Looking for "up-shooting" spray ball

[MikeS]

Hello all-

We just put in a few 40bbl GW Kent tanks. Our hot water pressure is not enough to adequately rinse the top of the tanks with the provided (static) CIP spray balls. I have seen, in other breweries in which I've worked, spray balls that have the holes drilled "above the equator," as it were, so the spray was directed up to the ceiling of the tank and then cascaded down the sides. I am not having any luck sourcing such spray balls. Does anyone have an idea where I may get some such beast?

Something like "type B" in this photo:



I need something (or three somethings, actually) that fit with a cotter on a 38 mm pipe.

That picture is from the Australian Sudmo website. I can't seem to find any suppliers stateside.

Any advice or leads would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks and cheers- Mike

[lhall]

I have taken those balls in the past and drilled out our own holes where we wanted them. Didn't seem to hurt the flow through the other holes. Also helps to get the spray ball itself cleaned.

[Houston_John]

Call TankJet I know they make 180° up-shooting spray balls.

Tankjet.com

[dick murton]

Most of this type of spray ball rely on 1 to 1.5 bar pressure, irrespective of the design. If the pressure is less than this then you are unlikely to get adequate wettage / physical agiitation to clean properly. To clean a tank with low pressure / high flow cleaning action as given by conventional low pressure sprayballs (not rotating jets or high pressure cleaning heads such as toftejorgs), you need to end up with, from memory, a film of 2 mm - which again from memory is given by about 2 to 3 litres / m2 / minute of tank area. GEA, APV, Diversey, Sudmo - all sorts of people supply sprayballs, but they are all dependent upon tank dimensions, and whether horizontal, vertical.

[Austin Brothers]

Premier Stainless sells them for sure. Last brewery I worked for ordered 12 to outfit all of our tanks, and they had them in stock.

[Ted Briggs]

Get GWkents rotating wash heads.

[SouthHouseBrew]

Spray Ball Flow Rates

Most of this type of spray ball rely on 1 to 1.5 bar pressure, irrespective of the design. If the pressure is less than this then you are unlikely to get adequate wettage / physical agiitation to clean properly. To clean a tank with low pressure / high flow cleaning action as given by conventional low pressure sprayballs (not rotating jets or high pressure cleaning heads such as toftejorgs), you need to end up with, from memory, a film of 2 mm - which again from memory is given by about 2 to 3 litres / m2 / minute of tank area. GEA, APV, Diversey, Sudmo - all sorts of people supply sprayballs, but they are all dependent upon tank dimensions, and whether horizontal, vertical.

Dick's advice is golden (per usual).

If you are already short on pressure to the spray ball, adding more holes will just compound the issue.

All cleaning devices (spray ball, rotary nozzles, etc) have an optimal flow and pressure. For a spray ball, if you're short on either, you won't reach the side of the tank or maintain consistent sheeting. If you're too high, you'll get atomization (misting) and uneven spray.

If you go with 180 up spray ball (Type B in your figure), you want a little higher flow, about 2.5-3 gpm per foot of vessel circumference, to get sheeting down the sides of the tank. A 360 spray ball (type A) will use the flows/pressures Dick has stated: about 2 gpm per foot circumference.

What is your hot water pressure going into the CIP arm? Do you have a pump you could use as a booster?

[MikeS]

Thank you for the comments and advice, gentleman. I appreciate it.

Just to clarify: I am interested in a sprayball with less holes, but more strategically placed ones. The tanks are getting clean with my current CIP regimen, and with the pump running all the surfaces inside the tank seem to be getting proper coverage. My issue is rinsing after the caustic cycle. When I inspect the tank after a rinse, I am noticing soil on the inside ceiling of the tank. This soil is residue appears to be from the dirty caustic sprayed up there during the cycle that is not adequately rinsed due to my hot water pressure being too low.* With the holes equally spaced around the surface of the sprayball, the vast majority of the spray tends to go down. I am looking to direct more of that rinsewater (and chemical) up towards the ceiling of the tank.


(* I have verified this by getting up on top of the tank and feeling while I am running a hot rinse. I can feel where the tank is not hot, and that area corresponds precisely with where I am noticing the soil upon my inspections. I have used an empty tank as a reservoir and pumped hot rinsewater successfully, but as winter turns to spring I will soon not be afforded the luxury of having any empty tanks to use thusly.)

Again, thanks for taking the time to advise me on this. I will be making some calls and visiting some booths at the CBC armed with this info.

Cheers- Mike