Cheap, easy, effective beer line cleaner

This topic has been covered before, a couple of different ways but I think I've refined it to make it cheaper, easier and better.

Credit where credit is due: My first beer line cleaner was the exact setup in this thread. However, it was a pain to pump constantly, refilling the sprayer, draining, YAWN... Then I got the idea for continuous recirculation from homebrewfinds. However, I think that build is unnecessarily complex and expensive. My adaptation follows:


We start with a corny keg liquid post from your choice of vendor (or just borrow one from a spare keg you have laying around.) I used the one I had bought when I made the pump sprayer listed above. These connect to a 3/8" male flare thread (use teflon thread tape).


Then you will get this 3/8" male flare to 3/8 MPT elbow (an elbow allows you to rotate your connection for easier direction than a straight connection. I bought mine from Sears Hardware for $1.79


Then add this 3/8" FPT to 3/8" hose barb adapter. (ditto as to source, cost $1.89)


Buy this cheap-ass ($6.99) 158 GPM pond pump from harbor freight. This pump has 5/16" or 1/2" outlet sizes. If you want to pay more for higher GPM if you have super-long lines with higher resistance, go for it. I have 6 or 7 foot lines and you can see my flow speed below. *OTHER PUMPS MAY WORK but I put this package together based on the outlet size on the pump. Vary from this with consideration as to your hose barb size on the adapter listed above.*

You will need about 2 inches of 3/8" ID hose (braided vinyl, high temp hose - doesn't matter. I bought a foot of braided hose before I realized I had some leftover from my cooler mash tun conversion)


You will also need about 1/2 inch length of 5/16" ID x 7/16" vinyl tubing standard racking tubing)


The reason you need that 1/2 inch length of tubing is that you can use it to 'bridge' the diameter gap between the 3/8" barb and the 5/16 pump outlet. First put the stub of 5/16" tubing on the pump outlet. Then, heat up the 3/8 tubing (for pliability) in some boiled water and force that ***** over the 5/16 tubing that is already on the pump outlet. I found I did not need hose clamps on either end of the 3/8" tubing. Maybe if it stretches over time, I will have to replace or clamp the 2 inches of hose.
Here is the finished build:




OPTIONAL - a standard barbed corny keg liquid disconnect. I had several left over after upgrading all of my 7 taps to the threaded 1/4" flare connection type disconnects. The reason to use one is to help with quickly priming the pump. Just connect your spare liquid disconnect and rotate it so the barb is pointing down into your reservoir (I use a 2-quart pyrex measuring cup since I can throw an ounce of BLC in there and be very close to the awkward 2/5 ounce per quart recommended BLC dilution) and run your pump for a few seconds to prime the pump.
Then turn off the pump and swap this spare disconnect for the beer line you want to clean. Don't forget to open the faucet for the line you're cleaning so it drains into the BLC reservoir.

Video below shows it in use. I went away and left it for about 15 mins: slight foam but no mess and CLEAN BEER LINES!

video

Plug in and recirculate BLC for a while, then dump and repeat with rinse water and/or Sani-clean (for lower foaming versus star-san.)

Enjoy!

My cost was
6.99 pump
1.79 elbow
1.89 adapter
The rest I had laying around.

The build over at Homebrewfinds runs $34.83 (not counting the things I left out of my total above because I already had them. Just trying to be fair.)

Awesome DIY work. I will be building one soon.

Yawn, really???? ;-)
Just kidding
Love the design!!
Excellent idea!!

This is a great idea, I use a similar setup except I clean two lines at once... I connect use a piece of 1/2" tubing and slip one end over one faucet and the other end over another faucet, and then use a duplicate spare liquid post to hook up to the quick disconnect from the 2nd line and drop that into my bucket with cleaning solution... It recirculates through the entire system and cleans two lines at once.... I may eventually try to rig up some sort of splitter to split the flow off the pump and then I could clean 4 lines at once, which would be pretty sweet.

Oh, I see, so your two lines are being cleaned simultaneously but with the flow through the line being opposite between them? Out of one the normal direction of beer flow, and then back into the other, opposite the normal direction?

That sounds cool, though I don't know what kind of flow this pump would provide through that much line. In the video on the original post, the pump is set at maximum.

But hey, on another thread, I learned that BLC is just hydrated PBW per the 5-star website. So I'll never buy BLC again!

