Hi,
Like the topic states…
I have had a bad run this past summer and have had 4 batches that have gotten just a bit of belgian/lacto/funk in them.
I have these nice plastic 14 gallon fermenters w/ screw lids that cost $40 a piece.
Can you bleach bomb or whatever else a plastic fermenter to get it sanitized again or is the recommendation just by new and forget about the old ones?
thanks haeffnkr
Have you tried iodophor? Plastic fermenters are great, but they don’t last forever.
NO – I have ruined MANY batches using permanently contaminated plastic buckets. Need to replace them every so often, or switch to glass or stainless. Some plastic maybe can be sanitized, but some can definitely NOT. It’s just not worth the risk. Replace and be done with it.
thanks guys… I figured to replace but wanted to be sure I was not missing something.
To Note - the bad beer was not coming from the fermenters, as I had one batch go bad in a brand new fermenter.
thanks haeffnkr
Yeah, I have successfully recovered from your situation. It’s at least worth a try before tossing them. Clean them thoroughly, then put in a strong bleach solution and let them sit a couple days. Empty put the bleach, rinse thoroughly and let sit in the sun a couple days to dissipate the bleach. Sanitize them with Iodophor, which kills wild yeast. It’s worked for me and hopefully it will work for you.
Look for the piece of equipment that hasn’t been dismantled for a thorough cleaning that is transferring the infection to the fermentors.
This is not entirely true. I’ve had an infected batch in a better bottle and have used it many times since.
You need to take care when cleaning and sanitizing to be sure you’re thorough and also to make sure you’re not scratching the plastic.
I personally would not switch back to glass. Not worth the risk IMO once I cracked one real good while cleaning it.
Did you also use a bleach solution to recover the better bottle?
thanks haeffnkr
I don’t recall (it’s been years) but I don’t think so. It is possible, but I think that bleach stains the better bottles white if you use it so probably not.
I typically rotate my sanitation between idophor and star san. My guess is that I did a strong idophor solution. I was concerned at the time that I would need to toss the bottle, but it has worked well since and I no longer know for sure which one it is. It’s in the regular rotation with my other better bottles.
The lids could be an issue, depending on their design. The “fermenters” I use (food-grade plastic buckets) have lids that have ridges and crannies that require extra attention. Concur on breaking down anything assembled. I admit I was several kegging batches in before I realized keg valves could (and should) be disassembled for cleaning.
Yes, provided you follow the right procedure. I regularly use the same bottling equipment between clean, sour and brett beers. It’s all plastic. No problems with crossover after sanitation. You need to use a base sanitizer rather than an acid sanitizer like star-san because a high ph will kill off bacteria and yeast but acid sanitizers are far less effective on yeast. Bleach is an easy base sanitizer. If you have idophor, that will also work.
I use 1 tbsp bleach to 1 gallon of water. Sit twenty minutes, then rinse with hot water. Soak in hot water with a crushed campden tablet per five gallons of water for twenty minutes. Rinse and let dry. The campden will remove the chlorine from the plastic so there’s no carryover flavor/aroma from the bleach.
I have read that adding vinegar helps change the ph and makes the solution even more effective in sanitizing.
Do you add it also?
thanks haeffnkr
I think vinegar and bleach = toxic gas. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I wouldn’t mix the two.
Source -
The numbers Charlie Talley gives in the podcast are:
Standard bleach is 50000 parts per million of the active ingredient.
1 oz of bleach in 5 gallons of water = 80 parts per million of chlorine
80 ppm is all you need provided you match it with vinegar (equal measures). This should be white vinegar preferably.
So the ratio is 5 gallons water: 1oz bleach: 1oz vinegar. Never mix bleach and vinegar together before adding to the water because you will produce chlorine gas. This is why people are afraid to use bleach- people get scared, but if you mix the bleach into the water, and then add the vinegar, this is perfectly safe. Personally I think this is simpler than the brewing process itself.
thanks haeffnkr
You are correct. This combination generates chlorine gas. Let’s not kill ourselves to save some effing plastic.
Mark V was a big proponent of this type of sanitizer. Never tried it, but one should always add chemicals to water and never vice versa.
Iodophors or hydrogen. Peroxide
I’ve used a cleaner called Oxy-Pro a H2O2 based powder mixed access to instructions and left over night it removes scale from kettles stains from fermenters and sanitizes as well
I double rinse after and have never had a problem
This morning a janitor here at work decided it was a good idea to mix bleach and another acid-based cleaner. This caused a release of chlorine gas and an ambulance ride.
No exaggeration. Here’s an excerpt from the Control Room log:
09-oct-2017 07:24:00 0724 Received report of a medical emergency in the I&C shop.
0727 Received report of chlorine fumes in the 4th floor, west janitor closet (NSB 412).
0729 Announced limited plant evacuation of the NSB.
0733 Two individuals are on supplied air investigating source of fumes.
0734 Announced limited plant evacuation of the NSB again.
0734 Received report that the source of the fumes was the mixing of an oxidizer and acid with bleach(Chlorine concentrate Regular Household Bleach).
0737 Declared an Unusual Event per HU 3.1, Release of Toxic or Flammable Gases Deemed Detrimental to Normal Operation of the Plant).
0740 Report from the field that 2 cups of sodium hypochlorite (Chlorine concentrate Regular Household Bleach) with one cup of grout cleaner were mixed with water causing the release of the Chlorine gas.
0743 There is no smell of chlorine at the scene. Individuals are off supplied air.
0745 Ambulance arrived at the gate and is coming on site.
0749 EMT’s are attending the affected individual.
0750 NRC resident informed of the ambulance arrival on site and of the Unusual Event.
0751 Verified the exhaust fans are running the NSB 412 Janitor’s Closet.
0755 Ambulance is departing with the affected individual.
0803 Draeger tube chlorine results are negative in the NSB 412 room.
0807 Walkdown of the entire NSB is complete and all floors are clear.
0809 Access to the NSB is restored.
0944 The Unusual Event is terminated.
A whole lot of people couldn’t do their jobs for a couple of hours… during a refueling outage at a nuclear power station. Any delay during outage time can potentially cost tens of thousands of dollars. Some managers will be very excited about this event.
Bottom line:
Please don’t mix bleach with anything, unless maybe you’re a degreed chemist.
Please.