Bewery brown sediment removal?

Is their a non-scrubbing cleaner, which removes the brown sediment (protein?) that builds up in the inside of brewing equipment; false bottom, fittings, hoses and etc..? PBW and Oxyclean at 160 degrees and recirculated does NOT remove it, for me. Letting the equipment sit in contact with the cleaner overnight is not an option. The only solution I have found to work is a green scrubby. Their has to be a CIP cleaner which will remove the sediment.

CIP cleaners are designed to be used with spray balls and powerful pumps. It sounds like your pump isn't up to the task.

I just use a soft sponge to wipe it out.

I'm aware of the mechanics of CIP, thanks. I'm looking for a cleaner which will break down or dissolve the residue/sediment and allow it to be rinsed away, without the need for water abrasion; high pressure.

I'd ask the probrewers. Like here:

http://www.probrewer.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=21977&highlight=cleanser

if its beer stone you are talking about, you need an acid based cleaner to dissolve it. neither oxiclean, soap, or caustic (alkaline) cleaners will get rid of beer stone.

Acid Line Cleaner will work, as will concentrated starsan (mix 5x to 10x the regular concentration). careful though- acid will attack brass, copper, and other fittings. thats why all stainless steel is used in commercial breweries.

Not sure about using it in a CIP system, but I can tell you that Bar Keepers Friend will remove it in absolutely no time with very minimal scrubbing. Just cleaned a kettle that had YEARS worth of beer stone in it and in 5 minutes it looked brand new.

barkeepers friend (oxacilic acid) will indeed work if you are hand scrubbing the inside of a kettle or something, but if you are trying to send it thru a pump into your lines, it has an abrasive in it that will quickly destroy the bearings in your pump, so be careful.

I'm doing a complete upgrade of my brewery and was planning on doing a full CIP system, but since BKF is so easy to use, effective, and cheap, I just don't see the point anymore. When beer stone starts building up, it's just a 5 minute scrub to remove it.

do you mean commercial brewery, or private home brewery?

the problem with BKF is the abrasive in it, it will remove the passivation layer on steel if you scrub hard enough or use it often enough. the oxacilic acid will help to re-passivate it, however you can only remove the passivation on stainless steel and build it back up so many times before you remove too much of the chromium content from the steel. after you deplete the chromium, you can never get a passive layer back, and the steel will slowly start to rust and the kettle will be ruined.

that is why you use an acid wash to disolve the beer stone without touching the passivation layer on the steel.

Ahh. Good to know. Thanks!!

Too get back to the question asked; I'm looking for a cleaner to do most/all of the cleaning for me. Scrubbing the kettle is easy enough with a green scrubby; it's abrasive enough without the need for additional abrasive cleansers. I do not want to take every piece of equipment apart to clean it. I have a life that I enjoy living. I'm going to discuss this with a pro brewer I know. Their has to be an effective cleaner to remove the brown residue. IMO, it's ridiculous to think it's possible to scrub or brush every nook and cranny inside my equipment. Some of my equipment like the QDs and manifolds, can't be taken apart. So how do you clean the inside of them I ask?

Hmm, how would SS, polysolphone, silicon, nylon and what ever a March pump impeller is made out of; get along with some Lye? Gears are turning, you might want to stand back.

I would guess the pro's use an acid wash...but this also talks about hand scrubbing as well

http://www.probrewer.com/resources/usedtanks/care.php

gandelf said:

Is their a non-scrubbing cleaner, which removes the brown sediment (protein?) that builds up in the inside of brewing equipment; false bottom, fittings, hoses and etc..? PBW and Oxyclean at 160 degrees and recirculated does NOT remove it, for me. Letting the equipment sit in contact with the cleaner overnight is not an option. The only solution I have found to work is a green scrubby. Their has to be a CIP cleaner which will remove the sediment.

Click to expand...

Do it like most breweries do it, use caustic soda first and an acid wash after.
Caustic soda requires special handling.

I use hot (120°-130° F) PBW and Acid Cleaner #5 and have no problem with beer stone, started with clean tanks of course.
A large buildup of beer stone may require a scrubby to remove the majority of beer-stone deposits.



Cheers,
ClaudiusB