Yes, you are correct that the flow in the line connected directly to the pump is the same direction as normal beer flow, and then the flow in the 2nd line is reversed since the solution enters the faucet and exits the disconnect.... As far as pump power, I have a decent pond pump that I got at Home Depot, it has enough power to pump water through a 50' immersion chiller...

I like this. I now have the pump sprayers, but it a little bit on a PITA. It will be nice to have the pump in one bucket that you just refill with whatever solution you would like...BLC, water, StarSan. I'll let you know how it turns out, but nice DIY. Thanks!

How were you able to get a disconnect attached to the 3/8'' threads? I went to my local homebrew shop and both the cornelius and firestone ball lock posts would not fit. Do you just force it on and mess up the threads? I suppose that wouldn't be bad because from then on it would just always be a keg line cleaner. Do you guys also not use on a poppit since there is nothing to support it from falling through like on a keg?

I have a firestone pin-lock post and it works. The fittings shown in the OP's photos should get you there. The flare fitting extends up into the post and allows the poppet legs to rest of the top of the flare fitting.

Great post.. BUT, I guess I'm blind.. I don't see a link to the video you mentioned in the OP

Hey there ThreeGnomes - the link is not super-obvious but it's a sentence or two above the cost breakdown at the end.

Thanks.. Maybe if it was a different color and in CAPS i MIGHT have seen it

Looks like I could make and adapter and add it to my keg washer. Good ideas create more good ideas.

alowell said:

I have a firestone pin-lock post and it works. The fittings shown in the OP's photos should get you there. The flare fitting extends up into the post and allows the poppet legs to rest of the top of the flare fitting.

Click to expand...

Thanks, I went to home depot to try a 3/8'' flare fitting and it fit perfectly. I had to use my firestone ball lock post, the cornelius did not fit as well.

This is great! I built the hand pump one and thought, "man, there's got to be an even lazier way to do this...." Seriously. I'm that lazy. I just bought Mark's Keg Washer and was thinking I'd just hook it up to my beer lines, but why have only one pump-powered cleaner when you can have two? I've added this to my list. Cheers!

Just wanted to say, based on this little build, I made one myself. Slightly different. I use threaded liquid disconnects, so mine was

Pump (in a bucket, hanging from taps)
3/8 hose that I had sitting around, heated to fit over 1/2 fitting on the pump... hose clamped because I don't trust it to not just shoot off
3/8 barbed to 1/4 FIP brass fitting from hardware store
1/4 MIP to 1/4 flare brass

I did this so that I didn't have to buy an elbow, or take a keg post off of one of my kegs every time I do this. I'd rather just remove the liquid disconnects.

Also, they were out of the pump you used, but they had one stronger for $15 and one weaker for $8. I bought the weaker one. Way more than enough flow... looks a lot like the flow when you use your growler filler on sub 5psi.

So anyway, I just unscrewed my liquid disconnects from the beer lines, and screwed this rig on instead. Threw disconnects in the bucket.
Walk away for 5-10 minutes at a time... I'm sure you don't have to let it sit this long, but there's no effort involved. Just check it on the commercials in your football game or whatever. Ran the same with rinse and sanitizer. This was an awesome idea. Much easier than the hand pump thing, and it costs pretty much the exact same amount.

not sure if it's been mentioned in the thread yet, but after you're done cleaning the lines, i'd run some water or some sort of liquid to neutralize the sanitizer through the pump so it doesn't corrode inside.

I like your idea, Tapedeck. Again, I had the spare post from having built a cleaner with the plant sprayer, so I'm not having to take one off.

I think the ultimate would be doing it this way or like my original post (depending on what parts you have) but then connecting two faucets with a short length of silicone hose and cleaning two lines at once (one in the normal beer flow direction, the other in the opposite direction) - like one of the first few replies described. Two lines at once would mean I'd set it going for 10 minutes, come back and change it one time and be done all 4 taps (aside from rinsing.)

How long is the line you are running this on? I've got ~9' of 3/16" line i need to clean, was wondering if the pump has the guts to push effectively.

So, i just had a thought related to this, and I think I am going to try it...

Use the same type of pump, but instead of the extra fittings, I'm just going to get a long piece of vinyl tube to run from the pump up to the tap. At the end of the tube is one of those growler filler adapters that plugs into the tap.

When a keg is empty, I'll rinse it, put my beer line cleaner in the keg, drop the pump in the keg, hook up my liquid line, plug the other end of the hose into the tap, open the tap and plug in the pump. That will pump the cleaner backwards through the beer line and the keg's dip tube.

