starsan noob questions

[tranceamerica]

ok, i bought some star san - and I know I'm not supposed to rinse it.

But when using it to sanitize my carboy, I get so much foam, I can't fill the carboy to soak w/o the foam coming out the top. Then, when I dump the starsan solution, there's so much foam left in the carboy, I'm afraid that the foam will pour out when the beer goes in.

help!

 

[LS_Grimmy]

Its all good man... I felt the same way but just drop your wort right on the foam. It seems like a lot but actually its only a teaspoon or so of starsan.

Embrace the foam its your friend

Cheers
Grimmy

 

[tranceamerica]

but when I'm using the carboy for bottling - won't the cold beer push the foam out? just makes a mess I guess...

 

[jay075j]

try filling the carboy with water first, and then add the 1 ounce of StarSan. Then give it a few swirls around to mix and cover all areas. Then rather than just dumping it out, siphon it out into a 5 gal bucket. Much less foam, and a lot safer!


Never fear the foam!:rockin:

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

Jay's method works pretty well. Then again, I always appreciate a Star-san volcano coming out of a carboy or corny. I try to see how high I can get it before it falls over (I'll just leave that hanging...).

 

[PseudoChef]

Just use 1/2 gal or so to sanitize your carboy. Swish it around a bunch and there's no need to make up an entire 5 gal batch.

 

[SuperiorBrew]

Don't fear the foam

Beer goes in foam comes out....try for the best foam snake

 

[capntang]

Embrace the foam its your friend

Don't fear the foam

Unless it comes into contact with your countertop, apparently.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=59605

 

[Bob Loblaw]

or just use boiled water to give a quick rinse, thats what i do, works good

 

[tranceamerica]

well, all went well, but my empty carboys are now sitting with a bunch of foam in them. hope that's ok he he he

 

[idkid]

well, all went well, but my empty carboys are now sitting with a bunch of foam in them. hope that's ok he he he

Yup, completely ok!!

 

[SuperiorBrew]

If you have foam fobia use:
It would remove all the fun from sanitizing though
Saniclean
Saniclean is an acid-based sanitizer that is essentially the same as Star San, but without the foaming action. The contact time is longer than with Star San (2-3 minutes) and you need to use twice as much (2 oz. per 5 gallons). Use for spray bottles, circulation sanitizing with a pump, or other applications where lots of foam is undesirable.

 

[MNBugeater]

Im going to throw out another StarSan noob question...

I read that it is safe for stainless & glass but maybe not plastics.

Anyone use StarSan with March pumps that have plastic housings, or Polysulfone quick connects, plastic AutoSiphon, or Silicon Tubing? Recommended ? Not Recommended ?

 

[Don]

I have a 2 gallon pump up sprayer dedicated just for my StarSan.
I just spray around the inside neck and let it run down the inside of the carboy (and kegs) use about 1/2 to 1 cup. Then I put in the stopper and swish it around a bunch. This still makes some foam but not a lot.
I've been doing this for the last 10 batches and kegs, never had a problem and use very little StarSan.

I do keep a pair of heavy rubber gloves with my StarSan bucket. I wear them anytime I working with it.
StarSan breaks my hands out easy, I use to use harsh chemicals in the past, with my job, and my hands don't have any tolerance to acids any longer.

 

[SuperiorBrew]

I always keep a plastic spray bottle full and its been full since October with no problems. I also keep a rubbermaid tub full If I know I will be brewing within a week or two. The tub still looks like new.