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  • A clean Meheen.

    Hey all,

    been having a bit of diastaticus poppin' up recently. busy investigating now with a lab to figure out where it is and isn't present in our process. Too early to tell, but I suspect the meheen might be the culprit. and even if it isn't, good deep cleans are always welcome.

    Since you are not supposed to clean warmer than 30*C I was wondering if anyone has experience or advice on giving this bad boy a mega clean.
    I've done a PBW cycle, followed by enzybrew. Enzybrew works optimally around 45 degrees I believe, so I did a slightly higher concentration and a 3 hours soak starting at around 28*C and regularly replenishing with a fresh solution.

    silicone hoses were also quite recently replaced.
    any blind spots to consider?
    Cheers!
    -e

  • #2
    I'm interested in this as I am working with someone who is due to order a Meheen shortly. I found this thread on a similar query - dated 2008 - http://discussions.probrewer.com/sho...-bottling-line

    You cannot use iodophors in the UK (and presumably the rest of the EU for what that is worth), but would have thought peracetic acid would be OK - though you don't want to spill it on he aluminium parts, so other sanitisers many prove less destructive of the filler materials. I would be tempted not to soak excessively, and in my book, three hours is excessive, but simply to repeat the cleaning process as recommended a number of times to achie the equivalent contact time. This is to prevent the stuff soaking into the plastics and causing off flavours etc.
    dick

    Comment


    • #3
      Hi Dick,

      Indeed, 3 hours appears to be a little bit excessive. BUT Enzybrew is an enzym based product which specifically attacks biofilm buildup. The Enzymes prefer a temp of around 45*C with a contact time of around 45 minutes for optimum performance. I found some info stating that at around 30*C the enzymes efficiency is at around 1/3 of the optimum. so my thought was: go for 3x contact time. The enzyme auto-degenerates after about 60 minutes which means the enzymes are broken down and are no longer effective after this time. Thus the replenishing.

      I agree that constant flow/cycling would have been a better option but unfortunately it was not a practical one for us because:
      a cycle is about 1,5 - 2 minutes which means running about 120 cycles. thats a lot of bottle shifting and a lot of enzybrew. we are a not optimally staffed right now which means that brewers needed to do this alongside other essential brewery operations.
      I'm not saying this practice was ideal. It was simply trying to do the best we could with the resources available

      There MUST be a more effective/efficient way of going about this. Thus the post

      Comment


      • #4
        That's why I thought the previous thread might be of some use.

        I'm also still interested to hear of others experiences though

        Cheers
        dick

        Comment


        • #5
          Been using activated Chlorine Dioxide on our Meheen since 05' and never had an issue. Things to be aware of using Dioxychlor (Birko)...

          Never store it once activated.. Period. In a sealed container you are making mustard gas. When you see the yellow fog run away.

          Acidify your water first then add the chlorine dioxide and wait for the color change.

          Don't ask anyone for a ratio of acid to activate. It is dependant on your waters profile, you will have to test it and determine the rate.

          That said it is an excellent sanitizer for bottling lines. We run 4 - 6 sani cycles Pre and Post every run recircing into a cutoff keg.

          Cheers.
          Joel Halbleib
          Partner / Zymurgist
          Hive and Barrel Meadery
          6302 Old La Grange Rd
          Crestwood, KY
          www.hiveandbarrel.com

          Comment


          • #6
            I've only had my meheen for 5 months, but i've been running 5 gallons of hot PBW through the "clean" cycle (3-4 cycles) after a bottling run.
            While this is happening, I spray the whole machine down with the hot water hose (160ish deg) from all angles.
            Once the PBW bucket is empty, I drain the supply hose and run 5 gallons of cold StarSan through the machine using the "sani" cycle (3-4 cycles), while spraying the machine down with hot water for a second time. On my 1999 I have to disconnect the pressure sensor tube to let the PBW and Starsan scrub that clean.
            Once the sanitize step is over, I pull the compressed air from the machine before powering down so that the fill tubes stay submerged in the Starsan.
            Before bottling, I run more Starsan through the supply hose for one cycle, drain it and then connect up to the brite tank and start bottling. I dump the first 3 rows of 4 bottles that look like they have soda in them to remove any potential Starsan from the final product.

            I my owners manual, Meheen is a bit weak on the clean/ sanitize regimen. They suggest one cycle for cleaning as well as for sanitizing, but that seems very short for my taste.

            Anyone know the difference between the two cycles, they seem identical to me?

            mtn

            Comment


            • #7
              The only discernible difference to me is that the clean cycle has a blow-off step at the end to clear out any caustic/whatever before running sani-cycle.
              Thanks for the responses!

              -e

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by Brewhemoth View Post
                Hey all,

                been having a bit of diastaticus poppin' up recently. busy investigating now with a lab to figure out where it is and isn't present in our process. Too early to tell, but I suspect the meheen might be the culprit. and even if it isn't, good deep cleans are always welcome.

                Since you are not supposed to clean warmer than 30*C I was wondering if anyone has experience or advice on giving this bad boy a mega clean.
                I've done a PBW cycle, followed by enzybrew. Enzybrew works optimally around 45 degrees I believe, so I did a slightly higher concentration and a 3 hours soak starting at around 28*C and regularly replenishing with a fresh solution.

                silicone hoses were also quite recently replaced.
                any blind spots to consider?
                Cheers!
                -e
                While the enzyme is designed to attack biofilm, it does not act as a sanitizer. Peracetic Acid in dilute form actually does not affect aluminum and is pretty safe to use. Safer and much more cost effective than Chlorine Dioxide. Just make sure that you keep the exposure times to below 30 minutes and always rinse.

                Also run a mild acid cycle (inhibited Phosphoric Acid) periodically to address any inorganic stone buildup.

                Cheers,

                Dirk Loeffler
                Loeffler Chemical Corp.


                Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
                Loeffler Chemical Corporation
                (404) 629-0999
                800-769-5020 (US & Canada only)
                www.loefflerchemical.com

                Comment


                • #9
                  Cleaning a meheen.

                  As a mobile bottler we use a buffered alkaline peroxide‐based cleaner and run 10-15 gal through before and after and sanitize with PAA before the run. We also use ozone for surface cleaning/rinsing and routinely clean the machine in excess of 140*F. ATP Swab. Make sure to replace the bottle seals and hoses. Main tough spots are in the hoses and the manifold. there is a stainless manifold available. Disassemble the fill head and throw it in some 190* water too if a new fill head is in order its well worth getting an updated fill head.

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