[narcout]

When using Iodophor, you do not need to keep items submerged for the full contact time.  You can use a gallon or so in a keg or the bottom of a fermentor and swirl it around, making sure that the entire surface gets wet, and you can also spray items down with a spray bottle - just like with Starsan.

Listen to the Basic Brewing podcast concerning Iodophor with the guy from National Chemicals; he covers all of this.

I've used Iodophor as my only sanitizer for going on 11 years now, and I have never once lost a batch to contamination.

[Village Taphouse]

When using Iodophor, you do not need to keep items submerged for the full contact time.  You can use a gallon or so in a keg or the bottom of a fermentor and swirl it around, making sure that the entire surface gets wet, and you can also spray items down with a spray bottle - just like with Starsan.

Listen to the Basic Brewing podcast concerning Iodophor with the guy from National Chemicals; he covers all of this.

I've used Iodophor as my only sanitizer for going on 11 years now, and I have never once lost a batch to contamination.

I like it too but it stains EVERYTHING and I was getting a little static from the wife.  It's been many years since I used it but I probably used it for 5+ years.

[Village Taphouse]

I'm brewing today and also moving a beer from primary to secondary (so I could get the yeast for the new batch) and I think I came up with a decent way to put this potential issue to rest.  I have a quart-sized plastic container with a lid.  I filled it about halfway with cold water and then poured an ounce of Starsan in there.  I saw that it fell right to the bottom and sort of stuck there.  I put the lid on and shook it until it seemed like the Starsan was diluted.  Poured that through a funnel and into a Better Bottle and then filled the plastic quart-sized container with cold water again, shook it again, etc. until there was no foam.  Then I filled the Better Bottle the rest of the way with cold water.  That should remove any doubt and it's relatively simple to do.  Cheers gang.

[denny]

FWIW, I did a test of this today....I filled a bucket with water, added Starsan, put a lid over the bucket, and shook it for maybe 10-15 seconds.  After I poured the mixture into a keg, I checked the bottom of the bucket.  There was no undissolved Starsan there.  Dunno what that proves, but there ya go....

[HoosierBrew]

FWIW, I did a test of this today....I filled a bucket with water, added Starsan, put a lid over the bucket, and shook it for maybe 10-15 seconds.  After I poured the mixture into a keg, I checked the bottom of the bucket.  There was no undissolved Starsan there.  Dunno what that proves, but there ya go....

I do the same each time, Denny. Being OCD about it, I even use a big wire whisk to be sure the star san dissolves totally.

[Black Lion Homebrewery]

Keep Star San solution in one gallon jugs.  Add a couple cups to the clean fermentor, swirl it around to completely cover the fermentor with the solution/foam.  Invert the fermentor while you do some other stuff then pour the solution back into your jug.  Star San is a wet sanitizer.  You only need to wet the surfaces.

You can eliminate the residual foam with a spray bottle if you don't want it in the fermentor.

A fermentor is a lot safer to handle when it isn't full.

This exactly what I do with my equipment. I'm not even sure I add more than a few ounces before I swirl sanitizer around. It's the same reason I use a wine bottle sulfiter for sanitizing bottles.

[Village Taphouse]

FWIW, I did a test of this today....I filled a bucket with water, added Starsan, put a lid over the bucket, and shook it for maybe 10-15 seconds.  After I poured the mixture into a keg, I checked the bottom of the bucket.  There was no undissolved Starsan there.  Dunno what that proves, but there ya go....

That sounds totally reasonable to me and I would guess that there would be no Starsan on the bottom after you shook the bucket.  I am typically not in the habit of doing that so the process I mentioned above is just a way to ensure that there is NO undiluted Starsan.  I would also rather make sure of this by creating as little foam as possible so that I can fill the vessel the rest of the way.  Who knows... maybe Starsan eventually mixes in completely without even mixing or shaking.

[amichuda]

Didn't read through the whole thread so forgive me if this was already mentioned. Adding star san to the full volume of water results in almost instant dilution for me. Granted, my water comes out of the tap at around 75F. A lower temperature may impact your rate of dilution but it couldn't hurt to add your dose of star san to the total sanitizer volume.

Also, concentrated star san (and PBW) to the bottom of a container and adding water may have adverse effects on the container. I had a better bottle crack due to undissolved granules hanging out on the bottom.