Acid-Based Sanitiser

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Binkie Huckaback
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Acid-Based Sanitiser

Post by Binkie Huckaback » Sat Jul 18, 2020 11:33 pm

I have a Grainfather conical fermenter and there appears to be a dark ring (though I'm not sure why as it doesn't seem to extend to the top of the pipe). Think this might be some dried beer, I contacted Grainfather and they suggested soaking in an acid-based sanitiser like StarSan for five minutes. I've just bought some Iodaphor to dilute for a no-rinse sanitiser, so don't really want to buy StarSan if I can help it (though if it has a shelf life of years, I will).

Can anyone tell me what the shelf life is of StarSan or point e in the direction of another product suitable for use with stainless steel? Because life has been busy/chaotic and I'm a bit lazy, I've only just gotten around to trying to sort this an I want to brew on Wednesday! I'd rather use the High Street, but do have an Amazon Prime account.

All suggestions gratefully received and I don't mind the odd metaphorical chip-throwing and chants of "you're sh1t and you know you are".

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Jocky
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Re: Acid-Based Sanitiser

Post by Jocky » Sun Jul 19, 2020 9:04 am

I’m a bit confused as to what this dark ring is and where it is. If it’s truly dried beer then starsan will be no use as it’s a sanitiser, not a cleaning product.

For an organic soil I’d really recommend using PBW/Chemclean for a soak. While expensive you really don’t need much to clean with and it’s very effective in the hard water that much of the UK has.

If you could post a picture maybe someone can identify the issue for you.

As for the shelf life of starsan, it’s years. I switch between iodophor and starsan. Iodophor is mainly used for for soaking stuff, particularly plastic fermenters. Starsan is kept in a 1 litre spray bottle made up with Tesco Ashbeck water so it’s ready if I need to sanitise something quickly.
Ingredients: Water, Barley, Hops, Yeast, Seaweed, Blood, Sweat, The swim bladder of a sturgeon, My enemies tears, Scenes of mild peril, An otter's handbag and Riboflavin.

Binkie Huckaback
Piss Artist
Posts: 216
Joined: Fri Jul 13, 2018 8:13 pm

Re: Acid-Based Sanitiser

Post by Binkie Huckaback » Sun Jul 19, 2020 6:11 pm

Thanks Jocky. Sorry, but I was very tired and had a couple of beers when I posted this. The pipe in question is the liquid intake pipe, which pokes up from the dual valve. It has holes around the top and allows you to take samples and bottle from above the trub. The apparent stain is about two-thirds up the pipe

I must admit, I'd be surprised it it was dried beer, as I'd expect the stain to be larger as I'd not used a brush to clean the inside and it the ring doesn't appear to be of an irregular shape. I've found some line cleaner and see if that makes a difference, if not, I'll get some Chemclean or PBW. In the meantime, I'll get over to the Grainfather board and see if someone will look down theirs for me and tell me if it's perhaps a trick of the light. I've attached some photos in case you're able to help further.

Image

Image

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Jocky
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Re: Acid-Based Sanitiser

Post by Jocky » Mon Jul 20, 2020 8:38 am

I'd recommend PBW/Chemclean in general for stainless steel cleaning, so it's good to have to clean your fermenter anyway.

As for the dark ring, I can't see what you're talking about from the photos. I doubt it's anything to worry about though.
Ingredients: Water, Barley, Hops, Yeast, Seaweed, Blood, Sweat, The swim bladder of a sturgeon, My enemies tears, Scenes of mild peril, An otter's handbag and Riboflavin.

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