I built a completely automated keg washer for under 1K... any interest out there?

[Jer]

Just wanted to make sure everyone knows about these:

https://www.brewhardware.com/product...lpiece12ss.htm

To maximize flow into the keg.....

I also have drilled out the bore of the sanke connectors on mine to further increase flow. I was able to drill up to 3/8". Don't go past that though....trust me.

-J.

[Jer]

Conner,

How come n2 instead of compressed air to push out beer/chemical, and a final co2 purge??

-J.

[Jer]

Just a quick note: We built our own manual keg washer when we started and the pumps you link to are the ones we used. The heated caustic ate the plastic impeller within a month or two.

It's great to see the Raspberry Pi being used in more brewery projects.

What pump did you move to after this one failed??

[Iron Goat]

What pump did you move to after this one failed??

We went through 2 of those pumps ($100 quick fix) then used our portable Thomsen pump for a couple of months until our automated keg washer arrived.

[OwlBat]

awesome!

Very interested, looking forward to more information!

[Jer]

We went through 2 of those pumps ($100 quick fix) then used our portable Thomsen pump for a couple of months until our automated keg washer arrived.

Ah. I see.

I bought one of these:

https://www.zoro.com/dayton-pump-34-...w9/i/G0400662/

Pumps like crazy, and had been good so far.....

I'm guessing that wayne pump would be OK for moving starsan or rinse water???

-J.

[Cagedodger]

I'm typically a lurker on these things, but count me in for being highly interested.

I'm also interested in resources if your project doesn't pick up. I'm guessing that since you're in the start-up phase that time is not a commodity that you have a lot of. Any summary of your final product or links to the code you mentioned would be greatly appreciated.

[Nobl]

Sorry for my delay here - we have been experiencing a "real" winter in NH the past few days and it has thrown everything off. Reached out to a good friend about doing the board design as well as sources for pumps, etc. Video still coming soon.

Very interesting about the pump. We'd had no issues so far using PBW and it's been in service for a few months, but if caustic is going to be used, we'll need to source a new pump. Ultimately there are quite a few sources available for stainless pumps in this HP range, so I'm sure we can source something better.

Connor

[Warrior]

Add me to the interested list!

[Paigecroix]

Key Cleaner

I am very interested and need info asap as keg cleaner I currently have is not working out. Please respond either by email. C.croix@yahoo.com or phone 9282304367. Thanks very muc




QUOTE=Nobl;190745]While we are still firmly in "startup" mode, cash is tight & lean operation is the name of the game. Part of this was reducing the labor component of keg washing so our guys can focus on more important aspects of the operation.

It took a little over two months, but we built a completely automated keg washer based off of a Raspberry Pi. Here are the basic components:

- Raspberry pi board, Arduino board.
- Two 1HP pumps, for cleaning and sanitizing.
- Manifold built from stainless tee's and couplers
- 8 automated stainless ball valves

At time of writing, it has washed a little over 300 kegs and performs flawlessly. We're in a situation where we need to upgrade it's capacity, so I'll be running a test next week to see if it has enough power to wash two kegs at once. My hunch is, it does. It's working so well, in fact, that I am considering building another so we can wash 4 kegs at once. The cycle time is 8 minutes, so a keg every two minutes is some fantastic throughput for a small brewery with an investment of $2k.

So this brings me to why I am writing - is there any interest out there for making these available for purchase? I am not looking to profit off of these, but we can have a circuit board printed if there is enough interest to spread the cost among a few people. It's more cost effective to built one more with another raspberry pi/arduino board, but if we were to run a larger batch, it would be significantly easier to outsource this to a real manufacturer.

The end user would be responsible for assembly the manifold (pipe tape and ability to follow step by step instructions) as well as purchase their own pumps, etc. If there was incredible interest, I could look into purchasing components in bulk to save money.

I could supply the source code to make adjustments to timing, etc, but would not be able to offer tech support. That being said, we would ship the boards with known working code. Here is the current keg washing procedure that has worked well for us.
- Keg is hooked up, uses pressure in keg to blast out any beer.
- Blasts n2 briefly to purge any remaining liquid.
- Hot water rinse, 30 seconds. Blast our with n2.
- Short hot water rinse, another blast.
- 3 minute PBW cycle w/ 1HP pump, blast of n2 to purge all liquid.
- Another double rinse cycle.
- 30 second sanitize cycle w/ other 1HP pump
- Blast of n2 to clear keg of sanitizer.

