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Author Topic: Infection Because of Chamber Mold?  (Read 8070 times)

Offline anje

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Re: Infection Because of Chamber Mold?
« Reply #15 on: December 10, 2012, 08:12:27 am »
Check out your valves and spigots. I know I got some nasty-looking schmutz in the spigot that came with my bottling bucket, in a spot where I could not disassemble it for a thorough cleaning. Just attempted bottling with a new one, otherwise I just bottle with a siphon for simplicity and lack of inaccessible mostly-invisible parts.

Oh, and bleach is a sodium hypochlorite solution. Chlorine dioxide is a gas (though there are tablets that release it for hikers purifying water), and you need a specialized chamber to use it. Good for hospitals and the like using equipment that can't be autoclaved.
<-- microbiologist brewster n00b.

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Offline breweite

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Re: Infection Because of Chamber Mold?
« Reply #16 on: December 10, 2012, 09:15:09 am »
I would fill up your fermenters with hot water and 2 cups of bleach and let them soak for a day with as much of your equipment that can fit.  Submerge the hoses so they fill up as well as your siphon.  You'll be good to go.
Edit:  Still using my original siphon tubing and blow off hoses using this method.  Zero infections....

Wow, and no rinsing issues after a day in bleach?  **Plus new note that I thought of last night, pondering this infection mystery... I've been using a really cheap funnel that isn't food grade plastic and I always use it to pour my wort into my carboys.. I think I may just buy the funnels with the screen at the LHBS, always wanted one anyway..
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Offline a10t2

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Re: Infection Because of Chamber Mold?
« Reply #17 on: December 10, 2012, 09:28:13 am »
Oh, and bleach is a sodium hypochlorite solution. Chlorine dioxide is a gas (though there are tablets that release it for hikers purifying water), and you need a specialized chamber to use it. Good for hospitals and the like using equipment that can't be autoclaved.

Aqueous ClO2 is a pretty common CIP sanitizer. It's shipped as a 5% alkaline solution (pH ~9) and then acidified just prior to use. http://www.fivestarchemicals.com/wp-content/uploads/StarXeneProductSheet.pdf

No concern about evolving chlorine gas unless the pH drops below 3.
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Offline anje

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Re: Infection Because of Chamber Mold?
« Reply #18 on: December 10, 2012, 10:08:02 am »
Oh, and bleach is a sodium hypochlorite solution. Chlorine dioxide is a gas (though there are tablets that release it for hikers purifying water), and you need a specialized chamber to use it. Good for hospitals and the like using equipment that can't be autoclaved.

Aqueous ClO2 is a pretty common CIP sanitizer. It's shipped as a 5% alkaline solution (pH ~9) and then acidified just prior to use. http://www.fivestarchemicals.com/wp-content/uploads/StarXeneProductSheet.pdf

No concern about evolving chlorine gas unless the pH drops below 3.
OK, I stand corrected. I'm more familiar with it in gaseous form, as some of my lab-mates have been looking at the mechanisms by which it kills bacteria.
<-- microbiologist brewster n00b.

Hops and toothpaste don't mix.

Offline denny

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Re: Infection Because of Chamber Mold?
« Reply #19 on: December 10, 2012, 10:18:41 am »
Eh, so very true. Great point... Maybe I squeak out a 1 gallon AG batch because I'm such a cheapO.  For a strange reason, I think it may be my auto siphon and/or it's hose.  Any particular reason why you mentioned that? Is it common? Thanks

it's hard to get the tubing really clean. I like to replace my tubing every 10 or so batches just because you can never get IN there to really clean stuff up.

Guess I've been lucky, then.  I don't think I've replaced my tubing in 10 years, let alone 10 batches!
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Offline morticaixavier

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Re: Infection Because of Chamber Mold?
« Reply #20 on: December 10, 2012, 10:27:53 am »
Eh, so very true. Great point... Maybe I squeak out a 1 gallon AG batch because I'm such a cheapO.  For a strange reason, I think it may be my auto siphon and/or it's hose.  Any particular reason why you mentioned that? Is it common? Thanks

it's hard to get the tubing really clean. I like to replace my tubing every 10 or so batches just because you can never get IN there to really clean stuff up.

Guess I've been lucky, then.  I don't think I've replaced my tubing in 10 years, let alone 10 batches!

either that or I have been over cautious  ;D
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Offline jeffy

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Re: Infection Because of Chamber Mold?
« Reply #21 on: December 10, 2012, 10:40:16 am »
Eh, so very true. Great point... Maybe I squeak out a 1 gallon AG batch because I'm such a cheapO.  For a strange reason, I think it may be my auto siphon and/or it's hose.  Any particular reason why you mentioned that? Is it common? Thanks

it's hard to get the tubing really clean. I like to replace my tubing every 10 or so batches just because you can never get IN there to really clean stuff up.

Guess I've been lucky, then.  I don't think I've replaced my tubing in 10 years, let alone 10 batches!

either that or I have been over cautious  ;D

My plastic hoses are embarrassingly dirty on the outside, but I am confident the insides are clean.  I think I am living dangerously.
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Offline Joe Sr.

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Re: Infection Because of Chamber Mold?
« Reply #22 on: December 10, 2012, 12:56:25 pm »
All I do is run sanitizer through the hoses before and after each use.  I can't recall the last time they were replaced, but it's definitely been a couple years.
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Offline reverseapachemaster

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Re: Infection Because of Chamber Mold?
« Reply #23 on: December 14, 2012, 09:45:12 am »
Brewers are quick to believe infection is the cause of a particular off flavor and, while yes infections do cause off flavors, it is not the only reason.

If your water is minerally, particularly if it is well water, it can have a minerally aftertaste that at low levels can taste very similar to phenolic off flavors or even a sourness. The same could be true even if you're not using well water. If you're using tap water that isn't completely filtered you could have the same thing from some minerals in your municipal water supply. Chlorine-based chlorophenols can start out sort of sourish before they get really medicinal.

Before tossing your equipment I say brew a small batch on your equipment using your same process. Taste one at the usual time and let the rest sit for a few extra weeks. Taste again. If the flavor doesn't change, it's likely not an infection. If it gets overpoweringly medicinal, it's most likely chlorine in the water if you are using tap water. If it gets worse for any reason, it's definitely an infection.
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Offline erockrph

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Re: Infection Because of Chamber Mold?
« Reply #24 on: December 14, 2012, 12:57:28 pm »
Brewers are quick to believe infection is the cause of a particular off flavor and, while yes infections do cause off flavors, it is not the only reason.

Good point. I think a lot of brewers come to a snap judgement with sourness especially. There are a lot of other things that can cause sourness to varying degrees - dark malts, yeast character, pH/water adjustments, etc. I'm sure some of those issues are a lot more likely than an infection in most home breweries.
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