EinGutesBier
Well-Known Member
I have some PBW that I use for cleaning (the surfaces are usually already cleaned off), but since I have a limited amount, is it possible to reuse it?
PBW is good in solution for 12-24 hours. After this period of time the oxygen has been used up. The alkalinity and wetting agents are still good, but the extra boost of the oxygen is not there. So, to answer your question, can you save it for later, yes, but it won't work as well as a fresh solution.
Jon Herskovits
Five Star Chemicals
3 pounds of homemade PBW lasted me 6 years. And I brew a lot, and thus clean a lot too. I reuse, of course, and rarely make 5 gallon solutions of it.
The oxygen fleets within hours, but the remaining 70% washing soda / 30% metasilicate mixture is very potent, especially when hot. Besides, IMO the oxygen "power" is heavily overrated, it just looks good on TV.
I also just use washing soda.
I find it you splurge for a larger amount of pwb in bulk online its cheaper than buying the small heavily marked up home brewing portions in the local stores..
Homemade from (generic) Oxiclean and TSP/90 at a ratio of 70%/30% comes in under $2 a pound. With (almost) pure Sodium Percarbonate and TSP/90 (Sodium Metasilicate) at the same ratio, around $2.00-3.00 a pound.Agreed. I recently pulled the trigger on a 50lb pail of it and it came out to about $3.50/lb. I reuse my PBW, so this should last me pretty much forever.
I have considered making my own, but I have heard that the 70/30 mix of oxy and TSP/90 is close, but isn't as good as the real thing. Between that and the lack of needing to weigh and properly mix the DIY PBW makes the extra 1-1.50 more justified IMHO. Besides, I could have gotten my 50lb pail for cheaper, had I been willing to wait for a better deal (which I will be doing for the eventual re-purchase).Homemade from (generic) Oxiclean and TSP/90 at a ratio of 70%/30% comes in under $2 a pound. With (almost) pure Sodium Percarbonate and TSP/90 (Sodium Metasilicate) at the same ratio, around $2.00-3.00 a pound.
I just did the math on the DIY PBW recipe posted here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/homemade-pbw-recipe.467655/
Using these links:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00J5HGBZM/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BHIS5MO/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0015WT148/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
OxiClean Free: Total for 12lbs $44.74 (Recipe calls for 6lbs, so $22.37)
Red Devil TSP/90: Total for the 4lb bag is $20.30
7th Generation (the missing part of your 70/30 mix): 2pk is $19.08, so $9.54 for the recipe
Total for the 12.5lb recipe in the link: $52.21 or $4.17/lb
If I get the cheaper 'pure' sodium percarbonate and sodium metasilicate:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IXYHVI4/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075ZLZW9G/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
$35/15lbs ($14 for the 6lbs needed) of the percarbonate
$33.75/15lbs ($9 for the 4lbs needed) of the metasilicate
(+ the 7th Gen dishwashing powder)
Then it drops the cost to 2.60/lb with enough to make 25lbs (for $65.08).
The only problem I see here is the lack of the building agent, sodium carbonate, when substituting the oxi with the percarbonate.
Real PBW also contains a small % of Sodium or Potassium EDTA, which is a sequestering agent for metal ions, and some sort of surfactant.I have considered making my own, but I have heard that the 70/30 mix of oxy and TSP/90 is close, but isn't as good as the real thing. Between that and the lack of needing to weigh and properly mix the DIY PBW makes the extra 1-1.50 more justified IMHO. Besides, I could have gotten my 50lb pail for cheaper, had I been willing to wait for a better deal (which I will be doing for the eventual re-purchase).
The 7th Generation version has nothing to do with real PBW. It is NOT a PBW clone, it's an entirely different formulation adding tons of NaCl (table salt) and Citric Acid. I never had the urge to try it.I just did the math on the DIY PBW recipe posted here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/homemade-pbw-recipe.467655/
Using these links:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00J5HGBZM/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BHIS5MO/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0015WT148/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
OxiClean Free: Total for 12lbs $44.74 (Recipe calls for 6lbs, so $22.37)
Red Devil TSP/90: Total for the 4lb bag is $20.30
7th Generation (the missing part of your 70/30 mix): 2pk is $19.08, so $9.54 for the recipe
Total for the 12.5lb recipe in the link: $52.21 or $4.17/lb
If I get the cheaper 'pure' sodium percarbonate and sodium metasilicate:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IXYHVI4/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075ZLZW9G/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
$35/15lbs ($14 for the 6lbs needed) of the percarbonate
$33.75/15lbs ($9 for the 4lbs needed) of the metasilicate
(+ the 7th Gen dishwashing powder)
Then it drops the cost to 2.60/lb with enough to make 25lbs (for $65.08).
The only problem I see here is the lack of the building agent, sodium carbonate, when substituting the oxi with the percarbonate.
Travesty! What a waste of good PBW!Yes, right now I’m soaking a keg, then it will go to delabeling and soaking bottles.
I'm no authority on the subject, but I re-use the same PBW solution several times. It's too expensive to use just once and still has plenty of cleaning power. I recently used the same 5 gallons of PBW to sequentially clean my kettle, then a cornie, then a second cornie, and then some misc brew stuff. I just soaked and then dumped to the next vessel. I certainly made the most of that 6 oz. of PBW!
Why would you clean clean equipment?I’m sure most brewers do the following:
Clean their hlt, mt, and bk with pbw at the beging of their brew day then reuse it at the end.
I’ve done it a bunch of times. I view it as cleaning one big thing where you know you’re going to clean it again at the begining of the next brew session so it’s like why not
Enter your email address to join: