cloudy starsan

[neil smith]

hi all, i followed a thread i read a while ago that said if you have hard water the starsan would go milky and if that happens you must boil the water first, i done this and let it cool before adding starsan and it still went milky, any idea why.
cheers Neil

[Morten]

No need to worry about that, as long as the pH is 3 or below.

I just use my, quite hard tap water, and it is still below 3 two months after I made it.

[neil smith]

just checked ph and its 2.4 so why is it milky.
cheers Neil

[musojohn]

Neil, I'm far from a knowledge on water but from what I've read on here other things can affect it ... Bicarbonates etc
Get yourself to Tesco for a 5 L bottle of ashbeck water for about £1 and a 1l spray bottle. It'll last you yonks. You'll only need a very small amount in each

[neil smith]

will probably get some next time as i am brewing early in the morning.
cheers Neil

[Dave S]

Neil, I'm far from a knowledge on water but from what I've read on here other things can affect it ... Bicarbonates etc
Get yourself to Tesco for a 5 L bottle of ashbeck water for about £1 and a 1l spray bottle. It'll last you yonks. You'll only need a very small amount in each

+1 Ashbeck water does the trick. In fact I've just made some up 10 mins ago. All you need is 6.5 ml in 4 litres.

[Fil]

and when the ashbeck water solution goes cloudy its dead????

[orlando]

and when the ashbeck water solution goes cloudy its dead????

Not exactly.

Star-San was Five-Star’s answer to Iodiphor. Star-San is an “acid rinse” when measured at 1oz. per 5 gallons of water. Its chemical composition is a typical soap, like that found in tooth paste called DDBSA (dodecylbenzyl sulfonic acid) + food grade phosphoric acid. It stops working when the pH gets above 3.5 and so if diluted in wort acts as a yeast nutrient/food. Star-San will “last forever” if RO or distilled water is used to mix it and it stays enclosed like in a spray bottle, but it lasts a long time anyway and can be used multiple times or up to about 3 months. The product will turn opaque in iron or manganese rich water. Star-San has a contact time of 3 minutes (EPA) or 30 seconds per Charlie. If plastic soaked in Star-San becomes cloudy, soak in PBW to turn the plated soap (film on the plastic) back into the detergent it is supposed to be. The remaining foam after use is ok and has no detrimental effects on your beer, such as head retention. Charlie recommends 30 seconds to 1 minute soak for copper and aluminum, and says they should never be left to soak any longer than 3-4 hours. In other words don’t soak overnight, it only hurts not helps. Star-San is different as a sanitizer than Iodine and bleach, because both of those contain halogens which are called “blind sanitizers.” These halogens will not kill in the presence of sugar and actually attack the sugar first before going after any bacteria.

[neil smith]

wow you really read up on it, i have a 1.5 litre pressure bottle for spraying things and a storage container for soaking pipes and bits for a few mins, so if i use the ashbeck water will it not last as long as deionised water.
cheers Neil

[neil smith]

just got some ashbeck from tesco and the ph says 6.2 at source and i thought it should be under ph3 or am i missing something, i put in 8ml to the 5 litres and its clear.
cheers Neil

[orlando]

just got some ashbeck from tesco and the ph says 6.2 at source and i thought it should be under ph3 or am i missing something, i put in 8ml to the 5 litres and its clear.
cheers Neil

Measure the pH after mixing with the star san. The fact you find it clear suggests you will be OK. My experience is that the effectiveness gradient is quite large. If you do have some cloudiness then longer contact time will make up for it.