sterilising an air stone

[Talon_Ted]

i have recently tried an aerating the wort with a small pump and air stone. the first attempt forthed up so much a large amount of wort went onto the floor, so i stoped prematurely. the second attempt definitely speeded up the start of fermentation. i am worried about how to sterilise the air stone. does anyone have a proven method. it's very structure seems to me to be a major hygiene hazard!

TT

 

[31bb3]

perhaps boil it in a saucepan

 

[TLServices]

What is it made from? Ideally 2% caustic to clean it followed by steam to sterilise.

If that isn't an option then beer line cleaner or similar.

I'm pleased to read you found a difference with aerating. If your stone gives good, fine bubbles then you should only need 30sec or so, depending on your brew size.

 

[Talon_Ted]

TL

i left it in for 10 minutes! partly because i thought it would help move the wort around the cooler pipes. do you think that has over aerated it? will that be harmful?

TT

 

[TLServices]

I'm guessing - as you said your first attempt blew a fair bit of wort onto the floor - that you are aerating in an open vessel? In that case it's quite difficult to over-aerate:

To dissolve (and more importantly stay dissolved) gases need low temperatures and high pressures.

Because you're aerating at - effectively - atmospheric pressure then you can expect oxygen saturation to be around 8ppm, which is fine. Good, steady aeration with your supply pressure set to give a gentle stream of fine bubbles is going to work fine.

The fact that you saw an improvement in fermetation suggests it's working and that your yeast is using the oxygen during its' growth phase, giving you a good yeast count and strong fermentation.

If you were over-aerating then this has the opposite effect so you would have likely seen poor fermentation instead.