I may need to use a little more cleaner to keep the pump submerged, and may need a slightly stronger pump, but it seems like it would work. Thoughts?

MooMooBrew said:

How long is the line you are running this on? I've got ~9' of 3/16" line i need to clean, was wondering if the pump has the guts to push effectively.

Click to expand...

I've got ~9' lines too and the 158 GPH pump was a bit weak for me. It certainly flowed through, but more of a trickle than I wanted. I opted to upgrade to the Harbor Freight 264 GPH model ($15, I think) and the flow rate is adequate now. More along the lines of a beer pour flow rate at ~11psi.

I picked up one of these pumps the other day and slapped one together with parts I had lying around. I have been using the pump sprayer for years now, but this is definitely easier, and roughly the same build cost. At least if you get the smaller pump (I picked it up for $7.99).
I made mine with a 1/4" Flare as all of my keg couplers are attached with them as I have a mixture of ball lock and pin lock kegs. The manual for the pump does clearly state "For use with clear, clean water. Not for use with other liquids, especially cleaning fluids". So I promptly ignored that!

I was hoping this would get the root beer smell out of one of my lines, but even after recirculating for two hours, it still has it. So I guess I'll be replacing that one.

It does manage to get a trickle flowing through my jockey box as well, which is a 4 pass cold plate with two taps; each tap going through two passes.

Ultimately though, for anyone looking to build a line cleaner, I would suggest building this over the hand pump method. It's definitely easier and less messy. No more pumping and refilling a bottle!

subbed - great idea!

I thought I'd check back in with what I ended up with.

I bought one of the cheap submersible pumps, and tried to pump up out of a keg, then went back and realized that I'd need a much bigger pump to handle that, so i went simpler.

I have a small piece of vinyl hose that fits in the output of the pump and also fits the inside of my perlick faucet. The pump is dropped in a small quart sized container, and the opposite end of the liquid hose has the ball lock fitting removed and is simply dropped into the container. It's now pumping cleaner through the serving hose fairly well. This has currently cost me $11 for the pump and maybe $0.05 in scrap vinyl hose. I think that I may spend a few bucks on a liquid post and a plastic container so that i can hook the ball lock fitting right up to the side of the plastic container and circulate cleaner through that as well.

Here is a picture of it in action.

Tried to build this but ran into a problem with the threads of my ball-lock liquid-out post. Picked one up when at the lhbs thinking I'd just screw it into a 3/8" brass nipple. Wrong. So then I tried a 3/8"flare. Still no go. What size thread do these ball-lock posts take?

Puddlethumper said:

Tried to build this but ran into a problem with the threads of my ball-lock liquid-out post. Picked one up when at the lhbs thinking I'd just screw it into a 3/8" brass nipple. Wrong. So then I tried a 3/8"flare. Still no go. What size thread do these ball-lock posts take?

Click to expand...

The firestone liquid ball locks take a 3/8 flare. Other brands take other sizes.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

That's the problem. I don't have a Firestone. What are the "other sizes"? Or do you know?

A word of caution to others who may want to try this build:

If you have ball-lock kegs you MUST use a Firestone liquid-out post. ONLY Firestone posts will thread onto the 3/8" flare fitting shown in the opening post. Corny style posts have a 19/32"x18 thread and will not work without a $12 adapter. If you need to buy a post to do this build make sure you buy a Firestone style post.

Cheers!

Puddlethumper said:

A word of caution to others who may want to try this build:



If you have ball-lock kegs you MUST use a Firestone liquid-out post. ONLY Firestone posts will thread onto the 3/8" flare fitting shown in the opening post. Corny style posts have a 19/32"x18 thread and will not work without a $12 adapter. If you need to buy a post to do this build make sure you buy a Firestone style post.



Cheers!

Click to expand...

Correct.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

Puddlethumper said:

A word of caution to others who may want to try this build:



If you have ball-lock kegs you MUST use a Firestone liquid-out post. ONLY Firestone posts will thread onto the 3/8" flare fitting shown in the opening post. Corny style posts have a 19/32"x18 thread and will not work without a $12 adapter. If you need to buy a post to do this build make sure you buy a Firestone style post.



Cheers!

Click to expand...

Great advice. I'm not sure if the two posts look different but I'm going to check now.

I had to watch that video standing on my head.

