Clean Plate Chiller with Drano

[cank]

Here we go.
I think I'm gonna do it. I have a 40 plate Keg Cowboy plate chiller that I bought on the For Sale section last year and am just now ready to use it.

I was searching how to clean them and came across some nasty threads about the crap that never gets cleaned out so...
Today I made a solution of OxiClean and TSP in the sink and let it soak for ten min. Turned it over and nice brown water poured out. Did this several times then let it soak for an hour. The sink was full of grain husks and what not, so rinse and repeat. Same result but not as much brown water and fewer hulls.

That's when I started to rinse with hot water. I kinda shook it a little and then a whole bunch of nasty black crap started coming out. I did this for a while and finally said to hell with this, I think every one of those channels is full of this stuff, I'm gonna go with the DRANO!

In theory it should work but no one that I've seen has actually done it.

Any recommendations or persuasions either way?

 

[chrishanson]

I'm gonna go with the DRANO!

In theory it should work but no one that I've seen has actually done it.

Any recommendations or persuasions either way?

Other than the fact Drano could probably kill you if you don't get it all cleaned out?

 

[Hello]

Drano? No. That's toxic stuff.

 

[atoughram]

Drano is basically Lye (I'd use straight lye instead if I were you). Same stuff the big boys use in their breweries. Use at your own risk.

 

[TrainSafe]

Put it in the oven at 450 for an hour. It will burn the stuff to charcoal, then you can flush it out with water.

 

[Doctor_M]

Drano is basically Lye (I'd use straight lye instead if I were you). Same stuff the big boys use in their breweries. Use at your own risk.

This.... if your gonna do it use lye. It's not forgiving at all though so make sure you know what your doing.

 

[passedpawn]

I've made strong lye from granular Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH) and cleaned my plate chiller with it. Yes, it does a great job.

Blichmann specifically says that this should NOT be done as it erodes the brazed metals in the chiller.

So now I just heat my HLT up to 150, add some PBW or oxyclean, and circulate through the plate chiller. It seems to get clean. I've been using the same plate chiller for almost 5 years and it flows fine.

 

[Doongie]

From kegcowboy.com
"CLEANING INSTRUCTIONS Cleaning a plate chiller is a bit more involved than a normal immersion chiller, due to the tiny pockets created by the channels in the plates. These pockets can harbor cold break material, hop remains, or any other solid, and if not removed can cause infection in subsequent batches. The best way to clean is to recirculate a solution of hot water and Powder Brewery Wash (PBW) through the chiller as normal, then back flush the chiller. Pushing cleaning solution into the "Wort Out" side and out of the "Wort In" side. This will remove any particles that may have gotten trapped by the ridges on the plates."


Run that solution with the pump, reversing flow a few times to help dislodge the real sticky bits. Use a big enough tub where the debris coming out of the chiller can settle to the bottom and not get picked up by the pump and sent back into the chiller, maybe use a hop bag for a filter.

 

[cank]

Blichmann specifically says that this should NOT be done as it erodes the brazed metals in the chiller. So now I just heat my HLT up to 150, add some PBW or oxyclean, and circulate through the plate chiller

Didn't think about brazing metals. If I only do it once, like you, I might be ok.

This would not be a every use cleaning method BTW, just once to make sure it is clean before I use it the first time. Obviously this was not cleaned properly by the original owner.

Is Drano really more toxic or dangerous than lye? If i do this I plan to let it soak with Drano for 30 min then flush with hot water. Then a recirculating of OxiClean (both directions), hot water rinse, then baked in the oven, then OxiClean again, then hot water again.
I would think that these steps would ensure that all of the Drano was washed away.

 

[WPStrassburg]

I've used lye before to do the initial clean of my plate chillers as well as a few other times and it does knock everything out. Followed with an acid wash (Starsan acid #5) and you will have a nice clean and sanitary chiller. They both will corrode the braze material (copper alloy) and eventually ruin the chiller at too high of a concentration or over prolonged durations, but for the occasional deep clean you should be ok. Do not let the solution set for too long or you will see it turning blue and you have started eating the copper braze. The bake may be a good first step, but never having done it myself I'm not sure how well it actually works. I would still do the caustic/acid cycle after you bale it to clean the carbon out so it doesn't end up harboring more stuff acting like a sponge during the next brew.

 

[DeeEnvy]

I think the PBW wash is the best idea.
Please read this post.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/sodium-hydroxide-caustic-question-449596/