[Steve L]

I was sitting around reading some home brewing books tonight and was going through my processes looking for all possible areas of potential contamination. One occurred to me that I hadn't thought of before. I aerate with pure O2 using the wand and stone setup from Williams brewing. I boil the stone and about 6 inches of the wand in water then pour starsan over the remainder of the wand before I use it. I always store it in a plastic bag to keep dust off of it. But I realized, I remove the hose from the wand and leave it connected to the tank and simply coil it up and store it in a drawer. Am I getting bugs in the hose? Should I be sanitizing it? I also have an inline flow meter that's a simple plastic spring loaded bead meter. Should I be sanitizing that too? Or does the pure O2 kill what might be in the hose?
Oh the things that I worry about

Thanks for any replies,

Stevo

[yso191]

I don't think so.  At least I do the same thing you do with respect to the oxygen hose.  I do make sure the open end of the hose is oriented down though. Remember the old saying, "Bacteria don't fall up.". Same for airborne yeast.

I also try to remember to flush the hose with oxygen prior to attaching the wand - but I don't think that is critical.

[ynotbrusum]

I don't use it much, anymore, but it has an inline micron filter, so I used to sanitize everything past the filter...but I also sanitize bottling caps, which some have said is unnecessary.  Go with what works for you until you encounter a problem, then just fix that issue.  If no problems are encountered, then no issues.

[majorvices]

There's no reason you would be picking up any sanitation issue from your method. Keep the line dry (you don't need an inline filter but if it makes you feel better use one) and it should never be an issue. Not much can live in pure o2, especially if you don't give it any moisture or food sources. It will be completely sanitary.

[jeffy]

One thing I always do is to put the end of the assembled O2 set up into a bucket of sanitizer and turn the valve on briefly.

[hopfenundmalz]

For peace of mind I put some sanitized AL foil over the end of the tube when I break it down.

Maybe once a year the stone/wand gets boiled. Other than that, it is in Star San solution.

[majorvices]

Really? I boil mine everytime before I use it.

[hopfenundmalz]

Really? I boil mine everytime before I use it.

I always have a bucket of Star San. It stays in there between uses.

[tschmidlin]

I just soak in starsan too.  I let it dry out in between uses, but it is covered to keep dust off.  Never had a problem. 

[deathlylost]

I was sitting around reading some home brewing books ...

Thanks for any replies,

Stevo

I don't have any experience whatsoever with this method of aeration and cannot give advice, but I love the fact that you also sit around reading home brew books.


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[philm63]

...Am I getting bugs in the hose? ...does the pure O2 kill what might be in the hose?
Stevo

The wand from Williams, if intended for pure O2 (I have this one, also) would have a 0.5 micron stone meaning not much, except the O2, is going to get through that thing. And as said previously; pure O2 is not a friendly environment for critters so your worry level should be very low.

My set-up sits in my brew-lab in the basement between uses with the hose attached to the flow meter, and the opening of the hose pointing down. Wand is boiled before and after each use, cooled and wrapped in a plastic bag for storage.

[Joe Sr.]

I just soak in starsan too.  I let it dry out in between uses, but it is covered to keep dust off.  Never had a problem.

If by "covered" you mean dropped into a bucket with other stuff, I follow the same protocol.

I sanitize the stone before and after use.  Never had a problem, but maybe I should cover it better someday.

[erockrph]

I keep the little dimebag that the O2 stone came in over the stone end when not in use as a dust cover. Other than that, I simply sanitize in starsan before each use. One tip is to turn the O2 on before submerging in any liquid so nothing backs up into the stone or line.

[Joe Sr.]

One tip is to turn the O2 on before submerging in any liquid so nothing backs up into the stone or line.

I also do this after sanitizing to blow it dry.

[narcout]

I also have an inline flow meter that's a simple plastic spring loaded bead meter.

If possible, could you please post a link to that flow meter?