Has anybody used Star San to sanitize tubes?

[HowardR]

I've heard that bleach attracts squirrels, and I don't know of a source for cheap hydrogen peroxide, so I'm planning to add Star San, a sanitizer used by brewers, to the water that I will use for flushing my tubes. After I pull each tap, I'll pump Star San solution directly into the taps and the attached tubes. Has anybody tried Star San -- or does anybody have a better solution for flushing tubes when you don't use vacuum?

[Ghs57]

I used it a few times to sanitize spiles. I seemed to work OK, but it's not as good as using new.

I remember reading some Dr. Tim/UVM research on washing lines, and the benefits (or lack thereof) of doing so. I rinse mine with fresh water and leave it at that. I also take down my lines every year, which is a condition of the property owners where I tap. As a result, I have not had much varmint damage.

[HowardR]

I used it a few times to sanitize spiles. I seemed to work OK, but it's not as good as using new.

Star San is quite popular with brewers. If I understand correctly, you don't need to rinse after you use it, and it is basically an "acid wash."

[HowardR]

I just found this post by pemelance in a 2017 thread (http://mapletrader.com/community/showthread.php?28523-What-do-you-do-to-clean-your-buckets-and-short-tubing-to-store-it-for-the-year):


I use a food-grade sanitizer called STAR SAN. It's widely used by homebrew/ wine makers. 1 oz: 5 gallons, and it kills E. coli and staph.
I fill up several 5 gal buckets (either outside or in my tub if it's cold out)- swish it around and re-use a few times in other buckets. For taps and tubes, I fill a 5 gallon container, and use a large syringe (60cc- from my vet, once I told them what I wanted it for) to plunge the liquid through tubing and taps. Once air dry, all is sanitized.
I do this twice: once right before (a day or two) tapping and again at the end of the season, before nestling and storing.
I was using a bleach solution like others, but STAR SAN seems safer somehow? Maybe it's the food service background...

[warners point]

Being a former home brewer I still use Starr San to clean all my maple stuff. I flushed out my 3/16th after the season and only had two small mold spots in almost 5000 ft.

[HowardR]

Being a former home brewer I still use Starr San to clean all my maple stuff. I flushed out my 3/16th after the season and only had two small mold spots in almost 5000 ft.

Thank you Warners Point. Based upon the positive responses and absence of negative responses, I decided to go ahead with my plan. I ordered a 32 ounce bottle of Star San yesterday.

[Zucker Lager]

Star San is quite popular with brewers. If I understand correctly, you don't need to rinse after you use it, and it is basically an "acid wash."
Hey Howard: I think that the "Star San" is the disinfectant of a two part brewers cleaning duo? PBW (powdered brewery wash) by Five Star first for cleaning then after rinsing use the Star San to disinfect. My Son is a brewer and uses them. He turned me on to the PBW and holy smokes does that work great no smell no residue and cleans and "deodorizes" just about "anything" love the stuff. PBW is a base cleaner so maybe the Star San being acid neutralizes as it does its cleaning / disinfecting job? Jay

[HowardR]

Hey Howard: I think that the "Star San" is the disinfectant of a two part brewers cleaning duo? PBW (powdered brewery wash) by Five Star first for cleaning then after rinsing use the Star San to disinfect. My Son is a brewer and uses them. He turned me on to the PBW and holy smokes does that work great no smell no residue and cleans and "deodorizes" just about "anything" love the stuff. PBW is a base cleaner so maybe the Star San being acid neutralizes as it does its cleaning / disinfecting job? Jay
Zucker Lager, my guess is that if you want to sterilize something, you have to wash it first using Powered Brewery Wash or some other cleaner. You can't pour Star San into a dirty pot and expect it to come out sterile.

[SeanD]

Zucker Lager, my guess is that if you want to sterilize something, you have to wash it first using Powered Brewery Wash or some other cleaner. You can't pour Star San into a dirty pot and expect it to come out sterile.

That is correct. It's a sanitary rinse or spray at the very end of the process. Air dry needed only. I use it in place of my bleach dip on my buckets and barrels. There was a very noticeable difference in how long the barrels stayed clean this year - and the last two years were very similar here.

I like PBW a lot, but it's pricey. Star San is very economical and VERY effective on surface sanitizing. What's more, it can be used multiple times. You could rinse multipe barrels with the same solution. I haven't tried it in tubing. Maybe I'll try it out on my vac set ups, but if the line already has gunk in it, it may not be that effective.

[S.S.S]

Would this stuff work great to wash stainless sap holding tanks and pvc lines that go from tank to tank? How about washing evaporator?

[HowardR]

Would this stuff work great to wash stainless sap holding tanks and pvc lines that go from tank to tank? How about washing evaporator?

It's not a soap. It's something to use after you've gotten the gunk off. But after your tanks are clean, you could sterilize them with Star San. Watch this YouTube video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EAodH5Qj40) to see how beer brewers use it. (There are lots of videos about Star San on YouTube.) I've learned two other things about Star San:

1. It can ruin the finish of an aluminum pot. (Star San is an acid, and acids react with aluminum.)

2. If your tap water is hard, the Star San might not work because hard tap water is a base, and bases neutralize acids. I've been saving permeate water from my RO to use with Star San.

