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Pressure Gauge on CIP Arm

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  • Pressure Gauge on CIP Arm

    Do I need a pressure gauge on the CIP arm of a fermenter which will not be under pressure? Is it at all useful to monitor the pressure while the spray ball is in use during cleaning?

  • #2
    I don't know how your tank are set up, but the all CIP arms are pressurized when the tank is full of beer.

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    • #3
      No pressure ever? What about after fermentation?

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      • #4
        No pressure. We use a Letina fermenter. Transfer to a brite to force carbonate after fermentation.

        It is for hard cider.

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        • #5
          "Is it at all useful to monitor the pressure while the spray ball is in use during cleaning? "

          Very useful but not essential. I prefer to be able to check the spray head visually, though particularly for high pressure cleaning heads, one is useful, unless really experienced, to ensure you are hitting the specified pressure. For sprayballs, they can be useful to ensure you are not overpressurising as well as underpressurising, and for identifying if there is excess pressure loss in the supply. However, in a small setup, this should not be a problem. It is more likely to be a problem in jumbo breweries with miles of pipework.

          If you want to use it to control top pressure, and use the sprayball for top pressure supply and venting, then you need to remember to allow time for the gauge to read properly after shutting off the vent or gas supply, as it will be drastically affected by the gas flowing past it, and not reflect the pressure in the tank.

          Make sure the gauge and all associated fittings are hygienic, and it will cope with pressure shocks liable to occur when CIP flow suddenly starts. if you only want to supply at 1.5 bar, then it needs to be able to cope with a spike of say 5 bar, possibly more without wrecking the thing.

          And check the calibration say once per year - they do drift / get damaged.
          dick

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          • #6
            Thanks Dick.

            Quick follow up...say the sprayball wants 30 psi, what should the pressure gauge read? Exactly 30 or do you add based on the length of the arm (from the gauge to the spray ball)...or some other factors?

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            • #7
              I would always alow a few psi extra, but too much will reduce the accuracy of the instrument. Allow 15 psi for every 30 ft height increase above the gauge, so for instance if you tank supply maximum is 15 ft above the gauge, then ou need to allow 7.5 psi simply for the head increase, and must therefore say you need 37.5 at the gauge to achieve 30 at the sprayball (I am assuming that the sprayball does not drop back down substantially - so assume this as worst case scenario). Not 100% acurate, but close enough. In this case, you would want a pressure gauge that reads a maximum of 40 or 45 psi. The restriction caused by the supply pipe itself is so small that it will be accommodated in the accuracy of the gauge. It is only large breweries with hundreds of metrres of supply pipe and loads of bends that really need to account fo pipeline length as such.
              dick

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