Downfalls vs. a "real" automated keg washer
- Very little input to change cycles on a keg-by-keg basis (although easy to change the system's source code)
- Relies on a 3-bay sink OR stand with buckets of solution. Need access to a drain and water supply.

I'll provide some photos and maybe a video in the coming days.

Any thoughts?[/QUOTE]

[Paigecroix]

I am very interested please call or email c.croix@yahoo.com or 9282304367 thanks

I am very interested and need something asap. My number is 9282304367 or c.croix@yahoo.com. Thanks SO much

It took a little over two months, but we built a completely automated keg washer based off of a Raspberry Pi. Here are the basic components:

- Raspberry pi board, Arduino board.
- Two 1HP pumps, for cleaning and sanitizing.
- Manifold built from stainless tee's and couplers
- 8 automated stainless ball valves

At time of writing, it has washed a little over 300 kegs and performs flawlessly. We're in a situation where we need to upgrade it's capacity, so I'll be running a test next week to see if it has enough power to wash two kegs at once. My hunch is, it does. It's working so well, in fact, that I am considering building another so we can wash 4 kegs at once. The cycle time is 8 minutes, so a keg every two minutes is some fantastic throughput for a small brewery with an investment of $2k.

So this brings me to why I am writing - is there any interest out there for making these available for purchase? I am not looking to profit off of these, but we can have a circuit board printed if there is enough interest to spread the cost among a few people. It's more cost effective to built one more with another raspberry pi/arduino board, but if we were to run a larger batch, it would be significantly easier to outsource this to a real manufacturer.

The end user would be responsible for assembly the manifold (pipe tape and ability to follow step by step instructions) as well as purchase their own pumps, etc. If there was incredible interest, I could look into purchasing components in bulk to save money.

I could supply the source code to make adjustments to timing, etc, but would not be able to offer tech support. That being said, we would ship the boards with known working code. Here is the current keg washing procedure that has worked well for us.
- Keg is hooked up, uses pressure in keg to blast out any beer.
- Blasts n2 briefly to purge any remaining liquid.
- Hot water rinse, 30 seconds. Blast our with n2.
- Short hot water rinse, another blast.
- 3 minute PBW cycle w/ 1HP pump, blast of n2 to purge all liquid.
- Another double rinse cycle.
- 30 second sanitize cycle w/ other 1HP pump
- Blast of n2 to clear keg of sanitizer.

Downfalls vs. a "real" automated keg washer
- Very little input to change cycles on a keg-by-keg basis (although easy to change the system's source code)
- Relies on a 3-bay sink OR stand with buckets of solution. Need access to a drain and water supply.

I'll provide some photos and maybe a video in the coming days.

Any thoughts?[/QUOTE]

[Paigecroix]

Keg washer

I am very very interested what I have right now is not working. 9282304366 or c.croix@yahoo.com

[Crosley]

I am very very interested what I have right now is not working. 9282304366 or c.croix@yahoo.com

Posting the fact that you are interested 3 times in a row is probably not going to get him to get us the information any faster. Just a thought

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

[timshore]

I'm in

Tim
Buried acorn brewing
Tim@buriedacorn.com

Posting the fact that you are interested 3 times in a row is probably not going to get him to get us the information any faster. Just a thought

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

[Nobl]

Ok guys, I have an update to share.

We set up the keg washer with a splitter to two GW Kent filling couplers. The washer works phenomenally well with two cleaning heads. I'd prefer to use 3/4" lines if possible in the future to reduce the system resistance, but they are spotless when we open our kegs.

We also took apart our pumps for inspection - with PBW, I see no signs of impeller wear or breakdown. These pumps are essentially full of solution 24/7, so this was nice to see, but ultimately we'd want to move to full stainless in the future if we can. I realize the value of caustic for brwery applications.

So we can wash two kegs, fully automated, in five minutes. No failures in the system in three months, which is great to see. The video I took today is horrible, but I've learned from the mistakes and will shoot one tomorrow.

Connor