cleaning with Star San

[Sugar Bear]

Has anybody ever used Star San to clean storage tanks? And does it work well?

[Clarkfield Farms]

It isn't so much a cleaner as it is a sanitizer. For cleaning - meh... for sanitizing - definitely.
But if you have it, you probably use it, and probably already know all that. :lol:

[Ghs57]

I've only used it to sanitize.

[SeanD]

I use it to sanitize and it's excellent. After tanks and barrels are cleaned, I use a pump sprayer to wet the inside surfaces. I let it air dry and it's good to go. I used to dump a bunch in and slosh it around to coat everything, but doing that in an IBC was a PITA and it also generated a ton of foam that was harder to get out. The pump sprayer is perfect and easy.

I do this at the end of the season and I see a huge difference in the tanks when I get ready for the following season. There's no avoiding the dust, pollen, cobwebs, mayflies, etc. that gather in there from April to January, but there's nothing growing in there or staining anything that needs to be scrubbed out. I also notice the tanks are visibly cleaner - longer into the season.

[Maple River Sugar]

I spray my dairy tank out and then use a pump up sprayer to spray inside, no rinse just walk away.

[Mead Maple]

I use it to sanitize and it's excellent. After tanks and barrels are cleaned, I use a pump sprayer to wet the inside surfaces. I let it air dry and it's good to go. I used to dump a bunch in and slosh it around to coat everything, but doing that in an IBC was a PITA and it also generated a ton of foam that was harder to get out. The pump sprayer is perfect and easy.

I do this at the end of the season and I see a huge difference in the tanks when I get ready for the following season. There's no avoiding the dust, pollen, cobwebs, mayflies, etc. that gather in there from April to January, but there's nothing growing in there or staining anything that needs to be scrubbed out. I also notice the tanks are visibly cleaner - longer into the season.

SeanD,
So you use this product on your IBC totes like you describe as well?


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[Maple River Sugar]

I do along with buckets and pumps.

[SeanD]

SeanD,
So you use this product on your IBC totes like you describe as well?


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Yes, I use it on the totes and barrels.

[Ghs57]

How about using it for a mid-season cleaning? My remote tank is not looking so good, but it's near impossible to clean on-site.

[SeanD]

Remember, it is not used for cleaning. Star San is a sanitizer. For cleaning, personally, I would use hot water and pressure - maybe a smidge of soap if it's really bad, but I've gotten away from soap for a couple of years now. Hot water and pressure do a lot.

[Ghs57]

My question should have been: What would happen if you used it to sanitize a tank mid-season? I can't easily get a pressure washer/water to the tank in the woods. I have to drag it out to civilization to do a proper cleaning. I may try it this week.

[SeanD]

I don't think it will be very effective without a cleaning first. That would be true of any sanitizer, though. I would say let the tank be as is or you could fill a few 5 gallon buckets with hot water and haul them out there. That would be enough to clean a 275 gallon tote, I suppose. Ten to 15 gallons of water and a long-handled scrub brush could do a decent job. Use the first 5 gallons for a scrub down then use the next ten gallons for a rinse. It wouldn't be completely cleaned the way you would do at home, but it would probably be pretty good I think.

[DrTimPerkins]

I don't think it will be very effective without a cleaning first.

Agreed. In the sugarhouse we hose down tanks (SS open top) with hot water, scrub with a brush, then rinse with hot water. In the woods we just slosh the sap around with a brush during the season, and then wash them with hot water at the end of the season.

[Ghs57]

I'll have to rig up a brush that will work for IBC tanks with a 6" opening. I have a pressure washer angled nozzle that ordinarily works great.

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

What type of starsan are you guys using? There is a high foam and low foam. I can’t imagine the high foam would work well in the sprayers?

[Aaron Stack]

Question on using Star San.

One ounce for 5 gallons of water. Any idea how many buckets that 5 gallons will clean? 60 buckets and 60 lids to clean so wondering when to change out the solution. I got about 10 buckets out of the bleach/water solution last year changing when it got cool to the touch.

The Star San approach sounds like a time saver so wondering if similar, change out when cool..?

[Sugar Bear]

Question on using Star San.

