DIY Beer Line Cleaner

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Just wanted to chime in. I saw this thread the day before yesterday and went out and bought the pieces at Home Depot. I already had a spare firestone liquid out post so I just needed the sprayer and fitting. So this cost me just under 10 bucks. A much more cost effective method then the 60+ dollars to purchase one at my LHBS. I have yet to use it but I am about to finish off a keg and will test it out then. If it works as has been stated (I am sure it will), many thanks to you friend. You saved me some hard earned cash.

:mug:
 
Here's a pic to update my earlier post. 1/4" MFL piece on the end, which is what my pin-lock disconnects use to connect to the beer line.

Photo2618.jpg
 
Here's a pic to update my earlier post. 1/4" MFL piece on the end, which is what my pin-lock disconnects use to connect to the beer line.

The only down side to this would be that you're not cleaning or sanitizing the disconnect (which you could to separately). BUT, you could use it as a party pump if you were going to kill a keg in one sitting. Cheaper than the little CO2 cartridges. I may have to make one just for that purpose.
 
I can spray it with StarSan Solution to sanitize it (Home Depot spray bottle in the background).

Instead of using this to pumping air into kegs, I'd get a brass schrader valve and the necessary fittings to connect it to a corny keg post, then connect a bicycle pump to the schrader (tire stem) valve.
 
I just bought everything the OP did. The 3/8 flare x 3/8 FIP fits perfectly on the pump. My ball lock beer out post does not fit on the adapter however. I can probably get a 1/4 turn and that is it. From the website http://www.dresselbrew.com/Keg_Info.htm I have the type a Firestone so I don't know why it wouldn't work but I guess I'll have to buy the BM one for it to work.
 
I had this problem. My initial guess is that's not a Firestone post. If you have a Cornelius brand keg see if your post fits on the keg. If it does then it's not a firestone post. Take your fitting and go to your LHBS and find one that fits.
 
polo_check said:
I had this problem. My initial guess is that's not a Firestone post. If you have a Cornelius brand keg see if your post fits on the keg. If it does then it's not a firestone post. Take your fitting and go to your LHBS and find one that fits.

Yeah my only thought it I have a corny post from that site I should have a firestone. Ill probably go to my lhbs today and see what they have. Stupid different size threads!
 
So I don't brew yet. I did build a kegerator. I am looking for the same type of idea to clean my beer line. Any ideas how I could use something like this to do that? Thanks
 
goofuss69 said:
So I don't brew yet. I did build a kegerator. I am looking for the same type of idea to clean my beer line. Any ideas how I could use something like this to do that? Thanks

Yeah....build what the OP posted hahahaha
 
so, I recall somewhere someone asked and I quote "why not just use a pump?"

To which I will reply: because it will shoot grease into your lines, keg, and connections that you have plumed into it and you will be so damned pissed you will need to HAHB but you wont be able to relax.
 
carrolte said:
so, I recall somewhere someone asked and I quote "why not just use a pump?"

To which I will reply: because it will shoot grease into your lines, keg, and connections that you have plumed into it and you will be so damned pissed you will need to HAHB but you wont be able to relax.

What kind of pump are you talking about that this is even an issue?
 
I'm going to guess it's an oil pump from a '56 Ford F100 panel truck. Seriously...

Cheers! ;)

Actually I tried this with a cheap (plastic) bike pump. I used it to pressurize a keg full of cleaner/starsan to pump thru my taps. Figured that would save me CO2. Well it pumped a light coat of grease into the keg. The pump had grease inside it that did not come out until the 4th or 5th time I used it.
 
When using PBW or any other Caustic (basic) solution, it is best not to use CO2 to pressurize your vessel to push you cleaning solution through. CO2 will dissolve in to solution to form carbonic acid and neutralize your cleaning solution.
 
So I ordered the wrong post. I ordered a Firestone gas post by mistake. I must have been tired because I knew I need a liquid post. Anyway, I tried to thread it onto the connector just to see if the size was right and it didn't fit at all. Are the inner sizes different between gas and liquid? I know the disconnect sizes are different and the actual post is but I figured the inner thread would be the same from gas to liquid on a Firestone.

I'll be returning the gas post for a refund and I'll have to order a liquid post.
 
OP - thanks for this thread!

Took the sprayer into the LHBS to make sure the liquid post fit. It did.

The LHBS was extremely interested in this build and may start selling them (compared to the "commercial" ~$60 things they currently stock, but don't sell much of).

They liked the idea so much they didn't charge me for the post.
 
AZ_IPA said:
OP - thanks for this thread!

Took the sprayer into the LHBS to make sure the liquid post fit. It did.

The LHBS was extremely interested in this build and may start selling them (compared to the "commercial" ~$60 things they currently stock, but don't sell much of).

