Star san drying time

[sdufford]

How long does it take Star San to dry? I figured if I'm gonna sanitize my fermenter when my wort is cooling I would wanna make sure I'd have enough time for the sanitizer to dry.

 

[shecky]

You don't want it to dry. Don't fear the foam.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f85/stupid-starsan-tricks-why-you-shouldnt-fear-foam-127044/

 

[ArtVandelay]

Don't dry it. It only remains effective as a sanitizer when wet and doesn't hurt anything if a little remains in the fermenter. Most add a bunch to their fermenter, syphon or pour out as much as possilbe and then imediate put the wort in the fermenter. Even with all the residual bubbles.

 

[Revvy]

Never....Most of the sanitzers we use, especially Starsan and iodophor are No rinse/wet contact sanitizers. They are literally double edged swords. They kill two ways. They kill everything on the object prior to sanitizing, and then as long as they are still wet they form a sanitizer barrier that kills everything that comes into contact with object.

If you let the sanitizer dry any micro organism that comes in contact with the sanitized object, rather than being killed by it, makes the object no longer sanitzed.

If you let it dry you are reducing it's efficacy by 50%

You really want to sanitize right at the time you are using the thing you are sanitizing. And let the wort/beer flow on top of it.

I put a lot of good info and tips of effectively using sanitizers in here. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/sanitizer-question-54932/[/QUOTE]

In the case of starsan, the foam becomes yeastfood and helps in fermentation, and with properly dilluted iodophor, it doesn't affect the flavors either.

 

[sdufford]

The star san residue kills all micro organisms, but not yeast??

 

[Revvy]

The star san residue kills all micro organisms, but not yeast??

yupper....it's magic....Actually since it was created specifically for brewers (as opposed to iodophor which was adopted by the dairy industry) it's created to work WITH yeast, and even to be safe (AND GOOD) for septic systems. it's magic....:rockin:

Listen to the podcast linked in the thread I posted, and read the thread, you will find ALL the questions you could think of already answered there.

 

[TipsyDragon]

The star san residue kills all micro organisms, but not yeast??

StarSan kills by lowering the PH of the surface to below 3 which is lethal to anything you need to worry about. the thin layer of StarSan that is left on the inside of your carboy will dilute in the 5 gallons of wort you add and become ineffective. to top it off the yeast can actually eat StarSan. ive heard of people who have for one reason or another forgotten to take the StarSan out of the carboy before adding the wort. the beer was fine and so was the first brewer who drank the beer when it was done.

 

[ChshreCat]

If you added your yeast directly to your starsan... yeah, that might kill it. But after you add your wort, the starsan is so diluted that it actually becomes yeast nutrient. Try filling a spray bottle with starsan and then just spray down the inside surface of your fermenter before transferring. Easy as pie and it only takes a little starsan to get the job done!

 

[DrawTap88]

+1 on the spray bottle.

 

[Mermaid]

StarSan.. like that silly hot sauce commercial.. "I put that sh*t on everything!"

Saw a video somewhere.. of a guy pitching directly into a foamy carboy (the foam was from the StarSan).

I also took the advice of filling a spray bottle with StarSan + water (mixed to the right proportions). I filled my bottling bucket (used to sanitize equipment) with 5 ga. water + 1 oz. StarSan and then drew off a small amount to fill the new spray bottle I picked up at a home improvement store.

I can't remember where I saw the suggestion of using it, but the spray bottle was a life saver. As an example, since my yeast pack was nice and puffy it wasn't going to go quietly into the bucket of sanitizer - I just sprayed the heck out of it, the counter tops, the top/mouth of the carboy, funnel, etc. anything that might possibly effect my wort.

I learned about the miracle of StarSan from a few large scale camping trips/parties I've been to where there's a lot of cooking going on, and not a lot of hot water available.

 

[Bach7210]

Saw a video somewhere.. of a guy pitching directly into a foamy carboy (the foam was from the StarSan).

I didn't make the video, but I do this in every batch. And when I ask the yeast (what, you don't talk to your yeast?? for shame) they tell me how great it is to have the StarSan foam in there with them.

 

[Mermaid]

I didn't make the video, but I do this in every batch. And when I ask the yeast (what, you don't talk to your yeast?? for shame) they tell me how great it is to have the StarSan foam in there with them.

LMAO!! See, that's not so odd to me because I've made homemade bread (and cultivated some wild yeast sourdough starter) since I was a kid.

Yeast is a living thing, you respect it and it (usually) respects you

 

[ChshreCat]

Look something like this?
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f85/stupid-starsan-tricks-why-you-shouldnt-fear-foam-127044/

 

[northernlad]

+1 on the spray bottle.

+10 on the spray bottle. You will go through a whole lot less sanitizer. I mix 1 gal at a time and use it for spray and vinator then make a new batch when that one is gone. 1 gallon lasts 3 or 4 batches.

 

[Marsdude]

Another vote for the spray bottle. Also a +1 on using a vinator. Really makes bottle sanitizing easy. I also put my bottle caps in the vinator bowl to sanitize them as I am sanitizing the bottles. In addition you can pour the StarSan from the vinator back into your mixed StarSan bottle and reuse it. Great stuff!