How to clean aeration stone

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dblee50

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How do/should you clean an aeration stone after using it in wort? I generally just wash it in running water and push a little o2 through it then let it dry. Should I use a cleaner or boil it? thanks
 
I have a bucket that I fill with Star San when I brew. When I'm done with the O2, I just dunk the stone and tubing back in the bucket for a couple of minutes, wipe off with a clean paper towel and put back in its designated ziploc bag.
 
same thing I do, though I actually suck (with my mouth) some star san up into it, then purge it with a super quick O2 blast.

I also remove the airstone from the wort with O2 still running so it blows stuff out...can't really fill with wort that way. sorta pre-emptive cleaning.
 
easiest way is just to boil it in clean water for 10 min. this ensures not only that it is clean but also kills any nasties. I also boil it ( and then let it cool ) in water before using.

I dont think that sanitizers and cleaners can get into all of the pores and boiling is soo simple.
 
Old thread bump. Any reason I couldn't just dip the aeration stone into my boil kettle during the last part of the boil just as a precaution to make sure there isn't anything living in it?

Then after I'm done using it put it in a tub of star san?
 
I was cleaning with Starsan and eventually it seemed to clog--meaning I wasn't getting it clean. I've heard of people baking it theirs in an oven, but short of time, I heated it with a propane torch. It's working again--certainly sanitary.
 
There was a youtube video I just saw about a carbonation stone for a professional system.

He pushed a caustic cleaner though the stone using CO2... I assume we could build something like that for our "little stones"... I was interested because I plan make some cider and I have never used a stone I have had for YEARS.....

DPB
 
I boil before and after and push some O2 through it after removing from carboy. Manufacturers state to boil. Just remember it's on the stove and you don't let the water boil away. BTW, SWMBO got a new sauce pan. Twice now.
 
When I finish oxygenating, I remove the wand from the fermenter and plunge the stone into some Starsan for a few seconds while the O2 is still running. Afterwards, I remove the stone from the wand and store it in a small jar full of Starsan until next use.
 
I clean my stone with hot Oxyclean (unscented.) PBW would work as well, or better. My stone is permanently attached to a plastic racking cane. I clean the stone at the same time I clean my 5L Erlenmeyer flask. I rinse the flask as well as I can, and then fill with hot Oxyclean solution. I place the stone end of the racking cane in the bottom of the flask. Solution slowly works its way thru the stone, and fills the cane up to the level of the flask. I then remove the cane and drain out the open end. Takes some patience and shaking to get it drained well. I repeat this 4 or 5 times.

Then after rinsing out the flask, I fill with clean rinse water, and repeat the tube filling and draining process another 4 or 5 times. Not a quick process, but an be done during commercials, etc. I then let the stone and cane air dry.

When it's time to oxygenate some wort, I stick the stone + cane into a bucket of StarSan. Then connect the O2, blow the StarSan out of the cane, and insert into the wort.

Method removes any residual wort from the stone, and should work on finger oils as well.

Brew on :mug:
 
When I finish oxygenating, I remove the wand from the fermenter and plunge the stone into some Starsan for a few seconds while the O2 is still running. Afterwards, I remove the stone from the wand and store it in a small jar full of Starsan until next use.



^^^this works for me too^^^
 
After use i blast out the wort with some o2 then i boil it 2- 4 minutes then put it in a small tube with star san until ready to use
 
The only major infection I've had so far (knock on wood) I traced back to my oxygen stone.

Before I was rinsing the stone in hot water after use, storing it in Starsan till my next brew day and then running 02 through it for a minute or so while in the Starsan bucket before putting it in the fermenter to aerate.

After the infected batch (a Band-Aid nightmare of a double IPA) I now boil the stone for about 10 min while I chill my wort on brew day and then keep it in my Starsan bucket until I am ready to aerate...no problems since (again knock on wood).
 
The only major infection I've had so far (knock on wood) I traced back to my oxygen stone.

Before I was rinsing the stone in hot water after use, storing it in Starsan till my next brew day and then running 02 through it for a minute or so while in the Starsan bucket before putting it in the fermenter to aerate.

