Starsan paranoia :(

[bungle666]

Ok, since my first infection a couple of brews ago I have been VERY paranoid about starsan.......

Im mixing starsan into tescos de-ionised water (£1.50 i think for 2litres) at a rate of 1.5ml starsan per litre of water... can someone confirm to me this is the right amount for no-rinse use??

it foams up lovely when used, and till the other week i had had no problems with infections and I haven't had any since! but theres nowt like double checking eh!

cheers chaps

B..

[jmc]

Hi

I think your just about there on amount to add.

I use 1.6cc per L, i.e. 3.2 per 2L pet bottle.

I use Tesco Ashbeck still water. Works fine and very cheap
see
Tesco Ashbeck Mountain Spring Still Water (2L)
40p per 2L or 3 for £1.00 at the moment.


ATB John

[bungle666]

Hi

I think your just about there on amount to add.

I use 1.6cc per L, i.e. 3.2 per 2L pet bottle.

Hmmmmmmmmm i might up the amount then by .2ml i need some more accurate syringes then!

I use Tesco Ashbeck still water. Works fine and very cheap

I tried "ashbeck" when i first went starsan and the stuff went cloudy so i went (on the advice of others on here) to de-ionised instead! TBH you use that little starsan in comparison to other sanitising stuff (i probably use half a litre of mixed starsan per brew, INCLUDING bottling 40 pints!) that the cost of the water is largely irrelevant!

it was just the strength of the mix i was getting paranoid about, so ill up it a little.

thanks JMC

B..

[EoinMag]

US units on the water volume side, but there is an excel spread sheet on this blog post that works out amounts for you according to a formula from teh star san guy Charlie Tully.

http://community.mrbeer.com/index.php?o ... 1&id=68773

Just convert your litres to US gallons using google, that's as simple as going to google and typing in "1litre in US gallons" and it will do the conversion for you. Then just plug that number in to the spread sheet.

I've just done it by the way and it's saying 3ml for 2 litres, so you're fine with that dilution rate it appears.
2l =0.528344105 us gallons.

[Andy]

Your Starsan mix is correct so I wouldn't worry about that. Regarding the infection, Starsan isn't a silver bullet and if your fermenter/transfer hose/etc/etc isn't clean or is scratched then you may still get an infection. Likewise airbourne transfer of bacteria into a fermenter is a possibility (do you use a sealed fermenter with airlock?).

I guess you realise all the above however

[bungle666]

Your Starsan mix is correct so I wouldn't worry about that. Regarding the infection, Starsan isn't a silver bullet and if your fermenter/transfer hose/etc/etc isn't clean or is scratched then you may still get an infection. Likewise airbourne transfer of bacteria into a fermenter is a possibility (do you use a sealed fermenter with airlock?).

I guess you realise all the above however

Thanks andy!

Yea i realise all the above, i just wanted a bit of reassurance the brew in question got infected as i think i got a little "complacent" with the sanitation side and perhaps (almost certainly) didn't give it my full attention! like i said in my first post, not had it before, not had it since (touch wood) so thats all i can really put it down to!

still lesson learned, needless to be said it gets my full attention now!

cheers chaps

B..

[WishboneBrewery]

If you feel you are getting a little StarSan complacent, every few brews do a thorough Bleach soak of all your fermenters, pipework and Taps etc

[EccentricDyslexic]

Get some RO water from your local aquatics shop...10p a litre! I take me cornie keg every few months and for 2 quid its filled.

[leedsbrew]

Get some RO water from your local aquatics shop...10p a litre! I take me cornie keg every few months and for 2 quid its filled.

now that's a good idea! cheers man!

[bungle666]

Get some RO water from your local aquatics shop...10p a litre! I take me cornie keg every few months and for 2 quid its filled.

thats a bloody good idea! i have to get a 5 gallon drum and go get some then!

B..

[EccentricDyslexic]

It is useful to use cornies but does take up valuble beer space...thats why Ive got 12 of the buggers! Starsan in one, PBW at multibrew stregnth in another and pipeline cleaner in another....only 9 cornies left for beer



Steve

[boingy]

That is, indeed, a bit of a waste of cornies. Why not use 25 litre water containers for all the non-beer stuff. Like this:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/25L-25-LITRE-PLAS ... 0768916870

[EccentricDyslexic]

Good idea for the PBW, but i will stick with the cornies for the starsan and pipeline cleaner cus the ability to just hook up co2 to move stuff from place to place is very usefull.

The pipeline cleaner lives in the keezer with the beer, so all i have to do is hook up to it, pull off until i get purple, then, after cleaning, rinse with starsan from another cornie. I also sanitise my cornies by using co2 to move starsan from its home keg, through the keg being santised, shaking it up, then back to the home keg.
I have some empty 25l chlorine containers a pal gave me from his swimming pool auto dosing gadget in france, will have to bring one over!

Steve

[onelegout]

I use RO water with starsan. I get it from an aquarium shop in a local garden center for £1 per 5 gallons.

[Wolfy]

If you feel you are getting a little StarSan complacent, every few brews do a thorough Bleach soak of all your fermenters, pipework and Taps etc

Or use a bleach rinse every brew and then swap Starsan for Iodophor every second brew.