One of the places around here has these keg washers (http://kegwasher.com/) for $69. Anybody have or use one? Worth the money? Even with a utility sink in the basement, some of the larger items, particularly the kegs, don't really fit.
Keg Washer
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tophmck
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Wow, that's a really good price. I got mine for $84 shipped -- and that was on sale (deal of the day from morebeer). $69 would put it in the same ballpark as building one yourself.
There's plenty of discussion of these thing, both pro and con. I think this is the main thread.
Anyway, I like mine a lot. I used to dread cleaning kegs & better bottles, and this makes it a breeze. I also use it to recirculate BLC through my kegerator lines, which I used to totally neglect.
There's plenty of discussion of these thing, both pro and con. I think this is the main thread.
Anyway, I like mine a lot. I used to dread cleaning kegs & better bottles, and this makes it a breeze. I also use it to recirculate BLC through my kegerator lines, which I used to totally neglect.
I have one and I really like it. It makes life easier for me.
makomachine
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On my wish list
This thread inspired me to buy Marks. I was going to build one and may modify Marks, but once I use it I'll see if I really need to do anything with it. Thanks for the links and feedback!
makomachine
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So how would this work with one of the speidel 30L fermentors? I'm guessing it would be ok as the mouth is narrower than a bucket but wider than a carboy.
I'll throw in my .02 cents. I bought the Marks keg washer a year or more ago. I was a bit disappointed that the unit does not have side holes in the main tube to spray the sides ond neck of the carboy where most of your krausen accumulates. You could modify the main tube by drilling hols, but the water volume is a bit lower than I would like to add additional discharge points. I'm sure it eventually gets all the crud off with prolonged recirculation, but I didn't want to run it unattended for long periods of time.
I bought some saniclean (low foaming version of starsan) and regulated mine to a sanitizer instead of a washer. It works great in that duty. I'd like to some day build one of the ones similar to several styles written up on line. You get the advantages of a more powerful pump and being able to direct your spray on the bottles sides and neck if you so choose.
I bought some saniclean (low foaming version of starsan) and regulated mine to a sanitizer instead of a washer. It works great in that duty. I'd like to some day build one of the ones similar to several styles written up on line. You get the advantages of a more powerful pump and being able to direct your spray on the bottles sides and neck if you so choose.
I've never had my Kegwasher not get the krausen off. With the top discharge, every part of the interior is covered in cleaning solution. Is it possible the inlet flow adjustment on yours was turned down?
Even after 10-15 minutes 99% of the krausen and buildup is gone from my carboys. I usually recirc PBW for 15-20 minutes, then rinse. I also use mine to sanitize using Iodaphor.
Email Mark and ask him! I'm sure he could measure it out for you.
I'm pretty confident my inlet was flowing at full capacity. I brew many beers with aggressive top cropping yeasts such as Hefs. these completely coat the bottle top and neck with krausen when they blow off. Then letting them sit for 2 weeks lets it crust on.
In all fairness I only let the keg washer run for like 10 minutes the first time I tried it as a washer. I would just rather have something that targets some of the stream at the neck and krausen line of the carboy to jet it away a bit faster. I usually just soak carboys in an Oxiclean/TSP90 mix. It always seemed to me that the real cleaning occurred with contact time as the krausen is slowly dissolved. It may in fact eventually have cleaned the carboy. It just did not work in the way I anticipated. The unit works great as a sanitizer with a 1-2 minute run time.
I've brewed many similar beers and never had a problem with any buildup/krausen coming free. In fact, I don't recall the last time I used my carboy brush. The key for me has been to use hot tap water and PBW, usually 1-2 tsps per batch. Usually I let it run for 10-15 minutes and then rinse it clean. I'm not familiar with using Oxi/TSP so I can't comment on whether that works similarly.
bdjohns1
Well-Known Member
I made my own. Cheap sump pump and PVC, with a tee to a couple ball locks for my cornies. I gauged where to start drilling holes in the pipe so they'd start just beyond the neck of my better bottles and hit the krauesen line. Drop it in a bucket of warm PBW and go.
