positive displacement pump

[Richard Pivo]

Hi all.
Im in the process of upgrading our line cleaning regime from a old school 4 head 5 gallon pig keg (cleaning can) to recirculating cleaning. im wondering if anyone is has a recommendation for a pump that could do 20 lines at a time with a total length of ~250-300Ft. I know that pumps like these work great but I figured I would see if the community has found a workable substitute that isn't so painful to the wallet.

[Thirsty_Monk]

I think if you daisy chain 20 lines together you will blow some lines.

[UnFermentable]

I am working on a similar retrofit right now myself. I have outlined all the parts list but have not yet received them to implement the new process yet. I am going to attempt to use my in-house CIP cart pump with a VFD before purchasing a dedicated pump like you have linked to. I may have an advantage since I have so many taps to flow, with multiples of each brand, so I should have fairly good volumetric flow (6in x 6out, vs 1in x 1out). That should help reduce pressure, but we will see.

I have used a daisy chained recirc system on a direct draw with 12 taps and it was by far the best system I have used. You do have to watch the pressure to avoid blowing connections, but I haven't seen that be a problem in reality. With the VFD I should be able to watch for line bulging or any signs while ramping up to a desired flow rate. I believe the dedicated style you have linked offers an internal bypass valve to help avoid this issue.

I think I total 96 taps over 12 towers and we're open 7 days, so it's either retrofit or employ another person, lol. I will try to update the thread with the retrofit at some point.

20 taps at 300' is a good draw. I would suggest the dedicated pump and bite the bullet on cost. You should see the return in labor savings. Be aware, if you use beer pumps (flojet, etc) you will probably need bypass valves to run backwards. You could try a little Harbor Freight pump, but no chemical compatibility promises. I'd also install a pressure gauge in-line in that case.