Sanitizing keg with star san and campden?

[Drk93TT]

Quick question...

I usually sanitize my kegs with star san and filtered tap water.

I was wondering if I can sprinkle a tad of campden tab (potassium metabisulfite) into the water I am using to sanitize the keg ? Or will this impart any off flavor in the finished product?

My tap water isn't extremely chlorinated or anything just want to make sure its Ok to do this !

Thanks

 

[IslandLizard]

Starsan should remain on the surface to keep it sanitized until you fill your kegs with beer. Rinsing after Starsan defeats most of its purpose.

 

[Drk93TT]

Starsan should remain on the surface to keep it sanitized until you fill your kegs with beer. Rinsing after Starsan defeats most of its purpose.

Yes, however I am talking about mixing the starsan /water WITH a small amount of a crushed campden tab and then dumping that out and filling keg w/ beer (instead of just starsan and water only)

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

I just use oxiclean never had any issues.

 

[IslandLizard]

I see.

Not sure if it would make a big difference or if the Starsan (low pH) interferes with the SO2-Cl2 reaction. One thing is sure, the low pH from the Starsan will break down the meta quicker, releasing SO2 faster.

I always add the crushed 1/4 Campden tablet to the bucket first, stir well. Then add Starsan.

I re-use Starsan for a long time, weeks, months even. Heck, I even rack clean Starsan off the top discarding the dirty drab from the bottom.

Why are you adding the pinch of meta? To remove chlorine?

 

[Drk93TT]

I see.

Not sure if it would make a big difference or if the Starsan (low pH) interferes with the SO2-Cl2 reaction. One thing is sure, the low pH from the Starsan will break down the meta quicker, releasing SO2 faster.

I always add the crushed 1/4 Campden tablet to the bucket first, stir well. Then add Starsan.

Ok cool thank you! Yeah not sure if its going to accomplish much but I was just wondering if I could use some campden with water and then add the star san for sanitizing the kegs

 

[jbb3]

When using tap water, the starsan can turn cloudy fairly quickly which makes it a little more difficult to know when it begins to loose it's effectiveness and when to change it. I use distilled water every time I make a 5 gal batch of startsan. Like Is.Liz., I also use my starsan batches over and over for several batches of beer (months). When starsan turns cloudy that was made using distilled water, it's time to make a new batch.

Edit:
Point being; if distilled water is used to make the starsan, i don't see the need for campden. But then it's probably a little cheaper to use campden then to use distilled water?? So whatever floats your airlock...

 

[IslandLizard]

My Starsan turns cloudy after about a week of use, and we have fairly soft water here, so I'm not sure what causes that, most likely from some minerals (Ca, Mg) that get sequestered by the EDTA.

I read somewhere that cloudiness does not impact performance, but pH does. So I test the pH once in a while and keep the pH around 3 by adding a few drops (literally) of 42.5% Phosphoric Acid (diluted down from 85%) when it rises above 3.3-3.5. After a few weeks, and having it siphoned off the drab a couple times, the Starsan solution becomes clear again, but may have a slightly greenish or grayish background color to it, from sanitizing hop sacks, racking hoses, and what not. It still seems to work fine, never had any problems or unintentional infections.

I keep a few racking hoses and connector hoses permanently stored under Starsan. They get a bit slippery and opaque and develop a slight milky deposit on the inside that gets brushed out easily with a long draw brush.

Now when I handle yeast, I make a fresh batch to sanitize my flasks and storage jars. When the old Starsan becomes too scummy to my (admittedly low) standards I pitch it. So I usually keep 2 or 3 buckets of Starsan around of varying degrees of "age," one 6 gallon and one or two 3.5 gallons ones.

Again, @Drk93TT why are you adding that pinch of meta? To remove chlorine? I don't think that's a bad idea.

Point being; if distilled water is used to make the starsan, i don't see the need for campden...

Beware, some "distilled" water may contain chlorine. One brewer here had a heck of time figuring out where that persistent off flavor came from, he was using "distilled" water. I asked him to open one of the jugs and smell. Well and behold it was laced with chlorine, possibly added to extend shelf life. There was nothing on the label pointing that way. I had encountered this myself in the past when I bought some distilled water, it was undrinkable. It may have been from the Walmart at the time. So better get RO water if you have to buy it. $0.39 a gallon at the same place. Bring your own jugs. You may want to do a TDS test just to make sure their membrane is working A-OK.

 

[jbb3]

Beware, some "distilled" water may contain chlorine. One brewer here had a heck of time figuring out where that persistent off flavor came from, he was using "distilled" water. I asked him to open one of the jugs and smell. Well and behold it was laced with chlorine, possibly added to extend shelf life. There was nothing on the label pointing that way. I had encountered this myself in the past when I bought some distilled water, it was undrinkable. It may have been from the Walmart at the time. So better get RO water if you have to buy it. $0.39 a gallon at the same place. Bring your own jugs. You may want to do a TDS test just to make sure their membrane is working A-OK.

Interesting. Can't trust anything these days...

I use Primo RO water from WallyWorld for brewing (it's $0.37 gal here). But usually use distilled for starsan. I'll pay attention next time and see if i can detect any chlorine smell.

 

[jbb3]

I read somewhere that cloudiness does not impact performance, but pH does. So I test the pH once in a while and keep the pH around 3 by adding a few drops (literally) of 42.5% Phosphoric Acid (diluted down from 85%) when it rises above 3.3-3.5....

I recently bought a PH meter so will be testing PH going forward to decide when to mix a new batch.

 

[Drk93TT]

Again, @Drk93TT why are you adding that pinch of meta? To remove chlorine? I don't think that's a bad idea.

Thats the only reason yep

 

[Drk93TT]

Again, @Drk93TT why are you adding that pinch of meta? To remove chlorine? I don't think that's a bad idea.

Thats the only reason yep