Bucket Blaster Took a Dump Last Night

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Clint Yeastwood

Clint Yeastwood

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Anyone else have a Kegland Bucket Blaster die on them?

I've only used my Bucket Blaster a few times. Yesterday I cleaned a keg out, took it off, and put another one on. It didn't work on the second keg. When I checked the pump, I found a little water came out when it was running, but not enough to make it to the keg.

I opened the pump up, but there was nothing in it. I have always run fresh water through it after using it.

It just rattles now. It also tripped my GFCI.

I looked it up on Kegland's site, and I found that their products have no warranties in the US. You have to go back to whoever sold them to you.

I don't know anything about pond pumps, which is the category this one falls into, but I thought maybe someone here would have a clue. It doesn't look like the kind of thing you can repair. I may pick up a new pump at Lowe's rather than try to convince the online seller to send me a new one.

The literature says this is a 2000-liter pump. Can that be true? You can get them on Aliexpress for something like $23. Awfully cheap for that size.
 
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I made my own cleaner using this pump:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B017R709UE
Not sure how the connections work on the bucket blaster - you may have to improvise a bit to get a new pump to be compatible. This pump had an odd size outlet that I wrapped with a bit of electric tape to get it to seal with the PVC pipe for the washer I made.
 
I'm going to give an Amazon pump a shot. Might as well cut the cord and go it alone from here on out.

This pump appears to be sealed up with epoxy, so if it's messed up, not much I can do.
 
If you use your cleaner at temperatures ideal for the likes of PBW you might want to verify the pump's thermal rating.
I've been using a Mark II keg cleaner for years with ~140°F PBW solution for kegs (I never use it for buckets or carboys) which its pump can handle...

Cheers!
 
@Clint Yeastwood I got this pump recently and I can confirm a 1/2" npt fitting will work if that helps out. I bought mine to recirculate cleaner and ice water through a small IM chiller for my small batch brew sessions.

It's probably the same pump as the link in @marc1's post, but wanted to at least let you know 1/2" npt work in case you wanted to use something you had on hand besides the hose barbs that come with it.
 
Thanks for the help. I have an Amazon pump on the way, so all should go well. I found one with a slightly higher flow rating. They also make pumps that stop when they run dry, not that I would do that.
 
Mine died the first time I used it. It's a super cheap pump. Morebeer sent me a replacement, and I've had no issues, but the pump is definitely super low quality.

Make sure it's primed before you plug it in. Submerge pump, and wait until all the bubbles stop bubbling.
 
I paid like $50 with a coupon, so I can't complain too much. Bucket, pump, tubing, pipe, and wire support.

My feeling about Chinese products like this is that they are likely to fail right away, but if they make it through a little use, they'll probably be okay for quite a while. Mine cleaned something like 4 kegs before dying, so I think it probably had a big defect.

I am hoping the new pump will push harder. Maybe allow the use of a CIP ball.
 
Clint Yeastwood said:
I paid like $50 with a coupon, so I can't complain too much. Bucket, pump, tubing, pipe, and wire support.

My feeling about Chinese products like this is that they are likely to fail right away, but if they make it through a little use, they'll probably be okay for quite a while. Mine cleaned something like 4 kegs before dying, so I think it probably had a big defect.

I am hoping the new pump will push harder. Maybe allow the use of a CIP ball.
Click to expand...
the quality control is substandard in chinese stuff so there are plenty of lemons out there. but in general if it was built with all good parts they do make some decent stuff at a very low cost.

it is a gamble. pay for quality control or roll of a dice to see if you get a good one or not. I do see an upward trend with chinese brands getting better.
 
I have all sorts of well-made Chinese and Taiwanese products. And sometimes the really cheap stuff is a blessing when you only need a tool that works once.

I caught hell from old crusty union guys for saying it was smarter to buy new Asian machine tools than used American junk. Guess I'm like the Toyota owners they used to beat up in Detroit.
 
The new pump arrived two days early.

This was the right move. I probably could have gotten an exact replacement from the seller on warranty, but it would still have been the same cheap pump, and it may be that Kegland did not choose the best Chinese manufacturer.

The new pump blows considerably harder, so maybe CIP is an option now.

There is an issue I did not consider. The old pump has suction feet on it, and they stick to a stainless plate on the bottom of the wire frame that holds kegs. The new pump is slightly bigger, so the feet don't stick too well. They hang off. You can get a couple to stick, but you have to put the pump in a certain position, and when you do, the upright pipe on the Bucket Blaster is no longer in the center of the keg.

