Storing Star-San in BetterBottle

[Aweaselkid]

Greetings.

I am curious if my procedure is best practice, but I have kept a mixture of Star San sanitizer solution in my BetterBottle for a while now (several months?).

I've always felt keeping the empty bottle filled with sanitizer would reduce risk of sanitation errors when I got to use the Bottle.

Would this cause problems when going to use the BetterBottle for fermentation? Will long-term storage of sanitizer deteriorate the BetterBottle in anyway?

I tried emailing the BetterBottle support link, but my message bounced back. Anyone have any thoughts?

 

[m00ps]

I dont see any issue with it. FWIW I keep about 12oz of starsan in the bottom of each of my carboys and seal them with a plug. When it comes time to transfer the wort I just shake it up, making sure the foam gets in contact with the whole inside surface, pour it out, and its ready to go

 

[lump42]

I would try contacting the five star about storage of star san. They may have experience on the effects on better bottles, which I believe are poly carbonate?

If my memory serves me, star san does deteriorate over time. The only real check to see if it is still an effective sanitizer is if the pH is below 3.0. I also think I remember an interview where the five star rep said it deteriorated into a yeast nutrient. So if it has completely broken down, then you may have microbial growth forming bio-films in the fermetor. I would think the best storage for the better bottle is to clean it (chemically or physically with soft cloth), let it dry, and then cap it with aluminum foil.

 

[pretzelb]

I've done it for years. I think the key is to make sure you get the ratio correct.

 

[Singletrack]

BetterBottle is PET (polyethylene terephthalate). No problem with Star San. Just make sure the Star San is still good. I agree with @lump42 on best practice, but nothing wrong with @m00ps's either. I sometimes go a while without brewing, so stored dry and clean is best for me.