Clean-in-place drain and whirlpooling

[jeffmeh]

I want to do clean-in-place, but I also want to whirlpool.

I believe the best performing drain for clean-in-place would be centered and flush with the bottom, but that will be directly below the trub cone left after the whirlpool.

So I am thinking I will need both the center, bottom drain and the typical low side drain, the first for C-I-P and the second for draiining my wort from the side, far from the trub cone.

Also, I do no-chill so I whirlpool and drain the wort while hot.

Any better ideas from the wise? Many thanks.

 

[heferly]

i wonder if the center drain could act like a conical of sorts...pull off the trub first, discard, then start draining your kettle?

 

[jeffmeh]

i wonder if the center drain could act like a conical of sorts...pull off the trub first, discard, then start draining your kettle?

Interesting idea, although it would have to be a fairly large diameter drain and tubing to deal with all of the concentrated hot break and hop debris without clogging. Clogging a drain of 190deg F wort is no fun, as I have found.

 

[heferly]

Maybe a couple of quick disconnects could solve that problem

Either way, the CIP sounds like a great idea

 

[Duckfoot]

Invert a Sanke, remove the spear, get a 2" tri-clover with a 2" blank, make a gasket out of silicon sheet and put on your side mount drain w/ a short dip tube...

Just a thought...

 

[Ohio-Ed]

I just welded a 2" tri clamp ferrule in the bottom of my MT (plan to do the same to my BK) just for cleaning in place. I plan to scoop most of the grain out of the MT, fold the false bottom and rinse the rest out the bottom through a 2" butterfly valve. I plan to use the existing 1/2" siphon tubes I have in the MT & BK during the brewing process.

As mentioned, you could cut the bottom of a keg and invert it to get a "factory" opening on the bottom. The only minor downside that I see is the handles would then be on the bottom.

Ed

 

[jeffmeh]

As to the original question, it sounds like both a bottom drain for CIP and a side drain for draining the wort will be necessary to be able to CIP and whirlpool.

Thanks for suggesting the 2" bottom drain. So the 2" line from the bottom is a waste line and the 1/2" side drain can mate with the pump, both lines valved. I suspect I could drain the hot wort from the side port, open the bottom port and dump and rinse out the kettle trub, close the bottom port, fill with cleaning solution, heat it, hook the outlet of the side port to the pump to start the CIP cycle, then open the bottom port to drain.

 

[Ohio-Ed]

As to the original question, it sounds like both a bottom drain for CIP and a side drain for draining the wort will be necessary to be able to CIP and whirlpool.

Thanks for suggesting the 2" bottom drain. So the 2" line from the bottom is a waste line and the 1/2" side drain can mate with the pump, both lines valved. I suspect I could drain the hot wort from the side port, open the bottom port and dump and rinse out the kettle trub, close the bottom port, fill with cleaning solution, heat it, hook the outlet of the side port to the pump to start the CIP cycle, then open the bottom port to drain.

That is exactly my plan.
Currently, I circulate then drain through the 1/2" siphon tube. Then I use a wet/dry vac to suck up the last of the trub or cleaner in the BK or last bits of grain in the MLT.

 

[jeffmeh]

That is exactly my plan.
Currently, I circulate then drain through the 1/2" siphon tube. Then I use a wet/dry vac to suck up the last of the trub or cleaner in the BK or last bits of grain in the MLT.

Sounds good. So you expect to eliminate the need to take out the wet/dry vac when you can drain through a flush, 2", centered, bottom valve, correct?

I have almost honed in on my plan for a single-vessel electric, probably with the Bayou Classic 102 quart kettle. Now, when I get the funds to execute it is another matter, lol.

 

[Ohio-Ed]

Sounds good. So you expect to eliminate the need to take out the wet/dry vac when you can drain through a flush, 2", centered, bottom valve, correct?

I have almost honed in on my plan for a single-vessel electric, probably with the Bayou Classic 102 quart kettle. Now, when I get the funds to execute it is another matter, lol.

That is exactly right. BTW... I think you already know, but for others that may run across this... the bottom drain is for electric only (or maybe steam). You would not want to directly heat the valve or even the triclamp gasket.

I understand about taking your time to execute... most rigs are constantly going through some kind of upgrade or retrofit.

Good luck,

Ed

 

[jeffmeh]

Thanks Ed. Unfortunately, my skill set does not extend to welding. I think I can handle everything else in the build (the control panel will be a challenge, but Kal's instructions are so clear on his panel that I can definitely figure out how to build one suitable for one heating element and one pump).

For the welded ferrule, do you punch the kettle hole to match the inside diameter or the outside diameter of the pipe? In the first case, the pipe cross-section surface would mate with the bottom of the kettle, while in the latter, the pipe exterior would mate with interior edge of the kettle hole. Is it welded from the inside, the outside, or both. If I wanted to talk to a welder to hire for this, knowing at least something about it would decrease my risk of giving to someone who just trashes the kettle.

 

[Ohio-Ed]

Thanks Ed. Unfortunately, my skill set does not extend to welding. I think I can handle everything else in the build (the control panel will be a challenge, but Kal's instructions are so clear on his panel that I can definitely figure out how to build one suitable for one heating element and one pump).

For the welded ferrule, do you punch the kettle hole to match the inside diameter or the outside diameter of the pipe? In the first case, the pipe cross-section surface would mate with the bottom of the kettle, while in the latter, the pipe exterior would mate with interior edge of the kettle hole. Is it welded from the inside, the outside, or both. If I wanted to talk to a welder to hire for this, knowing at least something about it would decrease my risk of giving to someone who just trashes the kettle.

I'm a new welder myself but have done quite a bit of reading/research on welding stainless. Welding on a keg should be done with a TIG welder and it should be "back purged". Back purging means argon gas is applied to the backside of the material you are welding. There is really not room to weld a keg from the inside, especially the bottom so the welding will be done from the outside. "Fit up" is very important when TIG welding, meaning a very tight fit with no gaps. Ideally, to weld a ferrule, the hole in the keg would be sized to the OD of the ferrule and the ferrule would be inserted flush with the inside of the keg. Sharp edges and corners burn away very easily when TIG welding. Not being 100% confident in my fitting and welding skills, I put a 1.5" hole in the bottom of the keg and clamped the ferrule to the outside of the keg. I welded the ferrule then used an angle grinder to cut away the remaining keg material.

Plenty of folks here (me included!) have had kegs ruined by people that thought they could weld stainless.

Good luck,

Ed