Dawn vs. 5 Star PBW

[Stile88]

19 hours ago, bosco said:

I got them at Home Depot in buffalo.  They don't seem to sell them in Canada for some reason.  They were only 12.98 

And you didnt bother to stop by lol 

I think i am going to go this route as well with my grates i am wondering if a steamer would clean them real good 

At any rate excellent experiment 

[Jon B.]

13 hours ago, bosco said:

7 hours in and I just lifted a grate out from each.  The water with the dawn is clean and the PBW is black 

the dawn grate wipes clean with zero effort

the PBW I have to scrub clean and it still leaves black residue in spots.  

I have a winner! 

I do have to use "Elbow Grease" after soaking in Dawn with a SS scrubby to get rid of the black residue - FYI

[bosco]

We need a meet up again soon.  @Stile88 you are in for the next meet up with the KK crew.  

@Jon B. I scrubbed them after but they still didn't get to the PBW level.  

@ckreef I am soaking the darker ones right now in oxyclean free as we speak.  I will let you know what happens.  I am hoping this is a winner but think that PBW will prevail victorious.  

[Bruce Pearson]

Ryan  where can I buy that PBW?  Do you know the website address any help would be appreciated thank you 

[bosco]

1 hour ago, Bruce Pearson said:

Ryan  where can I buy that PBW?  Do you know the website address any help would be appreciated thank you 

Im going to order here.  This is the cheapest I have found it 

http://www.homebrewohio.com/pd-pbw-8-lb.cfm

[bosco]

Bruce amazon actually has a better price on it 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0064O7XRY/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1478622996&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=pbw+8+lb&dpPl=1&dpID=41zXHoBe-jL&ref=plSrch

[bosco]

And here is the comparison PBW vs oxyclean free

[Bruce Pearson]

Many thanks Ryan have a great day

[tony b]

Not surprised that the PBW won over Dawn, but a tad surprised by the Oxyclean not doing a better job. How long did you soak them in the Oxyclean, Bosco?

A good description of PBW - " PBW (Powdered Brewery Wash) is a patented alkali cleaner originally developed for Coors, now widely used in commercial breweries across North America. Use 1 to 2 ounces per gallon for cleaning kettles, 3/4 ounce per gallon for fermenters, kegs, tanks, and other equipment. Soak equipment overnight in PBW solution; rinse the following morning - no scrubbing required! Will not damage rubber gaskets, soft metals, or your skin. PBW can effectively clean items that can't be reached with a brush or sponge, and is strong enough to remove thick, difficult, caked-on organic soils." [emphasis added by me]

Here's a couple of homebrewing supply places that I regularly order from and their PBW prices are competitive.

http://www.northernbrewer.com/powdered-brewery-wash

http://www.austinhomebrew.com/Five-Star-PBW--4-lb_p_502.html

Amazon is a tad cheaper, but if you have Prime, you get free shipping, which is a big bonus.

[bosco]

I got almost 6 hours but the water just wasn't turning like it did with the PBW.  The PBW starts working quickly and less is more.  From what I read, I need a ton of oxy for similar results.   

The other issue is the grills needed extra washing they were coated in a slippery film 

[MacKenzie]

Bosco, yes, I can get it on my drive to Halifax, just haven't done it yet. It is at a brew shop.

[Shuley]

I have oxyclean...but not the free. I am wondering if it would matter， as long as i rinsed them well? Also， do you think dawn or the oxyclean worked better?

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[bosco]

PBW is the winner 

[ckreef]

Great experiment all around. 

[tinyfish]

Can't get much easier then PBW.

Anyone ever try using a power washer on the grills.

[tony b]

On 11/8/2016 at 2:57 PM, Shuley said:

I have oxyclean...but not the free. I am wondering if it would matter， as long as i rinsed them well? Also， do you think dawn or the oxyclean worked better?

Sent from my LG-D855 using Tapatalk
 

I doubt the fragrance would hurt you. Just make sure that you rinse everything very well (that goes for the PBW also!)

I'll let Bosco chime in here, but from his pictures, I'd say that the Oxyclean did a slightly better job than the Dawn. But, it was a sequential process, not side-by-side.

[bosco]

The oxy clean did a better job at cutting the grease and the grate was more stainless but still has a black hue to it.  The under side wasn't even phased by the oxy.  I will soak this grate once I get more PBW in the mail.  

The thing about the oxy is that it leaves a slippery residue on the grates that I scrubbed more to get off.  Not sure that I will use it again.  

The thing about the PBW is that I couldn't tell that it was in the water (no suds) but wishin the first hour the water started to go brown and eventually black.  It literally lifted the black build up right of the stainless after an overnight soak.  

The dawn allowed me to wipe away the grease but it didn't tackle the caked on stuff at all.  

I am so very pleased with the PBW.  Great product and worth the extra cash.  I will do this quarterly from now on just to keep things fresh.  

[Syzygies]

Try sealing the grates in a contractor trash bag, along with a bowl of ammonia.

As for a tub, water heater drain pans are perfect for 23" KK grates. One does have to improvise a way to plug the hole.

[MacKenzie]

I have the hot water version and had a tap installed. I will try to get a pix. Note, I have yet to use but one day I am sure it will come in handy:)

[MacKenzie]

Here is a pix of the setup and it is easy enough to attach a hose on the tap if needed to make draining the pan.