Starsan

[Bazza]

Wasn't it Oscar Wilde who quipped 'I can resist anything but being pH lowered'?

So, after the previous revelations I shook all three glasses again. The Starsan/distilled solution was definitely the most lively again and foamed so much I lost yet another bit. The tap water was the most sluggish so I would conclude that it might work for a couple of goes before going completely flat and, since it's all about the foam, that would be the end of its usefulness.
I was a little unfair on the dehumidifier water. It might have performed better had it not been sitting in the unit for weeks and starting to smell a bit.

So here's a question, if you were to distill water fresh from the dehumidifier would that give you something more pure than Bertie Ahern's heart? If you made enough to swim in would you come out of the pool all young again like in that film 'Cocoon'?

Final question: Does anyone need any odd jobs done? For free, like?


-Barry

[brenmurph]

Starsan has a soap (Sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate) in the mix to break surface tension and  evenly coat surfaces, thats why its good as a spray as it evenly coats surfaces instead of beading.
So mineral free water is better at creating a lather just like hard water in your bath versus softened / treated.
So keep this in mind and use soft water when possible.

The milky solution with harder water is still acidic but check if it has lost its 'soap' by checking if it beads on surfaces or not

[sub82]

Interesting stuff Barry!

I still can't get over StarSan - every time I use it I'm thinking "there must be a catch"!

[slayerking]

Just to reiterate how great this stuff is... Make up the solution with deionized water and you can reuse it for months and months. Once the pH is below 3, it's still good.

starsan is one of the best brewing products I've ever purchased!

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

[Will_D]

If you want to distill something just use tap water. That only contains minerals and so the condensate will be nearly 100% pure.

If as you state the dehumidifier water contains traces of perfumes then these will distill over with the water (this process is called steam distillation - its what happens when you have small amounts of oils mixed in with a lot of water)

Why not go to the pet shop?

[Bazza]

If as you state the dehumidifier water contains traces of perfumes

That was Eoin and Garry talking about using water from a condensing tumble drier. There should be no perfumes in the de-humidifier. Actually, come to think of it, we chiefly use it when hanging clothes to dry inside so maybe it DOES contain perfumes.

Why not go to the pet shop?

1. I'm too cheap
2. I've come up with a simple method for distilling 500ml at a time on the cooker
3. My kids are 5 and 3. They see me walk into a pet shop they'll be upset if I don't emerge with a pet 


Stuck on a batch of WOW last night, using only a shaking of Starsan in the demijohn. Felt weird...

Cheers,

-Barry

[sub82]

Just had to Google 'WOW' (other search engines are available)!

Looks good - think you were telling me about it at the Feb. brew meet?

[Roo]

Where'd you pick up this magical thing you call "starsan"?

[@geterbrewed]

Where'd you pick up this magical thing you call "starsan"?

Hi Roo, hope you don't mind me posting on this thread, we recently added some of the starsan range and new 400g brewsafe as the 240g was such a big seller; http://www.geterbrewed.com/cleaner/ Regards J

[sub82]

Where'd you pick up this magical thing you call "starsan"?

Hi Roo, hope you don't mind me posting on this thread, we recently added some of the starsan range and new 400g brewsafe as the 240g was such a big seller; http://www.geterbrewed.com/cleaner/ Regards J

Great news! Nice to have a local supplier.

[Roo]

Can you drop some up in the farmshop in Ahoghill and ill pick it up?

[gonzo]

Bazza do you know anyone with a brita jug filter that i believe is pretty purified ,otherwise i have ro water coming out my ying yang (i use it for window cleaning)100 gallons per day.I would bring some to the next meet up in the warzone if any one wants some pure 0ppm water, bring your containers . oh by the way wheres the after party

[@geterbrewed]

Can you drop some up in the farmshop in Ahoghill and ill pick it up?

Yes no problem, we are up tomorrow evening for the steak night, i'll leave a selection of the new products up then, let me know if you need anything else dropped up

[RichC]

Hi Gonzo, I've looked at those window cleaning RO units before. What sort of throughput do they give? They promise a lot

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[gonzo]

Hi rich i have a 5stage unit rated at 100 gallons a day,in reality you probably get half that ,even less when its cold out-or your supply pressure.You also lose about half of what you put in to waste and you have to have something to store the water as it just trickles out. I disconnect the membrane on mine and use the five micron sediment and carbon filter to remove the chlorine in my brew water(as ive read other brewers do).