how long can I leave starsan?

[AdamPag]

I have a little bowl with starsan near my equipment covered in saran wrap so I dont have to keep making sanitzer whenever I wanna check gravity etc, how long is it gonna be good like that?

 

[tre9er]

Something I've always wondered myself. Stuff is expensive.

 

[AdamPag]

honestly, I went through almost 3/4 of my iodophor on my 1st 2 batches. Mind you I was meticulous about making new sanitizer every single time I would test my wort, transfer, etc. If I can just keep a small bowl handy for the 3 or so weeks that I have my fermenters going just to resanitize the theif and air locks then thats a win

 

[tre9er]

I clean everything, loosely if it's before the BK process, and usually just sanitize on brew day. I keep a bucket full of starsan water and just put everything in it, and back in it after rinsing/washing off. That way any tool I need I know it's sanitized. Oh, I use my fermenter for this brew-day star-san vessel. That way it's been sanitizing all day, too.

 

[AdamPag]

oh I do all that and more, but I mean leaving star san in a bucket or bowl for an extended length of time, like... weeks.

 

[tre9er]

Yeah, I know that's what you mean. Just saying I think I use starsan like twice per batch...brew day and bottling day.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Lots of folks mix star san with distilled water and re-use it over and over.

The key to this is in having a way to verify the pH of the solution. As long as the solution maintains a pH of 3 then it will be effective. Any higher and it loses effectiveness.

 

[tre9er]

So if I get a PH test jar and drops...I'm good to go! Sweet!

 

[AdamPag]

wait, soo Tre, you dont sanitize your Theif when you take gravity readings, or sanitize your airlock after you take the reading?

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

So if I get a PH test jar and drops...I'm good to go! Sweet!

Or strips, or a meter.

 

[BrewinHooligan]

I have heard it is good for up to a month, but I have no way to prove/disprove that

 

[Frankiesurf]

honestly, I went through almost 3/4 of my iodophor on my 1st 2 batches. Mind you I was meticulous about making new sanitizer every single time I would test my wort, transfer, etc.

I went to a homebrew class at my LHBS and they had the brewmaster from Port Jefferson Brewing company doing the class. He didn't mention how long Star San stays viable but he keeps buckets of Iodophor laying around the brewery so he can just toss something in if it needs to be sanitized. He said it will stay viable for quite some time.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

I have heard it is good for up to a month, but I have no way to prove/disprove that

I have kept a 5 gallon plastic carboy (Culligan Water) of solution for nearly 2 years, with re-uses, and never needed to re-sour (dose with concentrate) to maintain a pH of 3.

They key, as I said before, was to mix it with RO or Distilled water and test it (I used a meter) frequently.

 

[Yooper]

If you use distilled water, star-san will last a LONG time. Months.

What I do is mix up one gallon, using the jug the distilled water comes in. You use 1/4 oz of star-san, and then just give it a shake. Use it, and then pour it back into the jug. One gallon will easily last me over a month, and I put some in a spray bottle to give my turkey baster (my "wine thief") a spray inside and out. I end up spilling most of it before it becomes ineffective!

You can't save other sanitizers, though, like Iodophor. They lose effectiveness fast.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

I went to a homebrew class at my LHBS and they had the brewmaster from Port Jefferson Brewing company doing the class. He didn't mention how long Star San stays viable but he keeps buckets of Iodophor laying around the brewery so he can just toss something in if it needs to be sanitized. He said it will stay viable for quite some time.

IIRC, Iodophor has an 8 hour solution "life".

 

[tre9er]

If you use distilled water, star-san will last a LONG time. Months.

What I do is mix up one gallon, using the jug the distilled water comes in. You use 1/4 oz of star-san, and then just give it a shake. Use it, and then pour it back into the jug. One gallon will easily last me over a month, and I put some in a spray bottle to give my turkey baster (my "wine thief") a spray inside and out. I end up spilling most of it before it becomes ineffective!

You can't save other sanitizers, though, like Iodophor. They lose effectiveness fast.

Excellent info. Do you think if I have a bucket with lid I can keep 5g. of starsan solution for this long as well?

 

[JeffoC6]

If you use distilled water, star-san will last a LONG time. Months.

What I do is mix up one gallon, using the jug the distilled water comes in. You use 1/4 oz of star-san, and then just give it a shake. Use it, and then pour it back into the jug. One gallon will easily last me over a month, and I put some in a spray bottle to give my turkey baster (my "wine thief") a spray inside and out. I end up spilling most of it before it becomes ineffective!

You can't save other sanitizers, though, like Iodophor. They lose effectiveness fast.

I do this with my star-san too, but I notice that after one or two re-uses, it starts to get cloudy, and I read that cloudy is bad. So as soon as I see it turn cloudy, I pitch it (I don't have ph strips or a meter or anything)...Am I overreacting?

 

[Yooper]

I do this with my star-san too, but I notice that after one or two re-uses, it starts to get cloudy, and I read that cloudy is bad. So as soon as I see it turn cloudy, I pitch it (I don't have ph strips or a meter or anything)...Am I overreacting?

I've also heard that. If you use distilled water, it shouldn't turn cloudy. If you don't have a pH meter or strips, I wouldn't save it once it turns cloudy.

 

[Yooper]

Excellent info. Do you think if I have a bucket with lid I can keep 5g. of starsan solution for this long as well?

