What Sanitisers and Cleaners are used.

[rizziot]

It

Wow that is expensive. Oxiclean costs half that for 3 pounds not just one. A tub of oxiclean lasts me for several years.
But, whatever works best for you is what counts.

I agree, it is more expensive ( I used Oxiclean as well for years). I bought it on a whim because of the good reviews. After my first few uses, I have never had anything clean my RIMS tube quite like it. I have the SS Brewtech RIMS (double helix) tube that is really hard to clean because you can't fit your fingers, sponge, etc very easily between the metal. I used to soak it a few times in Oxi or PB then scrub with a keg tube brush. What sold me on the wash was after a hopslam brewday (the byo recipe is quite good btw ) my RIMS element was just covered with baked on sugars and mash byproduct. This was not the stuff that wipes off either, it was just fried on there. I took the RIMS unit cover and put 2 TC caps over the holes, filled the cover with 1 tbsp of wash and some hot water, clamped the RIMS element into the cover and let it sit overnight. The next morning when I opened it up it looked great. I rinsed it with some hot water and it looked like it was brand new, I didn't have to even scrub it! Since then all I use is EBW hehe. It might cost a bit more, but the time and energy it saves me over the course of clean up is worth something too. I've found that it works best when you make a gallon or two at 1 to 1.5 concentration. I clean all 3 vessels and rims tube now with just that.

Either way, Oxi is also a great product (as is many of the other cleaners) and you are 100% right that it's whatever works for you is what counts .

On a side note, am I crazy to take my kegs apart every time between fills and clean them vs just rinsing them out?

Cheers!

 

[davidens]

Hey folks, I’ve been using Star San for over 10 years now with zero issues. I’m based in Spain, and it looks like they can’t sell it here anymore. Instead, there’s this product called Chemipro SAN — it’s an anionic acid sanitizer, supposed to be used the same way as Star San… BUT the label says you gotta rinse it after use. And man, having to rinse totally kills the Star San magic.


Anyone here got hands-on experience with this stuff?

 

[ncbrewer]

Charlie Talley (inventor of Star San) has been on many podcasts. He spilled the beans about how to use Star San in practice, as opposed to what they have to put on the label as a legal requirement. Maybe someone will do something similar about Chemipro SAN. If not, maybe a comparison against Star San will give you a hint as to how it can be used in reality.

 

[mac_1103]

The two sanitizers look to be very similar but not identical. Safety data sheets:

Star San
Chemipro San

The question has come up on a number of threads before, but consensus is elusive (as with most things homebrew).

 

[sixstring]

I wash all crud off everything until visibly clean then air-dry or dry w/ paper towel. I sanitize w/ spray mist of 50/50 mix of tap water/generic Everclear (Mohawk brand 95% alcohol, 11 bucks a liter). Nothing can live in it and there is not enough residual alcohol on the surface of the equipment to alter the brewing process or flavors.

There is a common myth about 95% alcohol being better than 70% for cleaning. It's exactly that, a myth. 70% will disinfect much better. The reason is the 95% will evaporate too quickly to actually be useful. So I highly suggest if you're using that, to switch to 70%.

Also, I haven't seen this asked in this thread yet:
The Oxiclean that people are using. Is this the same cheap and cheerful stuff I can buy in bulk at costco for a fraction of the price of PBW? If yes, then that is just brilliant.

https://www.costco.com/oxiclean-he-...-efficiency,-9.28-lbs.product.4000118117.html

 

[IslandLizard]

Also, I haven't seen this asked in this thread yet:
The Oxiclean that people are using. Is this the same cheap and cheerful stuff I can buy in bulk at costco for a fraction of the price of PBW? If yes, then that is just brilliant.

https://www.costco.com/oxiclean-he-...-efficiency,-9.28-lbs.product.4000118117.html

Be informed, PBW and "Oxiclean" are 2 different products.

Regarding PBW
There are 2 main ingredients in PBW:
a) ~70% of Sodium PerCarbonate (the main ingredient in Oxiclean, and similar off-brand products)
b) ~30% of Sodium MetaSilicate (generally sold as "TSP/90")
as well as a little Sodium EDTA

a) The Sodium PerCarbonate component is the oxygen releasing agent in Oxiclean. That's the component you're after. The higher the percentage of that one ingredient the more value it has.

The balance in those Oxiclean type products is usually Sodium Carbonate, the main cheap and cheerful component used in old fashioned laundry powder. Still a very adequate cleaner by itself, alas without the Oxygen "power."

b) To make a close clone of PBW you'll need to get a bag of TSP/90 as well, a phosphorus-free alternative to TSP (Tri-Sodium Phosphate).

There are quite a few threads on homemade PBW, such as this one:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/what-is-pbw-made-from.646542/

There's also a "fancier" alternative concoction of a homemade PBW, containing Seventh (7th?) Generation cleaning powder.
I have no experience with that, but it contains a large percentage of salt (Sodium Chloride) among a half dozen other products, IIRC.
Some people here seem to swear by it.

 

[mac_1103]

I sanitize w/ spray mist of 50/50 mix of tap water/generic Everclear (Mohawk brand 95% alcohol, 11 bucks a liter).

There is a common myth about 95% alcohol ...

He's not using 95% ethanol. He's using 42.5% ethanol.

 

[sixstring]

He's not using 95% ethanol. He's using 42.5% ethanol.

Then it's probably not going to be as effective as 70% either But thank you for the clarification. I didn't look up the brand, so I probably should've

 

[mac_1103]

I didn't look up the brand

It's not the brand, it's the 50/50 mix with water.

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

Be informed, PBW and "Oxiclean" are 2 different products.

Regarding PBW
There are 2 main ingredients in PBW:
a) ~70% of Sodium PerCarbonate (the main ingredient in Oxiclean, and similar off-brand products)
b) ~30% of Sodium MetaSilicate (generally sold as "TSP/90")
as well as a little Sodium EDTA

a) The Sodium PerCarbonate component is the oxygen releasing agent in Oxiclean. That's the component you're after. The higher the percentage of that one ingredient the more value it has.

The balance in those Oxiclean type products is usually Sodium Carbonate, the main cheap and cheerful component used in old fashioned laundry powder. Still a very adequate cleaner by itself, alas without the Oxygen "power."

b) To make a close clone of PBW you'll need to get a bag of TSP/90 as well, a phosphorus-free alternative to TSP (Tri-Sodium Phosphate).

There are quite a few threads on homemade PBW, such as this one:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/what-is-pbw-made-from.646542/

There's also a "fancier" alternative concoction of a homemade PBW, containing Seventh (7th?) Generation cleaning powder.
I have no experience with that, but it contains a large percentage of salt (Sodium Chloride) among a half dozen other products, IIRC.
Some people here seem to swear by it.

The PBW/Oxiclean question will always be asked. It's great that all of the debate is here as well as the homemade recipes. In all reality there's many cleaners available but we need to be aware of what we're trying to achieve with them.

Saving money is what we all try to do but think about how much you're saving versus a batch or two of ruined beer.

Cleaning and sanitizing are very important tasks. I use a brewery wash as well as some cleaners and sanitizers from the dairy industry.

Always an informative thread to revisit!

 

[JohnDBrewer]

Always an informative thread to revisit!

Tried looking up this tread. Could you direct me to it? The one on using dairy industry stuff? Thanks