I had an idea as to how to sterilize a bunch of bottles in one stroke. I can fit fourteen of the 500cc PET bottles-- upright-- in my eight-gallon kettle; would take just under five gallons to cover them. One ounce of Star•San in that five galleons of water. I’d hold the bottles underwater by virtue of marbles or glass stirring rods we see used in chemistry labs. I think contact time for Star•San is two minutes; I’d go four or five-- or more-- just to be dam-ned sure I killed every microbial Democrat hiding way down in the bottom of the bottle. I found 10mm stirring rods on amazon; they’re not obscenely-priced. They’re about eight inches long-- just enough to be entirely inside the bottle. They’re made of boro-silicate glass; said to be stronger than your garden variety glass used in tumblers, et cetera.
The stirring rods would be easier to handle than would a handful of marbles, but I have the marbles on-hand. I have yet to figger-out how many marbles would negate the buoyancy of the bottles. If it’s six, I’ll just add a seventh and that will keep the bottle underwater for as long as need be.
A solution in search of a problem. So much overkill it’s hard to describe. I can’t see you gaining anything by it. According to the company, 30 seconds of SS contact us more than sufficient according to lab tests. They say 2 minutes for legal reasons. And please refrain from political references.
And don’t forget you still have to thoroughly wash each bottle. Starsan is not a cleaner - its a sanitizer. I scrub each bottle using a good cleaner and a bottle brush then run them in my dishwasher set on the sanitize setting.
I’m not sure why you need either marbles or glass rods. I fill a bucket with sanitizing solution (I use iodophor), then put the bottles in, filling them up as I go.
I use that sprayer - I think it was called a vinator for some reason when I bought it. But I don’t put the bottles in any kind of a rack. I fill one bottle while spraying the next. It takes me just over 30 seconds to fill a bottle - just enough time for Star San to work on the next bottle.
I’ll take insults for $400, Alex. Don’t slight Democrats- it’s a homebrewing forum!
Just so you know, Star-San is a sanitizer, not a sterilizer, so a few microbes may remain no matter how you apply it. And that’s OK because its home brewing.
+1–as long as the bottles are clean, a quick rinse in sanitizer is all that is needed. Cleaning is what is most important here: you can’t sanitize something that is dirty. In fact, perfectly clean bottles are probably fine and will doubtful infect the beer once it is femented (keep in mind, due to the low pH and lack of available fermentables, beer is fairly stable once fermentation is complete). You could look at sanitization as an added step of insurance. But certainly no need to overkill or overthink.
That’s very interesting. Charlie Talley once said essentially the same thing in a podcast. Cleaning theoretically eliminates the need for sanitizing. Sanitizing is insurance. (I still wouldn’t skip the sanitizing.)
I have seen a really cool DIY cleaning rack made from PVC. I was thinking of giving that a try and then hooking it up to my pump. Haven’t really thought about it in a while as life gets in the way. I just plan it right and I can fit 48 bottles in my dishwasher on a night that my wife is not running it. The dishwasher has a Sanitize cycle as well, so I choose that as well. So far I have had good luck with it, but the DIY bug might hit me and I might try and make something. Who knows. LOL.
I was unaware that PET bottles do not float when 100% filled with water. I assumed they would float, although I did not look-up the density of PET plastic. Not having to buy glass stirring rods means I will lose none in shipment.
Just looked it up: PET has a density of 1.38 grams/cubic centimeter. That’s 38% greater than water at 1.00 grams/cubic centimeter. I had no idea. I figgered because it’s a thinnish plastic, that a beer bottle made of it would float. I have learned something new, today. And saved a little bit of money…