My starter kit came with Easy Clean and I’ve used it ever since and have never had a problem. However, I’ve noticed most everyone here seems to use Starsan. Any particular reason for that? I was about to order another 5 lb tub of it.
Easy Clean is a cleaner, not a sanitizer. StarSan is a sanitizer, not a cleaner.
Clean first with Easy Clean, then sanitize with StarSan.
Personally, I just use dish soap and a scrub pad to clean, then rince well and sanitize with StarSan.
Though I have heard of people who has sanitized with EasyClean with no ill-results.
Save some money on the cleaner and use unscented Oxiclean and buy some StarSan for sanitizing. You can make a 5-gal batch of StarSan and it’ll last a very long time (months even) and it only requires 30 seconds of contact time to sanitize.
I’ve been using it as a sanitizer this entire time and have never had a problem. Also, the dvd that NB made and puts in the starter kit had them using the Easy Clean to sanitize. Am I just amazingly lucky or is this stuff effective for sanitizing?
It is somewhat effective as a sanitizer, and you can probably continue to use it as such if you really want to. Well cleaned equipment is unlikely to harbor bugs, and the oxygenating action does kill some of the nasties.
That said, Starsan, with its low contact time, nifty foaming action, and re-usability is an easier, better, and more economical solution. There is no good reason not to use it. A spray bottle full of starsan is perhaps the most useful tool brewers can have.
So when people make a 5-gallon batch of Starsan, what do they typically keep it in? Is it no rinse like Easy Clean?
I do see it is no rinse now that I look at it.
Its definitely no rinse. Any sanitizer suitable for brewing must be. Some people get freaked out by the foam but it doesn’t matter. Search for “don’t fear the foam” and, well, don’t fear it. You don’t need 5 gallons, another reason its more economical. I make 2.5 gallons at a time because thats a convenient easy to measure amount. Some people make less. 1 gallon is plenty to sanitize a fermenter, you just swish it around and make sure the entire surface gets coated.
I keep mine in 1 gallon plastic water jugs, and in a plastic spray bottle. People keep it in plastic buckets, kegs, whatever. A sealable container is probably best if you want to reuse.
Its definitely no rinse. Any sanitizer suitable for brewing must be. Some people get freaked out by the foam but it doesn’t matter. Search for “don’t fear the foam” and, well, don’t fear it. You don’t need 5 gallons, another reason its more economical. I make 2.5 gallons at a time because thats a convenient easy to measure amount. Some people make less. 1 gallon is plenty to sanitize a fermenter, you just swish it around and make sure the entire surface gets coated.
I keep mine in 1 gallon plastic water jugs, and in a plastic spray bottle. People keep it in plastic buckets, kegs, whatever. A sealable container is probably best if you want to reuse.[/quote]
I see the description mentions its only good for 3-4 weeks, but that doesn’t sound like what a lot of people here go by. It also mentions that it could be bad on plastics and rubber. Is this a serious issue at all?
I usually store my star san in an unused carboy. Just rack it out when you need the carboy, and it’s ready for beer (you also get a sanitized racking cane out of it).
I’ve reused it for months. Just check the pH. As long as it’s under 3 your good to go. I know there is info out there saying that if the star san goes cloudy it doesn’t work anymore. I know through experience that is not true. Maybe it’s somewhat less effective, but I’ve had no infections while using cloudy star san.
I store it in brew buckets and haven’t had a problem.
I haven’t tried storing it in a Better Bottle, mostly for pragmatic reasons. The manufacturer recommends against extended contact with Star San, but they also say they’ve run tests on it and didn’t find any signs of damage.
The concentrate form (which is a very strong acid, and will burn the crap out of you, ruin your countertops, eat holes in your clothes, etc) is sold in a plastic container. If they can get away with that, I see no reason why its dilute form (which is no more acidic than vinegar) would have a problem. Sounds like a CYA thing to me.
I have 1 gallon water jugs (which are made with cheap thin crappy plastic) that have been continuously filled with star san for years. Once I decide a batch is too old and dump it, I make a new batch immediately so they’re almost always full.
