To bake or not to bake.... that is the question.

[BIG TEXAN]

Ok I was hoping to get Buddhas opion on this but unfortantly he's gone (I hope not for long). Anyways, it's been along time since I've made a batch of fina and today I made mine (have always made it for others) and I did use heat to speed up the dissolving process and am wondering do I have to bake it to help sterilize it? I have in the past and obviously the process has changed.... so ros any comments cause I start my fina tomorrow morning.

[xxxl83]

No need to bake. The ba will sterilize it, all baking will do is cause oxidation. If you're worried about spores and such heat cycling would be a better choice.

xxxl83

[BIG TEXAN]

Heat cycling???

[xxxl83]

heat cycling would be heating for say 15 min. then let cool then heat again and so on.

xxxl83

[Austex]

I will always heat cycle my home brews of fina. I heat at about 250 for 15 minutes, then let cool completely ( about 30 minutes ) and repeat this process for a total of 3 x heating. I feel more secure using this method, especially if it's a batch for someone else.

[BIG TEXAN]

That's what I was meaning, I bake it for 15 minutes 3 times.

[xxxl83]

Either way it's still best not to heat your fina it will actualy degrade your final product.

xxxl83

[Warrior]

Let it sit overnight and then use the water pasturizing method once more the next day. The heating you did to accelerate the breakdown of the pellets will hatch the spores through the night... then the following days pasturizing will kill them. The chance of an infection doing it like that is pretty minimal. There a lot of folks who never heat it at all without any problems...

IMO - don't bake it... use the water method only... baking it is too extreme... just boil some water and then let it sit in it for about 15 mikes...

[BIG TEXAN]

Thanks Warrior, I did just what you said this morning and did me up a shot right afterward. Glad to see you're posting again.