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Balancing flow in a multi-head washer???

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  • Balancing flow in a multi-head washer???

    Hey guys,

    So last week I thought I was pretty clever and added a second head to my home built manual washer. Fired it up this eve and lost my nerve. Now I'm wondering if I plumbed it right.

    The 2 head circuits are run in parallel. 3/4" line fed by a 60gpm pump that is then split to two 1/2" lines to the sanke connectors, then 1/2" line back to a 1.5" sight glass (so I can see when the crap is flushed out) and onto 3/4" outflow lines to drain, acid/caustic return, rinse water return, and starsan return.

    I have co2 and compressed air connected too.

    The process we run is blowout the old beer with air to the drain, rinse with hot (~150F) water - cloudy water down the drain, then switch to a return to the rinse water tank (our BK), then acid or caustic wash for 1-2 minutes, blowout with air back to acid/caustic tank (our HLT), the a water rinse and air blowout back to the rinse tank, then a starsan rinse and blowout with CO2 to the starsan tank (our MLT) , and finally the outflow is closed allowing the keg to pressure up to 5-10psi with CO2.

    There are some subtle difference in lengths of the 1/2" lines that feed the sanke connectors, but otherwise the fittings, valves, etc, are all the same. My thought is that the rate limiting step on either circuit is the sanke connector, so a 3' vs a 5' line shouldn't matter. Am I right?? I have the 1/2" tailpieces, but the sanke connectors are tighter than that.

    I suppose my post has gone from asking about balancing the pressure and flow to multiple keg washer heads, to also seeking confirmation that my design is ok....sorry about that!!!

    Any advice is appreciated.

    -J.
    Jeremy Reed
    Co-Founder and President, assistant brewer, amateur electrician, plumber, welder, refrigeration tech, and intermediately swell fella
    The North of 48 Brewing Company
    Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada

    www.no48.ca

  • #2
    I am having the same issue with adding an additional head to my keg washer. As I see it with the flow of liquids you need some sort of balancing valve or flow restrictor on each of the feed lines to kegs. Liquid will take the path of least resistance in a circuit, so it is necessary to place a control to make sure each circuit is balanced. Right now I am considering a pair of Kobold in-line flow restrictors to handle the problem.

    I am open to suggestions though.

    Geoffrey Carson

    Evil Genius and Problem Solver
    Litherman's Limited Brewery
    Concord, NH

    Comment


    • #3
      Washed 20 kegs last eve. Used both heads, but lost nerve and washed kegs one at a time. Still saved time, but would love to do two simultaneously. Those Kobold restrictors look good, but they're kinda pricey.

      I'm going to to some testing to see what flow rates I'm seeing from the sanke connectors, so I know what flowrate to select.

      Anyone know a less expensive option for the flow restrictors??

      Cheers

      -J.
      Last edited by Jer; 07-18-2017, 08:09 PM.
      Jeremy Reed
      Co-Founder and President, assistant brewer, amateur electrician, plumber, welder, refrigeration tech, and intermediately swell fella
      The North of 48 Brewing Company
      Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada

      www.no48.ca

      Comment


      • #4
        Did a little testing today.

        When I run one head into a pail I get 10GPM flow. When I run both heads into pails I get 7.5GPM on the closer head, and 7GPM that is about 3' farther downstream.

        This eve I am going to do some tests on actual kegs based on weight. This should allow me to see how much actual flow-through there is over let's say I minute.

        I spoke to my engineer brother as well. The 100$ Kobold flow restrictors can be replaced with either a washer of a specific orifice size for your desired flow, or a gate valve to do the same thing.

        Stay tuned!!!
        Last edited by Jer; 07-18-2017, 07:57 PM.
        Jeremy Reed
        Co-Founder and President, assistant brewer, amateur electrician, plumber, welder, refrigeration tech, and intermediately swell fella
        The North of 48 Brewing Company
        Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada

        www.no48.ca

        Comment


        • #5
          Any update?

          Comment


          • #6
            I'd also love to hear an update

            Comment


            • #7
              Sorry guys...I'll get to it I promise.

              Working on work, and getting acreage ready for winter, and starting a commercial brewery!!!
              Jeremy Reed
              Co-Founder and President, assistant brewer, amateur electrician, plumber, welder, refrigeration tech, and intermediately swell fella
              The North of 48 Brewing Company
              Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada

              www.no48.ca

              Comment


              • #8
                Possible Solution?

                One idea would be to have a variable pressure reducing valve on each connection from the manifolds to the kegs. Something like this.

                These would be set to half (or a third or a quarter depending on how many kegs would be cleaned at a time) of the pressure produced by the pumps / gas / water. Even if the system is unbalanced, each keg can only take half (or a third or quarter) of the available pressure and flow. I'll be checking this myself in a few weeks and weighing the kegs as I go to be sure.

                As an aside, I will never let compressed air anywhere my kegs. I've seen the DO readings for kegs that have been cleaned using a mix of compressed air and CO2, frightening stuff. Use just CO2 and keep an eye on the health of your caustic. Or better yet, use Nitrogen for the entire process - cheaper than CO2.

                Kia Kaha

                Karl - Te Aro Brewing
                Wellington, New Zealand

                Comment


                • #9
                  Hi Everyone, I finally have data:

                  So, I started by cycling one keg on both circuits of the 2 head washer I built. I simply ran an equivalent cycle of flush/blowout for x seconds.

                  Both circuits left the keg the same weight, within 1oz

                  Then, I ran both heads open.

                  Keg 1 went from 14lb-10oz to 26-3 (11-9 difference)
                  Keg 2 went from 15-4 to 27-2 (12-2 difference)

                  Close enough for me!!!

                  The bottoms of both kegs got plenty warm all over indicating to me that there’s a good cascade inside.

                  What I still don’t trust is that the blowout is equal when running both circuits, so I wash 2 heads at a time, but when I’m blowing them out I isolate each circuit and ensure the sight glass runs dry for both kegs. No one likes starsan lager...

                  As I see it now, I don’t see a need for a flow restrictor/pressure balancer.

                  Cheerio, hope that helps.

                  -Jer.
                  Last edited by Jer; 12-10-2017, 12:47 PM.
                  Jeremy Reed
                  Co-Founder and President, assistant brewer, amateur electrician, plumber, welder, refrigeration tech, and intermediately swell fella
                  The North of 48 Brewing Company
                  Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada

                  www.no48.ca

                  Comment

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