Soapy Water

[usastman]

Guys,

Whats the best stuff to make soapy water - to check for leaks. My system has been pretty good but recently lost my gas - want to do a thourough check - but wondered what soapy substance is best for checking leaks - E.g, hand soap, washing detergent???

 

[Fents]

wahing detergant or even better star san as its a sanitizer as well that just happens to foam

 

[usastman]

Cheers - I asked because I used liquid hand soap to start with and it was crap.

 

[Pennywise]

Yeah Starsan all the way. Is there anything this thing can't do :beerbang:

 

[dpadden]

Yeah Starsan all the way. Is there anything this thing can't do :beerbang:

Just wish I could get some in Oz! I am just about to run out and dreading going back to anything else.

Hopefully they should have some in the country in a week or two

 

[Fourstar]

wahing detergant or even better star san as its a sanitizer as well that just happens to foam

Yeah Starsan all the way. Is there anything this thing can't do :beerbang:

Starsan, the solution to all of lifes problems! B)

Reminds me of "My big fat Greek wedding"

Put some Starsan on it!

(The fathers facination with putting windex on everything to solve problems, skin issues etc.) :lol:

 

[Pennywise]

Just wish I could get some in Oz! I am just about to run out and dreading going back to anything else.

Hopefully they should have some in the country in a week or two

Pretty sureRoss said he'd have some in at the end of October, so shouldn't be too long. Lucky for me I still have about 100ml B)

 

[rwmingis]

Is Star San really that good? I use Iodaphor and am quite content with it. Is it worth me giving Star San a go?

Cheers,

Rob

 

[usastman]

I have seen Star San at the brew shop. When I asked for a sanitiser they advise me to get another one - in a white bottle. It seemed good stuff but advised to rince thoroughly.

I really wanted a gneral sanitiser that I could use daily - E.g. If I diconnected a line - give the connector a qucik spray to sanitise?

 

[MHB]

Dishwashing liquid and some glycerine; the glycerine makes the bubbles really stretchy so they dont burst.

MHB

 

[Guest Lurker]

Starsan is a very bad idea. I used something similar, phosphoric with a surfactant as my soapy water source for ages. I probably mixed it much stronger than recommended. Then all my John Guest fittings fell apart, the plastic perished and the little stainless teeth fell out. Replaced the fittings, switched to detergent, all good now.

 

[Gopha]

Hi Make a soapy water solution, ordinary dish washing liquid and water will do, using a 25mm paint brush dipped in the soap solution make a thick foamy lather around each fitting and wait.
if there is a small gas leak the lather will start to grow and develop, for fine leaks it takes a bit of time. big leaks you will spot them straight away.
Cheers :icon_cheers:

 

[leiothrix]

Is Star San really that good? I use Iodaphor and am quite content with it. Is it worth me giving Star San a go?

Cheers,

Rob

Depends - do you bottle?

I normally use iodaphor too and am quite happy with that, except that it doesn't keep too long once made up. I bought some Star San so i could put it in a spray bottle and have it handy.

I don't like Star San for a bottle sanitiser though because the bottle washer thingy makes it foam a LOT. It takes ages for the bottles to drain, and i had foam all over the place.

Other than that, they're both good. If you're already happy with the iodaphor there is no reason to change.

Rob.

 

[smudge]

MHB,

Genuine question, and off topic I know,

but why is the font in your post twice (bigger anyway) the size of all the others?

Cheers,
smudge

 

[O'Henry]

Depends - do you bottle?

I normally use iodaphor too and am quite happy with that, except that it doesn't keep too long once made up. I bought some Star San so i could put it in a spray bottle and have it handy.

I don't like Star San for a bottle sanitiser though because the bottle washer thingy makes it foam a LOT. It takes ages for the bottles to drain, and i had foam all over the place.

Other than that, they're both good. If you're already happy with the iodaphor there is no reason to change.

Rob.

You could clean the bottles with the brush and hot soapy water and then sanitise them later with contact only. I usually do it this way and all seems to be going well, touch wood.

 

[MHB]

MHB,

Genuine question, and off topic I know,

but why is the font in your post twice (bigger anyway) the size of all the others?

Cheers,
smudge

Absolutely no idea; is it hadn't noticed but now that you mention it!

I'm so dyslexic I have to type my posts in a word document to reduce the typos/spellos to manageable levels, then just copy and paste. Just the way it lands on the page and I really hadn't noticed.

Mark

 

[jdsaint]

Perhaps this way works

 

[smudge]

MHB,

Thanks. I was finding it easier to read.

Cheers,
smudge

 

[leiothrix]

[quote name='O'Henry' post='543133' date='Oct 26 2009, 11:46 PM']You could clean the bottles with the brush and hot soapy water and then sanitise them later with contact only. I usually do it this way and all seems to be going well, touch wood.[/quote]
Brush? Way too much effort.

I just rinse them out a couple of times with cold water straight after pouring, and hang them on the bottle tree to dry.

When bottling they get a couple of squirts of iodophor, hung on the tree to drip for a bit, then primed & filled.

Soap is a PITA because you have to rinse really well to get rid of the soap.

 

[rwmingis]

Depends - do you bottle?

I normally use iodaphor too and am quite happy with that, except that it doesn't keep too long once made up. I bought some Star San so i could put it in a spray bottle and have it handy.

I don't like Star San for a bottle sanitiser though because the bottle washer thingy makes it foam a LOT. It takes ages for the bottles to drain, and i had foam all over the place.

Other than that, they're both good. If you're already happy with the iodaphor there is no reason to change.

Rob.

Rob,

Thanks for the tip, will take that on board. Sounds like it might be good for surfaces sterilisation rather than containers for me

Cheers,

Rob