Brewing Master

Question:

} What is the best sanitizing ppm for an iodine solution.  I use it to } sanitize my SS kegs and never can tell what the right mix is.  The bottle } says to mix it to the recommended ppm, but what is that? } } For all the Iodophor solutions I’ve seen at homebrew supply stores, 1 } tbsp in 5 gallons will give you 12.5 ppm, which I believe is the } recommended concentration for general sanitizing. } } — }

12.5 ppm is correct if you don’t want to rinse.  Double that (25 ppm) is used for commercial sanitizing, but it’s usually followed by a HOT (160+F) rinse.

Response:

What is the best sanitizing ppm for an iodine solution.  I use it to sanitize my SS kegs and never can tell what the right mix is.  The bottle says to mix it to the recommended ppm, but what is that?

For all the Iodophor solutions I’ve seen at homebrew supply stores, 1 tbsp in 5 gallons will give you 12.5 ppm, which I believe is the recommended concentration for general sanitizing. —

Response:

: What is the best sanitizing ppm for an iodine solution.  I use it to : sanitize my SS kegs and never can tell what the right mix is.  The bottle : says to mix it to the recommended ppm, but what is that? Iodine is it’s own indicator!  If the liquid has color to it, there is enough iodine to do the job.  Don’t be as worried about the amount, as the color of th liquid.  Too much color, and everything will get stained, not enough color, and it won’t be sanitized.  Just  alight amber is great. — Sysop – Home Brew University BBS   Brew City Campus       414-238-9074 Genealogy Search:  Brickner, Kane, Kimbro, LaClaire, Snyder|Snider,                    Seecs|Seetch|Sich, and Thorton.   Visit my homepage for more …          http://www.execpc.com/~jkane

Response:

What is the best sanitizing ppm for an iodine solution.  I use it to sanitize my SS kegs and never can tell what the right mix is.  The bottle says to mix it to the recommended ppm, but what is that? TIA Chuteski

According to my bottle(s) of B-T-F Idophor, you want enough to keep the solution "amber" for sufficient sanitizing.  But the label goes on to say that at 1 oz per 5 gallons, you get 25 ppm, and at 1/2 oz per 5 gallons, you get 12.5 ppm.  It doesn’t say which is right. If you buy the big bottle, they’ll send you a free packet of test strips to "give you assurance" for whether or not your concentration is high enough to meet FDA approval or not.  I sent for the strips. (Should be getting them any time.) So much for the bottle.  My local homebrewing supply store recommends 3/4 tsp per gallon, but admits that that dose is a bit high.  I find 1/2 tsp in our SOFT water to be fine.  The color is amber as desired when I mix it that way, and that is all that’s required since that color just indicates that there is free iodine available to react with whatever.  A couple of other notes are that as your water becomes more alkaline, you’ll need more.  The recommendation is that you go by color.  It turns clear when no longer affective, and you must start with a pH of less than 9.0.  The second note is that you don’t want to adopt the "if a little is a little good, then a lot must be a LOT good".  If you put too much in, then fail to rinse properly (idophor is advertised to not require thorough rinsing), then you can kill the yeast in your wort/beer.  That may apply to the carboy for fermentation, or to bottles (etc) for carbonation.  I just stick to my 1/2 tsp per gallon and I’ll verify things a bit more when I get that free packet of test strips.  (You have to buy the 500 mL bottle to get the coupon for the test strips.) Brian PS: I like using Idophor a lot, since the color gives me constant assurance of cleanliness.  Sanitizing ’soak times’ compared to chlorine solutions are similar, e.g. recommend 15+ minutes.  Some people complain that it stains everything.  It does.  But after a few days in the back room, 99% of the stain goes away (if not all.) My plastic buckets are still white, and the various pieces of tubing have returned to being clear.  No problem, and who cares!

Response:

What is the best sanitizing ppm for an iodine solution.  I use it to sanitize my SS kegs and never can tell what the right mix is.  The bottle says to mix it to the recommended ppm, but what is that? TIA Chuteski

Response:

What is the best sanitizing ppm for an iodine solution.  I use it to sanitize my SS kegs and never can tell what the right mix is.  The bottle says to mix it to the recommended ppm, but what is that?

I use 1 teaspoon per gallon which is equivalent to 20 ppm (BTF brand), within the recommended range of 12.5-25 ppm.

Response: