MalFet's bottle washer for lazy homebrewers

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DPBISME said:
Now if I can just get a parts list for a Keg and Carboy washer I will be Kicking@$$...

Unfortunately I'm on my phone and can't get a link easily but look up Marcb's Sanke Keg Washer build, it's blinged out but freaking awesome!
 
Now if I can just get a parts list for a Keg and Carboy washer I will be Kicking@$$...

This is super easy if you have the pump. Here's what you'll need:

(1) 1-1/4" Lead Free Brass or SS Coupler
(1) 1-1/4" to 1" Lead Free Brass or SS Reducer Bushing
(1) 1" MIPS to Slip CPVC Adapter

(Note, the three above parts can be replaced if you can find a CPVC 1-1/4" FIPS x 1" Slip Adapter, I haven't found any personally.)

(~3") 1" CPVC
(1) 1" x 1/2" CPVC Reducer Bushing
(~6-12") 1/2" CPVC
(1) Homer Bucket With Lid
(1) Carboy Holder

Simply build the riser, cut a hole in your bucket's lid, drop a carboy holder on and you're done. There's no need to use 45* elbows to bring the pump's output to the center of the pump. I've found you can get the output to fit in the center of the bucket without such fittings.

A keg washer usually entails a cross that is then connected to high temp 1/2" tubing attached to keg quick disconnects. If it were me, I'd cross with a 1" CPVC and reduce from there to maximize flow and pressure. This allows you to wash the two tubes within the keg along with the inside of the keg.

There's other ways to do it, with different fittings, but I prefer having a 1" input for as much as possible since it maximizes flow. You could also go straight to 1/2" CPVC from the 1" FIPSxSlip adapter with a 1" socket x 1/2" slip CPVC bushing. You also have the option of using the provided reducer (with the pump) that would eliminate the need to deal with 1" CPVC and reductions entirely, but it will reduce the output from the pump immediately.
 
This is super easy if you have the pump. Here's what you'll need:

Thanks.... I will get right on it as I need to keg 25 gallons...

I have an English Summer Ale and what I am calling an American Summer Ale.

12 and 13 gallons respectively.

so I plan to have keg 10 of each and mix the left overs from both together.

I will call that ONE an Anglo-American Summer Ale...

dpb
 
First off I would like to thank MalFet for the amazing idea for my bottle washer. I have also modified my system to wash everything. The ultimate in lazy homebrewing, thank you for the motivation to be lazy ;) It now washes bottles, kegs, buckets, carboys, and even beer lines. I would also like to thank revco for the idea of wood holding the bottles for the ability to wash any size bottles. I have modified the bottle washer to wash 24 bottles of any size rather than 30 long necks. I have attached pictures of my ghetto lazy setup, enjoy!

Also MalFet I took the new grommets to my local homebrew store, the owner is a chemist so I was hoping he would have some in-sight. He said they are not pure silicon however even with "Styrene Butadiene Rubber" mixed he would not worry about using them in the washer. He is not a poly-chemist however I trust his opinion on this. Also as a test I left the black grommets in water for 48 hours, this left murky water that appeared to have some chemical present. I did the same with the new grommets and the water is still crystal clear after a week, So I feel safe using the new grommets.

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That's awesome Evancold! Great job!

Looks like you hit the same problem I did with using this setup as a carboy cleaner. It pumps so much water into the carboy that it doesn't drain fast enough. I think I'm going to end up with a drilled cap on mine, because I like to be able to run it unattended.

I love how this setup can be modularized for different purposes. It's totally made it worthwhile. I've all ready run through three cases of bottles on mine & it's changed the way I look at bottling completely!

Looking great! Thanks for the update!
 
I was able to find them on ebay with free shipping. They were $8 per 20, I purchased 40 grommets for a total of $16 for grommets.

Great addition to Malfet's build with the grommets. Could you post a link where you found them. I could not locate anyone selling 20 packs.
 
Upon seeing this thread I thought "I've got to make one of those" and then I turned out to be wrong. I had a birthday last week and my brother came strolling in with one he made me as a gift. Nice to have a handy brother with good tool skills! ;) Thanks for the design. Can't wait to use it.
 
Im going to be tackling this project this weekend. I have the Fast Rack and will be following "nameless's" idea of setting the fast rack on top of the washer so you never have to remove bottles. I will post pics of my results ASAP!
 
I just want to confirm that PBW is the way to go, it doesnt work with oxiclean due to the foaming but PBW is just fine
 
I just want to confirm that PBW is the way to go, it doesnt work with oxiclean due to the foaming but PBW is just fine

I've only used PBW and StarSan, and I can only speak to my anecdotal experiences. I get a bit of foaming with the StarSan and none with the PBW, so at the very least it works for me! :mug:
 
I'm still a relatively new brewer but I already HATE washing bottles. And kegging is way beyond my space/portability/price needs at the moment. When I was washing bottles today using a total dunk method all I could think is that there had to be done sort of pump setup. I knew the answers would be here on HBT!

Totally going to set this up before I bottle my next batch. If it works I'll have overcome my biggest hurdle for homebrewing. You're a genius, and I'll post the finished build when it happens.
 
So I was able to make this finally and it works great!:ban:



I followed Nameless's version of this bottle washer as I use the fastrack. I must say it makes this process even easier when you use the fastrack. I did not make posts like you design did but surprisingly enough the posts are not necessary. water still makes contact with the bottom of the bottle at all times. I used the same pump that you recommended and instead of placing the bottles inside the crate, I put them on top of the crate to elevate them.











I cut notches into the fastrack feet so the rack literally just fits into place and does not move. It only takes a few minutes and all 24 bottles are fresh and clean! :tank:

Thanks for the great ideas, Ill post later if I have any updates.
 
