Conical CIP build

[mi6op]

Hey everyone. a few years ago I got a MoreBeer conical and It definitely made brewing easier and more fun! But cleaning it out and sanitizing before a fill became a chore. So I scoured the internet and Harbor Freight for the makings of a CIP system.

But right now the website won't let me upload pictures so I'll do that later!

 

[aangel]

Ooo, oo, describe. Post!

 

[WrQth]

I took inspiration though not as fancy from this post https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=582434 for my SSbrewtech conical. Works great so far but only used it to clean not sanitize yet.

 

[mi6op]

Ok I needed to resize the pictures. So here is a simple picture of my 14 gal Morebeer conical and the goal here is to mimic what pro breweries do to clean their conicals via a sprayball. The goal to make it work however is to find a pump that puts out a psi that is over 15 and many of the ones I found at stores around me were high out put but low pressure which made my list of options somewhat limited. But harbor freight came to the rescue and I was able to pick up this pump which puts out over 30psi if I remember correctly.

 

[mi6op]

The outputs on this pump are 1" which worked fine with the plumbing already on the conical. I sourced 2 1" male-male cam-lock fittings to mount to the pump and 2 1" female to barb cam's. Believe it or not it took some time to find these parts and especially at a reasonable price. I'm digging through my email and hope to find the invoices with sources and prices.
If/when I do I'll add them to this thread.

I bought some woven 1" hose from a local supply/hardware store and cut it to plumb up to the pump as it sits beside the conical. About a year later I picked up a 27gal conical and had to lengthen the hoses to reach the taller unit.

Instead of me posting a picture of the spray ball I'll link you to the website where I got it http://www.brewershardware.com/CIP10TC10TC30.html. the 3" triclover fits perfectly on top of the conical and it really whips the water around - it will come out of the gasket easily if it is not as tight as when you are fermenting.

This thing runs for as long as you want. It does build heat and pressure from that heat but I find that 2-3 gallons of pbw or sanitizer does the job easily. However, you still need to pull your sample port out as yeast and trub like to hide in the nook. CIP or not...

 

[passedpawn]

Ok I needed to resize the pictures. So here is a simple picture of my 14 gal Morebeer conical and the goal here is to mimic what pro breweries do to clean their conicals via a sprayball. The goal to make it work however is to find a pump that puts out a psi that is over 15 and many of the ones I found at stores around me were high out put but low pressure which made my list of options somewhat limited. But harbor freight came to the rescue and I was able to pick up this pump which puts out over 30psi if I remember correctly.

I have one of those pumps. Mine had an additional regulator on it that regulates the output pressure to 60psi. The pump part is the same as yours.

I've taken mine entirely apart and I was pretty impressed. Its internals are built better than I would have expected. I pump a mixture of bleach and TSP and saltwater from mine, so I was expecting some degradation. It is still perfect. It's more that I expected for a cheap pump from HF.

 

[mi6op]

I have one of those pumps. Mine had an additional regulator on it that regulates the output pressure to 60psi. The pump part is the same as yours.

I've taken mine entirely apart and I was pretty impressed. Its internals are built better than I would have expected. I pump a mixture of bleach and TSP and saltwater from mine, so I was expecting some degradation. It is still perfect. It's more that I expected for a cheap pump from HF.

I'm actually on my second pump. But only because I used it to run caustic through both my conicals to seal the stainless. In about 45 minutes the screw that holds the impeller to the drives shaft totally corroded thus scrapping pump 1 :smack:

 

[passedpawn]

I'm actually on my second pump. But only because I used it to run caustic through both my conicals to seal the stainless. In about 45 minutes the screw that holds the impeller to the drives shaft totally corroded thus scrapping pump 1 :smack:

Hmm. TSP, which I use, is VERY caustic. Wonder why mine hasn't failed then.

 

[mi6op]

Hmm. TSP, which I use, is VERY caustic. Wonder why mine hasn't failed then.

How long do you run it with TSP?

 

[passedpawn]

How long do you run it with TSP?

Just for a few days. I've gotten away from TSP since it's so freaking caustic it's unpleasant to deal with. I'm just using bleach and saltwater now.

I use the pump to spray this mixture on my cement tile roof, to clean it. I have it plumbed to a large reservoir in which I mix the chemicals.

 

[weawer]

If you are going to use something caustic you might want to get a saltwater aquarium pump they use a ceramic driveshaft.

 

[user 40839]

Any problems running hot liquid on this pump? I know most of Harbor Freight's stuff have issues with hot water, and would want the PBW to be 140 or higher. Definitely a better (cheaper!) option than something like the Chugger Max.