Automated beer line cleaning

[ZmannR2]

I've tried searching but can someone point me to a good thread showing ideas for kegerator/keezer beer line cleaning. Especially if it utilizes the intertap ball lock connection adapter and a pump? I'm trying to improve my process without wasting CO2 by pressurizing a keg to push cleaner.

Thanks!

 

[muledogus]

I've converted all of my connections to swivel nuts. I just pull the lines off entirely and soak them as well as the faucets.

 

[stieg000]

Here's what I use with my pumps and it works awesome.

https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/camtoball.htm

Camlock to ball lock fitting and I just pump cleaner through, then rinse water followed by sanitizer using one of my kettles. I use a 1/2 silicone line with no fittings as a return line; just push it over the end of the faucet.

 

[dsaavedra]

I have a very simple faucet/beer line cleaning set up. My kegerator is still pretty new so I've only used this cleaning setup twice but it seems to work well and is quick and very simple. I put a pic at the bottom of this post.

I submerge a pump in a bucket of hot oxi clean (pump is from a MarkII keg and carboy washer but im sure you could find some inexpensive pond pump to do the same thing). I run the output of the pump up through my faucet with some scrap tubing, then fish the beer line out of the kegerator, unscrew the MFL nut to remove the ball lock QD, and put the end of the beer line in the bucket. Open the faucet, turn on the pump, and run hot cleaner through the faucet and line for couple minutes. I like to open and close the faucet/flow control levers a few times during this process to make sure everything gets clean. After a couple minutes i dump the oxi clean, rinse the bucket and pump, then repeat the process with cold water to rinse the faucet and line.

So far I've been doing this right after a keg kicks so nothing has a chance to get gunky and its working well.

 

[Blazinlow86]

I have a very simple faucet/beer line cleaning set up. My kegerator is still pretty new so I've only used this cleaning setup twice but it seems to work well and is quick and very simple. I put a pic at the bottom of this post.

I submerge a pump in a bucket of hot oxi clean (pump is from a MarkII keg and carboy washer but im sure you could find some inexpensive pond pump to do the same thing). I run the output of the pump up through my faucet with some scrap tubing, then fish the beer line out of the kegerator, unscrew the MFL nut to remove the ball lock QD, and put the end of the beer line in the bucket. Open the faucet, turn on the pump, and run hot cleaner through the faucet and line for couple minutes. I like to open and close the faucet/flow control levers a few times during this process to make sure everything gets clean. After a couple minutes i dump the oxi clean, rinse the bucket and pump, then repeat the process with cold water to rinse the faucet and line.

So far I've been doing this right after a keg kicks so nothing has a chance to get gunky and its working well.

I used to do it the same but now I've added a ball lock fitting to the output end of the hose that can reach inside

 

[Blazinlow86]

Fwiw thats my diy carboy/ keg cleaner hence the funny looking pipe config

 

[mongoose33]

This may or may not work with your setup, but if not it may give you some ideas.

Using the jumper Brewhardware sells (https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/ball_lock_jumperpost.htm), you can daisy-chain the lines together and run cleaning fluid through them all with a pump. I can do 5 faucets at a time doing this:

 

[ZmannR2]

This may or may not work with your setup, but if not it may give you some ideas.

Using the jumper Brewhardware sells (https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/ball_lock_jumperpost.htm), you can daisy-chain the lines together and run cleaning fluid through them all with a pump. I can do 5 faucets at a time doing this:

HA!! Look what I spent all day thinking about and ordering parts for! Mine is ULTRA crude and scribbled down but I basically thought of the same stuff using some adapters from brewhardware which I just ordered.....I'll just use my old brew pot I have sitting in my garage that has a camlock ball valve on it

Looks like you put silcone hose right over the taps. Sounds like a much cheaper solution than me buying 3 intertap ball lock connectors!

 

[day_trippr]

That looks like some serious pump head testing going on there
@mongoose33, what make/model pump are you using there, and what's the flow rate once everything is daisy-chained?

I run 6 faucets with 12 (and one 15) foot lines and had zero expectation I could generate a respectable flow rate with them all daisy-chained to even a decent size pump. So I went parallel: the pump drives a manifold with six ball lock posts to plug all the keg ends to, and at the other end I made a six port PVC manifold to hook drain lines to each faucet with the collected runnings draining back to the pump bucket, with one of these running the show.

Works great, I set it up with BLC/LLC solution, let it rip for 20 minutes while I do something else, come back, drain everything, stick the pump in a bucket of fresh water and push it all into another bucket, and it's done.

Thought I had pics of the two manifolds in action but I'm drilling a dry hole here. If I find them I'll add them...

Cheers!

[edit] Found 'em! Hiding in plain site under "KeezerKleaner" folder

So, here's the keg end manifold. Sorry it's a bit blurry.

...and here's the faucet end...

[jeeze, I'm glad I upgraded from that old GS4 to a GS8]

 

[ZmannR2]

Great idea on parallel. But I foresee no flow problems using my Blichmann Riptide. Thing is a beast.

 

[mongoose33]

That looks like some serious pump head testing going on there
@mongoose33, what make/model pump are you using there, and what's the flow rate once everything is daisy-chained?

Here's the model: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0012UZYMG/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

The flow rate? Not high. I'm guessing maybe a half-gallon per minute but I've never measured it.

