racking cane sterilization

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Elfmaze

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so using star san. i can make a five gallon batch of sanatizer to fit my entire racking cane in. BUT that seems a waist.

Anyone use like a 3 inch diameter PVC colum to steep you're racking cane in steralizer when you are taking samples etc?
 
Generally I just pump the autosyphon to recirc the star san and liberally splash the tube by hand to sanitize it. That would be really cool though and might be worth it.
 
First to nitpick: you're not "sterilizing", you're sanitizing. And no, I haven't, but I'm sure it'd work. Just glue (meaning, using PVC primer & cement) a PVC cap on one end. Me, I keep a standing 17 gallon tub of starsan and use it to sanitize most everything. I add more starsan concentrate when it gets cloudy, and replace it when it gets too much debris in the solution.
 
3 steps to care free sanitizer use:
Step #1: Go to Wal Mart & Get a Weed Sprayer for $8.00
Step #2: Use weed sprayer to sanatize EVERYTHING with just a quick spray.
Step #3: Trust that if it's wet, it's good, You don't need to SOAK in starsan.
 
so using star san. i can make a five gallon batch of sanatizer to fit my entire racking cane in. BUT that seems a waist.

Anyone use like a 3 inch diameter PVC colum to steep you're racking cane in steralizer when you are taking samples etc?

Yep
sanitube.jpg


Sanitube - Siphon and Winethief Sanitizer - Lustreking Brewing
 
I sanitize mine in the carboy that's filled with star san. 2 birds one stone...Just flip it once to get it fully treated. with a better bottle you can sanitize the bottle, the cane, the auto siphon, and hose at the same time.
 
Wallpaper tray works well also.

41J2NDtktCL._SL160_AA160_.gif

I use a wallpaper tray as well. Works great except for last weekend when I was carrying a partially full tray out to the garage and ended up sanitizing part of my living room floor.

At least when my daughter eats cheerios off the floor they will be a bit cleaner now.
 
My version! BTW Lustreking you basically nailed my idea. Kinda how my last three inventions went when i hit the patent office :( . But i used three inch pipe with a four inch top section so i can fully immerse my auto sipons cane. could have used the four inch pipe but i couldn't find an easy way to attach a flat base cap(all of depots were rounded). the three inch i could put a four inch screw fixture around the rounded cap for a sturdy base.

I am waiting for the smell of the acitone based glue to disipate now and thinking of a paint job.

IMG_1240.jpg




Also for spraying starsan. Do i use a normal concentration or make it stronger?
 
I spritz iodophor from my spray bottle into the racking cane (it can be done if you hold the two together) until it's full-ish, then wait the 2 minutes contact time.
 
I like the pipe idea better than the wallpaper tray because it's something you can leave filled and sealed somewhere and it doesn't take up a lot of space. Of course, that only matters if you're using a sanitizer like starsan where it will stay viable over long periods of time.
 
i hear its only good for about four weeks. But it will let you make a one gallon batch a month as well as give you a safe place to store you're cane, hydrometer etc.
 
I had this idea a couple months ago and made one. But during my leak test ( I tried to get away with just silicone caulk) my leak test failed. It held good until I went to pick it up, WOOSH. I've yet to get back to it.
 
i hear its only good for about four weeks. But it will let you make a one gallon batch a month as well as give you a safe place to store you're cane, hydrometer etc.

Its good as long as the pH doesn't go over 3.2 I think.

and you can just 'recharge' it with a little more star-san when it does.

Me, I paid $2 for a simple spray bottle, not a garden weed sprayer you can pressurize.

works great.

the only downside to spraying iodiphor...is the potential staining from the iodine.

star-san is clear :)
 
the only downside to spraying iodiphor...is the potential staining from the iodine.

star-san is clear :)

Don't let the clearness mislead you. SWMBO is none to happy with starsan after finding 2 bottle cap size circles chemically "etched" into our new counter tops :( We thought, what the hell is that from, then I saw a bottle cap and placed over top of it and...WHOOPS. The starsan on a cap sitting on the counter during bottling day left a ring.... But wait you said 2 rings...Yes I did it again. It's not real noticeable unless looking from an angle, but to a woman on her new countertops, it might as well be a 1" hole drilled through it.
 
Don't let the clearness mislead you. SWMBO is none to happy with starsan after finding 2 bottle cap size circles chemically "etched" into our new counter tops :( We thought, what the hell is that from, then I saw a bottle cap and placed over top of it and...WHOOPS. The starsan on a cap sitting on the counter during bottling day left a ring.... But wait you said 2 rings...Yes I did it again. It's not real noticeable unless looking from an angle, but to a woman on her new countertops, it might as well be a 1" hole drilled through it.


I've only had trouble with the undiluted Starsan though. When it's diluted, I spray it all over the place without any problems.
 
I've only had trouble with the undiluted Starsan though. When it's diluted, I spray it all over the place without any problems.

Now that you said that, Maybe it wasn't a bottle cap. It could have been the starsan cap laying face down. It was a while ago. But the rigns are still there to remind me :D
 
I had a little shot glass with measurements like a regular measuring cup only in ML and Ounces. I left it soaking in the starsan mix for a few hours and when I went to rinse it, there were no more markings... Took the paint or whatever all the way off. So I would be careful about what and how long you soak something in starsan.
 
I had a little shot glass with measurements like a regular measuring cup only in ML and Ounces. I left it soaking in the starsan mix for a few hours and when I went to rinse it, there were no more markings... Took the paint or whatever all the way off. So I would be careful about what and how long you soak something in starsan.

That's how you get the paint off of Stone or SOME Red Stripe bottles...Soak them for a week in starsan, rinse, let dry and the paint nearly flakes off....Unfortunately I don't know if Red Stripe switched paint, but half of the redstripe bottles I hoarded haven't flaked off....and ROgue bottles don't work either at normal dillution.
 
3 steps to care free sanitizer use:
Step #1: Go to Wal Mart & Get a Weed Sprayer for $8.00
Step #2: Use weed sprayer to sanatize EVERYTHING with just a quick spray.
Step #3: Trust that if it's wet, it's good, You don't need to SOAK in starsan.

I just use a small bottle sprayer to do the same.
 
A suggestion after using my setup last night. wine thiefs and stopper and pretty much everything it appears will sink. I made my pipe too long at 24". It holds exactly a gallon, But i need to get long tongs to retrieve anything from the tube. Heaven forbid you loose an airlock to the pits of Davy Jones locker.

For the busy time of racking and filling and spiking with K-meta and pectic. The tube got in the way a bit. Also i did end up splashing EVERYWHERE. I'm expecting a better review for the gravity checks, But the sinking thing is the pits.
 
Inspired by the pics and ideas on this thread, I made a pvc sanitizing tower.
Instead of the reducing coupling on the bottom, I used a 2x3 bushing and inverted toilet flange.
This made it less tippy.
24" of 2" pipe is holding 1.5 quarts of starsan solution.


autosiphonsanitizer.jpg
 
I use a wallpaper tray as well. Works great except for last weekend when I was carrying a partially full tray out to the garage and ended up sanitizing part of my living room floor.

At least when my daughter eats cheerios off the floor they will be a bit cleaner now.


My autosiphon is 23 inch long and the wallpaper tray I got is 22 inch long :( Is your stuff fits in your wallpaper tray?
 
I haven't seen anyone here suggest racking a bucket of diluted star-san. If you've got the solution mixed anyway you clean the portion of the cane that comes in contact with your brew as well as the inside of your tubing. I guess you could spray the top portion of your cane to be safe. Does that make sense?
 
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