Racking Arm Cleaning

[MisterMike]

Dear all,

We received our new unitanks last week and I am now cleaning everything. I have a small question about the racking arm cleaning. Our arms are looking like this one https://www.aliexpress.com/i/4000094989023.html. Do I need to disassemble them for cleaning? If yes, how should I do it?

Have a nice day!

Greeting from the Swiss Alps,

Michaël

[WaterEng]

With an easy to disassemble tri-clamp, I'd say that you should plan on disassembling when the tank is empty and cleaning that rotating connection and swabbing or brushing the tubing. It shouldn't cost you more than a few minutes.

[dick murton]

Definitely. The space between the arm and the housing will accumulate yeast and other debris, and it will not get washed out by the sprayhead deluge. Unfortunately no-one that I know of has managed to come up with a properly hygienic design yet that allows you not to strip down every time you clean or reclean / resanitise. Brushing out the tube is required, then ideally sink in a fittings bath for a while, suggest during the main vessel cleaning cycle, with a loose blank cap (or blank cap and bleed) on the tank fitting. Simply soaking the tube will not guarantee long term hygiene.

[brewmaster 2011]

after the tank is empty, i do a caustic cip making sure the liquid level is well above the raking arm. make sue the raking are is pointing down and allow some of the solution to run out he arm. when cip is over i drain as much of the solution out the arm as possible and soak it in a bucket of caustic solution until its ready to be used again.