One ounce for 5 gallons of water. Any idea how many buckets that 5 gallons will clean? 60 buckets and 60 lids to clean so wondering when to change out the solution. I got about 10 buckets out of the bleach/water solution last year changing when it got cool to the touch.

The Star San approach sounds like a time saver so wondering if similar, change out when cool..?

As I understand it, Star San is not meant to clean, it is meant to kill mold spores and keep them from growing back. If mold/dirt has grown or formed on the buckets it is not meant to clean that off. A pressure washer with just water will get that off. After that the Star San solution just needs to coat the surface of the bucket/ storage tank and then can and should be poured out into another container for the same use or for discarding. I am not certain how and where it should be discarded.

After coating the surface of the bucket/tank it should be left to dry. I had a storage barrel last year that kept growing a black mold in it, so at seasons end I cleaned it with the pressure washer and then put about half a gallon of Star San solution in it and rolled it on the ground. Drained it and let it dry in the shed over the summer. No mold yet. I will rinse it well with warm water before sap collection with it.

[Aaron Stack]

Sorry, wrong term "clean", I meant sanitize after cleaning. I cleaned and bleach/water sanitized after last season and will clean again before the kick off. Was going to sanitize also before using by immersing the them in the solution and letting dry for a week. My question is how long or how many buckets I might expect from each batch of sanitizer.

[SeanD]

All of them - depending on how much you lose to spillage. Like a bleach-based sanitizer, it won't lose effectiveness with multiple uses on clean surfaces. You could make a 5 or even 2.5 gallon batch, pour a half-gallon or so into the first bucket, swirl that bucket, pour that sanitizer into the next bucket then repeat. Line up all your buckets and you could have relatively quick work. There's no need to sanitize the outside of the bucket with a dip IMHO.

[stoweski]

At the end of last season I washed all of my tanks and rinsed well. I then sprayed starsan and let dry before storing for the off season. When I set out my collection tanks this season I did not rinse them out as everything I read said there was no need.

I just transferred my first 250 gallons of sap out of my collection tanks and into my feed tank for my RO and wound up with a ton of foam on the sap. I am concerned that when I boil this down the syrup will have a off flavor. I would rather not dump 250 gallons of sap if I don’t need to, but I also do not want to contaminate the rest of my syrup because of this sap.

Should I dump the sap and wash the collection tanks is the sap ok and I can keep on using the tanks without a problem?

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

I don’t have the bottle in front of me, but we use it on our 275g totes and we DO rinse it out with hot water before we set them out. Where did you read or learn that they don’t need to be rinsed? We were very happy with the condition of the inside of the tanks. No mold growth at all and easiest cleaning/rinsing we have ever had to do.
In regards to the sap, sap can be foamy so it may be perfectly fine. Any off flavor in the sap?

[stoweski]

Both the bottle and their site said that rinsing isn’t necessary. After seeing the amount of foam in the tank I thought about my cleaning practices at the end of last season and the only thing I could think of possibly contaminating the sap is he starsan. I have seen foam in sap before but this looked more like filling a tub with bubble bath.

As for the sap, I could only taste a hint of something being off but my wife said it just tasted like sap.

I’m going to rinse the tanks just for peace of mind but I’m still not sure what I want to do with the sap.

[johnallin]

I also use StarSan for tanks during Spring cleanup. Let them air dry and they’re amazingly clean when I start back up. I do give them a good hot water rinse though when I set back up.
Also pull some through the lines, lifter and releaser for the same reason. No way to rinse but I’ll let sap run through all the equipment until all is clear as water and foam is gone. Not unlike what I always did by letting sap run to ground to clear out the nasties left over from last year.
I would recommend you dump the foamy sap though, just not worth the risk of contaminating your syrup.

[Sugar Bear]

Can you do a quick boil of a couple of gallons and give that a taste?

I will bet its fine.

Its been pretty warm past few days. That in and of itself may get sap a bit foamy and/or off tasting.

[Sugar Bear]

By the way there is a high foam version and low foam version of starsan.

