Tubing

So should i replace all my tubing after every few brews or is there a way to clean these things?

I started brewing at the end of June. I just run water, Oxyclean through then sanitize with Starsan and have no concerns yet. I'll probably consider replacement next year sometime. I think you should get a lot more life than a "few" brews.

Rinse right after use, Star-San or Bleach and dry. I have one that is better than 30 years old that I use every time I brew. Don't confuse this with beer line for beer delivery system.

I replace the tubing every 6 or so batches. Probably overkill, but the last thing I want to do is ruin a batch with tubing that is harboring some sort of bug that will ruin a batch of beer.

tubing on my siphon is year old, no problems with proper cleaning after each use.

I usually replace mine every few months. Tubing's so cheap that it doesn't hurt to buy a little extra, and keep it around whener you get worried.

I run hot water and oxyclean through followed by starsan, then hang to dry. Clean promptly don't give the tubing time to get sticky with wort remnants. AHS also sells tubing brushes, 3' or so long brushes ordered by tubing diameter.

I bought a rifle cleaning kit. It consists of a plastic tee handle, several aluminum rods that screw together and fabric mops in several different " calibers" select the mop that fits the tubing snugly, dip in starsan and scrub right out.

I've used the rifle cleaning rods too for larger diameter hose. For all the 1/4 and 3/8 tubing, I rinse right after use then blow out the tube with compressed air so there are no water spots; star-san before use and all my tubes seems to be nice and bright clean.

Dale_3rd said:

I've used the rifle cleaning rods too for larger diameter hose. For all the 1/4 and 3/8 tubing, I rinse right after use then blow out the tube with compressed air so there are no water spots; star-san before use and all my tubes seems to be nice and bright clean.

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Just be sure to wipe off all the Hoppe's #9 from your cleaning rod first.

amazon sells 3/8 silicone tubing, $17 for 10 feet. i boil before use to sanitize and it should last for years.

I like the gun cleaning kit idea; though i won't be using my regular kit. I can pick up some narrow rope at the hardware store soak it in Starsan then pull it through with a dowel and be done.

Thanks for the advice y'all.

Guess I'll have to replace some of mine. I got some brewing eqpt out after being in storage since 2002.. the vinyl tubing is sticky. That should be fine for the chiller In-N-Out.. but not for anything that touches the brew. Don't have a clue what would have caused that.

HbgBill said:

Guess I'll have to replace some of mine. I got some brewing eqpt out after being in storage since 2002.. the vinyl tubing is sticky. That should be fine for the chiller In-N-Out.. but not for anything that touches the brew. Don't have a clue what would have caused that.

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Was it stored in the attic? Heat will make vinyl tubing go sticky.

so i started to use a small dowel as a push rod and a piece of fabric soaked in starsan. It didn't work that great. Then i got a piece of #12 wire out of a length of romex. Made a loop at the end and tied the fabric patch to it. Pulled it thru the tubing and it was clean. The #12 wire is copper and nylon.

Thanks all

I use a dip tube brush and OxyClean. You can get the dip tube brushes for 3/8 and 1/4 inch tubes. Even gets the blow off tubes clean.

william_shakes_beer said:

Was it stored in the attic? Heat will make vinyl tubing go sticky.

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Maybe that's part of the problem. I put mine in really hot water to soften teh heck out of it.. then stretched it a bit to try to remove the coil set in it. The set was mostly removed.. but, some of it is sticky. Argghh.

Maybe I should splurge and go for the sillycone tubing mentioned above.

I'm surprised how many people brush their tubing. Not that it's bad, just surprised.
I just run hot water with some oxyclean, then rinse with RO water. I spin them around to fling all the water out, hang to dry, sanitize before use.
I've found that oxyclean can leave a cloudy film when hot, but an acid rinse like starsan clears it right up.

I use 1/2 inch silicone tubing, thick walled. I recirculate in the last 15 minutes of the boil in order to heat sterilize the tubing and the pump. I just rinse it after brewing. I've used the same tubing for years now. Remember though, this is with the silicone tubing, NOT the pvc tubing! I was replacing pvc tubing like a mad man when I was using it.