious craft beer with my ramen.)

I make up 1.25 gal of solution on brew day. That's roughly 1/4 of 5 gal, so I measure out 1/4 of an oz using the built in reservoir. 1/4 oz is not marked on the reservoir, so I added a mark halfway between 0 and 1/2 oz.

I use a long planter liner and a spray bottle to sanitize stuff, and 1.25 gal is plenty. Use it in the blow off bottle and airlock too. At the end of the day, I fill the spray bottle and dump the rest.

I do not adjust the dosage for alkalinity, but with my water, i think it's better to dump than save -- unless I use RO water, but that tends to be a water waster.

No syringes or droppers or vodka or RO water for mixing. The waste seems minimal and payback good. Now eating a chopped hot dog in my ramen.

Fascinating story, huh?