DIY Beer Line Cleaner

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jimlin said:
Been getting a foam problem that was only resolved when I finally cleaned my beer lines. At the time I used some BLC solution in an empty corny keg and gassed it up to push it through the line and faucet. (i removed and soaked faucet parts as well). 6 weeks later I notice the foam building up a again. This device would be perfect and will avoid needing an extra corny and CO2. Just found the parts on Home Depot's site and will pick it up tomorrow so I can easily clean out my lines.

Thanks!
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What kind of lines do you have or what temp do you use that your seeing build up after 6 weeks?
 
Once again the ingenuity of folks here at HBT never cease to amaze me. I just got my firestone liquid post fitting and between the whole mess of parts (3), I paid about $20.

Did you put thread tape on the plastic nozzle part? I tightened it real well because it dripped a bit. I tried this on a line and it was perfect!

Thank you for the great DIY idea!
 
Lots of T tape

Hello said:
Once again the ingenuity of folks here at HBT never cease to amaze me. I just got my firestone liquid post fitting and between the whole mess of parts (3), I paid about $20.

Did you put thread tape on the plastic nozzle part? I tightened it real well because it dripped a bit. I tried this on a line and it was perfect!

Thank you for the great DIY idea!
Click to expand...
 
These Home Depot sprayers are intended for delivery of insecticides and the like and I am sure the manufacturer is not taking steps to make them food grade. I know that we are using these systems for delivery of cleaning fluid and not drinking from them, but do you guys have any concerns with running fluid through your lines from these?
 
glutarded-chris said:
These Home Depot sprayers are intended for delivery of insecticides and the like and I am sure the manufacturer is not taking steps to make them food grade. I know that we are using these systems for delivery of cleaning fluid and not drinking from them, but do you guys have any concerns with running fluid through your lines from these?
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No.
 
Checking to see if you have strange growths or been rushed to the emergency room lately is a VERY poor way to assess risk.

That said I would point the question at the toxicologist who has been answering questions on Basic Brewing Radio (basicbrewing.com). From what he has said about plastics so far I would say there is not likely to be a big risk from the plastic in the tank. As a general rule clear and white plastic is "probably" food safe even if it's not certified. Most stuff that is water soluble will wash out quickly and what is left is generally very stable.

The bigger worry might be that the cleaning agents themselves may leach stuff out of the plastics that water and beer would not, or break down stable compounds into not so stable ones.

The two areas I would pay attention to is stuff sitting in colored plastic for any length and the lubricant on the pump.
So if your not storing it for a long time and your tank is clear or white you are probably fine on the first count.

For the second I would take the pump apart and clean off any grease etc and then coat it with keg lube instead. Things like PBW are good at breaking down oils so if you don't take that step you might be running the risk of getting industrial grease inside your tap system.

So I think the risk is minimal. But if it was a toxic issue you are not going to get strange growths that you can laugh at you are going to have liver or kidney failure and not be able to drink beer again. Much scarier than a third arm, which might actually be useful on brew day.
 
I did this for my pin locks today.I took off the green fitting and wrapped the black threads in teflon. I had a spare Cornelius post (19/32-18) that I jammed on and screwed. Worked perfectly!
 
Thanks Noiz2. Good advice to clean with PBW and lubricate with keg lube. It's not like a fermentation bucket where the beer we drink is in contact with the bucket for weeks, but best to be careful. If their products are not intended to be used any where near food products, then they have no restrictions for use of coatings and lubricants that would not be good for you.
 
This is my perspective. I would not want to drink PBW I really don't think it is good for me. Also I would take a guess that the plastic line cleaning bottles are not food grade and have non food grad lube in them. They were never meant to hold food. Just my thoughts.


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jerryk said:
This is my perspective. I would not want to drink PBW I really don't think it is good for me. Also I would take a guess that the plastic line cleaning bottles are not food grade and have non food grad lube in them. They were never meant to hold food. Just my thoughts.


