Beer Line Cleaning Question

I just built myself an 8-tap kegerator out of an old 90" barback fridge I picked up at an auction. Everything is working great.

My question is about cleaning the lines. All of the lines have ball lock corny connections for now until I switch over to sankey. I used BLC, mixed up to the correct concentration in a corny, to clean the lines prior to pouring my first pints out of each line. Basically I just pressurized the keg with CO2 and pushed all 5 gallons through the line, out the tap, and into a bucket. I then put the 5 gallons back into the keg, and moved on to the next line.

You can imagine how much CO2 this used up. I'm not doing it again.

I'd like to see how others are doing it. I have a self-priming utility pump that I'm thinking about rigging up with some kind of adaptor that will hook up to the ball lock connection and drain out the faucet and back into a basin and just let that recirculate for 15 minutes each or so.

I use an inexpensive pond pump and a bucket of PBW then StarSan to recirculate through the taps. Don't forget to disassemble your liquid line ball locks. No kegs involved. No disassembly of the lines involved.

SEndorf said:

I use an inexpensive pond pump and a bucket of PBW then StarSan to recirculate through the taps. Don't forget to disassemble your liquid line ball locks. No kegs involved. No disassembly of the lines involved.

Click to expand...

I do the same.

I used this link to create the pump line cleaner http://www.homebrewfinds.com/2012/11/recirculating-draft-line-cleaning-build.html

One thing to keep in mind is that I had to get a larger sized pump because there wasn't enough head pressure to link 2 taps together to clean them all at once. I will only clean out the lines and taps if I go from a dark\strong beer to a lighter one or about once every 6 months.

Rockn_M said:

I used this link to create the pump line cleaner http://www.homebrewfinds.com/2012/11/recirculating-draft-line-cleaning-build.html

Click to expand...

THIS. This little device was the reason I posted this. I wasn't sure if this existed, and I really didn't want to have to design one myself. Thank you so much for the link!

Also Bobby over at brewhardware has a neat little ball lock to ball lock post adapter so you can hook up and loop multiple lines. I clean all 3 of my beer lines at the same time this way.

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

I use that EcoPlus 264 pump from the above link and it works great for my setup. 2 gallons of BLC circulating for 15 min, hot water flush, star san flush, good to go.

I use this: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=226497



I pump enough BLC into the line to flush out all the beer, leave it for a while, then use the same pump to flush with water.

No co2 used at all.

Rockn_M said:

I do the same.

I used this link to create the pump line cleaner http://www.homebrewfinds.com/2012/11/recirculating-draft-line-cleaning-build.html

One thing to keep in mind is that I had to get a larger sized pump because there wasn't enough head pressure to link 2 taps together to clean them all at once. I will only clean out the lines and taps if I go from a dark\strong beer to a lighter one or about once every 6 months.

Click to expand...

That link shows a solid workup, but mine is much simpler without the cap lock fittings.
I use tubing from the pump intake to the faucet (silicone tubing or a growler adapter works great). The end of the beer line with the disassembled ball lock simply goes into the bottom of the bucket with the pump. Can't do multiple lines this way, but I only need to do one line - the one where the empty keg is being switched out.

Good point. I hardly ever have to do more than one at a time.

Get a few of these and daisy chain your ball lock and then run 1/2" tubing from faucet to faucet. Open faucets and get a cheap pond pump and recirculate your cleaner of choice. By far the easiest way on the homebrew level to clean line IMO

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

I'd only need 4 to get the job done, if my math serves properly.

I use a 1/4HP sump pump to recirculate PBW/Star-san through a 3 way distributor.





I have one of those tea leave/herb infusers I use to hold all the small parts together. I just leave it in the pot of wash/sanitizer while recirculating.

I just take out my spent keg, clean with PBW, hook back up to beer line and run the PBW through. I then fill with starsan and run this through.

Seems to work ok so far! It's a pretty easy process for me.

