I understand that the concentration of PBW to water is dependent on the soil level and that the ratios are listed as oz of cleaner to gallons of water. Does anyone have a clue as to how many tablespoons per gallon…I’m just looking to clean out a carboy?
I use Oxy-Clean at ratio of 1 Tbls to a gal. of hot water. I believe PBW is similar with the addition of TSP.
Consider Oxy-Free, if not using it already.
For PBW I use the recommended mixture on the package it came in, generally = 1.5 oz. per gallon water, 25 - 35 minutes soak (minimum) using 100 - 160F water, or maybe less PBW if it is a light soil load. It is variable with PBW depending on soil load.
Each TBS will vary depending on manufacturer.
But 1 level TBS = roughly .5oz PBW.
With my scale, and using my TBS, 1 level TBS weighs 13.26g.
BTW still works fine at reduced levels.
I generally use a couple scoops in a carboy full of hot water, thats probably around 3 or 4 tablespoons. Give it time to work.
I think PBW does a little better job than Oxyclean.
I use 1tbsp per gallon of water and let the carboy/better bottle sit over night. It’s not necessary to let it sit that long, but why not? I have also switched over to oxy-clean from PBW. It works just as well, using the same concentrations and is MUCH cheaper.
PBW overnight or longer removes the sour dr. pepper in new used kegs. Picked that tip up here a few months back… Worked 100% of the time so far! I use the recommended concentration and pump it around to get 3-4 kegs over a week.
way way less than what it says on the product. I would say I use about 3 table spoons for a 6g BB.
If I have some really caked on stuff I might do another soak
Ok… dopey question. I use PBW, but am looking for a less expensive alternative. Where can i pick up some Oxy-clean? I assume this would be fragrance free stuff?
You will want OXY-CLEAN FREE and it is available almost everywhere.
Target, Kmart, Walmart, Grocery Stores, Walgreens, Etc.
I’ve seen that but wasn’t sure… cool, I’ll pick some up this weekend. Thanks Gregscsu!
There are generic versions at Family Dollar and the like.
Personally I never had as good of results with Oxy as I have with PBW. I think PBW has TSP (trisodium phosphate), a mild caustic.
I just figured I’d give it a try and see how it works out. I have ample PBW, so if OXY doesn’t work as I’d like it to, I’ll use it somewhere else around the house… like cleaning up bottling spills… 
What I should do is find a cheap source of TSP and mix it with the generic Oxy. But that would require effort.
Go to a hardware store and look for Red Devil TSP. It’s about $4 per lb. It is sodium metasilicate, which is what they use in PBW according to the guy who runs 5 Star. I mix about 3 parts Sun Oxygen Cleaner (generic oxyclean) with 1 part Red Devil TSP. Works well.
Thanks for the info!
Great tip. I’ve recently switched to oxyclean and it does a good job but not as good as pbw on beer bottle labels and gross beer bottles. It is a lot cheaper than PBW. So I’ll try generic oxy and tsp next time.
ps. you promise I won’t blow the house up with this little chemistry experiment?! :oops:
Looks like a good tip on Red Devil. I use both oxyclean and PBW but I prefer PBW since it always cleans up the carboy and sometimes oxyclean takes a few attempts.
Duxx, I’m not promising you won’t blow up the house. I’m telling you that I have not blown up the house … yet.
Also, I don’t know that they sell it at Lowes or HD. I picked it up at Ace Hardware.
I have to echo this advice. I use two parts Oxyclean to one part TSP-PF and it works very well. One scoop (included in the Oxyclean) of the mixture to 5 gallons of water, the hotter the better. I have read (in this forum and elsewhere) other ratios including 1:1 and 2:1 Oxyclean to TSP. I’m not sure there is a definitive ratio established. But it works very well.
