Cleaning blow off tube?

[petrostar]

How does everyone who uses a blow off tube clean it out after fermentation. It seems everything dries in there and I don't have brushes small enough. I typically just rinse and soak them in Iodine. I haven't had infection but feel I need to clean them better.

 

[wcrooker]

I use a bottle brush. Its a tight fit but it works really well.

 

[TomSD]

Same though I use a large tube so it isn't all that close a fit.

 

[dcHokie]

I give them a several day soak in oxyclean then send them through the dishwasher for good measure.

 

[jlachesk]

I created a tube cleaner by cutting a swatch of shamwow and tying a length of string to it. Feed the string thru the tub and pull the cloth thru. Pair it up with an oxiclean soak and the tubing comes out sparkling.

 

[unionrdr]

I rinse it of on the outside,then hold one end in the stream of tap water to blow some of it out. I keep a 12 pack cooler with PBW in it to soak it in for 5 days or so. Then rinse it again. Comes out clean.
But you can get a set of aquarium lift tube cleaning brushes that has a small one for doing that. I also use them for cleaning spigots.The string & wad thing reminds me of how we cleaned our shotgun barrels after hunting back home in WVA.

 

[TheMan]

I do as Unionrdr does, flush hot water through it and then soak it.

 

[TommyB]

I use a small brush thats used to clean dip tubes for kegs. As long as your blowoff tube inst real long it works great.

 

[BBL_Brewer]

I soak in PBW over night. Oxyclean would work well too.

 

[petrostar]

Great responses! I love this forum. Thank you.

 

[day_trippr]

I used to use the string 'n' rag process but found it to be a pita. So I asked my LHBS to try to find a brush to clean 1" ID blow off tubes and a few weeks later he had picked up exactly what I wanted. They're like keg dip tube brushes, only four feet long with heavy twisted SS wire to a four inch long 1" thick round brush head. Perfect for the job.

I soak the blow offs in the kitchen sink with some washing up liquid in hot tap water for 15-20 minutes then use the brush on them and it takes like two minutes to get them clean. Very easy...

Cheers!

 

[deezy]

Wash and brush out what you can reach; then soak it in warm oxyclean free/pbw for a few hrs. Washes out nice and clean

 

[kpr121]

My blowoff tube is admittedly not as clean as it should be....

 

[Hammy71]

A long soak in the laundry tub with warm water and oxy-clean. For stubborn gunk I have an old bottle brush head crimped to an old light cord. Pull it through, and voilà!!

 

[madbaldman]

I attached a small weight to one end of length of string and an appropriately sized brush to the other. I drop the weighted end down one end of the tube until it comes out the other. I then pull the brush through the tube. I got the idea from a device called a bore snake, used for cleaning rifle barrels.

 

[unionrdr]

Back home in WVA,we had our own version. Put a split shot on the end of a string,rag tied as a sort of bow tie at the other. Soak with cleaner,drop the weighted end through,& pull. Got many a rifle barrel clean that way.

 

[TheMan]

My blowoff tube is admittedly not as clean as it should be....

Technically if you just transfer your blow off from one beer to the next then it might be dirty, but there really shouldn't be any way to get anything bad in your beer.

 

[kpr121]

Technically if you just transfer your blow off from one beer to the next then it might be dirty, but there really shouldn't be any way to get anything bad in your beer.

Ehh except when you are fermenting two beers at once (under pressure) and one keg is at a higher pressure than the other. This literally just happened to me when I got home from work. Went to clean my blowoff tube/spunding valve, disconnected and cleaned all fine. Connected the first QD it starts spewing. Connect the second, and I get a burst of blowoff go from one keg to the other.

I need some check valves. This hobby is expensive! :rockin:

 

[madbaldman]

Back home in WVA,we had our own version. Put a split shot on the end of a string,rag tied as a sort of bow tie at the other. Soak with cleaner,drop the weighted end through,& pull. Got many a rifle barrel clean that way.

The Bore Snake certainly wasn't the first of it's kind, it's just an evolved version of an old idea. Old commie insurgent AK-47 cleaning consisted of a knotted boot lace, dipped in motor oil, and pulled through the bore.

 

[lylo]

I found a cleaner specially made for the cleaning of tubes.The Wisconsin members may have an easier time sourcing these.Used by the dairy industry for cleaning lines.
Basically a 7 foot wire with various brushes and things that thread onto the end.You push the wire through your hose,attach one end to the wall with the supplied hook and just pull on the hose,forcing the brush through.Squeeky clean!