Sure, as long as you start with distilled water. Tap water may be different, depending on the make up of the water.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

I do this with my star-san too, but I notice that after one or two re-uses, it starts to get cloudy, and I read that cloudy is bad. So as soon as I see it turn cloudy, I pitch it (I don't have ph strips or a meter or anything)...Am I overreacting?

Not if you are mixing the solution with tap water.

The change, IIRC, is a reaction to calcium in the water source.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

I've also heard that. If you use distilled water, it shouldn't turn cloudy. If you don't have a pH meter or strips, I wouldn't save it once it turns cloudy.

This.

 

[JeffoC6]

I've also heard that. If you use distilled water, it shouldn't turn cloudy. If you don't have a pH meter or strips, I wouldn't save it once it turns cloudy.

Hmmm..Ok thanks. Weird that mine (using distilled) turns cloudy so quickly. Perhaps Pocono Springs Distilled Water is hoodwinking me

 

[jdubb75]

I usually mix 2.5 gallons of it in my bottling bucket on bottling day. I pour a few inches into a wallpaper tray and put all my long items (auto-siphon, thief, etc) in there to sanitize them. I pour some into my Vinator for sanitizing bottles and caps. I also fill a 32oz spray bottle and I use that to "re-wet" the inside of my bottling bucket just before racking to it and to sanitize other misc items during the process. I'll keep starsan in the spray bottle for 3-4 weeks and use it for various other sanitizing when I brew (stirring spoon after boil, digital temp probe during cooling of wort, etc) and during fermentation when I take a sample. I have done this for 7 or 8 batches and haven't had a problem yet.

 

[BradleyBrew]

I have used Star San both cloudy and un-cloudy with distilled and regular tap water. Get on ebay and buy some ph strips. They are cheap like 160 for 4 bucks. I have found that tap water and distilled water really doesn't make a difference once you hit a ph of 3 and you do not add anymore water or organic materials to the solution. I check it about once a week to ensure the ph level is where it needs to be.



check out the youtube video. I wouldn't worry about what the solution looks like its all about the ph level.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Hmmm..Ok thanks. Weird that mine (using distilled) turns cloudy so quickly. Perhaps Pocono Springs Distilled Water is hoodwinking me

That is curious. A quick google confirms for me that the clouding is a reaction to CaCO3. Which is also responsible for the hardness of the water.


Another quick Google finds a 1990 Recall where Pocono was involved because the water had Kerosene and Benzene contaminates. So, Pocono does have a history of hoodwinking.

 

[JeffoC6]

That is curious. A quick google confirms for me that the clouding is a reaction to CaCO3. Which is also responsible for the hardness of the water.


Another quick Google finds a 1990 Recall where Pocono was involved because the water had Kerosene and Benzene contaminates. So, Pocono does have a history of hoodwinking.

I swear, I'm not above slashing Poconos' tires.

 

[rjsnau]

Here are a few tricks I use:

1) Take a satellite sample after aerating and pitching your yeast on brew day. Basically just sanitize your wine thief or what ever you use to take your gravity samples. Take a sample and measure your SG but DON'T throw it away. Pour it into a empty beer bottle and keep it with your fermenter. You can use this to take gravity readings every day and it will ferment at the same pace as your main batch. Even if it gets infected it doesn't matter because the FG will be the same. And FWIW, I have tasted samples from the satellite after two weeks and never tasted an infection.

2) Only mix up 32 ounces of starsan when you need it. You can do the math bit I think it works .3 TSP per 32 ounces. I usually use a gallon on brewday and kegging day since there is so much to sanitize but any other time when I don't have much to sanitize this is an easy way to get a small amount of fresh sanitizer when I need it.

3) DI water in a spray bottle with starsan - Lasts a long time and comes in very handy.

Doing these 3 things I can make a 4 ounce (the smallest) bottle of starsan last for about 8 batches. Not bad at a $7 price tag. By the 16 ounce bottle and you will be set for a couple years.

Hope these help! Feel free to add anything!

 

[portjeffbrew]

IIRC, Iodophor has an 8 hour solution "life".

Iodophor effectiveness is based off soil load and concentration. It will last longer than 8 hours depending on how frequent and "dirty" the parts you are sanitizing are. There are test strips available which monitor ppm to check strength although we simply mix up a batch every morning for general use in daily operations in the brewery. One thing to keep in mind is the worldwide iodine shortage may make starsan a better alternative moving forward.

Mike
Brewer
Port Jeff Brewing Co
Port Jefferson, NY

 

[paraordnance]

I mix my starsan with RO water and its stays clear for half a year at least. I just keep 5 gal bucket full of mixture and always ready to use.

 

[harlond]

Several posters have said that a Star San solution remains good so long as the pH remains low. I listened to an interview of Charley Talley, creator of StarSan, and it's not clear to me that this is correct. He says in the interview that the killing power of StarSan comes from the combination of the acidic aspect and the anionic soaping aspect (he had a different name for the soaping aspect--detergent, surfactant?--I can't remember). He specifically says that either alone is inadequate, and if I heard him correctly, he says that what's degraded by hard water is the ionic soaping aspects. He said that using distilled water, which lacks the minerals that degrade the anionic properties, would result in a very long-lasting solution. Me, I don't know, but if I heard him correctly, it is not the case that you can assume effectiveness of a low pH StarSan solution. I should go find the link to that interview, but it's on here somewhere. Anyway, my takeaway was cloudy solution = ineffective sanitation.