Bottom drain brew keggle for Clean in Place

[Dgonza9]

I'm thinking about making one. The old threads on this topic don't have working pictures. Basically, I really want to be able to clean in place and my current setup with a Dip tube makes this take a long time. I have a hose right there, so if I could open a big drain, like 2", I could easily put a bucket under it and spray it out. Then circulate some Oxy as needed.

Mine would be electric. I'm thinking about cutting the bottom off of a spare keg. Then getting a 2" Tri-Clover x 2" female npt. About $24 at brewershardware.com

I'd then take it straight down with a 2" stainless pipe (I'd drill a hole in my keg stand for this).

I'd put a 2" tee, add a 2" ball valve for a dump. Horizontal outlet of the tee I'd put a reducing bushing down to 1/2" and run that to my pump.

Murrayequipment.com usually has pretty good prices on stainless piping. It didn't look too bad. Maybe $100 total including the Tri-Clover.

Any thoughts on this idea? Anyone out there with a bottom drain?

Thanks.

 

[SankePankey]

OK, I'm not understanding correctly, but...I'll bite. My tuns are all CIP, which is what you are asking about, but my method is not going to help you.

But, I am still finagling with my CIP solution for my Sanke fermenter. What I have learned at this point is that you really do want a separate vessel to pump from and drain to. (like how all commercial keg washers work)

For a couple reasons. Cause you'll never get any washing of the bottom where the yeast cake was. You'll loose prime in your pump before you can get your spray ball to hit the bottom. It's better to have a secondary vessel and CIP w/ complete drainage, meaning with that 2" bottom drain, you out will be faster than your in.

Also, you never quite get the rinse water clean enough without a complete drain in between each phase of washing (cleaning, rinsing, sanitizing). Recirculating gunk onto gunk.

And, you do really want to find a way to keep that solution (well, the OXY at least) warm/hot as well for maximum effectiveness. And, some people build that into whichever separate vessel like I mentioned (be it a bucket with heat stick or whatever..)

Hope I'm understanding the question well enough.

 

[horseinmay]

I've been thinking/working on something like this for a while. We are all talking CIP on corny kegs here, right? What I've got set up is a Home Depot Big Mouth Bucket (1.25gallon, blue) with a sprayer tapped through the center. Another tube cut through it drains the cleaning fluid. I invert my kegs over the sprayer and recirculate. The solution is stored in the HLT, goes from my HLT to the pump, through the sprayer, into the keg, and back down to the HLT.

 

[Dgonza9]

I have a hose right there so what I'm hoping to do is be able to dump straight down thru a 2" valve. But then be able to shut the valve and have water flow thru the other side of the tee to pump thru the system

I'll also use my HLT to heat water and oxy to recirculate. Like you said, it's tough to drain with a dip tube and get things clean enough to recirculate. This way I can dump thru the 2" valve and rinse with the hose. Once it's pretty clean I can close the 2" valve and channel any cleaning fluids thru the other side of the tee and recirculate thru my system.

I have a keg washer, but that wouldn't be clean in place and my system is hard plumbed.

I know you said your method of CIP won't help me. Now my curiosity is rolling. What are you up to?

Cheers.

 

[Flyin]

remove spear, invert keg, bottom of keg now top of keggle. There's a write-up somewhere, can't remember how it was plumbed exactly.

 

[Dgonza9]

I finally found a decent thread on this. HERE it is.


I'm still curious whether anyone thinks 2" is overkill for the dump valve. The valve will be a bit pricey. I mean, if 3/4" valve is good enough for a dump, which it probably is, it's much cheaper. But knowing myself I'm likely to get a 2" unless someone can tell me otherwise.

 

[Dgonza9]

Okay, 2" ball valve is like $90. I'm thinking 3/4" should be fine for $22.

 

[SankePankey]

I think thats should be fine.

My rig is made of kitchen sinks, so I'm sure you can guess what manual style of CIP I use (a kitchen spray nozzle). And, every tun has a pump that I can plumb to the discharge port on my patchbay, so I just flush stuff down the drain. I think quite possibly the coolest thing in the world would be for me to put a garbage disposal on the mash tun drain. !!! OK, maybe that's overkill.

 

[Duckfoot]

WOOHOO!

That is my thread...

The 1/2" drain works just fine on it... If you do decide to go with 3/4", by all means, please let me know how it works for you...

 

[Dgonza9]

I think thats should be fine.

My rig is made of kitchen sinks, so I'm sure you can guess what manual style of CIP I use (a kitchen spray nozzle). And, every tun has a pump that I can plumb to the discharge port on my patchbay, so I just flush stuff down the drain. I think quite possibly the coolest thing in the world would be for me to put a garbage disposal on the mash tun drain. !!! OK, maybe that's overkill.

I've tried putting spent grain in the garbage disposal. Didn't go well.

 

[Dgonza9]

WOOHOO!

That is my thread...

The 1/2" drain works just fine on it... If you do decide to go with 3/4", by all means, please let me know how it works for you...

Hey, Duckfoot,


Are you using this for a boil kettle? I think, so, right? Did you have any issues or concerns about the valve being so far from the bottom of the keggle? Does wort collect in there and not get boiled?

I was thinking of something similar to that design, maybe with a wye fitting at the end of the straight tube so I can just spray everything out into a bucket, then circulate fluids through the other side hard plumbed to my pump. At this point, I'm committed to the hard plumbing.

Cheers!

 

[Duckfoot]

Actually I am using two of them : one for an HLT and the other for an MLT... I have considered one for a BK but was trying to figure out how to not scorch the heck out of the stuff in the drain tube...

 

[Dgonza9]

Ahh, I see. Mine will be electric, but I wonder about that pipe below the keg. Probably way over thinking it. I just liked your design as you didn't have to reach under the keg to open the valve.

 

[Duckfoot]

Actually, that sounds like a good idea... If I go electric on my BK, I just have to adjust my process since I only have a 30a circuit of 240vac to work with... That may be plausible though...

If doing eBK, you could use a pump to recirculate every once in a while to make sure everything gets heated... And since the drain would be below the element, you may not be sucking in bubbles from the boil... Hmmmmmmmm......

 

[worstbrewing]

I know this doesn't entirely pertain since you mentioned concern with going electric (part of the reason I'm not using this one) but here is something I picked up a while back when I was first trying to upgrade.

The guy did all sorts of custom welding to his HLT, MLT and BK so I have all sorts of neat treats sitting in storage right now, but thought you might appreciate this. He welded a pipe to the bottom of his HLT (as well as fittings for a thermowell and sight glass) which does work nicely at completely draining right into the center.

Obviously very similar to Duckfoot's in regards to the long pipe, etc. but figured I'd throw it up here to give some ideas. The MLT also has a center drain and is welded inside of a hot water heater to keep it warm, which I thought was pretty clever, I can dig up some pictures if interested (I'm also selling them if anyone's interested)