PBW Alternative

[Tombo]

Hi,
What do people on here use in staed of PBW please seeing as it is getting hard to source now?
Looking around there are quite a few alternatives suggested by online retailers but I want something that is a direct replacement if possible and also something that is just as effective as PBW at removing beerstone as well as general cleaning?
Are dishwasher tablets safe and effective to use on stainless stell fermenters and cornykegs for example please?
Thank you in anticipation.

 

[Donegal john]

I use oxy from the pound shop and rinse it well.

 

[Tombo]

I use oxy from the pound shop and rinse it well.

Thank you, I use that too for general low maintenance cleaning but its no good on beerstone etc.

 

[RoomWithABrew]

I make a copy of it with 65% Sodium Percarbonate, 30% Sodium Metasilicate, 5% EDTA.

Sourced from a swimming pool and chemical supplies shop. Works out a lot cheaper than the real stuff and works great. Based off this informative thread

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/homemade-pbw-recipe.467655/
No fillers in this recipe wheras some oxyaction products have fillers in them.

 

[Mayor of Simpleton]

I use Chemipro wash in my stainless steel FV and kegs when I can't get PBW. No issues so far with it

 

[Braufather]

Malt Miller seem to have PBW in stock

https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/product/five-star-pbw-cleaner-454g-1lb/

 

[Tombo]

Malt Miller seem to have PBW in stock

https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/product/five-star-pbw-cleaner-454g-1lb/

Its the shipping that kills it for me when only buying cheap items like that.

 

[peebee]

Oxy seems a favourite ...

As @RoomWithABrew points out, PBW also contains a product to handle oily/fatty deposits as well as the "oxy" (sodium percarbonate).

I splashed out on 25Kgs of Sodium Percarbonate. Expensive, but when compared to the small packs ... well, "expensive" vanishes behind the magnitudes of scale!

And having a lot has its advantages: 10g per litre is great for normal cleaning/sanitising ... 100g a litre will clean engine oil off a lorry's engine! And it's used for cleaning out dishwashers, cleaning garden paths and decking, etc. etc.

 

[YeastFace]

Has anyone used Kegland Stellarclean? Seems to be a PBW replica?

Have been using Chemipro Oxi, which I think is just pricey sodium percabonate.

 

[RoomWithABrew]

@peebee
I'm going to need a long pipe to get the CIP ball into the engine compartment though.

As you say much more economical and also if you use Vanish oxy action for your whites this is much cheaper than that and you need less as vanish has fillers and perfumes in it.

 

[Clint]

Astonish oxi from BM/Home Bargains,2kg for about £3. As its dead cheap I use as much as I like with hot water then rinse through with chemsan.

 

[bantu1957]

Chemclean, 4.95 for 454 gram from Brewkegtap. Works well in my homemade keg washer.

 

[Siscokid85]

Has anyone used Kegland Stellarclean? Seems to be a PBW replica?

Have been using Chemipro Oxi, which I think is just pricey sodium percabonate.

I had atub of stellarclean from TMM, and I rated it better than PBW. cant seem to get hold of a tub of it anywhere in the uk now that PBW is back on the UK market.

I have moved onto chemclean now and its fine, i think i prefered Stellarclean though and it kegland stellarclean was slightly cheaper than chemclean too.

 

[gyurmaember]

Dishwasher tablets are great, won't harm your fermenters.

 

[Tombo]

Dishwasher tablets are great, won't harm your fermenters.

I had thought of those, very cheap at my local discount store.

 

[sifty]

I make a copy of it with 65% Sodium Percarbonate, 30% Sodium Metasilicate, 5% EDTA.

I make a simple 70:30% Sodium percarb:metasilicate mix that seems to work, but interested in the EDTA. Is this mainly a water softening agent or are there other benefits? I have rainwater supply which is very soft so wondering if it is useful/necessary to add.

I recall EDTA being a chelation ligand from school science (decades ago). Seems there are different salt forms of this as well. Am I correct in looking at the Tetrasodium version? Seems to have higher pH than the Disodium and easier to come by in powder form...

 

[RoomWithABrew]

@sifty

I think the real PBW has EDTA in it. I bought it by the 500 g from a place in Wellington and then just add it in.
I could leave you some at my work place to try it, you could pick it up when you go to the beer festival.
PM me if you are interested.

 

[sifty]

Thanks for the offer @RoomWithABrew, but I need some metasilicate anyway, so I'll just add some EDTA to the order. I bought 10kg of Sodium Percarbonate recently so sorted for that for a while.

Cheers...

[Edit] Just ordered what I need (for the 65:30:5% mix). Including freight costs I can make a 2kg batch of cleaner for $19.94, so around $1 per 100g.

PBW costs ~ $3.50 - $5.10 per 100g depending on size, without delivery costs, so it's worth doing...

 

[Siscokid85]

Dishwasher tablets are great, won't harm your fermenters.

Even plastic bucket fermenters?

Typically how many tablets per litres of water?

 

[hoppyscotty]

Has anyone used Kegland Stellarclean? Seems to be a PBW replica?

Have been using Chemipro Oxi, which I think is just pricey sodium percabonate.

Yes. basically the same as PBW.

I've recently been using Malt Miller sodium per carbonate which is pretty cheap and works a treat, but at 1tsp per litre of water you use quite alot so not worked out if it is cheaper than PBW/Stellarclean in the long run.