Cheaper alternatives to Star San

[coldlager]

Star San appears to be the go-to no rinse sanitiser, however, it is very expensive. Based on the instructions an 8oz (£10) bottle will make 50 gallons of santitiser. Unless you;ve got an efficient way of using your steriliser this amount won;t last that many brews.

http://www.thehomebrewcompany.co.uk/sta ... -1355.html

My quesion; is there a cheaper no-rinse alternative? I am happy with powdered form?

Cheers

 

[fermentall]

most people make up a 1lt spray bottle & spray their fv's, bottles etc after being cleaned so it should last for a long time. :

 

[bunkerbrewer]

50 gallons is LOADS!!

I've got the small bottle of StarSan, and I've only drawn off about 3 teaspoons for the last 6 brews! And I've still got plenty of that solution left.

I use diluted thin bleach for sanitising big stuff, like FVs (carefully rinsed with sodium metabisulphite solution and then water).

Save the StarSan for bottling, and keep some mixed up in a spray bottle to quickly sanitise, well, anything.

It's great stuff, you won't look back.

 

[kev]

Starsan? Expensive?

Don't think so. It works out cheap as chips and you can re-use it TONS of times.

K

 

[Kevin Wood]

I was thinking that a £10 bottle was probably a lifetime's supply, to be honest. I find you can use it quite efficiently due to its' foaming properties. When sanitising a FV, for example, I just pour a little in the bottom - probably 100ml or so, put the lid on and give it a good shake. It foams and coats the inside of the container quickly. Other equipment I tend to spray it on before use with a garden sprayer. Leave it a few minutes and it's ready to use.

I think I'm still on my 2nd 5 litre container of it having done 6 23L AG brews, including a lot of bottle washing. Given that you only need a little syringe of the concentrate to make a 5L batch, I think it's quite cost effective.

 

[bunkerbrewer]

When sanitising a FV, for example, I just pour a little in the bottom - probably 100ml or so, put the lid on and give it a good shake

Good idea. I tend to sanitise syphon tubes, bottling wand, caps etc all in the FV / bottling bucket - do you do the same? This is the only reason I still use bleach solution in the FV.

 

[Springer]

Star San appears to be the go-to no rinse sanitiser, however, it is very expensive. Based on the instructions an 8oz (£10) bottle will make 50 gallons of santitiser. Unless you;ve got an efficient way of using your steriliser this amount won;t last that many brews.

http://www.thehomebrewcompany.co.uk/sta ... -1355.html

My quesion; is there a cheaper no-rinse alternative? I am happy with powdered form?

Cheers

I think you have missed the point somewhere CL. Even I don't think this is expensive. :hmm:
I use Videne, mixes more but not as reusable, either way, how much does it work out per pint produced. :)
S

 

[lukehgriffiths]

I think most cheaper alternatives come with drawbacks...
I use brewclens powders for fv etc as it does cleaning too at the same time (also dumping the used stuff down the lavvy brings the bowl up a treat pleasing the wife).

I use star san as a spray on and rinse for stuff like tubes air locks funnels and anything else I drop on the floor by accident, to that end it lasts forever just think of it as an investment.

 

[StevieDS]

most people make up a 1lt spray bottle & spray their fv's, bottles etc after being cleaned so it should last for a long time. :

+1 on that tho I usually make about a litre or 2 so I can chuck all my equipment in too :thumb:

 

[rpt]

Starsan is cheap because you can reuse it. Buy 5l Tesco Ashbeck water and add 7.5ml of Starsan. Give it a shake. Pour it in the FV and shake. Add the other bits you want to sanitise. Now pour the Starsan back into the water bottle for next time. Also keep some in a spray bottle.

 

[jobby]

been using videne since i started brewing and not had one single infection so for me it works gfreat and i think its cheap at around £8 for 500ml :

 

[orlando]

Here's a tip: Get yourself a document box and make up a gallon or two and keep it stored like this.You can soak stuff prior to use, pour it all into the fv before filling and dunk a spray bottle in for the quick sanitising.

It of course assumes a bit of permanent space is available. See box on the right.

 

[wilsoa1111]

As one of the cheap scotsmen out there i can testify it is dead cheap, can barely even be bothered reusing it- in a hard water area though there can be problems - think someone mentioned mixing it with cheap fizzy drinks to get over this problem???

 

[orlando]

As one of the cheap scotsmen out there i can testify it is dead cheap, can barely even be bothered reusing it- in a hard water area though there can be problems - think someone mentioned mixing it with cheap fizzy drinks to get over this problem???

Yeah, but not the Cola types eh?

 

[coldlager]

This forum is great, never fail to get assistance :)

Thanks for all the responses, I will grab myself some starsan then. Keeping a batch made-up seems like the way to go, I didn't realise it could be re-used multiple times :)

Nice setup Orlando, I am extremely jealous :) I have space for a large water bottle under the sink, I will go with the ashbeck solution.

I currently use a cheaper powdered sanitiser that requires rinsihg, each time I use it I think 'how clean are these pipes the water is travelling?', probably should be using mineral or sterilsed water

Thanks again guys

 

[ScottM]

FVs don't need filled with the solution, as long as they are clean all surfaces just need a spray of the stuff. Based on that the 16oz bottle that I have really is a lifetime supply. At £13 for the bottle it has to be the cheapest steriliser available.

 

[orlando]

FVs don't need filled with the solution, as long as they are clean all surfaces just need a spray of the stuff. Based on that the 16oz bottle that I have really is a lifetime supply. At £13 for the bottle it has to be the cheapest steriliser available.

Your quite right of course, but I like to put things like hoses and plate chiller, trial jar etc etc, all the post boil equipment in effect, in with it so it ends up doing a fairly comprehensive job and then when finished poured back into the storage box.

 

[ScottM]

FVs don't need filled with the solution, as long as they are clean all surfaces just need a spray of the stuff. Based on that the 16oz bottle that I have really is a lifetime supply. At £13 for the bottle it has to be the cheapest steriliser available.

Your quite right of course, but I like to put things like hoses and plate chiller, trial jar etc etc, all the post boil equipment in effect, in with it so it ends up doing a fairly comprehensive job and then when finished poured back into the storage box.

Different horses for different courses, keeping the leftovers will allow you to keep it for ages anyway :)

Although as long as starsan makes contact, it kills bacteria. It doesn't matter if it's submersed or not. I think I use around 0.5ml of starsan per brew, maybe even less.

What I tend to do is clean & sterilise with VWP after use, by doing the usual filling up of the FV and dunking everything in. Then, prior to next use, I give everything a rinse with cold water and then a scoot with starsan to make sure everything is clean and sterile. If I have a few FVs to clean/sterilise I just pour the VWP in, leave it for an hour then transfer it to the next FV via the syphon and repeat. That way the syphon is getting a good clean out too.

Works a treat :)

 

[hairybiker]

So how long will a litre made up solution of SS last if kept in a spray bottle?
I have been using Vidine but am having problems getting it again, so am looking at this to get with my next order to TMM.

 

[SloeBrewer]

So how long will a litre made up solution of SS last if kept in a spray bottle?
I have been using Vidine but am having problems getting it again, so am looking at this to get with my next order to TMM.

It lasts as long as the solution's pH stays at 3. Many people re-use their solution, but I've noticed that certain things can make it go cloudy, such as soaking crown caps. It's so cheap, I tend to reuse the solution for one brewing session (i.e. swill it around the FV, then tip it out and use that for everything else for that beer making or bottling session), then I chuck it away.