Sanke keg cleaner build

[BrewinSoldier]

Figured I'd post this up since I had a really hard time finding one that was semi decent quality, or threads that started good then the OP disappeared. I've finally decided to make the switch to Sanke kegs for many reasons. This build is my own design and kind of figuring things out/building/redesigning as I go. Also thinking of the future add on's as well while I'm building this thing.

I'll try to post a list up when I get a chance of how much this "little" project is costing me.

So far, I've purchased 40' of 1.25" stainless steel square tubing with a .120 wall thickness. I also purchased a 12' piece of 1/8" thick flat bar that's 1.25" wide for making the caps on the ends of the open tubing. All the stainless steel was about $250.

I purchased (4) 3" casters with a 3/8" screw thread, and brakes from home depot for about $25. I welded on the flat bar to the bottom of the legs to plug them up. Then I drilled holes in the center and tapped them out with a 3/8-16 tap. The threaded wheels screwed right in.

I also had to go buy a 2LB roll of stainless might wire that was about $38. Then I had to go swap out my 90cu ft. bottle of argon for a 90cu ft bottle of tri mix. That little adventure cost me $165. I still have a ways to go and the bottle is already empty. The 2LB spool of wire should be enough for the rest of the job.

I bought the chugger max nano pump with SS head in eBay a few months ago for I believe about $300. I'm hoping this pump will be powerful enough. I believe it should be based on the fact Colorado brewing uses them in their keg washer.

I already had a 10gallon Blichmann kettle with 240v boil coil I will be using for the acid#6 and then the sanitizer. Can't remember what I paid for it but I recently upgraded to a 30 gallon system and didn't have a need for it anymore, so why not repurpose it? I replumbed my hot water heater in the garage and added a hot water spigot in the garage so I can hook a hose up to it and have hot water for cleaning my kettles, conicals, and using it for the hot water rinse cycle on the keg washer. That eliminates the need for an extra kettle just for hot rinse water.

I'll get into the other stuff as I keep working on it and add prices.

My plan for now is to keep it pretty manual, with the intention of adding onto it with another kettle for sanitizer (which means I'll weld on another section of tubing the same way I have now to accommodate another kettle). I'll also add a controller that will control the acid kettle temps. I may switch out the pump later with a 3/4-1HP brewery wash down pump if this chugger nano doesn't cut it. Other than that, it will probably stay how it is.

 

[khannon]

When I clicked, I thought "I use Sanke kegs, and they are a pain to clean, maybe I'll find a decent solution here." After clicking I thought "Damn, I wonder if he'll build me one.."

Seriously, great build, I look forward to hearing how well it works. Also, nice truck.

Kevin

 

[BrewinSoldier]

When I clicked, I thought "I use Sanke kegs, and they are a pain to clean, maybe I'll find a decent solution here." After clicking I thought "Damn, I wonder if he'll build me one.."

Seriously, great build, I look forward to hearing how well it works. Also, nice truck.

Kevin

Haha I appreciate that! Yeah the brewing stuff is only second to my truck...lol

This thing is definitely costing way more than I planned on spending. Luckily I bought some of it a few months ago which helped spread some of the cost. Lots of labor involved though. As simple as it looks, it's a lot of work.

 

[BrewinSoldier]

Alright well update for today. I ran out of gas after like two welds. I also ran out of cutting wheel on the chop saw. So another $19 expense for an abrasive wheel for stainless. Another $65 for a swap out on gas. I'm almost done welding and cutting though so I should still have quite a bit left for future projects.

I was able to get all the flat bar cut for the caps and welded on. Also got the two 4" pieces of tubing cut and welded for the manifold. Also got all the welds grinded down and cleaned up. The only thing left to do is cut and weld the shelf for the pump. I can't remember exactly but I've got about $200-$250 into the manifold, clamps, pressure gauge, one way check valve, mini ball valve, and tri- clamp fittings(which I bought a few months ago).