Awesome. Ladder, is that 1/2 inch copper? and also what diameter holes did you drill? So doing this.
 
Great Ladder23Brewing. Could you please post a pic of the water stream height you can achieve with this simple method. This would be a great addition but it almost looks too easy.
 
Hey guys, thanks. I will try and post a video of the water height but I'm achieving the same as Malfet and nameless. Approx 2-3 feet.

Yes that is 1/2 pipe and it seems to be perfect.
 
Just tried the Malfet's bottle washer for the first time. Washed and sanitized 48 bottles in less time than it normally tales to wash 24. Great! Just put it over the sink, fill with warm oxyclean, pump for a few minutes, fill sink with hot water, pump for a few minutes, fill with room temp sanitizer, pump for a few minutes, drain and set aside to dry. Refill and repeat. Wonderful.

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I made same kind of washer than ladder, model with only holes. Did not work for me, spray expanded too much too early and there is no possibility to tweak nozzle , I made 2.5mm holes to 12mm (1/2") tubes. There was stubborn ring of dirt between bottom and side of bottle.

I know my pump is too weak , head is only 5meters. But I believe that even more powerful pump (AND one I can afford) does not solve problem, so Iam adding individual 6mm (1/4") "bottle tubes" , I just expand those 2.5mm holes to 6mm (1/4") and braze individual tubes to holes. 12 tubes brazed so far, will add rest tomorrow.
 
revco said:
This is super easy if you have the pump. Here's what you'll need: (1) 1-1/4" Lead Free Brass or SS Coupler (1) 1-1/4" to 1" Lead Free Brass or SS Reducer Bushing (1) 1" MIPS to Slip CPVC Adapter (Note, the three above parts can be replaced if you can find a CPVC 1-1/4" FIPS x 1" Slip Adapter, I haven't found any personally.
Was this the 1-1/4" FIPS x 1" Slip adapter ($1.60 ea) you were looking for?

Click on Female Adapters and scroll down to Reducing Female Adapters - S x Fips - #435
http://www.plumbingsupply.com/pvc.html
 
Hey man, I just built this unit but out of PVC. What size holes did you use in your copper?

So I was able to make this finally and it works great!:ban:



I followed Nameless's version of this bottle washer as I use the fastrack. I must say it makes this process even easier when you use the fastrack. I did not make posts like you design did but surprisingly enough the posts are not necessary. water still makes contact with the bottom of the bottle at all times. I used the same pump that you recommended and instead of placing the bottles inside the crate, I put them on top of the crate to elevate them.











I cut notches into the fastrack feet so the rack literally just fits into place and does not move. It only takes a few minutes and all 24 bottles are fresh and clean! :tank:

Thanks for the great ideas, Ill post later if I have any updates.
 
Thanks for this how-to!

I was inspired to build a bottle washer for myself, too. I went with a 3/4in copper manifold with 1/4 soft copper for the outlets. I'm using a rectangular milk crate as well. I could have squeezed in 24 12oz bottles, but I decided to go with only 20 to leave some extra room in case I need to wash bombers. Pump is the 1/3HP version of the one mentioned by the OP. Just started working on it tonight, but I will share some pictures when I'm done.

Oh, and one question for those who made one of these. Has anyone ever done a cleaning cycle with dish soap instead of Oxy or PBW? I bet it foams like crazy. Just curious...
 
Detergent is not a good for washing. Residual detergent kill head on beers. Yes, it will foam like mad. I do use StarSan and even that creates a fair amount of foam. I cycle from Oxyclean to clean water to StarSan. Then drip dry.
 
I cycle from Oxyclean to clean water to StarSan.

Yup, that's the route I'm going to take. Thanks.

I did some soldering today (my manifold is all copper) and used Mapp gas for the first time. So much better than propane - I'm never going back. Everything's coming out nicely and I'll share some pics when I'm finished.
 
OK, as promised I attached some pictures of my completed bottle washer.

The manifold was made of 3/4'' copper and 1/4'' soft copper tubing. It's adapted to a regular garden hose thread. I can fit 20 bottles and I can always add 4 more if necessary.

I rigged up a holder with some scrap pipes and pink foam insulation for now, but I"ll probably switch to plywood later. The pump will be the 1/3 HP version of the pump mentioned by the OP, I'm waiting for it to be shipped.

This was a fun project to do and I can't wait to join the "I'm never scrubbing another bottle" club.

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Had to get a post on here, inspired by this particular post I had to have a go:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSQvC226K7Y
Using a 750W ebay dirty water pump $50AUD delivered
25mm garden irrigation fittings and piping
4mm rigid risers
I thought the risers may not handle the pressure since they simply jam into the 25mm PVC pipe but they seem to hold up OK..
I still need to organise a tub and a system to hold the bottles in place but everything is looking sweet so far and kept under $85 budget.
Ill try reply once i run a few bottles through when complete.

Cheers!

Rob
 
I scanned this entire thread for sources for the CPVC CROSS fittings, and found several people asking but no answers. Has anyone found these?

This thread inspired me to build a similar unit, but I used copper and that cross was easy to find (brass). I want the CPVC cross for a RIMS drip manifold.
 
I built on of these a while back from looking at this thread. Thanks Malfet. And others of course for their input.
I went a slightly different route so I could just load cases of bottles and move to the next one.

The racks are just the things that 20 oz. plastic sodas come in. I just hole sawed a hole through the bottom, 1 1/4" I think, and they make great draining trays. I actually had them before the washer. They will also hold any size bottle I've tried putting in them as you can see the wine bottles in the pic.

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Awesome thread here. I have some stainless tubing I might try to make into one of these.
 
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