Videne- How long in a cornie?

[chris_reboot]

I've just cleaned out 2 cornies and part-filled them with videne solution.

I'm not intending for it to stay in there longer than a matter of days, but my question to the greater oracle of JBK is;
how long is it OK to leave it in for, considering it's SS, and it shouldn't (?) react.

or to ask a different way, has anyone left it in a cornie for a long while and forgotten and got any good/bad news?

[maxashton]

The videne solution won't react with the s/s in the cornie, but it will lose effectiveness in a matter of hours.

In theory, it's fine as long as it's in an airtight container, but if you're planning on kegging product, i'd only ever use videne (or any disinfectant other than Stayclean) right before I use the vessel. I wouldn't trust the videne for more than a few hours, even in a sealed cornie.

[chris_reboot]

thanks maxashton.
good advice.

[boingy]

There is no real benefit to keeping videne in a cornie for longer than necessary.
Clean the cornie really well after use and then just fit the lid and store until you need it. Then when you need to use it just rinse out with plain water then sanitise as normal.

I clean mine with a hosepipe to flush out all the crap (including down the dip tubes) then give them a 20 minute soak in a hot soda crystal solution, then another rinse with the hose. I shake out the water but don't bather to dry them then fit the lid and store for however long.

The key is to make sure they are clean before storing them then the nasties have nothing to eat.

[chris_reboot]

boingy, that's pretty much what I do already.
I put some hot/boiling water in to dissolve any yeast crud first, then rinse, followed up with soda crystal solution soak in hot water again.
I usually do about 3L solution, and give them a good slosh about.

rinse several times, then usually store at that point.
In this case, I cleaned 3 kegs at the same time, and refilled one, with two more to fill in a day or two.
I wouldn't do that if the kegs weren't going to be used shortly after (the videne part, not the cleaning!)

Didn't realise the videne would go off, so thought that would be fine.
I'll re-do the videne again before kegging.

cheers chaps.

[maxashton]

There IS a product you can leave in a vessel to keep it sanitised, but I've never seen it in an HBS. It's called Stayclean and it's made by Brupaks. I've never used it, so couldn't recommend either way. However, imo this is generally not a requirement for us homebrewers.

[chris_reboot]

interesting to know, and I think I've seen it in Clive's shop before now.
agreed though, not really needed for me.

[Kev888]

I do pretty much as Boingy suggests - its the easiest approach I found and I've had no problem with the sort of cornie turnover I normally have. But I've noticed that demijohns stored yhe tiniest bit damp for a long time will grow mold even if sealed well, so maybe it would be similar for cornies if the timescales changed.

I believe the best way for longer term storage is to store stuff dry, and styclean seems quite expensive really, but I was wondering about using it in long hozes that are difficult to empty (I found some at the home brew shop)

Cheers
Kev

[Aleman]

As long as the solution is still brown and the pH is around 3.0 then the videne is fine to use and does last and stay effective.

[chris_reboot]

cool!