How I clean my kegerator tap lines with my chugger pump

[TandemTails]

I wanted to find a way to clean my kegerator lines and taps the easiest / laziest way possible so I pulled out my Riptide pump, silicone tubing and small bottling bucket and got to work:

I ran the following cycles backwards through the system (into the tap and out through the beer line)

1. hot rinse water for a few minutes with the first bit purged into a dump bucket
2. hot PBW wash for 15 minutes
3. hot water rinse for 10 minutes (with first PBW bit purged into dump bucket)
4. BLC wash for 15 minutes (I really wanted to clean this line since i had a ginger ale in here before this keg and could still taste some of it in the beer I had on tap afterwards)
5. hot water rinse for 10 minutes

I'm not sure if I have the timing down. You could simply do one rinse of either PBW or BLC but I wanted to make double sure this line was clean due to lingering ginger ale flavors.

I'll be kegging up a hefeweizen this weekend and will probably do a quick sani rinse through the line from my keg before I fill it with hefe.

 

[IslandLizard]

Excellent!

I do something very similar with my brew pump (March).

I don't use BLC, just a strong hot PBW solution fortified with NaOH (lye). After a good rinse, with a little acid added at the end, I run Starsan through the line, and like you, discarding the heads.

 

[kevink]

Since my pumps are permanently mounted to my brew stand, I clean my lines with a little $10.00 pond pump from Harbor Freight. They work great!

 

[Blazinlow86]

Since my pumps are permanently mounted to my brew stand, I clean my lines with a little $10.00 pond pump from Harbor Freight. They work great!

I do the same as my pumps are also mounted to my stand . Bucket under the tap with the pump and I have a 6 foot line with a male ball lock connection that I can hook up inside the fridge. I don't like having to disconnect anything so I find this works great. It's actually my keg/ carboy washers that I can also use for the lines. Cheers

 

[FunkedOut]

Get a tad more efficient (lazier) and get some (n/2) of these:
https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/ball_lock_jumperpost.htm

use ^those^ to link your black quick connects together.
use silicone tubing to link your faucets together.
clean all your lines in one pass.

 

[Blazinlow86]

Get a tad more efficient (lazier) and get some (n/2) of these:
https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/ball_lock_jumperpost.htm

use ^those^ to link your black quick connects together.
use silicone tubing to link your faucets together.
clean all your lines in one pass.

I've considered it however the flow rate is already pretty slow. I also generally don't clean all the taps at the same time. I do it when the keg kicks as I usually go thru a 5g corny in a few weeks. Your way is definitely the better way to do it if you have a good pump. Mine was just the 19.99 Lowe's pond pump. Cheers

 

[IslandLizard]

Get a tad more efficient (lazier) and get some (n/2) of these:
https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/ball_lock_jumperpost.htm

use ^those^ to link your black quick connects together.
use silicone tubing to link your faucets together.
clean all your lines in one pass.

What kind of pump do you use? That keg washer pump must have a lot of oomph.
When I couple more than 3 15' lines (~45') in series, line resistance starts impeding flow too much using the March brew pump.

 

[FunkedOut]

What kind of pump do you use? That keg washer pump must have a lot of oomph.
When I couple more than 3 15' lines (~45') in series, line resistance starts impeding flow too much using the March brew pump.

I'd say the pump is middle of the road. High side being a chugger pump and lower side being a super small china special (think those tan jobs).
I use the this pump:
https://www.ssbrewtech.com/collecti...replacement-pump-for-ftss-temp-control-system

It's what came with the the keg washer.
Just convenient that the barb on it fits 1/2" silicone tubing that can stretch over a faucet beak.

Saving grace is that I only have two taps at the moment, like Tandem Tails.
Even if I had a half dozen or so. Moving BLC is better than stagnant cleaner.

Wait, how did you know I had a keg washer pump? This is weirding me out...

 

[kevink]

I've considered it however the flow rate is already pretty slow.s

Flow rate doesn't really matter. As long as you have some exchange of cleaning solution in the lines, you're fine.

 

[Blazinlow86]

Flow rate doesn't really matter. As long as you have some exchange of cleaning solution in the lines, you're fine.

Definitely. I don't think it would exchange at all with another line hooked up using my pump however. I think because I have 12 foot lines and there semi permanent mounted to the roof of my keg fridge it makes it more difficult for the pump. Cheers

 

[IslandLizard]

Definitely. I don't think it would exchange at all with another line hooked up using my pump however. I think because I have 12 foot lines and there semi permanent mounted to the roof of my keg fridge it makes it more difficult for the pump. Cheers

Indeed, a pump's "head", the maximum height it can push liquid, surely plays a large factor, in addition to resistance. The higher it has to push the lower the volume, flow.

 

[IslandLizard]

I'd say the pump is middle of the road. High side being a chugger pump and lower side being a super small china special (think those tan jobs).
I use the this pump:
https://www.ssbrewtech.com/collecti...replacement-pump-for-ftss-temp-control-system

It's what came with the the keg washer.
Just convenient that the barb on it fits 1/2" silicone tubing that can stretch over a faucet beak.

Saving grace is that I only have two taps at the moment, like Tandem Tails.
Even if I had a half dozen or so. Moving BLC is better than stagnant cleaner.

Wait, how did you know I had a keg washer pump? This is weirding me out...

On that scale my March pump would fall on the higher side, next to the Chuggers, giving a bit more pressure/head than yours.

I was thinking, after the PBW/NaOH mixture cycle and a quick rinse to use a (strong) acid cycle to remove any beerstone. The BevSeal Ultra 235 lines I use are PET lined and quite slick inside, I doubt a lot of beerstone clings to it. Maybe good after 4-10 kegs went through or so. That will be awhile.

Agreed, a decent flow rate is better than cleaner sitting stagnant.

Hah! I did not know you had a keg washer, I must have assumed you used one after reading n/2 (many) taps...

I'm impressed that little pump gives enough pressure to wash kegs. I've seen builds that use a 3/4-1 HP sump pump!
When I had a pool, that pump was 1 HP. That was a lot of pressure and moved a lot of water!

 

[FunkedOut]

It doesn’t have a lot of pressure really.
It definitely doesn’t pressure clean the kegs.
It spins the little CIP ball very well and thus reaches every corner.
Must be the chemicals doing the cleaning.
PBW and 20 minutes.

 

[helterscelter]

Get a tad more efficient (lazier) and get some (n/2) of these:
https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/ball_lock_jumperpost.htm

use ^those^ to link your black quick connects together.
use silicone tubing to link your faucets together.
clean all your lines in one pass.

I just ordered a set! Thanks for the pointer!