[sparkleberry]

after the ph gets too high to use any more, what do i do with the five gallon mixture i've got?  is it safe to dump down the sink?

[majorvices]

Its supposed to be environmentally friendly and bio degradable. I dump mine down the drain all the time.

[ckpash88]

Little off topic can insensitive it through my counter flow wort chiller. I haven't used it yet so don't know how to sanitize it and I have star San. 

I know the stuff says no rinse but when I dump it out of my Carboy it foams up so I wash it out. Do I have to worry about the stuff that's left in there? Any hints on using the stuff.

[cheba420]

Little off topic can insensitive it through my counter flow wort chiller. I haven't used it yet so don't know how to sanitize it and I have star San. 

I know the stuff says no rinse but when I dump it out of my Carboy it foams up so I wash it out. Do I have to worry about the stuff that's left in there? Any hints on using the stuff.

Dont worry about the foam. I usually leave my carboy upside down after I drain all the star san out. The foam fills up the neck and makes me feel a little better knowing I have a sanitized block in the neck of the bottle. When you're ready to rack your beer into your carboy, just do it. The foam from the star san isnt going to hurt your beer. Rinsing the star san away with water thats not sanitized could do more harm than the star san ever could.

[Will's Swill]

Don't fear the foam (i.e. you don't need to rinse and arguably rinsing exposes your equipment to possible contamination).  

I use Star San to sanitize my counterflow.  I pump the sanitizer through with my autosiphon.  The sanitizer is still in the coils when I start the beer through, so I run off the first bit onto the ground until I see beer coming out, then capture the chilled beer.

[majorvices]

+1. Don't rinse the foam. Rinsing a no rinse sanitizer is defeating the purpose. If you clean some thing thoroughly, and then sanitize it, and then rinse it, you're right back to where you started from after cleaning.

Star san is all food grade and supposedly the yeast will actually eat the small amount left over.

[ynotbrusum]

What the major said..  Supposedly the slight acid acts as a yeast nutrient.  No foam fear should exist.

[tschmidlin]

Don't fear the foam (i.e. you don't need to rinse and arguably rinsing exposes your equipment to possible contamination).  

I use Star San to sanitize my counterflow.  I pump the sanitizer through with my autosiphon.  The sanitizer is still in the coils when I start the beer through, so I run off the first bit onto the ground until I see beer coming out, then capture the chilled beer.

I do the same thing, and never have problems or detect flavors.

[woadwarrior]

Is star san safe for septic systems?

[majorvices]

5 gallons of star san dumped weekly into a septic system will have no affect on the septic system.

[bluesman]

There's a lot worse that can be dumped down the drain. 

I dump it down the drain and run some water down to dilute slightly. It's usually less than a gallon at a shot.

[bo]

I dump mine out in the yard, because I try to keep any and all chemicals out of my septic system, unless of course they come out of me. 

[majorvices]

At home I normally dump mine out in the yard as well. But there was a pod cast a few years back about Star San and supposedly it breaks down very easily and won't hurt your septic system. Do a search for "Charlie Tally Brewing network Interview" and download the pod cast if you have time. Some pretty good info on 5 star products.

That said, probably best to just dump it out in the yard simply because you can.

[denny]

I've been dumping it into my septic system on an average of once a week for over 10 years and there have been no problems.

[bo]

I'm sure neither it nor Iodophor would hurt anything but in my case it's just easier for me to dump it in the yard.