Cleaning a 3 piece ball valve "in place" on kettle

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ILMSTMF

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Hello,

I finally worked up the nerve to take apart my 3 piece ball valve to clean it. The back piece of that uhhhh bulkhead remained attached to kettle. I soaked the ball, washers, and front piece in Oxi. I scrubbed the back piece with a wire brush and cloth soaked in Oxi. Rinsed all and put back together.

It would have been hard to get that back piece off of the kettle. Was this safe enough for the purpose of cleaning? Thank you.
 
Wait a sec, I just bought a kettle with ball valve attached. I think it is called weldless, has the O-ring and nut on inside. Do I need to disassemble the whole thing every time I brew? Using kettle first time tomorrow and want to know.
 
I would not buy any kettle where the valves, or any other fixtures, are not removable. Hard to believe they even do that.
 
Do I need to disassemble the whole thing every time I brew?
No, you don't have to take the ball valve apart each and every brew.

The 2 part valves are very difficult to separate, I never bother with taking those apart. The 3-piece valves are made to be disassembled and cleaned thoroughly.

I take the 3-piece valves apart every 6 brews or so, or when I feel they may need it.

[Edit] Without taking them apart, just rinse well, back and forth while operating the handle. There's a cavity on each end behind the ball that needs to get flushed out when the handle is at 45 degrees.
Using kettle first time tomorrow and want to know.
If it's a 3-piece valve I would take it apart and clean with PBW or Oxi before the first use to remove any machining oil remnants, etc. If 2 part, just rinse or soak in hot PBW/Oxi, while operating the handle.

Actually, if your kettle is brand new she can use a could scrub with hot PBW or Oxi too.
 
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Probably just as important to clean are exposed threads. Especially the inside threads are hard to clean.
Use a round nylon brush, 3/4 - 1" diameter.

Baby bottle brushes (the nipple end) will work great for that. I always buy a bunch at the dollar store.
 
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Do I need to disassemble the whole thing every time I brew?
No need to take "weldless" bulkheads apart unless they leak or you expect dirt to be trapped behind the O-ring. Maybe overhaul every 6-12 brews to inspect?
 
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What kind of wire brush do you use? Round and Stainless maybe OK.
I'd rather use stiff nylon brushes instead, hate to scratch anything.

Thin wire brush for cleaning 3/16" ID tubes, in this case. It did not work well for the task but it's all I had on hand.
 
Thin wire brush for cleaning 3/16" ID tubes, in this case. It did not work well for the task but it's all I had on hand.
Ah, long draw brushes for dip tubes and racking/beverage hoses! Those are not "wire" brushes, they're nylon bristle. AFAIK, "wire" is generally referred to as being metal wire bristle.

I guess those draw brushes could be used, the bristles are nice, short, and stiff. Thin diameter though.
 
Ah, long draw brushes for dip tubes and racking/beverage hoses! Those are not "wire" brushes, they're nylon bristle. AFAIK, "wire" is generally referred to as being metal wire bristle.

I guess they could be used, the bristles are nice, short, and stiff. Thin diameter though.

Yup. It was hard to maneuver. The handle is like... 247 feet long with maybe a 4 inch head of brush material. I bent 246 feet and 8 inches of that in order to do some fine scrubbing with the brush, holding it between two fingers and pointing it into the attached piece of the valve lol
 
Take em apart every brew, both 2 and 3 piece ball valves. There is stuff in there that you can't get out by flushing. I didn't crack my 2 piece ball valves open until about a half dozen brews in, it's amazing I didn't get an infection. All three get taken apart every brew, even the one that only sees water. It takes about 3 seconds to clamp it in a vice and spin the other side with a wrench.
 
I like to clean mine after every brew. It's probably not necessary to do it every time, but I'm just extra cautious. A nylon-bristle test tube brush works well.

For those who have weldless valves, you don't need to remove the bulkhead fitting from the kettle. Unscrew the nuts from the four horizontal bolts and remove the parts. Clean with PBW or Oxiclean using a nylon bristle brush, rinse and reassemble.

weldless-spigot-kit-2.jpg
 
Take em apart every brew, both 2 and 3 piece ball valves. There is stuff in there that you can't get out by flushing. I didn't crack my 2 piece ball valves open until about a half dozen brews in, it's amazing I didn't get an infection. All three get taken apart every brew, even the one that only sees water. It takes about 3 seconds to clamp it in a vice and spin the other side with a wrench.

Regarding your being surprised about not getting an infection.

