DIY Beer Line Cleaner

[baer19d]

Cool idea

 

[vince805]

Has anyone tried this with a pin lock post? I got a Firestone pin lock liquid post and it's not even close to fitting

 

[day_trippr]

Ok, this was "Yet Another Cool Idea" that I just had to do, so I scooted over to Home Depot, picked up the pump sprayer and the A176 fitting, then hit my LHBS (which conveniently is between my home and HD) to pick up a Firestone ball lock beer post with 5/8" -18 threads, a universal poppet (two thumbs up on the latter!) and a fresh post O-Ring, and as soon as I got home put the whole works together.

First assembly attempt I put the white rubber gasket thingie removed from the original nozzle in the same orientation into the brass fitting. That turned out to be backward and did nothing to seal the trigger nozzle tip, so I flipped it over. Et voila! The trigger works perfectly, the post seals tight, and the poppet works just fine with my QDs.

The A176 thread isn't exactly the same as that on the sprayer, but it does thread tight enough to hold securely. As others have mentioned, you don't want to be putting that fitting on and off too many times, but the way I see it is once you get the thing assembled it should stay that way for good.

As for the size of the sprayer, 56 ounces is big enough to handle a lot of line. Eg: six feet of 3/16" ID beer line holds a mere 2 ounces of fluid. So this little dude even just barely loaded will hold enough BLC to fill my six lines and faucets, and after letting that sit for awhile, will hold enough water to give each line a good flush.

So once again I'm quite happy to be following someone's footsteps on a great idea presented on HBT! (that's becoming a habit And I can now free the ball lock keg I've always reserved for cleaning duty to a more noble use - holding beer!

Cheers - and thanks!

[edit: I kept thinking that 1.1 oz/72 inches of 3/16" ID beer line couldn't be right, so I just double-checked my math and the real value is actually 1.988 ounces. Still pretty small volume that suits this rig perfectly for at least 6 lines. Cheers!]

 

[Flomaster]

crap I didn't reuse any white gasket thingy that I removed from my sprayer. my trigger does NO GOOD once my coupling is connected. are you saying that you have to pull the trigger to get flow out of the sprayer?

-=Jason=-

 

[day_trippr]

crap I didn't reuse any white gasket thingy that I removed from my sprayer. my trigger does NO GOOD once my coupling is connected. are you saying that you have to pull the trigger to get flow out of the sprayer?

-=Jason=-

That is precisely what I'm saying...and said....well, both

Probably doesn't make much functional difference as long as you close the faucet before you hook up a beer QD to the post, then control the flow with the faucet. But I had read here that folks got the trigger to work with the white thingie so I just followed their lead...

Cheers!

 

[day_trippr]

Has anyone tried this with a pin lock post? I got a Firestone pin lock liquid post and it's not even close to fitting

From this it appears there are no pin lock posts that use the 5/8"-18 threads present on that A176 fitting. You'll probably have to find or make up a thread converting adapter to go between the A176 and a Firestone post using 9/16"-18 threads...

Cheers!

 

[beertastic]

This is awesome, I will be trying this soon. I've already decided the traditional way of wasting CO2 and cleaning/filling with cleaner/connecting/rinsing/filling with san/connecting/rinsing the keg (if I even have one available) method of cleaning lines is for the birds...and I've only been kegging for a couple months.

Plus, I figure this is the best way to sanitize my BMBF on the fly.

Subscribed.

 

[Surly]

I stopped at Northern Brewery this afternoon. I asked for the, "Firestone Ball Lock Liquid Post Assembly". I brought into the store the, "3/8" Flare X 3/8" FIP", part number A-176 from Watts sold by Home Depot. I was provided the correct post and now have this system working for me.

For those of you needing to order on-line from NB, this is what my sales slip indicated. "Keg Post Assembly Liquid Type - K106".

I am not certain if you would need this information, but that is the part referenced by the OP that I bought at NB.

 

[chays99]

Incredibly awesome. Thanks!

 

[sudsmcgee]

This works perfectly for me. Thanks for the idea!

 

[High_Noonan]

Just wanted to add my thanks for this idea.
I built my sprayer this week and was amazed at how much better my beer is flowing now.

 

[golphur]

Piling on. Thank you for posting this idea. Simple. Inexpensive. Brilliant!

To add to previous comments, the trigger is useless unless you add the white plastic gasket from the original nozzle. You need to insert it reversed from the original orientation to get it to work in the brass fitting. After I did that I realized that the ball lock fitting actually controls the flow and I removed the gasket. I didn't want to have to press the trigger after I opened the tap in order to get the liquid to flow. To each his own I guess.

 

[geniz]

Yeah, I never saw the need to have the trigger functional. As others have demonstrated, you can put the white washer in line to have the trigger, but when you're using the cleaner it's just one more thing to tend to. As long as you start with the tap closed, the trigger is redundant.

