Keg / Carboy Washer (yes another) . . .

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Whut

You heard me.
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Thanks to everyone on HBT for providing the info needed for me to be able to build this sweet contraption. 1/2" PVC throughout and the Pump is from Harbor Freight, item #98342, $59, Pacific Hydrostar 1400 GPH 1/4 HP, and it kicks ass.

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Don't care about the valve in the carboy... Is that a Fat Boy behind it?? :rockin:

BTW, that 'cleaner' looks like it could also do some damage to a person. :eek: "Have a seat... You might feel some.... pressure"
 
That's a racking valve on a Better Bottle.
Thanks Ed.

It's not a Fat Boy but a Kawa Vulcan. I really enjoyed my ST Heritage but got tired of paying HD prices so went with metrics.

What is the blue thing holding the carboy?

Don't know the actual name of the blue thing but it's for draining / drip drying a carboy.
 
what would you guess was your total cost if you had to buy everything? there is a guy selling cleaners just like this at the lhbs but he wants 150 for them.

figure i can make one if there's any money to save, but i am guessing when you aren't buying in bulk one wouldn't save a bunch.
 
in the OP the pump was $59 the pvc parts free or a 10' stick would be plenty.. cost $1.00 some glue and primer if you dont have any $6 Misc parts $5 out the door a lot less than they guy selling for 150.

edit: that pump can also be used for chilling your work with a plate chiller or CFC.. have a big tub of ice water and use it to pump the cold water through your cooling device and back into the tub. saving water and cooling fast at the same time.

-=Jason=-
 
Haven't added it up yet but best guess is that I'm in to it for around $90. Much less than what I've seen online.
 
Yeah I was estimating around 100 off the top of my head the other week, with the hose, clamps, all the fittings, the carboy dryer, ball lock connectors etc. I know all too well how those 4 trips to home depot in one day sort of projects secretly add up... luckily since I refuse receipts at check out from home depot my wife doesn't.

It isn't out of the realm of possibility for my diy projects to come in at around double the cost of just buying someone else's work :)
 
you don't need it spraying on the sides.

http://www.unionhydro.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=UHSB15
Stationary spray balls operate best at lower pressures. Higher pressure
is found to be counterproductive, as the impact can make the spray
bounce off the tank surfaces. Ideally, it should spread and flow, or
wash, down the walls. Since these spray balls are stationary, not all
of the interior walls receive direct spray. The liquid sheet that is
generated by the cascading liquid flowing down the walls clean the areas
in-between. Careful selection of the correct design and size of spray
balls is vital to the effectiveness of any system.

the water cascading down the side walls will clean the walls of the vessel

-=jason=-
 
Where in the hell can you get those water bottle stackers(blue stand thingy)? I asked my local water distributor for some or where to get them and they couldn't help. Anyone got a website to buy them from?
 
Where in the hell can you get those water bottle stackers(blue stand thingy)? I asked my local water distributor for some or where to get them and they couldn't help. Anyone got a website to buy them from?

It's called a Carboy Drying Stand and Northern Brewer (amoung others) carry them - try this URL. I got mine from my LHBS for $8.49.
 
I have seen some others like this and my question for you is what about the junk that gets washed out? I am assuming it is all just draining back into the original bucket, right? Wouldn't the pump just blow some of it back up into the carboy? I was thinking of doing something like this, but using two buckets. At the Firehouse Subs place by me they sell their old pickle buckets for like $2.00/each. So I was thinking fresh water in one and run a line to the other to force the water over and use the second bucket to collect the dirty water. Maybe I am over thinking this though.
 
I have seen some others like this and my question for you is what about the junk that gets washed out? I am assuming it is all just draining back into the original bucket, right? Wouldn't the pump just blow some of it back up into the carboy? I was thinking of doing something like this, but using two buckets. At the Firehouse Subs place by me they sell their old pickle buckets for like $2.00/each. So I was thinking fresh water in one and run a line to the other to force the water over and use the second bucket to collect the dirty water. Maybe I am over thinking this though.

Well sump pumps are made to move some gunk. From that standpoint, there isn't anything wrong with recirculating. Also, this device is used to loosen up and rinse all the caked on krausen and such. After it's all washed off, then you just give the carboy a rinse with clean water and you are good to go. At least that's how I figure it works.

If you used fresh water for the whole process, I think you'd waste a lot of water. I would think you'd need to leave this on each carboy for 10-15 minutes to get all the gunk off. I don't have one though, so I'm just guessing.
 
Still don't have a keg to try this out on but I thought what better than a fermentation bucket. I sacrificed a lid and altered it to use, washed my WLP400 for future use, and went at it. While OxyClean free does foam quite a bit it worked like a champ. The ring that was left wiped right out.

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Another couple of pics (including the aforementioned washed yeast) and a video. The pump is rated at only 77 degrees so we'll see how long it lasts. I did, however, purchase the extended warranty with it. We'll see.



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Im curious - I see the ball lock disconnects on the rig, but the cleaning video looks like you just flipped the keg upside down on the rig... where do the disconnects come into play?
 
In the vid, on the left and right are cut outs for the ball locks and hoses to go through. I think you can see part of the tubing on the left side.
 
In the vid, on the left and right are cut outs for the ball locks and hoses to go through. I think you can see part of the tubing on the left side.

Right. The disconnects are to attach to the keg to run cleaner through the In and Out tubes. I modified the lid so the keg would sit level on top of the washer. I'll post a pic here in a bit.
 
Here are three more pics of the washer. First pic you can see how I modified the lid to accommodate the disconnects. Next pic shows how I changed the cleaning tubes from the original design. When they were pointing up the lines would kink (gravity) and the cleaner wouldn't flow. Pointing them down eliminated this issue. Third pic shows how the keg rests flat on top of the washer with the disconnects in the cutouts.

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I made this (minus the keg washing bits) in about 15 minutes for $20 (not including the submersible pump)

Awesome, quick, and going to make a LOT of things easier for me. I will add the keg washing parts very soon.
 
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