There are a couple of issues influencing flow rate. One is the height of the pump. Originally, as in the pics above, I had the bucket on the floor; that meant the pump had to overcome about 4' of head. Now, I put the bucket on top of another bucket to raise up the pump, and it improves flow.

The second issue is the number of faucets, the amount of tubing, and the diameter of the tubing. The more you have, the greater the resistance to flow. I was not sure this would even work with 5 faucets given I have about....30 feet of beverage tubing.

But it does. I think the BLC instructions say to run it for 15 minutes, longer if especially dirty or it's been a long time. I usually let it go for 30 minutes while I do something else. Even though the flow isn't terribly fast, as long as there is flow, it works.

I recorded a video showing the flow; you can see the bubbles going through the tubing:

 

[mongoose33]

HA!! Look what I spent all day thinking about and ordering parts for! Mine is ULTRA crude and scribbled down but I basically thought of the same stuff using some adapters from brewhardware which I just ordered.....I'll just use my old brew pot I have sitting in my garage that has a camlock ball valve on it

Looks like you put silcone hose right over the taps. Sounds like a much cheaper solution than me buying 3 intertap ball lock connectors!

View attachment 563281

Yeah, the tubing is 1/2" silicone tubing. Wasn't sure it would work, but it does, and works well. In fact, you have to work at it to get the tubing off. There's a little delay in the system as that tubing fills--larger diameter than the beer lines--but then it all goes through.

BTW, it looks like we both have the same technical drawing background.

 

[sbsmann]

I use a $25 solar heater pump and just let it do the work for me. I need a smaller bucket to actually fit under the taps, but in the meantime I just use my bottle filler extension to exhaust it to the bucket next to the kegerator.

 

[deks77]

go get one of those cheap air pumps from home depot, the sell a 110 version. Cut the hose and put a ball lock fitting on it. I dont waste much co2 5psi ussally fills the line and then some, so i use co2

 

[h22lude]

That looks like some serious pump head testing going on there
@mongoose33, what make/model pump are you using there, and what's the flow rate once everything is daisy-chained?

I run 6 faucets with 12 (and one 15) foot lines and had zero expectation I could generate a respectable flow rate with them all daisy-chained to even a decent size pump. So I went parallel: the pump drives a manifold with six ball lock posts to plug all the keg ends to, and at the other end I made a six port PVC manifold to hook drain lines to each faucet with the collected runnings draining back to the pump bucket, with one of these running the show.

Works great, I set it up with BLC/LLC solution, let it rip for 20 minutes while I do something else, come back, drain everything, stick the pump in a bucket of fresh water and push it all into another bucket, and it's done.

Thought I had pics of the two manifolds in action but I'm drilling a dry hole here. If I find them I'll add them...

Cheers!

[edit] Found 'em! Hiding in plain site under "KeezerKleaner" folder

So, here's the keg end manifold. Sorry it's a bit blurry.

View attachment 563292

...and here's the faucet end...

View attachment 563293

[jeeze, I'm glad I upgraded from that old GS4 to a GS8]

Bringing back an old thread. I'm finishing up a 6 month long 8 tap keezer build and I'm thinking about going this way. I was running 3 kegs in line and the flow was super slow. I'd probably have to run it for 45 minutes or more to get the proper cleaning. What kind of flow are you seeing using the manifold? If I had to guess, I'd say I was seeing less than half gallon per minute with 3 kegs in line using 1/3HP pump 2,400 gallons per hour.

 

[day_trippr]

Hmm...I'm confident the combined throughput is some multiple of a half gallon per minute but honestly I don't know an actual number. Next time I do a cleaning cycle I'll take note of how quickly the catch bucket fills during the rinse as I do not recycle then so it'll be easier to measure...

Cheers!

 

[h22lude]

Hmm...I'm confident the combined throughput is some multiple of a half gallon per minute but honestly I don't know an actual number. Next time I do a cleaning cycle I'll take note of how quickly the catch bucket fills during the rinse as I do not recycle then so it'll be easier to measure...

Cheers!

Just measured mine doing 3 taps in line. I got exactly half gallon per minute.

 

[SEndorf]

OK you engineering types...
This question has always puzzled me.
Presuming you have a good solution of cleaner in the lines like very hot PBW, what is the importance of flow rate?
Wouldn't it be more effective to slowly let the chemicals work their way through the lines in a loop?

 

[day_trippr]

Well the tubing is totally filled in either case (hopefully) so whether you're recirculating or not the tubing interior is exposed to the cleaner.
The premise of recirculation is adding mechanical action via fluid dynamics will displace stuff as its dissolved allowing the cleanser to work deeper faster...

Cheers!

 

[SEndorf]

Got it.
You need enough flow rate to hit the entire surface of the tubing.

 

[day_trippr]

And the more "oomph" the better, one might expect. Hence the flow rate questions...

Cheers!

 

[h22lude]

OK you engineering types...
This question has always puzzled me.
Presuming you have a good solution of cleaner in the lines like very hot PBW, what is the importance of flow rate?
Wouldn't it be more effective to slowly let the chemicals work their way through the lines in a loop?

From the Draught Beer Quality Manual, there are four independent factors that determine cleaning effectiveness. Time, temp, mechanical and chemical actions. Cleaning should always include all four factors. If you can't, you will need to increase the other 3 factors to make up for the missing factor. So if you can't recirculate the cleaner (mechanical action), you should increase the contact time. A higher flow rate (mechanical action), just means less contact time is needed.