Keg/Carboy Washer

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Second; can somebody tell me the brand name of the low-foaming oxyclean?? I bought the stuff at my dollar store as was mentioned on this thread, but i suspect it isn't the same stuff as mine has been foaming too much. Once it foams up a bit the holes in the shaft stop wirking as the water starts collecting in the carboy. The foam doesnt seem to be an issue till you actually get some crud mixed in the water, them the foam starts to form. Thanks!
You want PBW by Five Star Chemicals. To my knowledge, Oxyclean comes in two options, regular and free (free of perfumes and dies). It does not have a low foaming agent or rinse aid like PBW does.
 
Datchew said:
Do you really need a rotating ball or nozzle of any kind at the tip?

Why not just an open pipe blasting water at the top? I would think the water would spread at the top and run down the walls of carboys, cornies, and sankes enough to get the job done.

Any thoughts?

Resurrecting an older part of the thread here but to answer this question: yes, it works for me. I'm using a 630gph hydroponics pump to pump warm C-Brite solution up about 20" of CPVC. No spray bar or wands; the cleaner just shoots up the pipe and cascades back down. The only hiccup I've had so far was needing to cut a larger hole in the bucket lid. This setup will clean a krausen ring out of 5 and 6.5 gallon carboys if you leave it run long enough. When I'm done I empty the bucket and repeat the setup using clean water to rinse.

Also, none my fittings are glued in. Everything is just tightly pressed into place. Works fairly well for a $41 investment.
 
I just wanted to say thanks to all of those who have taken the time to post Keg/Carboy washer builds. I just built one this weekend using a mashup of your ideas and I have to say that this thing is fantastic! It was simple and quick to build, relatively inexpensive, and literally cleans the crap out of your dirty brewing hardware. No more scrubbing kegs and carboys for me.

Thanks again to all for your great ideas.
 
Harborfreight has a pump for 12.00, it only does 200 gph, has anyone tried this pump?

All the other pumps in the 600 gph range are like 60.00, for that price why not just buy the commercially built one!
 
I use this pump to clean kegs.

I've used it with a PVC tee like I've seen in this thread for a couple years now, along with two connections for a Corny keg. Sometimes I'll need to use a brush afterwards, but generally it gets it pretty clean.

You can use Oxiclean or Oxiclean + TSP 90 (knockoff PBW) in the cleaner but you'll need to use some baby gas drops or Fermcap (both are Simethicone). That'll reduce the amount of foaming from the Oxiclean.

I've only had a small container of PBW, and it foamed up just as bad as Oxiclean for me.
 
I use this pump to clean kegs.

I've used it with a PVC tee like I've seen in this thread for a couple years now, along with two connections for a Corny keg. Sometimes I'll need to use a brush afterwards, but generally it gets it pretty clean.

You can use Oxiclean or Oxiclean + TSP 90 (knockoff PBW) in the cleaner but you'll need to use some baby gas drops or Fermcap (both are Simethicone). That'll reduce the amount of foaming from the Oxiclean.

I've only had a small container of PBW, and it foamed up just as bad as Oxiclean for me.

I use to use that pump, but when i was cleaning a bucket one day i notices and oily residue. I smelled of a petroleum product. so i haven't used it for that since. It worked really well right up to that point.
 
I use to use that pump, but when i was cleaning a bucket one day i notices and oily residue. I smelled of a petroleum product. so i haven't used it for that since. It worked really well right up to that point.

Thanks for your input, thats exactly why I dont want to drop 40-60 bucks on a pump, I am heading to HF to get the 12.00 200 gph and I will report back. If it sucks, Ill take it back!
 
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