starsan its uses

[smeggedup]

hi all,
i know this subject has been covered a number of times but after reading alot of stuff on jims and on the web, i've still a few questions.
After stopping the hoovering finger from pressing check out i thought i'd post on hear and put my mind at rest first.

how much do you need to use per litre ?
i'm planning on using spray bottles, do these need to be chemical resistant or will the cheap ones do the trick ?
i hear people use syringe's to measure the starsan out, what size is best to get ?
how do you sanitise bottles and tubing with it ?
how long will it last with out using distilled water ?
wheres the best place to get it ?

cheers

smeggedup

[MightyMouth]

You use 1 fl oz per 5 U.S. Gallons so about 1.5ml per litre.

Any bottle will do, I use an old window cleaner bottle.

Put some in the bottle and shake it around then empty into the next bottle repeat

Put tubing in a bucket of the stuff or if you are really tight spray it inside and outside the tube. As long as it wets the surface then it will do its job.

How long will it last? How long is a piece of string? As long as it is less than Ph 3 then it will work so test with some ph strips if you want to be sure. I mix fresh every brew.

Wherever its cheapest but Hop and Grape are the only ones who have ever had it in stock when I wanted to order it.

[steve71ni]

Not sure where I originally heard this but it's best to use distilled water to make up starsan. It definitely increases its shelf life over tap water.

steve.

[LansonBrewer]

I use ashbeck water from Tesco as my tap water makes it cloudy (which is bad apparently); I buy a 2 litre bottle and squeeze in 3.1 ml. Some of that I'll tip into a plant spray for erm, spraying, the rest I use for sloshing.

I use a 5 ml syringe that we originally had for medicines.

For bottles, I used to use my old vinator thing on top of the bottle tree, but now I get the bottles clean and dry after I've drunk them, give them a couple of squirts of starsan solution, and plonk a plastic beer resealer on top - then they should be ready for the next brew (I saw the idea somewhere on this forum, tis genius).
For tubes I tip some in one end, with my thumb over the other end and give it a good swirl around, then tip that back in the bottle of starsan. (then spray with starsan where I had my thumb).

A couple of litres last 3 brews without being at all stingy with it.

[EoinMag]

I buy deinionised battery water from Halfords to use with it, it's expensive water for 5 liters, but I then reuse the stuff, I make up at least 10 liters and put it in my gorilla trug and then dunk my bottles in this before putting them on the bottle tree.

pH is the important part, hard tap water will not play nice with star san and will go cloudy, that also tends to push the pH higher.

I find if I mix up 10 liters that I lose about 2 liters over the course of a brew just with dunking stuff in it.

It's great stuff, stop the finger hovering and buy it, you won't regret it.
If your tap water does make it cloudy then use it just the once and don't keep it for reuse. One bottle of star san should last you for ages and ages, I have mine two years already, and it's not even half empty.

[smeggedup]

Thanks guys
I got some ordered today
Should be with me thursday(they said) o that's tomorrow
Well might be here Friday
That and some ph strips
Thanks for all your input guys

[smeggedup]

The stuff has actually come today
Fast fast delivery
The home brew shop

[jimp2003]

Cloudiness of the starsan solution is not necessarily an indication that it will not be effective. There are several people who have run trials using various samples to prove this.

Having said that, like LansonBrewer, I also use Ashbeck water from tescos when making up a batch mainly because I do not have a PH test kit to prove there is no problem with using my tap water.

[EoinMag]

Cloudiness of the starsan solution is not necessarily an indication that it will not be effective. There are several people who have run trials using various samples to prove this.

Having said that, like LansonBrewer, I also use Ashbeck water from tescos when making up a batch mainly because I do not have a PH test kit to prove there is no problem with using my tap water.

You are correct, but it's a fair indication. I checked my water when it was cloudy, no matter how much star san was added it was buffering the acid and I couldn't get below pH 3.4 so I decided to change from my tap water as it was above 3.
Charley Talley says in a podcast to discard the solution once it goes cloudy.

[smeggedup]

hi, guys

i did a test on the first solution made up, 1.5ml to a litre and recieved this result


would you say its 3 ph ?
so what result/ colour would you expect when its had it ?
i gave it a test spary and it didnt foam up, was expecting foam to come out of the sparyer (i had got the sparyer screwed right down to mist)

[MightyMouth]

Looks like less than 3 to me which is what you want. If you shake the bottle it will foam but not like whipped cream just like soapy bubbles.

[smeggedup]

so has the strsna had it once its above 3 ph then, i thought it was below, but thinking about it doen't the ph scale work backwards

[EoinMag]

When it creeps over three you can sweeten it with some more star san to bring it below three again and reuse it if you wish, but you can also just throw it out.

[smeggedup]

cant beleieve how much quicker it is than using vwp, no smell too, can it really be this good

[Hedgerow hoarder]

I use ashbeck water from Tesco as my tap water makes it cloudy (which is bad apparently); I buy a 2 litre bottle and squeeze in 3.1 ml. Some of that I'll tip into a plant spray for erm, spraying, the rest I use for sloshing.

I use a 5 ml syringe that we originally had for medicines.

For bottles, I used to use my old vinator thing on top of the bottle tree, but now I get the bottles clean and dry after I've drunk them, give them a couple of squirts of starsan solution, and plonk a plastic beer resealer on top - then they should be ready for the next brew (I saw the idea somewhere on this forum, tis genius).
For tubes I tip some in one end, with my thumb over the other end and give it a good swirl around, then tip that back in the bottle of starsan. (then spray with starsan where I had my thumb).

A couple of litres last 3 brews without being at all stingy with it.

This sounds such a easy method , I'm going to do this , don't know what the bottle resealers are? Would clingfilm and an elastic band do the same?