Home Grown keg washer set up

[ekung]

Just A Second Opinion, A Quality of Life Alternative

This setup looks great, a good sharing in brewing community
On the other hand, if you do not want to deal with
manual valves,
manual timing,
manual sequencing of what to shut off/turn on next
etc.,
and prefer just push a button and forget,
please see our washer/filler at

http://www.pbst.com/KegWasherDemo.html

Regards;

eason
pbst

[SoccerAndBeer]

Hiya Mike,
I also have a homemade keg washer. I have three chemical reservoirs connected to individual pumps and feeding into a valve-manifold that connects to the inverted dirty keg. I purge with CO2. My cleaning cycle is a little over five minutes to purge, PBW, purge, Acid 5, purge, StarSan, pressurize w/ CO2 and ready to rock. I have pulled stems and this machine/process works. I also have ten years worth of keg cleaning on this machine. You CAN build your own!

my two cents....

Glacier,

Thanks for sharing. Question, is there a reason you went with three pumps vs a single pump with a manifold?

[GlacierBrewing]

Glacier,

Thanks for sharing. Question, is there a reason you went with three pumps vs a single pump with a manifold?

I wanted to isolate each chemical from the other as much as possible. My thought was if I went with a manifold, there would be a small mixing of chemicals; little bit of PBW left in the pump housing mixing with acid 5, etc.

Prost!
Dave

[jcwilde1]

We made a keg washer based on this and although it works, our pressure isn't fantastic with our pumps. We have decided to take the stems out of our kegs each time and clean them like a barrel washer with a spray arm.

We use plastic kegs so this also reduces explosion risks. Anyone else clean kegs this way? We only have a dozen a week to clean so it doesn't seem like it is too time consuming to do it this way.

[yap]

I would worry about the threads on a plastic keg wearing out that way. Every time I pull a spear on one of my plastics a little bit of the thread is chewed away. If I was taking them out each cleaning I would be worried that they would not tighten or seal properly after 10 or so removals...

Just a thought...

[SoccerAndBeer]

We made a keg washer based on this and although it works, our pressure isn't fantastic with our pumps. We have decided to take the stems out of our kegs each time and clean them like a barrel washer with a spray arm.

We use plastic kegs so this also reduces explosion risks. Anyone else clean kegs this way? We only have a dozen a week to clean so it doesn't seem like it is too time consuming to do it this way.

What size pumps are you using?

[jcwilde1]

We are using submersible pumps that are 1/6 hp. They do a great job when we connect them directly to a keg using a coupler, but when we go through a manifold and valves to get there it looses too much pressure.

We are planning on creating a larger version of http://www.kegwasher.com/ basically. We are a 2bbl setup and only keg for our taproom.

[jcmccoy]

Please help my keg washer pump and hose replacment!

Okay building a manual keg washer!! WE have a 3 sink set up and a manifold to wash 1/2bbl sanke kegs. I'm the brewer and just got hired and the investors started to build the keg washer based on the frankenbrew youtube video. Basically 1 sink holds Acid#6 to clean the keg, sink 3 holds sanitizer and sink 2 is just a drain. There is water hooked to the manifold and Co2 also on the manifold. Underneath are pumps connected the sink drains and then to the pumps. Also on the manifold is a pressure gauge.

The pumps they bough are flojet pumps 3.5 gpm, 40psi max, 115 volts, 1.5 amps model 04300545. I called up the manufacture and they where not helpful... All I could find out is that they are only rated to 130*F so I know I can't use it the my cleaner. Now can I use this pump for my sanizizer i'm using Saniclean form 5 star which works at room temp? I bet not..

Now he have a Top Flow 3 phase 1.5HP 3600 rmp brewery pump for moving our wort/beer and CIP on our tanks. I can use this for cleaning the kegs but they want to have a stand alone keg washing set up. What pump should I get to replace the flojet.? Please give specs or a link to the pump


The tubing is Goodyear Pliovic clear 1/2'' ID..... I would think I would need a bigger ID hose to have enough pressure to fill the manifold and push up into the spear. What ID Hose should I get

http://www.goodyearep.com/productsdetail.aspx?id=3090

Process wise what Psi should I be washing/sanizing at? This would be the psi on my manifold.

Other advice for Cleaning kegs this way?

Thanks for any help!!!

[beermkr]

I would absolutely use the transfer pump. That is how I started this whole thread.

As far as hose the 1/2 in is what I used. It boosts the pressure up but most of the commercial cleaners I have used have 1 inch hose. Regular brewers hose (my old IDD) or reinforced pvc (my current DME manual).

[Inthelab]

The pumps they bough are flojet pumps 3.5 gpm, 40psi max, 115 volts, 1.5 amps model 04300545. I called up the manufacture and they where not helpful... All I could find out is that they are only rated to 130*F so I know I can't use it the my cleaner. Now can I use this pump for my sanizizer i'm using Saniclean form 5 star which works at room temp? I bet not..

Acid#6 is supposed to be used from 50-140F. Set temp at 130 and call it good.

Saniclean is good from room temp up to 130F. That should be fine. But why use it as a final sani on kegs? the tech sheet says you must rinse it off which is never any fun unless you have a sterile water source.

[jcmccoy]

Sanke coupler

Now with the sanke coupler can someone tell me how to take off the check valves so liquid can flow in the gas hook up? And link me to a coupler that I can take off the check valve.

[olienh]

Now with the sanke coupler can someone tell me how to take off the check valves so liquid can flow in the gas hook up? And link me to a coupler that I can take off the check valve.

On the Beer side, you use pliers to pull out the plastic "X" thing that holds in the plastic check ball. On the gas side, there is a rubber one-way valve that you simply remove. It's really a piece of cake.

[jcmccoy]

Heating element for sink keg washer

Hello folks,

Thanks for the help I got my keg washer built! Now I want to get a heating element to place in my cleaner. We have a 3 compartment sink and I would like to get a element that I could just place in the sink and not have to drill a hole in the sink. I use about 12 gallons of cleaning solution and want to keep it above 120F.

Thanks!

[SMiller]

Hello folks,

Thanks for the help I got my keg washer built! Now I want to get a heating element to place in my cleaner. We have a 3 compartment sink and I would like to get a element that I could just place in the sink and not have to drill a hole in the sink. I use about 12 gallons of cleaning solution and want to keep it above 120F.

Thanks!

We use this heater and it works great to maintain 130+. http://www.amazon.com/Allied-Precisi...=bucket+heater

[HitB Brewery]

Pumps

Quick question in regards to using individual pumps for each cycle. Would these pumps work:

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200311411_200311411?isSearch=109258

Now, and this is where I get confused with all pumps, the housing is SS, so we're fine there, and the impeller is polypropylene, so we should be fine there, but according to the pump, no, no, no I would be a blasphemer and a fool to try. I ask why?

As I start to build my keg washer, I understand a transfer pump would work great too, and that's certainly an option, but why wouldn't this work, that's what I wonder.

Thanks.