How long does everyone keep their StarSan? I usually dump in every time I use it but I can’t imagine it goes bad. I was thinking out making a few gallons and just keeping it in a bucket.
I’ve spent about $800 the past few months upgrade to kegging equipment so I am starting to think about ways to make this hobby cheaper before the wife flips out.
Make it in RO or distilled water and it lasts for months. If it turns cloudy the pH is too high and its no good then.
I’ve heard that if it turns cloudy, you can add more starsan and it’ll clear up again. It never goes cloudy on me, just start to see little floaties, and that’s when I usually dump it and make a new batch. I keep a clear half gallon growler filled with it.
What does RO stand for? Didn’t want to ask and look like a noob but I can’t figure it out.
RO = reverse osmosis. Not devoid of minerals like distilled water, but pretty close.
I’ve noticed the store brand “drinking water” at Walmart is local water that has been purified through RO.
Reverse Osmosis.
I work in a lab. Should have gotten that one.
You can do that, Starsan has acid in it and if you overcome whatever base is in your water (bicarbonate), it’ll stay acid at that point. Might make it kind of concentrated though.
i will use starsan for months at a time, occasionally testing for the PH level; every time I fill a carboy with starsan, I use a funnel with a filter…that way I’m removing crap, hair, pubes on a regular basis.
never seen cloudy star san after 4 years of brewing and as I said, I’ll use a batch sometimes for months; if I think about it too much, I make a new batch.
Other than bottling when I make 2 gallons up, I got a plastic pharmacy syringe that reads in Milliliters and just make it a quart at a time in a pump spray bottle. Dump about 1/3 of that into the carboy and slosh it around then everything else just gets sprayed down as needed.
2nded or 3rded on the Distilled Water… Lasts forever.
[quote=“kcbeersnob”]RO = reverse osmosis. Not devoid of minerals like distilled water, but pretty close.
I’ve noticed the store brand “drinking water” at Walmart is local water that has been purified through RO.[/quote]
I thought that RO water was straight H2O, no minerals or anything other than molecules of water.
I have star san that is months old and still sits at a pH of around 2. It was always slightly cloudy so I’m not sure about that as a deciding point. What I mean is my star san is cloudy when I make it so what diff would it being cloudy make?
Barry
I mix up 2.5gal at a time with distilled and keep mine for months as well. As long as the PH is below 3 your fine.
[quote=“pscdouglas”][quote=“kcbeersnob”]RO = reverse osmosis. Not devoid of minerals like distilled water, but pretty close.
I’ve noticed the store brand “drinking water” at Walmart is local water that has been purified through RO.[/quote]
I thought that RO water was straight H2O, no minerals or anything other than molecules of water.[/quote]
Check out section 4.2.1, second paragraph on the Bru’n Water site: https://sites.google.com/site/brunwater/water-knowledge
[quote=“pscdouglas”]I thought that RO water was straight H2O, no minerals or anything other than molecules of water.[/quote]It takes more than an RO filter to strip out everything else - ion exchange beds and ultra-filtration for instance - but for brewing purposes it’s pretty clean.
Ok, I understand the question you’re asking… but, seriously, the cost of half an ounce of starsan (30 cents) to mix up a fresh 2.5 gallon mixture is insignificant compared to the money we’re all spending on this wonderful hobby of ours… when in doubt, I just pitch it out and mix up another batch of the stuff to be sure I’m not risking the loss of a batch.
DT
Yea I know its not much money saved but the way I was raised always makes me question pouring money down the drain. My father got annoyed when we turn the lights on anytime after sunrise. Plus its one less thing to do on brew day if I just save the stuff.
Thanks for all the replies.
Its really handy to have a gallon on hand, and a spray bottle of the stuff as well. The spray bottle is really efficient and useful.
