Cleaning and sanatizing megapot ball valve

rave808 · 10-02-2011, 02:32 AM

I'm thinking about buying an eight gallon megapot with a ball valve.My question is after every batch when I clean and sanatize pot will I have to remove valve to clean and sanitize ?And if so does it turn into a real pain in the arse? I have a a 5 gallon pot now but want to do a full boil and would like to get a megapot and it will be easier than dumping my wort into my fermenter

**Apoxbrew** · 10-02-2011, 03:57 AM

i don't pull mine off ever really. i bought the 3 piece stainless valve so i suppose once a year i'll tear it down and clean it real good, but i just rinse real well with hot water after every brew and i've never had any problem.

i have hot water through my hose so after the brew i blow hot water back through the outlet into the kettle to flush real well.

**DeafSmith** · 10-02-2011, 04:11 AM

Or just get a pot without a valve. After you chill the wort, you can transfer with an Autosiphon. If you don't want to leave any wort in the pot, then you will have to pick it up and pour out the last bit, so you'll have to decide if you want to do that. No valve makes cleanup really easy. BTW, for 5 gallon batches, I think you will be happier with a 10 gallon Megapot than an 8 gallon one - I have a 10 gallon Megapot (no valve) and I'm glad I didn't get anything smaller.

**Golddiggie** · 10-02-2011, 04:37 AM

For one thing, you don't need to sanitize the ball valve since the boiling wort will do that every batch. You simply need to CLEAN it. If you get the 3 piece ball valve, it can be done in place rather easily.

Personally, I have the 3 piece ball valves in all my kettles and mash tun keggle. I practice CIP (clean in place) with PBW and my march pump. Very easy to do, and gets everything nice and clean for the next batch. You can use a nylon brush to scrub the inside of the valve IF you need to. After enough batches, I'll probably take the valves apart and clean them even better. I just haven't seen the actual need to do so yet.

Remember, you ONLY need to sanitize things that come into contact with the wort post boil. Since the valves are submerged in the boiling wort, you're safe there.

Oh, and I'm done with trying to use IC's to chill my wort. Using an autosiphon to transfer takes several times longer compared with a ball valve. I've used pots and kettles and would never brew with a pot again (ball valve converts it into a kettle). Cleanup is a snap, IF you know what you're doing. Doesn't take all that much effort to clean the valve in place (even without a pump)...

Also, IF you decide you want to chill better/faster, and ditch the IC, you'll need to get a ball valve installed into the pot. IMO, better to plan for that from the start. With the valve you can go with either a CFC or plate chiller with ease. Once you do that, you can also recirculate boiling wort to sanitize the chiller and tubing (silicone) prior to chilling. You'll need a pump for that, but that's not a bid deal either. I'm much happier since I added a pump to my setup. It's allowed me to also mash in a keggle mash tun, recirculating as I direct fire the mash tun. I'm also able to recirculate the cooling wort to get the entire volume to a lower temperature before running it into the fermenter. Still takes less time to cool than with an IC. I chilled my batch (last weekend) in about half the time it took my brew buddy to chill slightly less volume (I believe he had less than 6 gallons into primary, I had slightly more than 6 gallons).

Also, with a decent dip tube setup on the ball valve, you don't need to worry about leaving wort behind. Once the tube is done sucking up all the cooling wort, I have maybe 8-16oz left in the [Blichmann] kettle. I lose about a quart total to kettle, tubing, trub, and the plate chiller. I simply offset my recipe by that much so it's not an issue.

If you have any doubts, see if you can observe someone who brews this way and pick his brains, get his opinion on the items.

Oh, and I wouldn't bother with the 8 gallon kettle/pot. Better to get the 10 gallon so that you can brew bigger beers, or have longer boils without worrying about boil-over.

rave808 · 10-02-2011, 02:10 PM

cool thanx everyone for info i'm gonna get the 10 gallon megapot

**Golddiggie** · 10-02-2011, 02:21 PM

I wouldn't go with any ball valve/fittings smaller than 1/2"... IMO anything smaller is a waste of time and money...

**kydan47** · 10-04-2011, 03:18 AM

I never take mine apart, but I do drain off a gallon or two of boing wort during the boil. I slowly open the valve through it's entire range for about 3 qts maybe 3 times. This allows the pickup tube to also fill - my thought is that if kept closed, an air chamber does not heat up as well as the liquid will. At the end I do flush both with the garden hose & nozzle. Cheers, Dan F.