I clean my dip tubes and my lines by using a short run of silicon tubing to jumper the open faucets and pushing my cleanser then sanitizer with gas from keg one to keg two. Gas keg 1, open relief valve on keg two. I usually turn off the gas so I can walk away.

Big thanks to all on this thread. I made my own beer line cleaner from a 264 GPH fountain pump from Harbor Freight ($15) and some 1/2 ID tubing from my local hombrew shop. Super easy and no hand pumping required!

Quick Video:

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HXuO5WnnuA[/ame]

Hey all,

I just got my kegging equipment. I'm super pumped to set it up! But I'm curious about this, do we really need the brass fittings and ball lock post? I noticed some just have a tube hooked to the tap faucet, open the faucet, bring the hose back into the pump source and viola! So, if I do it without fittings, can I just unscrew the ball lock connect each time?

I hope that makes sense.

I am thinking of making on of these but finding a tee for that top of the nipple so that I could add two post attachments on and clean two lines at once. Anyone see any issues with this idea? Just need to make sure I have a strong enough pump I would guess.

Here is an example of a tee that I am thinking.
Model # LFA-168 Internet # 203473921 Store SKU # 815377
Chat Offline
3/8 in. Lead-Free Brass Flare Tee

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Watts-3-8-in-Lead-Free-Brass-Flare-Tee-LFA-168/203473921

FoCobrewguy said:

I am thinking of making on of these but finding a tee for that top of the nipple so that I could add two post attachments on and clean two lines at once. Anyone see any issues with this idea? Just need to make sure I have a strong enough pump I would guess.

Here is an example of a tee that I am thinking.
Model # LFA-168 Internet # 203473921 Store SKU # 815377
Chat Offline
3/8 in. Lead-Free Brass Flare Tee

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Watts-3-8-in-Lead-Free-Brass-Flare-Tee-LFA-168/203473921

Click to expand...

Should work with a strong enough pump. Worst case scenario, you ditch the T- adapter and go back to cleaning 1 line at a time.

I splurged and bought the $9.99 164 GPH pump at Harbor Freight, plus I paid about $3 for a 3/8" male flare to 1/2" MIP connector. I had a pin lock liquid out, a 1/2" FIP barbed fitting, and vinyl hose so my out of pocket was less than $15--score!

5 minutes after I got home from HF I was cleaning my lines with a 1/2 gallon of BLC solution run though each of my 4 taps for 15 minutes followed by a 15 minute run with clean water. It could not have been any easier because all I had to do was set and forget and the pump did the rest.

I really could tell a difference too after the taps had been cleaned because it had been about a year since their previous cleaning and that one was not as thorough as the one I did today.



Thanks for the idea OP, it works great!

I actually just picked up one of these: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0064OKADS/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

So I think I'm going to get an attachment for a female 3/4" attachment. Then I can pump it the right direction. When I pump it backwards through the tap, it leaks.

I'll let you know how it works. I haven't finished my first keg yet, so haven't heeded to clean it yet!

beernutz said:

I splurged and bought the $9.99 164 GPH pump at Harbor Freight, plus I paid about $3 for a 3/8" male flare to 1/2" MIP connector. I had a pin lock liquid out, a 1/2" FIP barbed fitting, and vinyl hose so my out of pocket was less than $15--score!

5 minutes after I got home from HF I was cleaning my lines with a 1/2 gallon of BLC solution run though each of my 4 taps for 15 minutes followed by a 15 minute run with clean water. It could not have been any easier because all I had to do was set and forget and the pump did the rest.

I really could tell a difference too after the taps had been cleaned because it had been about a year since their previous cleaning and that one was not as thorough as the one I did today.

Thanks for the idea OP, it works great!

Click to expand...

I like what you did their with the pin lock fitting, makes connecting/disconnecting a cinch. Might have to give that a go now, as I've just been fitting the tubing over my tap.

BlurryEyed said:

I like what you did their with the pin lock fitting, makes connecting/disconnecting a cinch. Might have to give that a go now, as I've just been fitting the tubing over my tap.

Click to expand...

The pin lock piece wasn't the greatest fit with the 3/8" male flare/1/2" MIP connector but I used some plumbers tape and never had a leak.

You are correct that it could not be any easier to use. I just grab one of my four liquid out lines connected to a keezer tap and hook it up, open the tap, plug in the pump and I'm cleaning. I cleaned 4 taps plus a portable jockey box tap I own while multitasking many other projects and doing yard work.