do I put an oz of starsan solution in my carboy, fill it up and let it sit for 10 minutes or so then rinse it a couple times before filling it with wort. Or can I just hit the carboy with a spray bottle filled with the already diluted solution?
starsan question
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When I empty a carboy I clean and soak with a homemade PBW solution, it is stored dust free and then sprayed with starsan before filling. No rinse. Just excess starsan poured out and filled wet.
I prefer to make one gallon by filling the measuring chamber 3/4's of the way up to the 1/4oz mark, then dump it in one gallon of water. Pour it into the BB, carboy, whatever & swish it around a few times. 30 seconds contact time on a clean surface works fine for me. Starsan is a no rinse sanitizer. Drain the Starsan back into the jug & fill immedietly with wort.
harleybug88
Well-Known Member
How in the heck do you get the measuring chamber to work? I always had a hell of a time to get it to work for me.
I finally bought a shot-size measuring glass to measure it with, so much easier.
Am I just a dummy? Does anyone else have a hard time using the measuring chamber on the star san bottle?
It's hard for me because the caps cracked around the top edge. Otherwise, tip the bottle in the direction of the chamber & a squeeze until you get the desired amount in it. Otherwise, I use a measuring shot glass.
beergolf
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Just take the cap off of the measuring side and squeeze the bottle until it gets to the measurement you want.
btw Starsan is a no rinse sanitizer.
feinbera
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I dump in maybe half a gallon pre-diluted (I'll have a couple gallons sitting in a pot to sanitize other brewing/racking gear), slosh it back and forth a couple times, rotate, slosh, etc., until I've gotten all the inner surfaces wet. Then, rest upside-down for a few minutes (an upturned folding chair works well for this) to let most of it drain out while I'm assembling and sterilizing my auto-siphon, and there's nothing but a little foam left inside by the time I'm ready to rack over from the kettle/primary fermentor.
Seems like it would be difficult to ensure good coverage spraying in through the relatively narrow carboy neck, and if you have enough on-hand to dunk and pump through your auto-siphon, you'll have more than enough to slosh out your carboy.
Seems like it would be difficult to ensure good coverage spraying in through the relatively narrow carboy neck, and if you have enough on-hand to dunk and pump through your auto-siphon, you'll have more than enough to slosh out your carboy.
GreenTerror
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I usually make a 2.5 gallon batch with the 1/2oz of starsan then I dump about 1/2 gallon in my carboy and slosh it around and drain it out like most of the others. I fill up a spray bottle and spray it on most of the stuff I want to sanitize. For tubing I dump some in the tubing to fill it part way up and then work the liquid through the tubing. Like others have stated no rinse I just drain.
NatureOfTheYeast
Well-Known Member
5 gallons of Star San is almost always unnecessary. Like others have said, a gallon is a good amount, and it can be stretched quite a long way. All you need to do is get yourself a gallon jug of distilled water for 80 cents or whatever, fill the measuring chamber 3/4 of the way to the 1/4oz mark, and dump it right into the jug.
If your carboy is clean, then dump in a few cups of your solution and swirl it around so that it wets every surface. Things don't need to soak in Star San, they just need to get wet from it, and the surfactants will help evenly coat whatever it is applied to. After swirling, dump the Star San either back into your jug (easier said than done) or put it into a small plastic bucket with a lid to use later. I like to separate the used Star San from the fresh stuff, but you don't have to, I'm just anal that way. A clean cake icing bucket with lid from your grocery store's bakery [free], or a plastic gallon ice cream tub [$$$] work well as receptacles for your solution and are both food safe.
You can use a spray bottle, too, but it'd be a bit of a pain evenly spray the entire interior through the small opening. Not to say that the spray bottle is a bad way to deliver Star San, it's awesome for quick jobs and things that you can't really dip or splash. I have one and a lot of other people on the forums have them, even breweries use them!
Oh, and don't rinse! Give it a minute or so after pouring the star san out to work, then fill 'er up. Star San is perfectly safe for human and yeast consumption, so as they say: "Don't fear the foam"
If your carboy is clean, then dump in a few cups of your solution and swirl it around so that it wets every surface. Things don't need to soak in Star San, they just need to get wet from it, and the surfactants will help evenly coat whatever it is applied to. After swirling, dump the Star San either back into your jug (easier said than done) or put it into a small plastic bucket with a lid to use later. I like to separate the used Star San from the fresh stuff, but you don't have to, I'm just anal that way. A clean cake icing bucket with lid from your grocery store's bakery [free], or a plastic gallon ice cream tub [$$$] work well as receptacles for your solution and are both food safe.