They liked the idea so much they didn't charge me for the post.

Excellent. If I thought I could make enough of a profit, or was more ambitious, I'd think of making them to sell too. ;-)
 
I built one of these and it's awesome. Super easy to build as well (I actually put mine together in the car while my wife was driving). I'd be surprised if anyone from this site would buy one commercially but I wouldn't be surprised if someone new to kegging, who relies exclusively on the LHBS, buys one.
 
Awesome thread. With all the cleaning and maintenance that goes into brewing, I slack at line cleaning...These ideas can definitely help me address that.
 
Armen_Tamzarian said:
Awesome thread. With all the cleaning and maintenance that goes into brewing, I slack at line cleaning...These ideas can definitely help me address that.

There's another thread on using pumps to make bottle/carboy washing easier. I think Lonnie Mac has a YouTube demonstrating his setup for cleaning corneys too. Its pretty slick and doesn't use up co2 either.
 
Has anyone tried this with a pin lock post? I got a Firestone pin lock liquid post and it's not even close to fitting :(

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Ok, this was "Yet Another Cool Idea" that I just had to do, so I scooted over to Home Depot, picked up the pump sprayer and the A176 fitting, then hit my LHBS (which conveniently is between my home and HD) to pick up a Firestone ball lock beer post with 5/8" -18 threads, a universal poppet (two thumbs up on the latter!) and a fresh post O-Ring, and as soon as I got home put the whole works together.

First assembly attempt I put the white rubber gasket thingie removed from the original nozzle in the same orientation into the brass fitting. That turned out to be backward and did nothing to seal the trigger nozzle tip, so I flipped it over. Et voila! The trigger works perfectly, the post seals tight, and the poppet works just fine with my QDs.

The A176 thread isn't exactly the same as that on the sprayer, but it does thread tight enough to hold securely. As others have mentioned, you don't want to be putting that fitting on and off too many times, but the way I see it is once you get the thing assembled it should stay that way for good.

As for the size of the sprayer, 56 ounces is big enough to handle a lot of line. Eg: six feet of 3/16" ID beer line holds a mere 2 ounces of fluid. So this little dude even just barely loaded will hold enough BLC to fill my six lines and faucets, and after letting that sit for awhile, will hold enough water to give each line a good flush.

So once again I'm quite happy to be following someone's footsteps on a great idea presented on HBT! (that's becoming a habit ;) And I can now free the ball lock keg I've always reserved for cleaning duty to a more noble use - holding beer! :D

Cheers - and thanks!

[edit: I kept thinking that 1.1 oz/72 inches of 3/16" ID beer line couldn't be right, so I just double-checked my math and the real value is actually 1.988 ounces. Still pretty small volume that suits this rig perfectly for at least 6 lines. Cheers!]
 
crap I didn't reuse any white gasket thingy that I removed from my sprayer. my trigger does NO GOOD once my coupling is connected. are you saying that you have to pull the trigger to get flow out of the sprayer?

-=Jason=-
 
crap I didn't reuse any white gasket thingy that I removed from my sprayer. my trigger does NO GOOD once my coupling is connected. are you saying that you have to pull the trigger to get flow out of the sprayer?

-=Jason=-

That is precisely what I'm saying...and said....well, both ;)

Probably doesn't make much functional difference as long as you close the faucet before you hook up a beer QD to the post, then control the flow with the faucet. But I had read here that folks got the trigger to work with the white thingie so I just followed their lead...

Cheers!
 
Has anyone tried this with a pin lock post? I got a Firestone pin lock liquid post and it's not even close to fitting :(

From this it appears there are no pin lock posts that use the 5/8"-18 threads present on that A176 fitting. You'll probably have to find or make up a thread converting adapter to go between the A176 and a Firestone post using 9/16"-18 threads...

Cheers!
 
This is awesome, I will be trying this soon. I've already decided the traditional way of wasting CO2 and cleaning/filling with cleaner/connecting/rinsing/filling with san/connecting/rinsing the keg (if I even have one available) method of cleaning lines is for the birds...and I've only been kegging for a couple months.

Plus, I figure this is the best way to sanitize my BMBF on the fly.

Subscribed.
 
I stopped at Northern Brewery this afternoon. I asked for the, "Firestone Ball Lock Liquid Post Assembly". I brought into the store the, "3/8" Flare X 3/8" FIP", part number A-176 from Watts sold by Home Depot. I was provided the correct post and now have this system working for me.

For those of you needing to order on-line from NB, this is what my sales slip indicated. "Keg Post Assembly Liquid Type - K106".

I am not certain if you would need this information, but that is the part referenced by the OP that I bought at NB.
 
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