How to clear Starsan

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stevey

stevey

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I have just assembled a brew fridge, and put my 1st brew in to ferment. As i could no longer fit an airlock on top, I inserted a length of syphon tubing into the hole in the fermenter lid and just unscrewed the lid of my spray bottle of starsan and put the other end of the tube into the liquid.
Within a day the starsan solution was completely clear! It has always been cloudy for me, due to the hard water in my area. I would think that the CO2 from fermentation has dropped the PH and replaced the oxygen in the solution.
Will the starsan still be effective? I wonder if it's worth replacing the solution every day and building up a stock of clear starsan, it certainly looks more appealing even if it's no more effective.
 
I'm no chemist, but perhaps the CO2 bubbling through produces carbonic acid which would lower the pH and re-dissolve the calcium phosphate which I think is the main culprit in starsan cloudiness. I don't think it'll reduce the effectiveness, in fact possibly the opposite since it's the low pH which makes it such a good sanitiser.

Edit to add: as always though, it's entirely possible I'm talking ******** so best to confirm with a pH meter/strip.
 
strange-steve said:
I'm no chemist, but perhaps the CO2 bubbling through produces carbonic acid which would lower the pH and re-dissolve the calcium phosphate which I think is the main culprit in starsan cloudiness. I don't think it'll reduce the effectiveness, in fact possibly the opposite since it's the low pH which makes it such a good sanitiser.

Edit to add: as always though, it's entirely possible I'm talking ******** so best to confirm with a pH meter/strip.
Click to expand...

This. One of the reasons why your dentist will still bollock you for drinking lots of pop, even if it is sugar free.
Don't reuse starsan though, it's fine to store is still effective but not good practice to reuse it, especially when it is fairly cheap.
 
it also was cloudy for me when using tap water. To make it clear just use distilled water. you can either buy it or if you have tumble drier - the water it collects is effectively distilled. I use it no issues. Having this "clarifying using fermentation CO2" system is cool, but a bit of overkill for such a trivial problem.
 
Apparently Starsan is a combination of Phosphoric acid and dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid. When mixed with tap water that contains alot of bicarbonate, manganese(?) reacts with the dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid to form a cloudy, hard mineral soap. It could be that Carbonic Acid is a far better Chelator than Phosphoric acid and binds with the manganese, inhibiting this reaction. There was a thread about cloudy Starsan on another forum that suggested adding citric acid (a good chelating agent) prior to Starsan, so I did a crude test, which showed positive results. I just use Ashbeck water from Tescos, though.

Screenshot_20180509-145435.jpeg


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KVSV said:
it also was cloudy for me when using tap water. To make it clear just use distilled water. you can either buy it or if you have tumble drier - the water it collects is effectively distilled. I use it no issues. Having this "clarifying using fermentation CO2" system is cool, but a bit of overkill for such a trivial problem.
Click to expand...

Try collecting that water in a glass and smelling it, it is contaminated with various things.
 
Stars an is an effective sanitiser as long as the pH us less than 3-4 ie there is still some active acid present. use a pH strip to confirm it. Carboxylic acid is really weak, especially compared to phosphoric so I doubt it will confuse the pH test. However, to avoid any doubt, just don't re-use it as a primary sanitiser.

Pat
 
I've noticed it clearing when used in airlocks also.

Carboxylic acid is pretty weak compared to phosphoric acid so I agree its unlikely that its replacing that in the salt (its a salt not a soap surely or have I missed something), but by further lowering the solutions pH it will be helping to dissolve the more alkaline salts.
 
Spoon said:
I've noticed it clearing when used in airlocks also.

Carboxylic acid is pretty weak compared to phosphoric acid so I agree its unlikely that its replacing that in the salt (its a salt not a soap surely or have I missed something), but by further lowering the solutions pH it will be helping to dissolve the more alkaline salts.
Click to expand...
Soaps are salts.

Found the original source, in an interview with Charlie Talley of Five Star.
http://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/news/newsletter_summer_2007.htm





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Has anything new happened to Starsan? I'm used to my Starsan solution being a little bit cloudy (translucent milky haze); it would go like that within an hour. But my water has very little in it and it doesn't get worse so I ignore it. pH stays at 3 for days - never lasts long enough to know if it ever changes.

But just started a new bottle (a big bottle) and the solution from this new batch is gin clear (and has been for several days now). Still lots of foam!
 
My water is 10 ppm and it still goes cloudy. I only use tap water for starsan now as makes no difference (apart from needing more to get to the same ph). I will definitely try adding some citric acid as i don't like it being cloudy.
 

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