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How much bleach is safe to use in a 40lt plastic fermenter, with out leaving after taste
how much bleech
- Thread starter cowboy7307
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Honestly, I would try to avoid bleach completely. Something like StarSan is better in several ways, including being nontoxic, odorless and tasteless.
I do not know what the minimum concentration of bleach for disinfection is, but remember that you must rinse it out, and if that rinse water isn't also sanitized/sterile, then the bleach treatment was for nothing.
I googled it, 50 parts per million is the minimum recommended for sanitizing. If your bleach is 3% strength (check it!) that is 1/3 (.33) of a milliliter in 10 liters (verify my math).
I do not know what the minimum concentration of bleach for disinfection is, but remember that you must rinse it out, and if that rinse water isn't also sanitized/sterile, then the bleach treatment was for nothing.
I googled it, 50 parts per million is the minimum recommended for sanitizing. If your bleach is 3% strength (check it!) that is 1/3 (.33) of a milliliter in 10 liters (verify my math).
I've used half a cup of bleach half a cup of vinegar added separately to a 30lt plastic bucket. Don't mix them at the same time (chlorine gas).
@HighVoltageMan! Put me on to it when I was dealing with some bastard bugs in my fermentor
.
I rinsed well with just tap water then hot tap water then boiling water then phosphoric acid.
@HighVoltageMan! Put me on to it when I was dealing with some bastard bugs in my fermentor
.I rinsed well with just tap water then hot tap water then boiling water then phosphoric acid.
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Unless you have a situation like @Trialben describes preferred cleaners are PBW (Pro Brewers Wash), or unscented oxy clean. These work best when heated to 160-170F (71-77C). Be sure to rinse well. Star san before use. I personally clean my plastic fermenters with soap and water, and rinse thoroughly, than star san before use.
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“Fear not the bleach”. It’s a not very famous quote that I made up. Honestly I don’t know why it’s avoided so much by home brewers. I guess it’s from people doing stupid stuff with it.
If you wait until you have an infection, it’s a little late. I use it regularly on plastic. There is no flavors that can be transfer to the beer unless you do something stupid. Like use it in high concentrations and fail to rinse. The idea when you use it on a fermenter is to kill what starsan can’t, starsan doesn’t kill nearly as well and complete as low concentrations of bleach. If you fill the entire fermenter, then use up to 1 cup (250mL) and equal parts white vinegar. If you want to just use it like starsan and swirl it around the fermenter than mix 20-30ml per liter (1-2 tablespoons per quart) of hot water. Remember rinse very well with clean cold water. Then sanitize with starsan or equivalent to complete the process. This works well because plastic can’t take the high heat like glass or stainless. PET should not exceed 60C (140F), which is just shy of pasteurizing.
You don’t have to do every time, but i think it should be done when the fermenter is really dirty, smells or has not been done for a while. Never use this technique on stainless steel.
I think Donoroto and Craigerrr have legitimate concerns, it can be bad if abused or misused. So as always use caution, never mix vinegar and bleach full strength. Use you head, a little goes a long way.
If you wait until you have an infection, it’s a little late. I use it regularly on plastic. There is no flavors that can be transfer to the beer unless you do something stupid. Like use it in high concentrations and fail to rinse. The idea when you use it on a fermenter is to kill what starsan can’t, starsan doesn’t kill nearly as well and complete as low concentrations of bleach. If you fill the entire fermenter, then use up to 1 cup (250mL) and equal parts white vinegar. If you want to just use it like starsan and swirl it around the fermenter than mix 20-30ml per liter (1-2 tablespoons per quart) of hot water. Remember rinse very well with clean cold water. Then sanitize with starsan or equivalent to complete the process. This works well because plastic can’t take the high heat like glass or stainless. PET should not exceed 60C (140F), which is just shy of pasteurizing.
You don’t have to do every time, but i think it should be done when the fermenter is really dirty, smells or has not been done for a while. Never use this technique on stainless steel.
I think Donoroto and Craigerrr have legitimate concerns, it can be bad if abused or misused. So as always use caution, never mix vinegar and bleach full strength. Use you head, a little goes a long way.
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As @Donoroto said, you only need to use a very small amount of bleach to disinfect. Years ago, when I worked in a restaurant, when we washed dishes, we only used a single capful of bleach in the rinse water sink. So a good rule of thumb is use far less than you think you should and always rinse well after.
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My HDPE fermenters actually have a permanent smell from the massive dry hops I often use. It has never caused me any concern. Thanks for the detailed info HVM and BB! I will have to think about doing a bleach cleaning on occasion.
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I remember the days of using bleach some decades ago. I def would not use today. It's hard to get the smell out and gets in your beer and I never felt 100% confident with it. As others stated for cleaning use PBW if you are rich, or use oxyclean free and clear which is basically the same thing from the grocery store. Heck my local grocery even has a store brand of it that's cheaper. Let is soak a few hours or overnight then rinse well. For sanitizing pretty sure any current brewer will state the gold standard is Starsan. It's expensive so when you make up your bucket of sanitation put some in a spray bottle and use it down the line as needed. I used to poo poo the idea of the starsan in the spray bottle but I gave in and it really does make sense as no need to really submerge things in it just spray them down.