The new pump is heavier than the old one, and it turns out it's heavy enough to stay put without suction, so the feet problem doesn't amount to anything. Anyone who cares about the suction could get a little piece of stainless plate, big enough for the new pump, and tack it onto the frame. You could also epoxy a sheet of plastic over the stainless plate.

Possible better option: cut the wires holding the plate back so the new pump fits among them, and use the feet to stick the pump to the bucket bottom. You would lose the weight of the pump pushing the wire thing down to hold it in place, but that probably is not needed when you wash a keg or carboy.

The cord on the new pump is longer, so I don't have to have the Bucket Blaster right up against the sinks in the master bath. Lowe's has a pump with a 16-foot cord, so there are a lot of options. The Bucket Blaster pipe screws right into my new pump.

I would say don't bother getting a warranty pump. The old pump works fine when it works, but why turn down more power?

I could have gone with a 3/4" pump, but I would have had to make a new pipe and all that mess. The old pump was good enough without a CIP ball, and the new pump is a lot stronger, so I think I'll be fine. CIP sounds like fun, but clean is clean, and the kegs get clean just as things are. You can't get cleaner than clean.

If I were doing all this again, I would do what other people do. I would get a Homer bucket and lid. I would cut a round hole in the lid for the pipe to go through. I would probably cut a lot of holes in the lid around the central hole to make sure liquid falling out of the keg could not back up. Not sure if that's necessary.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CGAD986?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
 
@Clint Yeastwood I bought that same pump you linked to and it only lasted 3 or 4 brews. I was using it to push ice water through my IC.

I then bought this pump Amazon and I'm not any happier with it.

I think it's all boils down to that old saying "You get what you pay for"
 
Maybe it costs $5 to clean a keg this way and there is no way around it.

I am learning more about this system.

I just washed a fermenting keg, and after 10 minutes or so, there was still a yeast ring. I used warm but not hot water with a combination of sodium percarbonate and washing soda. I did not add a surfactant. Maybe I should have. I don't want to use PBW or other pricey products if I don't have to. I could increase the water temperature and see what happens.

I know TSP has fallen into disfavor, and therefore there are forces at work discouraging its use, but I see one guy here did well with a combination of TSP, Oxy-Clean, and citric acid. I have seen people saying sodium metasilicate is cheap. Boy, is that not true. Unless I'm much worse at Googling than I thought.

I had to reach in with a sponge and wipe the ring off. It was not dried on, because the keg had not been opened since I put the beer in a serving keg, but it still resisted the Bucket Blaster. Not a huge problem, but I bought this thing so I would not have to do hand cleaning inside kegs.

I see a few issues with the Blaster.

First, it doesn't hold kegs upright. They usually lean. This means the flow is directed to one side of the keg bottom, so it's not going to wash all parts of the keg equally well. It generally works anyway, but maybe the lean caused my yeast ring to stick.

I could make a keg holder out of a Homer bucket lid by making a hole in the center, but it would not work for Torpedo Megamouth kegs, which I use for fermentation. They are too wide. Maybe I could get a plastic trash can lid and make it fit. I could always screw something to a Homer lid to make the kegs stand up. If I make my own support, I will get rid of the wire frame because it will no longer serve any purpose.

Second, you don't need the flow to the disconnects all the time. The gas and liquid tubes get clean fast. You should be able to get more flow to the pipe that cleans the keg by putting a Duotight valve on the tube that goes to the disconnects and shutting it off once the gas and liquid tubes have been cleaned.

Finally, I don't know if the small hole in the top of the pipe is a good idea. It gives you a lot of velocity, but you lose that after the water hits the metal. After that, you're relying on the volume of water, not the force. Seems to me that any hole that gets the water to the bottom of the keg would work, and a bigger hole would give a lot more flow. You might reduce flow to the disconnects, but they don't need a lot anyway.

Maybe the high speed of the water from the existing hole is helpful in knocking the yeast cake remains off the keg bottom.
 
day_trippr said:
I've been using a Mark II keg cleaner for years with ~140°F PBW solution for kegs
Click to expand...

I second the Mark II. Never an issue.
1698690905193.png
 
Clint Yeastwood said:
I just washed a fermenting keg, and after 10 minutes or so, there was still a yeast ring. I used warm but not hot water with a combination of sodium percarbonate and washing soda.
Click to expand...
The sodium percarbonate and sodium metasilicate combo that is the primary basis for DIY PBW has never let me down; month old kicked kegs, some ferm&serve, all with scunge rings (technical brewing term).

