Cleaning Chugger pump?

[danb35]

Just bought a SS head Chugger pump to recirculate my BIAB. What's the best way to clean/sanitize it? Should I just recirculate some PBW solution, or do I need to tear down the pump head every time to clean it? Or something in between?

 

[BigFloyd]

I run it while flushing/cleaning the keggle and then circulate clean boiling water (heated via E-BIAB) through it and the plate chiller for about 10 min. Every third batch or so, I'll use some PBW (the DIY version) in the cleaning process.

I also run wort through it and the chiller the last 10 min of the boil since I recirculate while chilling.

 

[Yesfan]

Is there a time that you should take the pump head apart for proper cleaning or is that even necessary? Mine's only been used once and all I did for cleaning was run boiling water through it for about 10 minutes at the end of brew day.

 

[jhoyda]

I saw a thread where someone took apart their cheap pump and found fuzzy stuff. I took my chugger apart to find it spotless. I run oxiclean through it after each brewday which seems to be enough.

 

[daksin]

You really should take it apart after every brew. Stuff can get stuck in there, and they're not sanitary pumps which are designed to clean-in-place.

 

[Barnesie]

I've started a brew session, hooked up all my hoses and started pumping water to find a few feet of black slime and mold, so +1 on cleaning as much as possible.

Also, the pump heads are REALLY easy to take off and clean, so it's no harder then scrubbing your pots at the end of a brew day.