The same is true for cleaning/sanitizing a beer gun.

 

[DustBow]

Built one this weekend, about $20 total and 5 minutes of "labor"
Great idea and thanks for sharing
(I agree about the trigger, you don't really need it since your faucet/cobra tap handle essentially becomes the new trigger)

Also, knowing that a Firestone liquid post works on a 3/8" flare fitting, that opens up a lot more possibilities for other "creations" and tools. Like this: http://www.chicompany.net/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=375_19_221_226&products_id=892

You could put a corny post on this and then hook it up to a water line for cleaning/rinsing/etc.

 

[geniz]

Built one this weekend, about $20 total and 5 minutes of "labor"
Great idea and thanks for sharing
(I agree about the trigger, you don't really need it since your faucet/cobra tap handle essentially becomes the new trigger)

Also, knowing that a Firestone liquid post works on a 3/8" flare fitting, that opens up a lot more possibilities for other "creations" and tools. Like this: http://www.chicompany.net/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=375_19_221_226&products_id=892

You could put a corny post on this and then hook it up to a water line for cleaning/rinsing/etc.

Excellent idea!
Make it, post it!

 

[desertsoilguy]

Will definitely try the Flo-Master idea. Thanks for sharing the concept.

 

[geniz]

This DIY Project got selected for the American Homebrewers Association "Pimp my System" section on their website!!

http://www.homebrewersassociation.o...m/show?title=pimp-my-system-beer-line-cleaner


I want to thank everyone for their interest and support.

 

[day_trippr]

[...]I want to thank everyone for their interest and support.

Aw, shucks. Really, it was nothing.



Mega golf claps to you, geniz! I said it before, of all the DYI tips I've come across this one has the best bang for the buck.

And you have my vote for Sticky status!

Cheers!

 

[user 84304]

Seriously, kudos on this. Actually, I'm gonna go ahead and vote STICKY. Yeah? I thought so.

 

[baer19d]

This may have already been mentioned but I just take an empty Corny keg, fill it with cleaner, pressureize it with compressed air, and clean away.

 

[High_Noonan]

Seriously, kudos on this. Actually, I'm gonna go ahead and vote STICKY. Yeah? I thought so.

Should it be sticky? Or should it be Wiki?

 

[user 84304]

Should it be sticky? Or should it be Wiki?

I don't know, but I don't car either. Sticky or Wiki, this needs to be common documented for future Keggers everywhere! :rockin:

 

[geniz]

I'd be happy to put together a Wiki if there is an interest.
I'd need some pointers on where to find info on how to do it

 

[user 84304]

You'd just head over to https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page and click "Edit" at the top and log in and you should be able to add from there. You'll probably want to put it in this section, though. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Category:Beer_equipment

I'm sure a mod can help out further, as I'm not sure if there are rules for posting to the Wiki, as I've not done it personally. Cheers!

 

[bob1852]

This may have already been mentioned but I just take an empty Corny keg, fill it with cleaner, pressureize it with compressed air, and clean away.

Sure, but that requires an empty keg and a compressor.

I don't like empty kegs and I don't have compressor

 

[geniz]

You'd just head over to https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page and click "Edit" at the top and log in and you should be able to add from there. You'll probably want to put it in this section, though. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Category:Beer_equipment

I'm sure a mod can help out further, as I'm not sure if there are rules for posting to the Wiki, as I've not done it personally. Cheers!

Thanks

I'll give it a shot

 

[sudsmcgee]

This may have already been mentioned but I just take an empty Corny keg, fill it with cleaner, pressureize it with compressed air, and clean away.

OK, stupid question time...how do you attach the compressor hose to the gas in post?

 

[day_trippr]

This may have already been mentioned but I just take an empty Corny keg, fill it with cleaner, pressureize it with compressed air, and clean away.

I've never seen such a thing suggested, probably because most people don't have a compressor handy, and the ones that do wouldn't want to coat the inside of a keg with compressor lubricant or the rusty nasties that collect at the bottom of a compressor tank.

The whole point of this gadget is to not have to use a keg, as well as avoiding the need to use CO2 - or a compressor that most wouldn't even have (and probably wouldn't want to use) - along with simple ease of use (the little spray dude is a lot easier to handle than a keg)...

Cheers!

 

[Metallion66]

Barely going to start kegging but this already looks like a fantastic idea.

 

[golphur]

I used mine for the first time yesterday. I have a two tap kegerator and this hand pump saved time moving kegs with cleaner inside and out, again with rinsing water, and again with Star San. Saved CO2 by not needing to charge the kegs each time. Again...brilliant!

Thanks again for posting. If you have a blog or site where you post your ideas like this please let us know!