Question about Star-San

[kc10boom]

Is this a cleaner or sanitizer...or both?? The guy at the brew store said to use the recommended amount with 5 gallons and let it soak. So does this count as cleaning and sanitizing...or is there another product to sanitize it..

It doesn't seem like there is a need to scrub it..I put it in overnight (and it did foam up) and did a good rinse with hot water with no smell or residue.

[Bugeater]

Star-San is not a cleaner. It is a sanitizer only. By rinsing, you undid the sanitizng benefits.

Wayne

[kc10boom]

So is PBW the cleaner?


When you pour out the Star-San, does it leave any leftoever residue from the foam that would affect the wort? Should I go back and put more Star-San in and this time not rinse, just pour it out?

[Henning1966]

pbw is the cleaner. Star san is the sanitizer. Don't fear the foam it will be fine the little bit of foam left the yeast will use up and it will not affect the beer and yes resanitize with some more star san

[bcmaui]

If you have time, check out both of these shows - you'll learn a lot about the topics:


The Cleaning Show

http://thebrewingnetwork.com/shows/Brew ... 8-Cleaning

The Sanitizing Show

http://thebrewingnetwork.com/shows/469

[BadRock]

STAR SAN is a blend of phosphoric acid and dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid. This synergistic blend
provides a unique killing system that is unaffected by excessive organic soils. STAR SAN is also a selffoaming
sanitizer. It can be applied through a foamer to produce self-adhering sanitizing foam for
external sanitation. STAR SAN is also an excellent sanitizer for hand application. Sanitizing with STAR
SAN on a daily basis will leave equipment in a acid condition that will eliminate water spotting. It is not
recommended to use STAR SAN on soft metals because of the acid nature of this product.

P.B.W. is a buffered alkaline detergent that has been proven to be more than an
effective substitute for caustic soda cleaners. Because of its unique formulation of
buffers and mild alkalis, it is safe on skin as well as soft metals such as stainless steel,
aluminum, and on plastics. P.B.W. uses active oxygen to penetrate carbon or protein
soils and is not effected by hard water. The oxygen also helps in reducing B.O.D. and
C.O.D. in wastewater, which is an added environmental benefit.
P.B.W. has been formulated as a C.I.P. cleaner and is very effective in removing protein
soils found on brew kettles, fermenters, conditioning tanks, filters and all packaging
areas. The concentrations to remove these soils are typically in the 1% range.
However, due to soil and water conditions this concentration will vary. To help in hard
water areas P.B.W. has been formulated with enough chelators to tolerate hard water
over 17 grains.
P.B.W. is an excellent choice as a soak cleaner because it does not require
excessive heat as do most caustic based cleaners. This product has cleaned
brass and copper filters, and industrial aluminum surfaces successful ly.

[Whitebeard_Brewer]

+1 to what BR said......

also, if you can't get some PBW......many many brewers here use Oxy-Clean...will do the same thing as PBW....it's all I use in cleaning these days. After a good soak in Oxy-Clean....hit it with some Star-San, and you are ready to rock and roll....and don't fear the foam from the Star-San.....it's all good.

[seanhagerty]

I spent an afternoon on the phone with Jim Jennings at 5Star discussing cleaning and sanitizing practices for the homebrewer. I discussed my cooling method (CFC recirced back to the boil kettle until at pitching temps)

The part of the convo that stuck with me as most important, was the overall cleaning/sanitation regiment that he recommended. After brew day, he recommended a simple fresh water rinse. Then on brew day, a caustic cleaning, followed by an acid sanitizing process. What this meant to me was PBW with hot water cleaning followed by a saniclean sanitization cycle.

I have always been concerned about cleanliness/sanitation of my cfc. The first time i used this process, I was amazed at the crud that came out of the cfc (I had been using oxyclean for my cleaning process). Using this process has given me more faith that I am sanitary inside everything (pump, tubing, connectors, cfc, etc...)

So, (As stated before) Use pbw for cleaning and star san/saniclean for sanitation.