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The sprayer bottles are high-density polyethylene (HD-PE) or #2 Recyclable, the same as plastic milk containers. I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-density_polyethylene
 
My perspective on this is as follows:
Do not assume that this pump is food grade. Even after cleaning do not assume that this pump is safe to use, and poses no risk to you, your system or your beer. If you have the least concern, please do not build and use this cleaner. I certainly do not want to be responsible for acute or chronic injury to the homebrewing community.


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geniz said:
My perspective on this is as follows:
Do not assume that this pump is food grade. Even after cleaning do not assume that this pump is safe to use, and poses no risk to you, your system or your beer. If you have the least concern, please do not build and use this cleaner. I certainly do not want to be responsible for acute or chronic injury to the homebrewing community.


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I have been using it for a couple years now and haven't grown a third arm yet. Some people just worry too much.
 
Interesting you should say that, cuz I was told that the sprayers are actually made of third arms and ground up puppies. So if you can still justify (and feel safe) using it, I say go for it. ;-)
 
Winters49441 said:
How do people clean the sprayer before first use? It smells like chemical fertilizers. Bleach, PBW, oxyclean, Starsan?


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I realize this is old but if you get one like this, RETURN IT!!!

People use items like this, finish their job, then return it. It is likely that it was used for chemicals!!!!!!
 
Is everyone using food safe spray bottles for spot sanitizing too? I'd be willing to be a lot of people use HD 99 cent spray bottles! Obviously if the sprayer appears to be previously used then use some common sense and return it. Trust your nose because it's usually always right. Short of that, like previously stated the bottle is made from a form of plastic generally considered to be food safe so there's little reason to be concerned.
 
Hahahaha. I have been using this sprayer and method for a while. As long as it is BPA free there is really no risk. What a bunch of worry worts....wait isn't that the name of a homebrew club?
 
anyone elses sprayer leak at a decent rate when pumping? i used some of that plumbing tape at the joint, but i think i just can't tighten it enough where my fitting meets the plastic part of the sprayer.

was wondering if its just me...i mean, it still works and gets 80% of the water/cleaning solution through my lines...just ends up a bit messy
 
flamingoezz - how much teflon tape did you wrap around it? I put probably about double what I would normally use on a fitting and don't have any leaks.
 
Works like a champ!! I needed to add a #10 Stainless flat washer(I had on hand) to take up the space between the flare fitting and the poppet valve to make it seal the poppet. :mug::mug::mug:
 
I live in Sweden and have been trying to find the 3/8 Flare to 3/8 FIP adapter here but can't find it anywere. Anyone knows any online store that ships internationally? Can't find a single one... =(

Is there maybe anyone on this forum that could help a fellow homebrewer and buy a couple of adapters and send to Sweden? I can pay in advance :mug:
 
I do not, and their site is not the most "search friendly".

Anyone have any part #'s for said fitting?


Edit: I don't even know what the fitting looks like, as I've not made one of these, just trying to find you someone to ship to ya'.

Look through this site, and see if you can narrow it down.

They may even ship internationally, and it's a much more "searchable site"

http://www.mcmaster.com/#fittings/=sgc2o7



Double edit: Look on this Grainger page as well :

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/ww...e+fittings|3/8+flare+to+3/8+FIP&sst=subset&N=
 
Nice I'm gonna try it anybody know of a DIY line cleaner set up like this but for sanke hook ups I see them sold on beer sites but what is the threaded end they use that fits on the shank after you take the faucet off?


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Do you have to use the white seals that are in the original sprayer tip won't they restrict the flow of the cleaner ?


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rave808 said:
Do you have to use the white seals that are in the original sprayer tip won't they restrict the flow of the cleaner ?


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You don't need them but if you don't you can't shut it off if it starts leaking. The post will shut it off when you disconnect the line as long as the poppet seats correctly.


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What I can see also is you only use the bigger one ....I've seen previous posts stating this if I'm correct?


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I only remember one white piece. It is mentioned around post 50. But things might have changed since I built mine.


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