The percarbonate gives up its oxygen in about 20 minutes, so I always use a scoop fresh per keg and go 15-20 minutes on the Mark II.
 
Clint Yeastwood said:
Where did you get sodium metasilicate? The stuff I've found has been so expensive there was no point in buying it.
Click to expand...
Last purchase January 2022, ebay, 3 pounds, $18 US, free shipping.
The page/folks I used no longer there; closest match shows 2 pound for $27, on ebay.
I looked on AMZ and last time I was able to buy the TSP/90, which is just sodium metasilicate, was in 2014.

It's looking like the next time I want to make TSP/90 + Sodium percarbonate, I'm gonna have to make some decisions.
 
@MaxStout just posted in the Homemade PBW recipe thread that you can get four pounds of Five Star PBW from RiteBrew for $18.99. Even with $11.72 for UPS Ground shipping, that's $7.68 a pound, which makes me wonder why I should pay $6 a pound for one of the components of the DIY version. And you can get a shipping discount if your order is $50 or more. If I ordered three it would be $5.37 a pound.
 
Coincidently after doing a hot PBW recirculating cleaning of my 3v2p single tier rig I was down to a few ounces of PBW and ordered up another 8 pounds from AMZ for $56 delivered with tax. Ritebrew would have been a tad cheaper at $54.30, though they didn't include sales tax for some reason (which if they had would have been about the same as Amazon)...

Cheers!
 
day_trippr said:
Coincidently after doing a hot PBW recirculating cleaning of my 3v2p single tier rig I was down to a few ounces of PBW and ordered up another 8 pounds from AMZ for $56 delivered with tax. Ritebrew would have been a tad cheaper at $54.30, though they didn't include sales tax for some reason (which if they had would have been about the same as Amazon)...

Cheers!
Click to expand...

I got that Amazon 8-pounder earlier this year, but it was around $45. Now it's $56? Amazon roller coaster pricing.

Edit: I just got an order last week from Ritebrew (no PBW, as I have plenty on hand), but I noticed the no-sales tax "bug," too. The grain I ordered is tax-exempt for Minnesota, but I noticed they didn't charge tax for the big bottle of Starsan I ordered, which is not tax-exempt.
 
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There is a product called Active Element Brewery Detergent. SDS says disodium carbonate (same as washing soda/sodium carbonate) 10-20%, sodium percarbonate 20-30%, sodium metasilicate 20-30%, surfactant (not named), and other mystery stuff. Amazon has it.

It's $3.56/pound IF you buy 45 pounds at $160. Either you get a great bargain and enough cleaner to last you forever, or you spend $160 on something useless. Reviews say it works, and reviews can ALWAYS be trusted because no one ever lies.

Lot of really interesting stuff out there. Calgon came up while I was reading. It was originally sodium hexametaphosphate. It made hard water act like soft water, increasing the power of detergents. And it's also an ancient Chinese secret.

I see people saying you have to heat PBW to 160 degrees to make it work. I never read directions, so I went to see what Five Star says. It only says:

  • If circulation cleaning, heat to 130°-180° F and circulate for at least 30 minutes.
  • If soaking, heat to 140° and soak for 4 hours or allow to soak cold overnight.
Click to expand...

I never did any of that. I have a nanny water heater set to 115. I very much doubt a Chinese pond pump is going to survive 160 degrees for many sessions.

Active Element Brewery Detergent's directions say 100-160. It says to go 30-40 minutes for CIP. I always assumed 10 minutes was overkill. Maybe things are better than I realized, and 30 minutes will kill my yeast rings every time.

I read that Oxy-Clean leaves a film that can screw up beer, and that PBW has a rinse agent in it to prevent this. When I use a sponge and warm water, my homemade fake Oxy-Clean leaves my Braumeister clean and shiny with no rinse agent. If there were a film, it would be very obvious on mirror-finished steel. I guess a person could buy Jet Dri and squirt a little into the keg cleaner, or I could add citric acid, which I always have on hand.

I read reviews for the Mark II, and it sounds like it has a cheapo Chinese pump that sometimes dies. That sounds familiar. But the base looks like it might hold a Megamouth.

I wonder what would happen if I used Walmart dishwasher powder and citric acid. They work like crazy in my dishwasher. I quit buying Cascade because it was no better. I have to go to Walmart anyway. But I don't have any more dirty kegs.

All very interesting, and no conclusions.
 
Howdybrewer is holding a one-day flash sale. PBW for half price. You can get a 5-gallon bucket for $150.

False alarm. It's liquid. The sale price is not that different from the regular price from other places.
 
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