When cleaning my kegs I just hook back up to the line and pressurize to 8 psi or so and disconnect the gas. I then push some cleaner through and let it sit for an hour or so. After the hour, I open the tap and empty the keg. Then I follow this with a cold water rinse. I doubt too much CO2 is used.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=535392 some info here, I daisy chain my taps

I guess my setup is a bit different than others. I use a small stainless pot with valve and camlock fitting. I fill it with BLC (or now penetrate, just a higher concentration than BLC), put the pot over a camping stove to heat the solution up to 130-140F, then use my stainless chugger pump to pump from the pot into one of the faucets. Inside the walk-in, I have the tubing connected to a manifold, which distributes the heated solution to another 4 faucets, which then run back into the pot. I recirculate like this for at least 15 minutes once the solution is up high enough.

Given I have 14 taps, even this can take a while, and I only do this when I want to do a deep clean of the system. I keep a keg of starsan on hand, and when a keg goes empty, I try to take off the faucet, soak and clean in starsan, and run some starsan through the lines before I connect the next keg. I never leave my lines empty, which I think also helps. The moment a keg goes empty, I clean it or I immediately hook up another keg that is ready to go.

Bicycle pump on the barb of a gas ball lock connector pump hot pbw water through line(s) rinse with starsan and call it good.

Rockn_M said:

I do the same.

I used this link to create the pump line cleaner http://www.homebrewfinds.com/2012/11/recirculating-draft-line-cleaning-build.html

One thing to keep in mind is that I had to get a larger sized pump because there wasn't enough head pressure to link 2 taps together to clean them all at once. I will only clean out the lines and taps if I go from a dark\strong beer to a lighter one or about once every 6 months.

Click to expand...

This I what I have wanted but not sure how to do it until now. Tired of wasting expensive CO2. I read the link and added the ball lock carbonator to my Amazon cart. I noted one of the reviewers said his liquid out QD would not fit on this carbonator. Did yours fit ok?

SEndorf said:

That link shows a solid workup, but mine is much simpler without the cap lock fittings.
I use tubing from the pump intake to the faucet (silicone tubing or a growler adapter works great). The end of the beer line with the disassembled ball lock simply goes into the bottom of the bucket with the pump. Can't do multiple lines this way, but I only need to do one line - the one where the empty keg is being switched out.

Click to expand...

Actually this method forces you to disassemble (real easy) the ball lock QD which is a component most of us (me being lazy) don't take the time to clean properly. That tiny o ring seal on the post in the QD can get gummed up with beer proteins. Good method.

bruhaha said:

This I what I have wanted but not sure how to do it until now. Tired of wasting expensive CO2. I read the link and added the ball lock carbonator to my Amazon cart. I noted one of the reviewers said his liquid out QD would not fit on this carbonator. Did yours fit ok?

Click to expand...

I haven't had any issues.

Rockn_M said:

I haven't had any issues.

Click to expand...

Thanks! I ordered pump and carbonator cap with barb last night as linked from Amazon. Hope it will work as it has for you.

By chance, are you running Perlick taps? I'm hoping by this recirc method BLC thru the tap, I can avoid breaking the Perlick 650 down to component level for cleaning.

I've been using a couple ideas found here on HBT for a while now to use my brewing pump to recirculate my lines...

Essentially, I have a 2 or 3 gallon beverage cooler (used for mashing 1 gallon batches when I feel like experimenting) with a ball valve and camlock fitting on it.

From there, I then run the output to a pump (I've been using one of those $25 "solar" pumps lately, just clamped directly onto the camlock on the valve)

On the pump output, I put together a female camlock and the fittings from the pump-action cleaner build thread referenced above to attach the ball-lock post to the pump output.

Hook up the beer line to be cleaned, hang the cooler from the tap being cleaned, fill cooler with 2 qts BLC solution, and let it rip for the manufacturer-recommended 15 minutes of re-circulation.

bruhaha said:

Thanks! I ordered pump and carbonator cap with barb last night as linked from Amazon. Hope it will work as it has for you.

By chance, are you running Perlick taps? I'm hoping by this recirc method BLC thru the tap, I can avoid breaking the Perlick 650 down to component level for cleaning.

Click to expand...

I am using Perlick taps and this works great. The only thing that I would recommend is using a hose that is the correct size for the Perlick. Otherwise the hose keeps slipping off and making a mess.

