Storing SS equipment in acid state

[p_p]

Hi all, I have a few simple questions

Is a squirt / wipe of star-san enough to leave SS equipment in acid state? Would you recommend using this product?

Is it worth making a phosphoric acid solution instead in order to avoid the surfactants and foaming agents in star-san? If so, what is the recommended concentration?

Or, should I buy a different product such as SaniClean for this purpose? (I rather not have to store yet another bottle of chemical).

thanks.

 

[unionrdr]

I don't think it's wise to use acid on stainless? I just keep it clean & dried. It'll passify while it finishes drying off. Since it's used, in my case, for the mash & boil, no worries...

 

[ThomasPaine]

I don't think it's wise to use acid on stainless? I just keep it clean & dried. It'll passify while it finishes drying off. Since it's used, in my case, for the mash & boil, no worries...

I store all of my ss kegs with star San. No issues yet

 

[sandyeggoxj]

Hi all, I have a few simple questions

Is a squirt / wipe of star-san enough to leave SS equipment in acid state? Would you recommend using this product?

Is it worth making a phosphoric acid solution instead in order to avoid the surfactants and foaming agents in star-san? If so, what is the recommended concentration?

Or, should I buy a different product such as SaniClean for this purpose? (I rather not have to store yet another bottle of chemical).

thanks.

If you want an easy to store, low cost, high quality way to keep your stainless stuff in good condition check out Bar Keepers Friend. It costs around $2 for a can of the powder at your local big box store. It is made from oxalic acid which cleans and passivates stainless. Just add a sponge and some water and you can easier clean your brew gear after each use while keeping the passive chromium oxide layer on your gear.

Depending on what I am working on I either use BKF or Acid#5 to clean and passivate. They both work well but acid #5 is much harder to come by and costs considerably more money.

I don't think it's wise to use acid on stainless? I just keep it clean & dried. It'll passify while it finishes drying off. Since it's used, in my case, for the mash & boil, no worries...

Acid is used to passivate stainless....... 5star makes a product out of nitric and phosphoric acid designed to clean and passivate stainless. Maybe a quick google search before spreading bad information.

 

[unionrdr]

It was posted on here by some scientist type members we have that cleaning SS & letting it dry passivates it enough for our purposes. You don't need to treat it like aluminum. Trust me. I don't do any of that stuff with my stainless & it's just fine. Some of you, I believe, over-think things too much.

 

[pvpeacock]

But is it safe to let Starsan sit on/in SS? Like kegs, conicals, etc?

 

[passedpawn]

I leave starsan in my corny kegs, never a problem. Don't leave bleach on stainless though, that's very bad. Learned that the hard way

Bar Keeper's friend is oxalic acid and makes your stainless sparkle. Love that stuff. If you are storing stainless, you could make a paste out of the BKF powder, wipe it on, and leave it like that. It will look like dried wax on there. That's what I'd do.

But like unionrdr said, stainless is pretty much care free. I keep my keggles and corny kegs outdoors, in the sun and the rain, on the side of my house. Florida. No problem.

 

[unionrdr]

Thanks for that. i just told it gospel, for the non-believers. Oh, snap...i just sounded like ISIS...my bad, y'all!:smack:

 

[sandyeggoxj]

It was posted on here by some scientist type members we have that cleaning SS & letting it dry passivates it enough for our purposes. You don't need to treat it like aluminum. Trust me. I don't do any of that stuff with my stainless & it's just fine. Some of you, I believe, over-think things too much.

Sure, you don't need to passivate stainless. But your original post said that it was not wise to use acid. Why is it not wise? Will it damage the stainless?

 

[passedpawn]

Sure, you don't need to passivate stainless. But your original post said that it was not wise to use acid. Why is it not wise? Will it damage the stainless?

Acid is fine. Starsan has no negative effect on SS. Unionrdr had a question mark in that sentence of his, and I think that means he wasn't sure. If you want to make this a pissing match, go to PM. Thanks.

 

[unionrdr]

Well, depending on the strength of the acid & how it reacts to metals, it could eat into the metal. For example, when I was still working at Ford, we used to use oxalic acid to clean the foundry stack settlings that crystalize on our car's paint off. but it has a negative reaction with plastics & such. So you had to be careful when using it. Then rinse well afterward. That's all...

 

[b-boy]

Big fan of BKF. That stuff is magical. My wife was ready to toss some stainless pans. I told her to give them to me. I cleaned them up with BKF and she was thrilled. They looked new. Now I can't keep any with my brew stuff. She keeps stealing it for the kitchen.