Starsan And Mdf

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woodwormm

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In my brew room all of my chemicals are stored up near the ceiling on a pretty shabby shelf of raw mdf.

It seems in the recent hot weather, my bottle of starsan with caps firmly on has taken to leaking.

Starsan makes MDF into a black gooey mess...

the bottle now has the caps on loose and the shelf will be getting a coat of enamel to seal it on the weekend...
 
Where's Smurto?

I'm gunna guess (he loves it when I do that) that phosphoric acid and formaldehyde based glues form a black goop (technical term).
 
Where's Smurto?

I'm gunna guess (he loves it when I do that) that phosphoric acid and formaldehyde based glues form a black goop (technical term).

You rang?

Concentrated phosphoric acid as you point out Nick, will will the culprit. As to what the chemistry is, that would require knowing what binder what used in the manufacture of the mdf. Could be a polymerisation, could simply be a degradation.

Pour some of the starsan concentrate on concrete and watch what happens. It's a highly corrosive substance so if concrete is not inert, wood stands no chance.

I prefer to store concentrated acids in glass (borosilicate) rather than plastic.
 
To minimise it happening again, I have found that the child proof lids from Children's Panadol fit perfectly, have a great seal and don't split like the starsan ones tend to do.

The childprrof feature is an added bonus for me.
 
On this same topic. Starsan does not mix well with the study room carpet.....

All that is left on the area it spilled is the backing of the carpet. No pile.

Cheers,
D80
 
Mine leaks as well even though standing up.. I don't know the issue. I leave it on a wood shelf though put it on a ceramic tea plate.. seems to be fine.
 
To minimise it happening again, I have found that the child proof lids from Children's Panadol fit perfectly, have a great seal and don't split like the starsan ones tend to do.

The childprrof feature is an added bonus for me.

our household is certainly churning through the baby panadol lately! (18 month old)

i'm a bit concerned the leaking is due to expansion and fumes caused by high heat (my brew room is in my shed, Adelaide's been over 40 a fair bit lately, so shed must be mid to high 40's at times) So a better sealing lid 'bothers' me a little! don't want an exploded bottle of the stuff!

in regards to the kidsafeness of the caps, he'd have to get through 2 locked doors and then up to 2m in the air to get to it.. and i'd hope any kid of mine once in the beer room would go for the taps not the chemicals! :D
 
if you starsan caps split you can also replace them with the caps that come with normal PET homebrew bottles
 
Rather than leaking as such, I suspect that when you pour the thick concentrate out of the bottle, a little stays around the lip/thread and then slowly drips down the outside of the bottle.

If you use some paper towel and wipe around the bottle top after pouring some out, I think you'll usually notice a bit of starsan on the outside.

I'll often use a 5 or 10mL syringe to draw the concentrate out of the bottle, rather than tip the bottle, for the reasons above.

And starsan is great at corroding galvanised shelving :rolleyes:

Great tip on the panadol lids btw, I've never had the PET lids seal very well, and the original lids are shyte. Maybe decanding into something else is a better way to go...
 
Maybe decanding into something else is a better way to go...

What plastics will handle the pH? I've been think of doing the same, but I don't wanna open the cupboard to a sticky mess.
 
Need it be plastic?... why not just use an empty jam jar or similar?...
 
I prefer to store concentrated acids in glass (borosilicate) rather than plastic.

Having smashed my borosilicate erlenmeyer full of lovely wort and 1388 for a belgian GS a couple of days ago, I'd rather something I can drop or knock without too much worry.

I seem to have less trouble with my starsan bottles than many here.
 
I lost half a bottle of starsan, ate through my galvanized shelving, now in storage i loosen the main lid and tighten the dispensing (measured side) lid and no more problems
 
Having smashed my borosilicate erlenmeyer full of lovely wort and 1388 for a belgian GS a couple of days ago, I'd rather something I can drop or knock without too much worry.

I seem to have less trouble with my starsan bottles than many here.

Not an erlenmeyer, they don't bounce. Too thin.

A borosilicate schott bottle does. It has very thick glass and like the erlenmeyer, happily handles boiling liquids and can be dropped straight into cold water without breaking. It's what i store my concentrated phosphoric acid in.

Link
 
To minimise it happening again, I have found that the child proof lids from Children's Panadol fit perfectly, have a great seal and don't split like the starsan ones tend to do.

The childprrof feature is an added bonus for me.

I find the plentiful lids off coke bottles work well ;)

edit: I too loosen the dispense side lid, give a squeeze, then draw a few ml out with a plastic syringe... no pouring
 
I find the plentiful lids off coke bottles work well ;)

edit: I too loosen the dispense side lid, give a squeeze, then draw a few ml out with a plastic syringe... no pouring

Na, coke bottle lids don't fit onto the 4oz and 8oz bottles, mate. So I guess in turn my panadol lids won't fit onto the larger bottles. :)

I also rinse under the lid of the bottle once I've finished so no drips.
 
In my opinion and from my knowledge I don't think it is good practice to store any chemical in anything other then the original bottle. (I'm talking in a general environment, such a house or shed etc).

I'm sure 99.9% of people who do this use common sense and will never have a negative outcome from the practice, but IMHO it increases the storage risk of the chemical. I personally ensure all chemicals are stored in their original bottle with a legible label by taking care with the item.

Just my 2c. Take or leave from it what you will.
 
Na, coke bottle lids don't fit onto the 4oz and 8oz bottles, mate. So I guess in turn my panadol lids won't fit onto the larger bottles. :)

I also rinse under the lid of the bottle once I've finished so no drips.

32oz or GTFO ;)
 

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