Rockn_M said:

I am using Perlick taps and this works great. The only thing that I would recommend is using a hose that is the correct size for the Perlick. Otherwise the hose keeps slipping off and making a mess.

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Would 1/2" ID silicone hose be about right? When I get home I'll try to see it that works. Seems I have used a small piece of that to fill a growler and it fit fine.

1/2" should work.

Rockn_M said:

1/2" should work.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the feedback along the way on this project!

Maybe your lucky day, you two. I ordered the pump and connector listed here:

http://www.homebrewfinds.com/2012/11/recirculating-draft-line-cleaning-build.html

To save you looking up the parts:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B010P1WT8E/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

and

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0012UZYMG/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

You can get the carbonator cap cheaper, but delivery will take forever. I'm not the patient type.

Anyway, I wanted to set up to clean 3 taps simultaneously (i.e., daisy-chain them and run the BLC through all of them at once). Here's what the setup looks like:



Here are some interesting things about the setup:

1. Originally I had the bucket on the floor; I was getting virtually no circulation. I went on Amazon and read questions and answers about the pump, and it doesn't deal well with a lot of head (i.e., distance between pump and higher outlets). This was, I'm sure, compounded by the fact I use 3/16 beverage tubing. I raised up the bucket on a milk crate and voila! Success. I may raise it a bit more next time, or when I add a 4th and 5th tap (4th tap imminent).

2. This is the fitting sold by BrewHardware that can connect two Liquid QD's together: https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/ball_lock_jumperpost.htm

3. That's what you see by number 3--two liquid out QD's connected by the jumperpost. I have 3 of them so that when I finally get to 5 taps, I should be able to daisy chain them all together.

4. This is the part I wasn't sure would work--but it does! I have Perlick 650ss flow control faucets, and 1/2" Silicone tubing fits perfectly over them. I had thought I might need hose clamps to hold them on the faucets, but it's not necessary.

What I've done here is take the Liquid Out QD from the tap on the right and connected it to the pump, using the connectors you see below. The Silicone tubing runs from that faucet to the middle one; then the QD's for the middle and left tap are connected w/ the jumper posts, and the faucet on the left drains back into the bucket.



It pushes the liquid through at a good pace. I first ran Beer Line Cleaner through for 15 minutes; I dumped that bucket and rinsed the pump, then refilled with about 3 gallons of clean water. I ran that water through the taps, collecting the output in a different bucket; after a minute or two of flushing with clean water, I added Star-San to the pump bucket, swished it around to mix, and ran that through for about 5 minutes or so.

I have a very short video showing the bubbles going through the tubing so you can see the pace of flow; you can see it here: https://youtu.be/-v0cfO6G6hc

It all works--I think you're going to be pretty pleased by it. Remember to get the bucket as high in relation to the faucets as you reasonably can, and it will all work.

I use this (my sprayer required only an AEB ball lock post if I recall correctly, I posted somewhere in the thread if you care)
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=226497

I really only clean one line at a time since I clean when something kicks so I don't need the daisy chain solution. (awesome though Bobby's kit always is)

I use a carbonation cap and the ecoplus 396. The pump moves plenty of liquid just going through lines (especially 1/2" lines). Even going through my 35 foot immersion chiller it moves plenty of fluid. But when I hook it up to the carb cap the restriction reduces the flow to practically a trickle. Although it is still flowing i was thinking about getting one of those 1/4HP pumps. Also would let me use less BLC as the inlet on those pumps is on the bottom rather than the side.

Another way i was thinking of doing is was connecting the pump straight to the faucet and connecting a length of tubing to the bottom of the dip tube for the outlet. This way i could clean the dip tube at the same time and wouldnt need to run the pipe cleaner wire.

Thorsbrew said:

I use a carbonation cap and the ecoplus 396. The pump moves plenty of liquid just going through lines (especially 1/2" lines). Even going through my 35 foot immersion chiller it moves plenty of fluid. But when I hook it up to the carb cap the restriction reduces the flow to practically a trickle. Although it is still flowing i was thinking about getting one of those 1/4HP pumps. Also would let me use less BLC as the inlet on those pumps is on the bottom rather than the side.