I'm not suggesting we shouldn't clean our brew kettles, just asking a question: Even if you've got a significant amount of gunk in your valve built up from not disassembling and cleaning for awhile, shouldn't said gunk be sterilized by the boiling? I know things like star san only work on clean surfaces, but we're talking about stuff that's certainly above 200F, all the way through, for extended periods (i.e., for the duration of the boil). Aren't you really pastuerizing your gunk right before it touches your cooled wort?
 
I pull mine apart after every brew, only takes a couple minutes. Always stuff in there, even after I cleaned the kettle.
 
Regarding your being surprised about not getting an infection.

I'm not suggesting we shouldn't clean our brew kettles, just asking a question: Even if you've got a significant amount of gunk in your valve built up from not disassembling and cleaning for awhile, shouldn't said gunk be sterilized by the boiling? I know things like star san only work on clean surfaces, but we're talking about stuff that's certainly above 200F, all the way through, for extended periods (i.e., for the duration of the boil). Aren't you really pastuerizing your gunk right before it touches your cooled wort?

This is what gave me comfort in not taking them apart in the first place and is probably why I got away with it but after seeing what was in there, yuck!
 
I've read/heard several occasions where brewers ended up with a (bad) Pediococcus infection in their beers, ultimately pointing back to their kettle valves where a black, tar-ish substance was found inside, in the cavities behind the ball. Apparently the valves don't get nearly hot enough inside to eradicate all bugs. One of those brewers is in our club.
 
Yup, useful if only one person per four blocks brews, but everyone wants beer on tap! 2" beer line is expensive, though.
People here are especially conscientious of "Call Before You Dig."
There are long beer lines out there. Such as this beer pipeline under the streets of Bruges (Brugge), Belgium.
I guess they need to flush them periodically?

Illegal tapping has a whole different meaning now.
 
...gunk in your valve built up from not disassembling and cleaning for awhile, shouldn't said gunk be sterilized by the boiling?...

There is an article on the Brulosophy website about a homebrewer who had a pesky off taste he couldn't get rid of. He tried everything, but it wasn't until he disassembled and cleaned his kettle valve that the problem went away (i.e. he eliminated the source of his infections).

In the article he mentioned that an important variable was the burner. His conclusion was that high powered banjo burners that throw a lot of heat out near the edge of the kettle get the outer portion of the valve hot enough to sanitize it during the boil. Burners that concentrate heat nearer the center of the kettle may not get the outer portion of the valve hot enough to sanitize it.

Based on that article I clean my valve fairly regularly. Not every brew, but probably every 2-3.

Sorry I'm not providing a link to the article, I can't locate it right now.
 
I have gotten in the habit of drawing some boiling wort off by opening and closing the valve slowly several times close to the end of the boil. I just pour it back in the kettle. This gives me peace of mind. The few times I have taken my valves apart they have been gross.
 
There are long beer lines out there. Such as this beer pipeline under the streets of Bruges (Brugge), Belgium.
I guess they need to flush them periodically?

Illegal tapping has a whole different meaning now.

That's pretty sweet! I guess if they are dedicated to the same beer you could just keep flushing the next batch down the line, it becomes a continuous process, though I'm sure QC is monitoring for off flavors. If there was an interruption in supply I'd think they'd certainly need to be flushed. Changing beers would be a bit of a pain too. I imagine they are sending it over post fermentation/pre bright tank?
 
I have gotten in the habit of drawing some boiling wort off by opening and closing the valve slowly several times close to the end of the boil. I just pour it back in the kettle. This gives me peace of mind. The few times I have taken my valves apart they have been gross.

So instead of cleaning them you just mix it in?
 
There is an article on the Brulosophy website about a homebrewer who had a pesky off taste he couldn't get rid of. He tried everything, but it wasn't until he disassembled and cleaned his kettle valve that the problem went away (i.e. he eliminated the source of his infections).

In the article he mentioned that an important variable was the burner. His conclusion was that high powered banjo burners that throw a lot of heat out near the edge of the kettle get the outer portion of the valve hot enough to sanitize it during the boil. Burners that concentrate heat nearer the center of the kettle may not get the outer portion of the valve hot enough to sanitize it.

Based on that article I clean my valve fairly regularly. Not every brew, but probably every 2-3.

Sorry I'm not providing a link to the article, I can't locate it right now.

Hm, yeah, that makes sense.
 
I have gotten in the habit of drawing some boiling wort off by opening and closing the valve slowly several times close to the end of the boil. I just pour it back in the kettle. This gives me peace of mind. The few times I have taken my valves apart they have been gross.

@IslandLizard taught me this for my most recent brew day. Did about 6 quarts. Peace of mind for sure.
 
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