Star san

[Berchabar]

Can you mix this and save in buckets and reuse or is it a one time use only?

 

[jschein]

Yes you can use it many times

 

[bigtex52]

You can reuse it, but it doesn't last as long if you mix it with tap water. Mix it with distilled water to last the longest time, and after it is stored or used for a while, measure the pH to verify it is still lower than 3.5. If over 3.5, discard it and mix up fresh.

 

[wilserbrewer]

I just mix a quart or two at a time, I find that's plenty to swish around a keg or fermenter. A bottle lasts almost forever used sparingly. No need to mix 5 gallons imo

 

[hagar]

I actually like to keep a 5 gallon bucket with 3 or 4 gals made up for dunking equipment and such. A matter of personal preference, I guess.

One thing I certainly recommend is a spray bottle of starsan kept ready to go, A must at bottling time, I feel.

Using distilled water, as mentioned, is key to starsan staying clear and fresh. I chuck it if it goes cloudy.
Have a good one!

 

[IslandLizard]

You can reuse it, but it doesn't last as long if you mix it with tap water. Mix it with distilled water to last the longest time, and after it is stored or used for a while, measure the pH to verify it is still lower than 3.0. If over 3.0, discard it and mix up fresh.

I don't know why it would degrade with tap water.
I always mix Starsan with regular (low alkalinity) tap water, keep it in a bucket and use it for weeks, months even. It gets a bit cloudy after a few days, but keeps working fine as it is supposed to. I may test the pH if I suspect it being off, but it rarely is. A ml of 42% phosphoric acid brings it back down if needed.

I toss the old one when it gets grimey, and mix a fresh batch.

+1 on the spray bottle, great for hard to reach places (such as under lids) and spraying down necks of carboys, flasks, etc. But I also like to mop with a small Starsan soaked wash cloth and soak things in Starsan.

 

[day_trippr]

I keep 5 gallons of Star San/distilled water mix on hand, fill my spray bottle from it, check the pH on brew days (because I already have the meter handy anyway), top up with another gallon of mix when necessary, and when there's visible debris in the bottom mix up a fresh batch.

I've been doing this for years and typically go 3-4 months per batch and the pH has remained below 3 the whole time - and remains totally clear.
I keep five gallons on hand because it's great for purging kegs...

Cheers!

 

[Black Island Brewer]

I've heard the "toss it when it's cloudy" saw but have never tested the pH when mine clouds up, so I don't know if it's true or not. The only time mine clouds is when I use it on bottling day in my vinator (where I also toss my caps), but my tapwater is so close to distilled that my 5-gallon buckets full never get cloudy.

 

[bigtex52]

... but my tapwater is so close to distilled that my 5-gallon buckets full never get cloudy.

Might be closer to RO than most but definitely not that close to distilled. Water is the universal solvent. Tap /ground water inherently has a varying levels of minerals and other dissolved solids it accumulates by contacting those materials in the soil/rock/pipes etc.as well as during the purification process. Distilled is water with all of those minerals and dissolved solids removed.