How old is your Star San?

[MaxStout]

I would think as long as the ph is under 3 (even if it's cloudy), it's good. If you've had your Starsan bottle for a long time, smell it. I had a 32oz bottle I used for years. It developed an odd smell. I bought a 16 oz bottle since the larger one lasted so long and was almost empty (about 4 oz left). The two bottles smelled different from each other. I can't describe the older bottle's smell, but it didn't give me a good vibe. I never got an infection from using it to sanitize, but it didn't have that "fresh sanitized smell" to it after sanitizing my vessels, if that's even a thing.

EDIT: I posted about this earlier in this thread around August. Did anyone else have a similar situation?

A few years ago I bought some used gear from a Craigslister. Included was a small, opened bottle of StarSan. It was quite old and had a different label than they use today. It smelled funny, like a cross between medicinal and metallic. I tossed it.

 

[redrocker652002]

It surprises me (old) age being the issue. How dark is the concentrate now compared to a new bottle?

My gallon jug of Starsan is from 2017-2018, IIRC, and a bit past half empty now. It may be a tad darker than originally, but at 5-6 years old it still behaves and seems to work as fine as it always has.

I have been putting my used StarSan mixture into a 5 gallon Carboy, but have not used it as it has been sitting out in the shop for about 6 months. You are saying that it will last years? Damn, I need to read up more on this. LOL.

 

[ncbrewer]

I have been putting my used StarSan mixture into a 5 gallon Carboy, but have not used it as it has been sitting out in the shop for about 6 months. You are saying that it will last years? Damn, I need to read up more on this. LOL.

There have been several podcasts featuring Charley Talley, and some with John Herskovits. Mr. Talley had a tendency to talk about what actually works as opposed to just what the EPA regulations call for. You can learn a lot from listening to these. Here are the ones that I've earmarked:
• http://hwcdn.libsyn.com/p/3/9/0/390...02309332&hwt=0192dc634456fee5bb9035ebf1b67a2e
• The Session 03-19-06 Sanitation w/ Charlie Talley | The Brewing Network
• Charlie Talley (Five-Star Chemicals) Notes from Brewcasts
• Brew Strong: 11-10-08 Cleaning | The Brewing Network
• Brew Strong 01-05-09 Sanitation | The Brewing Network
• https://hwcdn.libsyn.com/p/3/9/0/39...63138752&hwt=b1b31de9b909f589d9b5b7b0adb4c6ab

 

[IslandLizard]

I have been putting my used StarSan mixture into a 5 gallon Carboy, but have not used it as it has been sitting out in the shop for about 6 months. You are saying that it will last years? Damn, I need to read up more on this. LOL.

I was referring to the concentrate, though, lasting for many years:

It surprises me (old) age being the issue. How dark is the concentrate now compared to a new bottle?

My gallon jug of Starsan [concentrate] is from 2017-2018, IIRC, and a bit past half empty now. It may be a tad darker than originally, but at 5-6 years old it still behaves and seems to work as fine as it always has.

 

[beren]

I was referring to the concentrate, though, lasting for many years:

Mine’s older than my kids.