Sanitizing (I am confused)

PeterZ · Jan 21, 2009

Yep, sorry about the typo. Not enough coffee yesterday morning.

As far as rinsing goes, it is unnecessary. The sanitizer strength is 3TB/gal = 9tsp/gal. We normally dose 1/4 tsp every three months when bulk aging. That means a gallon of sanitizer has 36 doses of K-meta. To get the same 1/4 tsp dose using sanitizer requires 105 cc or a little more than 3 fl. oz. A standard drop is considered to be 1/20 cc, so you would need 2100 drops of sanitizer left behind to get the standard dose of K-meta that we add during bulk aging.

The only time I have ever had a problem with not rinsing is whenI soaked a mesh bag in sanitizer to put the raisins in on a Mosti Meglioli kit. I didn't wring out the sanitizer well enough, and the yeast stayed dormant for about 24 hours.

Car-Boy · Jan 21, 2009

The typo has me confused. There are posts about potassium metabisulfite and sodium metabisulfite being used as a sanitizer.What is the difference and which do you use?

grapeman · Jan 21, 2009

Car-Boy they are functionally the same. They are two closely related compounds simple one uses sodium and the other uses potassium. The sodium is slightly more effective by about 10% and ends up being slightly cheaper. Which you use is up to you, they both do the job. You don't even need to worry about using different amounts although you could if you have a gram scale.

I personnaly use potassium metabisulfite because I am on a soium restricted diet and while the amount in the wine is small, I figure why not just use the k-meta (potassium metabisulfite) and get less in my diet.

Wade E · Jan 21, 2009

Totally agree wit appleman on this issue. We can all use either and it really dont make a difference as the amount is minuscule and immeasurable but its there.

Rocky_Top · Jan 21, 2009

I have seen somewere that in a perfect world, sodium is better in some white wines while K-meta is better in reds. They had about 10 variables that only Peter could follow. And they endedthe acticle with "It reallydose not make that big of a diferance"

PeterZ · Jan 22, 2009

I use potassium metabisulfite (K-meta) for everything. Sodium metabisulfite (Na-meta) is actually about 10% stronger and cheaper per pound. I don't want the sodium in the wine, so would need K-meta for bulk aging. I also use K-meta to make up sanitizing solution. Na-meta would be cheaper for making sanitizer, but considering I go through less than a pound per year it's hardly worth the effort to stock both.

K-meta is more soluble in water than Na-meta, but even our sanitizing solution is not even close to the solubility limits.