Cleaning a 1/4 inch hose

[Maylar]

My wine filter uses a 1/4" hose for a drip tube. Basically whatever spills over from the filter gets routed to a collection bottle on the floor. No pressure, just gravity flow. I have a fresh roll of tubing that I'd like to sanitize but I can't think of a way to force solution through the hose. My pumps and auto siphons are all 5/16 and 3/8 inch. Any ideas?

 

[mac_1103]

Assuming that the OD of your 1/4" tubing is 3/8", you can just use a piece of 3/8" tubing as a reducer. It will probably leak a bit, but who cares if you spill a little sanitizer?

 

[Broken Crow]

Good excuse to buy some stuff from Bobby:
https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/splicebarb14x38.htm
https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/splicebarb14x516.htm

 

[IslandLizard]

Assuming that the OD of your 1/4" tubing is 3/8", you can just use a piece of 3/8" tubing as a reducer. It will probably leak a bit, but who cares if you spill a little sanitizer?

That! ^
I've never had leaks when using the next larger size tubing as couplers doing gravity feeds.
Even using a March pump they all stay together, as long as there's no restriction on the output end of the tubing.

Good excuse to buy some stuff from Bobby:

Although splice barbs will work, they drastically reduce the inside bore, restricting flow through. This is most noticeable with smaller diameter tubing.
Wherever there's no pressure build-up, I prefer the first method.

 

[Deadalus]

I use a spray bottle to sanitize hoses. Form a U-shape in the hose, open ends up. Spray heavily to collect enough liquid to pass through the house as a segment, call it an inch long. Tip one end down slowly and the segment will roll to that end. Cap with your finger to prevent it draining. Reverse segment movement by lifting the low end higher. Repeat back and forth.

Another way is to have sanitizer in a basin/bowl. Feed the tubing in while keeping one end of the hose on the bottom of the basin while slowly spiraling the hose into the sanitizer. Don't let the hose form a trapped air pocket. Air must be able to escape the high end as fluid enters the hose*. This is how I soak hoses for washing so that soapy/PBW water gets inside.

*In mathematics, this would be called "monotonically increasing". Every point further along the tube is higher than any selected point before those points (air escapes).

 

[Maylar]

Assuming that the OD of your 1/4" tubing is 3/8", you can just use a piece of 3/8" tubing as a reducer. It will probably leak a bit, but who cares if you spill a little sanitizer?

That's a great idea. I may be able to build up the 1/4" spigot with a short piece of hose and use 3/8 to the floor. Thanks.

 

[IslandLizard]

Another way is to have sanitizer in a basin/bowl. [...]

That's my preferred method for cleaning and sanitizing: by submersion.

Rinsing is simply done by running tap water through the hose.
After the first rinse-out I catch the rest of the rinse water in either the sink or a tub.

 

[mac_1103]

I may be able to build up the 1/4" spigot with a short piece of hose and use 3/8 to the floor.

Yes, it's a bidirectional solution.

 

[John Sinclair]

Syphone liquid into hose then let it sit.