After the infected batch (a Band-Aid nightmare of a double IPA) I now boil the stone for about 10 min while I chill my wort on brew day and then keep it in my Starsan bucket until I am ready to aerate...no problems since (again knock on wood).
Just curious. How did you decide the stone was to blame? Until recently, I've done little more than rinse it off in the sink and I've had no trouble at all. Of course, I've been lucky in lots of ways, considering my sanitation habits.
 
After use i blast out the wort with some o2 then i boil it 2- 4 minutes then put it in a small tube with star san until ready to use

I do the same thing. It might be overkill, but I'm a little paranoid about infections. Those empty White Labs tubes are perfect for storing the stones with a little Starsan.
 
Just curious. How did you decide the stone was to blame? Until recently, I've done little more than rinse it off in the sink and I've had no trouble at all. Of course, I've been lucky in lots of ways, considering my sanitation habits.

Process of elimination and common sense really...

I had only used the stone a handful of time before that bad batch so it was the newest variable to my brewing process (that I had successfully brewed 100+ prior batches with).

After the infected batch, I looked at all the steps that could have introduced a nasty into my wort and those thousands of micro holes in my stone, that had been immersed in sugar water and then simply rinsed off with hot water, seemed an obvious culprit.

Maybe it was a random event and I am overkilling it these days with boiling the stone, but I haven't had a problem since.
 
Process of elimination and common sense really...

I had only used the stone a handful of time before that bad batch so it was the newest variable to my brewing process (that I had successfully brewed 100+ prior batches with).

After the infected batch, I looked at all the steps that could have introduced a nasty into my wort and those thousands of micro holes in my stone, that had been immersed in sugar water and then simply rinsed off with hot water, seemed an obvious culprit.

Maybe it was a random event and I am overkilling it these days with boiling the stone, but I haven't had a problem since.

Maybe it is do to phenolics and not necessarily an infection? https://beerandbrewing.com/off-flavor-phenolic/
 
As far as I know Starsan is not a cleaner. After use I rinse in hot (132°F) tap water, clean with PBW, rinse well again and shoot some O2 to blow off/dry stone. Store in zip-lock bag until next brew. At brew time I dip it 3-5min in boiling water, then let it cool and put inside Starsan until oxygenation event. Then go back to start.
I do the same with carbonation stone but I'm not as paranoid with that one.
 
I store the air stone, tubing and filter as one piece in a zip lock bag. Before using, I suspend the tubing over the kitchen range with the stone submerged in a small pot of boiling water. While doing this, I use an aquarium pump for airflow to keep steam from ruining the filter. I boil for about 10 minutes and then spray the hose and stone with Starsan.

After aerating the wort, I rinse the hose and stone assembly with tap water and then repeat the process used before aeration. Once the stone has boiled for 10 minutes, I remove the water pot and keep the pump running for a few minutes to air dry the assembly.

It's important to maintain airflow through the stone while it's submerged. This keeps wort from passing through to the inside, making it almost impossible to clean and sanitize.

I know, it's overkill, but I've used the same stone, filter and tubing assembly for 5+ years without any problems.
 
There was a youtube video I just saw about a carbonation stone for a professional system.

He pushed a caustic cleaner though the stone using CO2 [...snip]

I actually arrived here searching for how to clean my carbonation stone. The issue is: the stone is in the fermentor soaking in wort for a couple of weeks before I spray sanitizer all over the quick-disconnect and open the valve. So far, so good, but it feels like I'm gambling with every batch.

The O2 stone seems easier, because it's out of the process for cleaning, then inserted into the process, then removed for cleaning again. It's the CO2 stone that sits there, soaking in the fermentor with an [almost] opening to the outside. (Sure: ball valve. But still...)
 
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I keep my stone in a small jar of starsan. It grew this.
20210424_135854.jpg


Since then, I boil the stone for 10-15 minutes before use. Sixty batches in and no infections yet, knock on wood.

Every time I start thinking this thing might be harboring something, I'll put it in my instant pot for 20 minutes to fully sterilize. IMO, storing in starsan does next to nothing, this really would be one item worth storing in iodophor solution.
 
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