Nothing New Carboy Cleaner

[AnOldUR]

Want an easy way to clean carboys, but don't want another project?

I already used a submersible pump in a bucket to feed my immersion chiller. After seeing some great carboy cleaner set-ups here on HBT, thought I could do that. Stuck a short piece of hose on the end of the pump and used the bucket lid that I already put a hole in to work with my grain mill. Nothing new.

Walk over and rotate the carboy every few minutes and after ten minutes or so it's clean.

Way quicker than soaking and no lifting carboys with OxiClean in them.

Before and after shots from an 8 gallon batch using two five gallon carboys as primaries.

 

[krazydave]

I take it that the silicone tubing whips around pretty good in there?
I have a similar setup with just 1/2" rigid copper going into the carboy. The water hits the top and cascades down over all surfaces, but for the dirtier carboys it seems to take forever to clean.

So I was trying to think of a good way to get the water spraying on the sides as well.

I may have to give the silicone a shot next...

 

[Chrisl77]

Try one of these sprinkler heads. They thread directly onto 1/2" fittings.

 

[AnOldUR]

I take it that the silicone tubing whips around pretty good in there . . . The water hits the top and cascades down over all surfaces, but for the dirtier carboys it seems to take forever to clean

No, the tube doesn't whip around (although maybe a thinner wall silicone tube would.) What helps with my setup is that the pump pushes the OxiClean water faster than it can exit, so after a while the water line is above the krausen ring. Eventually all that remains is a thick foam flushing through the carboy.

Cleaning again today. No blow-off with this batch, but the krausen ring is thicker and stuck on more. It is taking longer to remove, but it's not like there's any real work involved. Just wait til it's done.

 

[Hamaki]

Which pump are you using, how many GPM?

 

[Homercidal]

Maybe a non-foaming Oxi would help the stuff drain faster and leave less foam in the carboy. I may have to find a cheap HF pump someplace and build something like this. I leave carboys sitting with oxi sometimes, but it doesn't always get the dried crud off the first time.

 

[AnOldUR]

You could be right, but the foam is really dense and in constant motion from the pump.

I like to think of it as "Scrubbing Bubbles" from the toilet cleaning commercial.

 

[easttex]

I made something just like this with a $30 600gph Chinese hydroponics pump I bought off eBay and some CPVC. Best $40 I have yet spent on home brewing.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

I had tried the same with oxy-clean and a pump, and a nozzle, but the foam was crazy bad and would overflow everywhere. I went back to soaking. I can reuse the water for 4-5 carboys just by adding a new measure of oxy-clean.

MC

 

[Homercidal]

Shouldn't be too hard to find an anti-foaming agent. I know StarSan has a version with it for companies who do CIP.

 

[krazydave]

I add a few drops of fermcap s - the same stuff used for brewing. That knocks the foam down in a hurry.