I done goofed up

[Dabba]

So.. i left all my plastic stuff like siphon and tubing in a bucket of starsan for 5 weeks. I've done this before and never had an issue.. but I left the tops of my two corny kegs in there as well and now I have white crap all over my stuff. I assume its some sort of breakdown of aluminium. Question is.. is it worth saving my tubing and siphon or should i just buy new? Any tips for cleaning this? The tubing is small and I cant get inside the S air locks

In a related question.. any suggestions for a new siphon? haha. I'm going to try to get pipe brush to save my wine thief...

 

[IslandLizard]

No need to throw out anything!

As Starsan sits, over time some some white powdery precipitate forms that settles on everything in the bucket. However, it rinses off very easily, or use a brush, a rag, etc. No harm done to parts that can sustain long exposure to the acid, like plastic and stainless steel. Even your now opaque vinyl hoses will return to transparent after thorough drying (a week or so).

Your keg lids are stainless steel, not aluminum. Just scrub them with a stiff brush. Chances are they'll look nice and bright after that.

 

[Dabba]

No need to throw out anything!

As Starsan sits, over time some some white powdery precipitate forms that settles on everything in the bucket. However, it rinses off very easily, or use a brush, a rag, etc. No harm done to parts that can sustain long exposure to the acid, like plastic and stainless steel. Even your now opaque vinyl hoses will return to transparent after thorough drying (a week or so).

Your keg lids are stainless steel, not aluminum. Just scrub them with a stiff brush. Chances are they'll look nice and bright after that.

I was looking to transfer to kegs tonight. What do you suggest I do to clean the smaller diameter tubing, siphon, and S-locks? I cant really get in there with a brush. I tried rinsing but cant get enough pressure to blow that crap out. I'm going to try to get a pipe brush for the wine thief.

 

[Jayjay1976]

Just run water through the tubing for a bit and then use it. The white fog will fade just as @IslandLizard said. After 5 weeks in sanitizer there sure as hell aren't any microbes in there!

 

[IslandLizard]

They sell 3' and 6' long draw brushes that can be used. But most only go to 5/16" thick, larger diameters are hard to find. A 5/16" one can clean 3/8" tubing, sorta. Still that's not going to do diddly squat for you tonight if you don't have them.

I'd blow water through it as fast as you can, that will get most of that white powder out. What doesn't come out then, won't come out with racking either. The powdery precipitate is harmless, it won't harm your beer. I think they are calcium deposits, something in the Starsan that sequesters them.

For the S-locks, maybe use a pipe cleaner or a long narrow strip of a rag to get some resistance. Again the residue won't affect your beer.

Chemical suppliers sell brushes that are wider and longer, for example to clean your wine thief. A bottle brush may also fit inside a wine thief, or not.

 

[Jayjay1976]

Your beer wont be flowing through the s lock so dont worry about swabbing the inside.

 

[Dabba]

Thanks guys. Saved me some cash. I'll rack tomorrow!

 

[Dabba]

I bought new stuff. The plastic has very metal smell to it so I'm not risking the beer. Lesson learned

 

[augiedoggy]

I bought new stuff. The plastic has very metal smell to it so I'm not risking the beer. Lesson learned

could have just set it out in the sun and the smell would have gone away after a couple of hrs. I leave stuff in plastic buckets of staran for days and never noticed any off smells from it myself.

 

[IslandLizard]

That! ^

Some of my plastic equipment is as old as I have been brewing (~10 years). I inadvertently left a bunch of brass fittings in a bucket with Starsan for weeks, they turned out really nice and shiny! The Starsan smelled a bit metallic, and of course I dumped it. The bucket itself was unharmed. I do sunbathe some (plastic) equipment (mostly buckets) regularly.

I have a plastic bucket that got large rust spots/areas in the bottom. Rinsing, brushing, light scouring did not remove them. Starsan did, over time. A year later, having been perpetually under Starsan or in the Sun occasionally, they are mostly gone and very faint.

 

[Dabba]

I'll try sunbathing it. I already have a new pump and longer hose that I'm more happy with. Just didnt want to take the risk. I assumed the plastic took up some of the steel but well see!

 

[MaxStout]

I sometimes put plastic parts in Starsan for long periods of time. Especially the spigot for my bottling bucket, and tubing, too. I've had a couple infections in the past that I traced back to plastic components, so being extra paranoid I soak the crap out of things in Starsan now. The tubing gets a milky haze to it, but as others mentioned, it will go away after drying out for a few days. That "metallic" smell could be the acid smell of Starsan itself. It won't hurt your beer.

 

[ba-brewer]

If you use RO water when making the starsan solution there is less white crap.

 

[augiedoggy]

I'll try sunbathing it. I already have a new pump and longer hose that I'm more happy with. Just didnt want to take the risk. I assumed the plastic took up some of the steel but well see!

You bought a new pump ? starsan is just a mild acid you know kinda like coke cola... Its a weak version of what breweries soak everything in sometimes for long periods while the tanks sit idle... it wont hurt anything. and stainless is unaffected by it.

 

[augiedoggy]

If you use RO water when making the starsan solution there is less white crap.

it also lasts much longer without getting weak and turning cloudy.

 

[Dabba]

You bought a new pump ? starsan is just a mild acid you know kinda like coke cola... Its a weak version of what breweries soak everything in sometimes for long periods while the tanks sit idle... it wont hurt anything. and stainless is unaffected by it.

I did. It's a much better pump anyway. Like I said i suspect the plastic took up something in the acid, not the acid itself. Ill find a use for it one way or the other.