Wanted a cheap and easy way to wash my bottles and my carboys. This setup can wash 1 carboy, 5 bottles, or 10 bottles based upon which valves are turned. Pump is a Barracuda and can output about 1500 gph. Cost came in just under $60 NOT including the container. The nice thing is that for storage I can simply put the top on the container and put it on a shelf. No need to break down the tubes or disconnect anything.
Basic Setup Not Installed in Rubbermaid Container
In Carboy Washing Mode
In Bottle Washing Mode (bottles are submerged about 1")
To aid in removing fermenting residue drill small holes near the bottom of the carboy washing tube. These will act as little jets to pressure wash the head space of the carboy.
i like it. it's a bit overkill just like everything else we see here. my 2 x 2 x 1.20 stainless stubing is overkill also. my question to you is in regards to the 1500 gph. that could lead to an enormous water bill, or could it? does it bring water in through a hose/faucet, or is recirculating a fixed amount of water dumped into the container. also, is there a need to hold the bottles down, as enough force could blow the bottles off the PVC tubing?
even though i dont bottle anymore, it could be good for anybody else that does bottle. sanitizing bottles was so much of a PITA that i started kegging. great innovation, great application, and what appears to be great results.
i like it. it's a bit overkill just like everything else we see here. my 2 x 2 x 1.20 stainless stubing is overkill also. my question to you is in regards to the 1500 gph. that could lead to an enormous water bill, or could it? does it bring water in through a hose/faucet, or is recirculating a fixed amount of water dumped into the container. also, is there a need to hold the bottles down, as enough force could blow the bottles off the PVC tubing?
even though i dont bottle anymore, it could be good for anybody else that does bottle. sanitizing bottles was so much of a PITA that i started kegging. great innovation, great application, and what appears to be great results.
good job!
I recirculate the water, so you don't need to worry about water usage. In fact, I think this setup saves water since I can put about 5 gallons in this setup with a sanitizer and use it to clean dozens of bottles (as opposed to a faucet with a bottle washer running down the drain for 30 minutes). Also, regarding the pressure you won't be blowing any bottles off. Doing 5 or 10 bottles with 1/2" CPVC tubing gives a good pressure without pushing the bottles off. For the carboy the single 3/4" CPVC works well.
So to wash a bunch of bottles you can imagine how you could alternate turning off and on the valves while loading and unloading 5 bottles at a time. This way there won't be any water running to the bottles you are unloading and reloading, and the other side is getting clean while you are loading and unloading.
i like it. it's a bit overkill just like everything else we see here. my 2 x 2 x 1.20 stainless stubing is overkill also. my question to you is in regards to the 1500 gph. that could lead to an enormous water bill, or could it? does it bring water in through a hose/faucet, or is recirculating a fixed amount of water dumped into the container. also, is there a need to hold the bottles down, as enough force could blow the bottles off the PVC tubing?
even though i dont bottle anymore, it could be good for anybody else that does bottle. sanitizing bottles was so much of a PITA that i started kegging. great innovation, great application, and what appears to be great results.
good job!
Looks to me like it's just re-circulating a couple gallons of whatever solution is in the tub.
I recirculate the water, so you don't need to worry about water usage. In fact, I think this setup saves water since I can put about 5 gallons in this setup with a sanitizer and use it to clean dozens of bottles (as opposed to a faucet with a bottle washer running down the drain for 30 minutes). Also, regarding the pressure you won't be blowing any bottles off. Doing 5 or 10 bottles with 1/2" CPVC tubing gives a good pressure without pushing the bottles off. For the carboy the single 3/4" CPVC works well.
So to wash a bunch of bottles you can imagine how you could alternate turning off and on the valves while loading and unloading 5 bottles at a time. This way there won't be any water running to the bottles you are unloading and reloading, and the other side is getting clean while you are loading and unloading.
the recirculating water makes this an awesome build.
I have a question, what is the valve for on the other side of the carboy stem?
Nice setup. I may have to something like that myself. I keg most of my beers, but there are times I want to bottle.
Rather than capping that end I put a valve so that I could essentially throttle the output to the carboy. By doing this I can wash different types and sizes of containers. You could imagine a pressure that is suitable for a 6ga carboy would be way too much for a 3 ga Better Bottle. One could argue that I could throttle with the first valve, but I was worried about building pressures and lack of circulation. Basically this way I can let the pump circulate the volume it wants to and keep cool, but control how much goes to the carboy washing tube by essentially wasting pressure out that end. Hope that makes sense.
There is a decent amount of pressure there, but I want to stress that you won't be bouncing any bottles off of the ceiling. Sorry to disappoint, but as long as you use the same size CPVC and number of outlets I have, everything will be well under control. Please post your setups once you get them done. Maybe I'll redo mine if others come up with better designs. The pump is the expensive part, CPVC is cheap.
$60 Carboy and Bottle Washer
Linear Mode