Another way i was thinking of doing is was connecting the pump straight to the faucet and connecting a length of tubing to the bottom of the dip tube for the outlet. This way i could clean the dip tube at the same time and wouldnt need to run the pipe cleaner wire.

Click to expand...

I have the ECO 264. If you're not already doing it, try raising the bucket so there isn't a significant "head" or rise the fluid must combat before going through the lines. I was puzzled at how little liquid mine was pushing through the lines, almost nil, but the bucket and pump were sitting on the floor. I set the bucket on a milk crate and voila! Plenty of flow, through three taps and about 20' of associated 3/16" beverage line.

Well, the pump and carbonator cap arrived from Amazon yesterday. I tried putting the ball lock liquid out on the carbonator cap and it won't fit. I tried the gas in and it popped on like it should. I tried everything but the liquid QD wont fit with normal pressure so I didn't force the issue causing damage.

So, my next plan is to use the Eco pump to reverse flow BLC. I'll take the liquid ball lock QD's apart which should be done for cleaning anyway. Force BLC with 1/2" tubing thru the tap nozzle with tap open, and since I run Perlicks, I think this will work as there is no exposed piston to leak around. The BLC will return into my collection bucket thru the disassembled/open QD for recirculation. I can do this w/o any additional components.

If I order a ball lock keg liquid out post, I can make a coupler of tubing and rig that up on my pump's outlet so my QD can snap right in place.

mongoose33 said:

I have the ECO 264. If you're not already doing it, try raising the bucket so there isn't a significant "head" or rise the fluid must combat before going through the lines. I was puzzled at how little liquid mine was pushing through the lines, almost nil, but the bucket and pump were sitting on the floor. I set the bucket on a milk crate and voila! Plenty of flow, through three taps and about 20' of associated 3/16" beverage line.

Click to expand...

We are on the same page for sure. I planned to sit my collection bucket and sub pump on a kitchen chair so the pump will have less uphill force to move the BLC. Plus, as you mentioned, 1/2" silicone tube fits on my Perlick 650ss Flow control taps w/o the need for clamps. I had actually cut a short piece of this tube for a growler fill tube and been using this for a good while.

mongoose33 said:

I have the ECO 264. If you're not already doing it, try raising the bucket so there isn't a significant "head" or rise the fluid must combat before going through the lines. I was puzzled at how little liquid mine was pushing through the lines, almost nil, but the bucket and pump were sitting on the floor. I set the bucket on a milk crate and voila! Plenty of flow, through three taps and about 20' of associated 3/16" beverage line.

Click to expand...

Through all that line including a ball/pin lock disconnect? I was running the pump level with the lines, no head/lift. But i'll try raising the pump higher next time though i cant see it making a difference if i had it level last time.

bruhaha said:

Well, the pump and carbonator cap arrived from Amazon yesterday. I tried putting the ball lock liquid out on the carbonator cap and it won't fit. I tried the gas in and it popped on like it should. I tried everything but the liquid QD wont fit with normal pressure so I didn't force the issue causing damage.

So, my next plan is to use the Eco pump to reverse flow BLC. I'll take the liquid ball lock QD's apart which should be done for cleaning anyway. Force BLC with 1/2" tubing thru the tap nozzle with tap open, and since I run Perlicks, I think this will work as there is no exposed piston to leak around. The BLC will return into my collection bucket thru the disassembled/open QD for recirculation. I can do this w/o any additional components.

If I order a ball lock keg liquid out post, I can make a coupler of tubing and rig that up on my pump's outlet so my QD can snap right in place.

Click to expand...

I'm sure you know but just to remind you...you did have the O-Ring lubed when you tried putting the carb cap on right? If i try to connect a disconnect without lube it refuses to go on, a little lube and it slips right on.

Thorsbrew said:

Through all that line including a ball/pin lock disconnect? I was running the pump level with the lines, no head/lift. But i'll try raising the pump higher next time though i cant see it making a difference if i had it level last time.

Click to expand...

Yes, through all that stuff--which actually surprises me.

One thing I did was to check to see that the pump was putting out what it was supposed to, so I connected the silicone tubing to the barb alone to see if I was getting a lot of flow. I was--quite a bit in fact. Switched back to the connectors and raised the bucket and there it went.