You can use a spray bottle, too, but it'd be a bit of a pain evenly spray the entire interior through the small opening. Not to say that the spray bottle is a bad way to deliver Star San, it's awesome for quick jobs and things that you can't really dip or splash. I have one and a lot of other people on the forums have them, even breweries use them!
Oh, and don't rinse! Give it a minute or so after pouring the star san out to work, then fill 'er up. Star San is perfectly safe for human and yeast consumption, so as they say: "Don't fear the foam"
Aristotelian
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^That is what I do. Enough Starsan to swish around in the carboy, then dump into another container to use for the airlock etc later.
lightjt
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Don't be cheap with the starsan, fill the carboy half full dump in .5 oz and sloss around untill needed. dump and your in business!
I would recommend buying a cheap HDPE bucket & lid from Home Depot. At my local Home Depot it was maybe $8 for both of these. Use the bucket to store a 5 gallon batch of Starsan made with RO/DI water. The solution should keep for 3 months, possibly longer.
After you have a 5 gallon mixture buy a spray bottle. I got an amber glass spray bottle off Amazon shipped to me for less than $8. Fill your spray bottle with Starsan.
This setup works really well for me. It allows me to sanitize 10-12 bottles at a time by sinking them in the 5 gallon batch. With a bottling tree it makes sanitizing bottles really easy. It also gives me a place to store equipment while I'm not using it. It's awesome being able to have my autorack sitting in sanitizer while I'm getting ready to bottle, for instance. The spray bottle comes in handy for other applications, especially something stationery that you don't want to move.
After you have a 5 gallon mixture buy a spray bottle. I got an amber glass spray bottle off Amazon shipped to me for less than $8. Fill your spray bottle with Starsan.
This setup works really well for me. It allows me to sanitize 10-12 bottles at a time by sinking them in the 5 gallon batch. With a bottling tree it makes sanitizing bottles really easy. It also gives me a place to store equipment while I'm not using it. It's awesome being able to have my autorack sitting in sanitizer while I'm getting ready to bottle, for instance. The spray bottle comes in handy for other applications, especially something stationery that you don't want to move.
This is what I do, except I don't spray, I soak everything I use in a small bucket with the solution in it. I put a couple cups in my carboy, shake it up and swirl it around, then dump it and let it drain while I get everything else ready.
(I did get a small spray bottle recently and will start playing around with it)
A cup or two of StarSan solution is all I ever put in the carboy, then swish it around to wet the whole of the inside.
Totally unnecessary to put a gallon or two in there. Even 1/2 gallon is way more than necessary.
Totally unnecessary to put a gallon or two in there. Even 1/2 gallon is way more than necessary.
If you're dumping it out, yeah. I pour it back into the jug. The fermenter should be clean at this point anyway, so the Starsan should come out clean.
I have a 5 gallon water bottle. The kind that go on top of an office water cooler. When it gets a little low I add a gallon like others have said. I also keep a spray bottle filled. I use the spray bottle to get the Starsan into my fermenters. I do not try to coat the sides with the spray bottle. I get enough in there to swirl it around. Maybe 1 cup. Again return the extra Starsan to the storage container. I am still on my first 16 ounce bottle of Starsan with 80+ brew sessions over 4+ years.
It's amazing how long this stuff lasts. I bought a 32oz bottle about 2-2.5 years ago and still have 18oz of solution left.
It sure does last a long time! I still have the 8oz bottle I started with. There's maybe 3/4" in the bottom...
I just finished my 1st 32oz. bottle two weeks ago, lasted 4 years.
Went to my LHBS to get more and all he had was 8oz. bottle for $8 OUCH
+1^
Home Depot also sells a snap ring with a screw on top for 5 gal buckets (easy screw on screw off access yet seals reasonably well) which is what I use to store my 5 gal of starsan.
I'll pour a couple of gallons of startsan into my fermenter (plastic conical) and roll it on it's side to make sure the starsan wets all surfaces. Then pour the starsan back into my 5 gal storage bucket. Same thing with my kegs.
For sanitizing my; sample tube, wife thief, hydrometer, airlock, tubing, mash paddle and various other small parts, I just throw them into the 5 gal bucket of starsan for 60 seconds or until I'm ready for it.
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I want one of those wife thieves You can get them in Atlanta?
You can get them in Atlanta?
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$8/year is a screaming deal for what Starsan provides.
I want one of those wife thieves
LOL... Must have been a Freudian slip...
pablosbrewing
Well-Known Member
Open the small cap a bit and squeeze the bottle
It actually gets better, I just picked up a 32oz. bottle for $17.
I have found that the 8oz. bottle is easier to squeeze than my old 32oz. bottle, so I will just refill the 8oz. when it gets low.
I am set on Star-san for the next couple of years anyway.