One ounce to 5 gallons of water is a ratio and few if any home brewers should be making 5 gallons at a time regularly. Use the ratio and make a 1.25 gallons or less and as others have said, fill a spray bottle. Lots of ways to sanitize without making up much solution. A 32oz container of Star San should last a typical home brewer a very long time. As for storage, the low cost per small batch is also motivation to just toss it when you are done each time. If you store it just don’t store it in metal. When stored mine lasts months, and is always still good but nasty when I toss it after that time.
Sanitizers don’t require that you submerge the items to be sanitized, the items just need to be wet with the sanitizer. Clean your equipment well and spray it with sanitizer.
The only thing suitable for our uses are no-rinse sanitizers. What would you rinse with anyway? It would have to be sanitary as well 
I mix up 2.5gal at a time. I store mine in a 1gal pump up sprayer, gallon water jug, and a spray bottle.
+100
Giant box of Oxiclean from Costco for ~$12. I bought a 32 oz. container of StarSan in Nov 2011 for $16.50 and have only used half of it to produce 20 batches.
I used easy clean to sanitize as well and laughed at all the people saying it’s not a sanitizer. I started second guessing it after I thought I was getting infected starters (I wasn’t. I didn’t know what a starter smelled like.). I bought StarSan and have been using it ever since. I’ve made maybe (3) 5 gallon batches of it and used it on the last 15 brews. I reused the Easy clean too. As long as it continued to bubble on stuff, I used it. StarSan is proven and listed as a sanitizer, but I’ll advocate Easy Clean if you’d rather use it.
[quote=“WiVikesFan”]I usually store my star san in an unused carboy. Just rack it out when you need the carboy, and it’s ready for beer (you also get a sanitized racking cane out of it).
I’ve reused it for months. Just check the pH. As long as it’s under 3 your good to go. I know there is info out there saying that if the star san goes cloudy it doesn’t work anymore. I know through experience that is not true. Maybe it’s somewhat less effective, but I’ve had no infections while using cloudy star san.[/quote]
What do you use the check the pH of the starsan? I have pH test strips for a pool but they don’t generally go below 5.0.
Cloudy is only the appearance and doesn’t have anything to do with performance.
I use a Ph meter for all Ph testing, but you can buy strips with all different values if you need them. I have some as backup and for teaching.
Rather than spend money and time worrying about storing and testing and such, just make up what is really needed and toss it each time. You don’t need to submerge or soak anything.
32oz of Star San concentrate is only $16
That is 50 cents per ounce, which also means 50 cents per prepared 5 gallon batch.
Few people if any need 5 gallons at one time or in any normal time period… ever.
Make up 2.5 galons and that is 25 cents.
Make up 1.25g and that’s 12.5 cents. This amount is plenty for most people and gives you enough to fill a spray bottle as well.
Get my point yet?
Now who wants to spend time storing? Who wants to buy a Ph meter or $20 in strips for testing?
[quote=“Dean Palmer”]Cloudy is only the appearance and doesn’t have anything to do with performance.
I use a Ph meter for all Ph testing, but you can buy strips with all different values if you need them. I have some as backup and for teaching.
Rather than spend money and time worrying about storing and testing and such, just make up what is really needed and toss it each time. You don’t need to submerge or soak anything.
32oz of Star San concentrate is only $16
That is 50 cents per ounce, which also means 50 cents per prepared 5 gallon batch.
Few people if any need 5 gallons at one time or in any normal time period… ever.
Make up 2.5 galons and that is 25 cents.
Make up 1.25g and that’s 12.5 cents. This amount is plenty for most people and gives you enough to fill a spray bottle as well.
Get my point yet?
Now who wants to spend time storing? Who wants to buy a Ph meter or $20 in strips for testing?[/quote]
well when you break it down that like…
doesn’t sound like it’s really worth the effort or risk to me
I don’t know if Starsan loses any sanitizing power when it turns cloudy or not, but that’s what I was told.
So now I pick up a few gallons at a time of distilled water from the store, mixing up what I need.
There is no hesitation to store it for me, and with the distilled water the mixture remains clear for months. My tap water would get it really cloudy within a few days.
I don’t see what the big deal it is to save the stuff. I have large funnel and I dump it from carboy to carboy, which takes seconds to do.
