Five Star's Starsan sanitizer has got to be the best sanitizer out there in my opinion. Why you may ask? For one, it's a no-rinse wet sanitizer. You can't do that with bleach. And like some others, it gives no discoloration. It works in as little as 15 seconds for small things like bottle caps, plastic spoons and paddles, etc.
You only need to fill the little measure on top of the bottle to 3/4's of the way up to the 1/4 oz. mark for one gallon of water. Tap water's fine, but distilled water won't go cloudy as tap water does. But I've found that cloudiness isn't a visual measure of acidity of the solution. A PH of 3.5 or lower is good. This pic shows some of the things I use when sanitizing
Here's a shot of the bottle with the ounce markings highlighted;
I like using Ferrari's Avinator (commonly called a "Vinator") half full of Starsan for sanitizing bottles on bottling day. Here's a shot of it with a 12 oz bottle resting on the shoulder of the pump. I'm pointing to the fill level I commonly use;
I also use it to sanitize racking tubes, and the tube/bottling wand assembly. I use a dollar store funnel in one end of the tube, with the other end in a 1/2 gallon plastic vodka jug. Just pour the Starsan through the tube by way of the funnel with the pin on the bottling wand open inside the vodka jug. Here's a pic of it ready to go;
I just fill the funnel, and then raise it up so the Starsan flows through it into the jug. I then use the jug of Starsan to sanitize the outside of the tubing. I run the tube on the wand through the broken chair's legs to make it a one man operation. In these shots I show how I'm sanitizing my racking tube assembly for the Cooper's fermenters with the "Little Bottler" wand tube in one end to allow it to connect to the Cooper's spigot;
I then dip the little bottler wand's tube into the jug to sanitize that end. I do the same with plain lengths of tubing that have nothing attached to them in order to sanitize both ends. The orange five gallon Home Depot bucket gets used for larger things that need sanitizing, but mostly for cleaning purposes.
The 1 gallon Arizona iced tea jug is a heavier plastic than the SunnyD jugs I was using to store my Starsan & PBW solutions. I then use a radiator fill funnel to pour solutions back into the jugs, shown here;
The yellow radiator fill funnel is commonly available at stores selling automotive supplies.
Here's a full shot of the Arizona tea jugs I started replacing the SunnyD jugs with;
The labels wouldn't soak off. Much less scrape off. So I wrote the jugs contents on the label. One gallon of Starsan is enough to sanitize fermenters as well. I pour it over the lid into the bucket-style FV. Then turn the bucket as I pour it down the sides of the bucket itself. Then swirl it around. I set the lid on top of the bucket with the bucket on that broken chair to drain the Starsan through the spigot back into the jug. Tilt the FV to get the last of the liquid Starsan out. It's OK to leave the foam behind when straining or otherwise pouring the wort into the fermenter. Starsan breaks down into a yeast nutrient over a short time. Hence the expression, "don't fear the foam". So look around the next time you're in the store. You'll find many things that'll come in handy in the brewery. Like the plastic tubs Butterball & Oscar Meir put their deli style lunch meats in. They're great for soaking small stuff like spigot parts. This shot also shows the Dobie Brand scrubber I use on all my stuff for cleaning that I mention all the time;
Once again, straight out of the grocery store, Giant Eagle in this case. Starsan is so quick and easy to use I can't imagine using anything else. It hasn't failed me yet!
You only need to fill the little measure on top of the bottle to 3/4's of the way up to the 1/4 oz. mark for one gallon of water. Tap water's fine, but distilled water won't go cloudy as tap water does. But I've found that cloudiness isn't a visual measure of acidity of the solution. A PH of 3.5 or lower is good. This pic shows some of the things I use when sanitizing
Here's a shot of the bottle with the ounce markings highlighted;
I like using Ferrari's Avinator (commonly called a "Vinator") half full of Starsan for sanitizing bottles on bottling day. Here's a shot of it with a 12 oz bottle resting on the shoulder of the pump. I'm pointing to the fill level I commonly use;
I also use it to sanitize racking tubes, and the tube/bottling wand assembly. I use a dollar store funnel in one end of the tube, with the other end in a 1/2 gallon plastic vodka jug. Just pour the Starsan through the tube by way of the funnel with the pin on the bottling wand open inside the vodka jug. Here's a pic of it ready to go;
I just fill the funnel, and then raise it up so the Starsan flows through it into the jug. I then use the jug of Starsan to sanitize the outside of the tubing. I run the tube on the wand through the broken chair's legs to make it a one man operation. In these shots I show how I'm sanitizing my racking tube assembly for the Cooper's fermenters with the "Little Bottler" wand tube in one end to allow it to connect to the Cooper's spigot;
I then dip the little bottler wand's tube into the jug to sanitize that end. I do the same with plain lengths of tubing that have nothing attached to them in order to sanitize both ends. The orange five gallon Home Depot bucket gets used for larger things that need sanitizing, but mostly for cleaning purposes.
The 1 gallon Arizona iced tea jug is a heavier plastic than the SunnyD jugs I was using to store my Starsan & PBW solutions. I then use a radiator fill funnel to pour solutions back into the jugs, shown here;
The yellow radiator fill funnel is commonly available at stores selling automotive supplies.
Here's a full shot of the Arizona tea jugs I started replacing the SunnyD jugs with;
The labels wouldn't soak off. Much less scrape off. So I wrote the jugs contents on the label. One gallon of Starsan is enough to sanitize fermenters as well. I pour it over the lid into the bucket-style FV. Then turn the bucket as I pour it down the sides of the bucket itself. Then swirl it around. I set the lid on top of the bucket with the bucket on that broken chair to drain the Starsan through the spigot back into the jug. Tilt the FV to get the last of the liquid Starsan out. It's OK to leave the foam behind when straining or otherwise pouring the wort into the fermenter. Starsan breaks down into a yeast nutrient over a short time. Hence the expression, "don't fear the foam". So look around the next time you're in the store. You'll find many things that'll come in handy in the brewery. Like the plastic tubs Butterball & Oscar Meir put their deli style lunch meats in. They're great for soaking small stuff like spigot parts. This shot also shows the Dobie Brand scrubber I use on all my stuff for cleaning that I mention all the time;
Once again, straight out of the grocery store, Giant Eagle in this case. Starsan is so quick and easy to use I can't imagine using anything else. It hasn't failed me yet!