Howard

[HowardR]

Here's a picture of my Star San tube pump:

18489

1. Green chemical resistant gloves bought at a local hardware store, because I don't want the extremely acidic Star San concentrate to touch my skin.

2. 6 gallon stainless steel milk bucket bought on Ebay years ago to carry almost-syrup from my evaporator to my kitchen.

3. About 3 gallons of Star San solution (it is bubbly) in the 6 gallon bucket.

4. About 1 foot long end cut off of a torn garden hose. It reaches into the bucket and is connected to the pump.

5. Milescraft drill pump (https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F1ZJG5E) attached to the 20 volt cordless DeWalt drill, the same drill that I use to drill the 5/16 holes for my maple syrup taps.

6. 3/4 GHT Female to 3/8 Male NPT hose fitting (https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01J4CTHN0/)

7. 3/8 Female NPT to 5/16 Barb pipe fitting (https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BQPM56)

8. 5/16 tube attached to barb at one end and open at other end. (Not shown is a plug that I put in the open end of the tube which helps to keep the pump primed as I move from one spout to another.)

9. 5/16 maple spout that is temporarily inserted into the tube of step 8. It is the spout end of the maple syrup line that I am cleaning. I push the spout into the open tube. Then I press the button on my drill to drive 1 to 3 cups of Star San solution through the tube and into my main line.

10. A five gallon stainless steel bucket that I bought on Ebay years ago to carry almost-syrup from my evaporator to my kitchen. I need both buckets in the woods. I mix five new gallons of Star San (5 gallons water to 1 oz. Star San concentrate) in my 6 gallon bucket, Then I split the solution into the two stainless steel buckets. Also, the drill pump doesn't prime easily when the bucket gets to about a gallon left, so I use the second bucket to hold the extra Star San solution from one batch to the next.

After I pump the Star San solution through the tubes, I plug the spouts so that no insects can get into them over the summer.

[GotSap?]

18514

Similar process with the Star San, but I use a 3 gallon chemical sprayer with modified end. This year, my 2 sons (12 & 15) pulled, sanitized, and plugged all 300 taps themselves in 1 weekend using this setup.

[HowardR]

18514

Similar process with the Star San, but I use a 3 gallon chemical sprayer with modified end. This year, my 2 sons (12 & 15) pulled, sanitized, and plugged all 300 taps themselves in 1 weekend using this setup.

Your sprayer looks great. (I'd be interested in seeing a close-up photo of the modified end.) But what I most want to borrow is your two sons!

[tgormley358]

HowardR,

This is my first year with tubing for about 70 taps on 7-8 lines mostly 5/16, and a little 3/16. I’ve been readin up here on cleaning and sanatizing the tubing and purchased a drill pump for this but can’t get it to pump any fluid out of my 5-gallon bucket into the tubing. Im using a Dewalt 18v cordless and notnsure it’s spinning fast enough. It only moves an inch or two (in the tubing) of my water Star San solution. Called the vendor and they said this drill pump isn’t capable for this. Well I didn’t pay much for it, but it sounded like others here had success with theirs, so I’m still trying. Next step is try my electric corded drill as I think it spins faster. I’m using a similar setup with 5/8 hose into my bucket and the other end screwed into the pump inlet. The outlet has fittings bringing it down to 5/16 or 3/16. Appreciate any thoughts. I also have a larger gas powered pump 1,300 Gph for sap transfer but I’m afraid it would be too powerful.

[HowardR]

HowardR,
This is my first year with tubing for about 70 taps on 7-8 lines mostly 5/16, and a little 3/16. I’ve been readin up here on cleaning and sanatizing the tubing and purchased a drill pump for this but can’t get it to pump any fluid out of my 5-gallon bucket into the tubing. Im using a Dewalt 18v cordless and notnsure it’s spinning fast enough. It only moves an inch or two (in the tubing) of my water Star San solution. Called the vendor and they said this drill pump isn’t capable for this.
Your drill may not be the problem. My drill is a 20V Dewalt DCD777 with a maximum speed of 1750 RPM. The 18V Dewalt drills have a maximum speed of 1500 RPM, which is just a bit less. I just finished pouring Star San solution through all of my 680 spiles without problem.

Your description sounds like what happens to me when I have lost the priming and can't get it back because the bucket is nearly empty. You have air in the pump, and, as a result, the pump does not have the power to push much solution into the spile. (There are less likely explanations such as that you didn't tighten the chuck enough or that the drill is turning in the wrong direction.)

It is very easy to get the pump primed when the pump is only a few inches above the solution. Just hold the open end of the 5/16 tube as low as possible while you trigger the drill. Once the solution starts to pour out, the pump is primed and you just need to keep it primed. I try to do so, between spiles, by keeping the hose end in solution and the tube end plugged.

Also, you may have bought a pump that requires a very fast drill for self-priming. I bought the Milescraft 1314 drill pump (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F1ZJG5E) from Amazon for $12.99. Before I bought it, I looked at claims, ratings and reviews of some of their other drill pumps. The Milescraft had a higher self-priming distance, higher user ratings and better reviews than the other drill pumps that I looked at. One of the $6 drill pumps has a 2.3 user rating, but the Milescraft has a 3.9 user rating.

[tgormley358]

Thanks for the reply Howard. I’ll try your ideas and read up on this pump. Maybe you’re right it’s just not a good mine for this application.