[Z/MAN]

I use StarSan for homebrewing and never rinse. Not having to rinse is one of its selling points. I add wort and beer right to the wet bubbly pail or carboy and never picked up an off taste. I will add that I'm not concentrating the homebrew.

[Sugar Bear]

ONE extremely important distinction here is that finding an off taste in home brewing (classified neurotoxins) and finding a off taste in maple syrup is kinda of like the same thing as finding a needle in Missouri hayfield and finding a needle stuck in your but.

I mean lets be somewhat objective about things here.

[Aaron Stack]

Good comments all around. I did notice a bit of foam when filling the buckets, but there has been no aftertaste either in the sap or boiled. It saved a ton of time cleaning pre-season

[stoweski]

I boiled some down inside last night on the stove. I didn’t get it all the way to syrup but it was definitely amber color. While it was boiling I didn’t notice any off flavored smell. We tasted it after it cooled and neither of us could taste an off flavor.
So, as I do this for a hobby and have plenty of time after work this week to play around, I’m going to boil it all down tonight, let it cool, and pull it all off the evaporator. I’ll then wash out all of the tanks and evap and start over with fresh sap on Friday or Saturday. I’ll finish the stuff that was foamy and check it. Worst case is I have to dump it and lose a bit of firewood and propane to boil and finish. If it tastes fine I’ll keep it for our own use.

My wife told me I am more sensitive to funky smells and tastes. If something doesn’t smell or taste right to me I toss it. Better safe than sorry.

Our season got off to a rough start with a dead battery in my RTV, a leaky RO, a sap pump that wouldn’t start, a few tank leaks, plenty of fresh branches down from the high winds we’ve had, and more squirrel chews over the past two weeks. And then this. It was more than enough setbacks to make me just scrub this season and start over next year.

Thanks for the info & tips everyone! Much appreciated!!

[johnallin]

.

My wife told me I am more sensitive to funky smells and tastes. If something doesn’t smell or taste right to me I toss it. Better safe than sorry.
Thanks for the info & tips everyone! Much appreciated!!

I also have a really sensitive nose...can smell an ant's fart a mile away...and anything in my syrup

[Sugar Bear]

I boiled some down inside last night on the stove. I didn’t get it all the way to syrup but it was definitely amber color. While it was boiling I didn’t notice any off flavored smell. We tasted it after it cooled and neither of us could taste an off flavor.
So, as I do this for a hobby and have plenty of time after work this week to play around, I’m going to boil it all down tonight, let it cool, and pull it all off the evaporator. I’ll then wash out all of the tanks and evap and start over with fresh sap on Friday or Saturday. I’ll finish the stuff that was foamy and check it. Worst case is I have to dump it and lose a bit of firewood and propane to boil and finish. If it tastes fine I’ll keep it for our own use.

My wife told me I am more sensitive to funky smells and tastes. If something doesn’t smell or taste right to me I toss it. Better safe than sorry.

Our season got off to a rough start with a dead battery in my RTV, a leaky RO, a sap pump that wouldn’t start, a few tank leaks, plenty of fresh branches down from the high winds we’ve had, and more squirrel chews over the past two weeks. And then this. It was more than enough setbacks to make me just scrub this season and start over next year.

Thanks for the info & tips everyone! Much appreciated!!

Thats good news.

Usually our imaginations reek havoc on our reality. I have to fight that one all the time too.

I used Starsan last year at the end of the season for a VERY persistent black mold. Rinsed with a bit of hot water at the beginning of this season. No black mold this year. I like to rinse everything with at least cold clean water. Especially things that have a film of concentrate left in them.

[stoweski]

Well, the end result of me playing around with the foamy sap due to Starsan is hat it boiled down to some amber syrup. Unfortunately it had a slight aftertaste that I just didn’t want to take chances with and so I dumped it. Just about 4 gallons worth. I hated doing it but if I wouldn’t eat it I wouldn’t want to sell it.
On the bright side, after rinsing out all of my tanks, evaporator, and RO, the foam hasn’t appeared anywhere and the rest of my syrup is great!
Thought I’d let others know in case anyone ever comes across the same issue and is trying to figure out what to do.

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

Thanks for sharing. As hard as it is to do that, you did the right thing.