Immersion fermentation chiller and sanitizing aluminum

There is a new Kickstarter campaign for the "Immersion" fermentation chiller. It is a unit that uses thermoelectric modules to cool an aluminum rod, which extends down into the carboy or bucket. The makers claim that it can get your beer down to lager temperatures, although I think that depends on how warm the ambient air is. (The unit comes with an insulating fabric jacket that fits around your carboy or bucket.)

Some of you may remember this product from its failed Kickstarter campaign last year (under the name "LagerJacket"). They've reworked the project and launched a new Kickstarter drive.

I have no affiliation with the project, although I intend to back the Kickstarter drive. One question, though: the rod that extends into the beer is anodized aluminum. What sanitizer would be suitable to use on it? I am thinking that StarSan is a bad idea because of its low pH. Would an iodine-based sanitizer do the trick?

I am excited about the product because it seems to provide a way to keep the beer at a stable, easily discernible temperature while it is fermenting, which has been an issue for me. Downsides include the aluminum rod, since I currently use StarSan to sanitize my equipment, and the fact that you have to drill a separate hole in your BetterBottle or bucket lid for the airlock. (It doesn't seem to work with glass carboys at all.)

 

I don't know that you can't use StarSan on anodized aluminum, I was just assuming it was a bad idea to use a low-pH product on aluminum. Would love to be wrong.

In defense of the Immersion, it should be much easier to transport and store than a chest freezer - maybe not a big deal for some people, but a very big deal if you live in a small apartment or move around a lot. I believe it also uses less electricity than a chest freezer.

 

Yeah, this could be a big-city thing. NYC apartments often sell for about $1,000/sq ft, so saving a few square feet for $100 could be a very attractive proposition (the same goes for renters, it's just a different calculation). But the other thing is that moving chest freezers is not fun - I think anyone who expects to move in the near future might also benefit.