As far as the shelf goes, I may build it big enough to house both the pump and a 5lb co2 tank. Not sure yet if I'll have enough room but we will see. I'll probably fabricate in some kind of clamp to keep the co2 tank secure. The co2 is used for pushing out the excess liquid in between, and then purging the kegs with co2 after they are sanitized.

The plan after the pump shelf is on will be to run a 1" straight stainless tri clamp from the bottom of the kettle straight to the inlet of the pump with a 90° elbow. Then probably silicone tubing from the outlet of the pump to the inlet of the manifold. I like to give credit where it's due. I got the manifold idea from Colorado Boy on YouTube. I changed mine just a bit but basically the same deal. The way he runs his is how I'll run mine, but I'll be able to keep my acid bath heated at 150 or so the whole time. He also doesn't do a sanitize cycle because he puts beer in his kegs pretty quick. That said, I will be running a sanitizer cycle through mine.

Here is his video in YouTube.



Here's a few more pics of today's progress.

 

[BrewinSoldier]

Alright well another quick update. This pump is doing what it's supposed to do, just not anywhere near the psi I'm after. I got it hooked up and running, however it's only pushing out 7psi which is only half of the 15psi I'm after. That said, the bottom and inside of the keg are getting hot so it is touching them.

I can't afford the CPE pump right now so I may sell this one to someone else who can use it for their purposes, and then try this pump out.

https://www.ebay.com/i/264025878396...&rk=1&rkt=30&sd=302566160938&itm=264025878396

From what I am reading, it can handle caustic chemicals and is a 1HP motor. It says it can handle up to 150° with an upgraded seal. I'm also seeing the importance of a 3/4" ID drain hose now. It's filling the keg up quicker than it can drain with 1/2" hose.

 

[BrewinSoldier]

One last pic for the night. Had to go vote so that took up some of my day, but I got the side shelf welded on after spending a while playing with the pump, just to find out it's not gonna work. There won't be room for the co2 tank now with the other pump which is no biggie. I'll have to do a little more welding on the shelf whenever I get the new pump so I can size it up correctly.

It will probably be a bit before I have the funds to finish it off. Also, when you get a little too cocky with your skills, the world finds a way to put you back in check lol

 

[BrewinSoldier]

Alright!! More progress made and I changed a few things in my original plans up. I decided to say screw it and go all in. I ended up buying a 3 phase LC Thomsen #4 pump. I added on a VFD controller to control the flow by adjusting the speed of the motor. It's way better on the pump. It runs off 120V so I can pretty much use it anywhere.

Im waiting on one more piece that is the 1.5" triclover staight 12" extension tube that goes from the kettle "out" to the pump "in". I had to wait until I finished the fabricating/welding so I could get accurate measurements. Also thinking of swapping out the brewery flex tubing to stainless tri clamp fittings. Then using the 5' sections of the flex for doing kettle and conical CIP, so that way it wasn't wasted money. Anyways, here she is...

 

[Jag75]

Man that one heck of a build !

 

[sam_cotter]

I added on a VFD controller to control the flow by adjusting the speed of the motor. It's way better on the pump. It runs off 120V so I can pretty much use it anywhere.

do you have a link for the VFD?

Sam

 

[cyberbackpacker]

Not the OP but I highly recommend looking into the VFD's below. Great price, great functionality, easy to use, 1 phase to 3 phase converters...

https://www.automationdirect.com/ad...es_(vfd)/gs1_(120_-z-_230_vac)_v-z-hz_control

 

[BrewinSoldier]

do you have a link for the VFD?

Sam

I don't have a link for a website because I bought it all off a guy on Probrewer. Here's the link to his ad. It has his contact info in it.

https://www.probrewer.com/classified-ad/lc-thomsen-4-pump/

 

[BrewinSoldier]

Another update on this thing. I ended up deciding to swap the 3 port manifold out and put on a 4 port manifold. That way I can use one of the ports for the sanitizer with a ball valve to isolate it from the acid. I started playing around with cleaning a keg and at first was only getting to 5psi with the pump at full speed. I knew something was wrong so I decided to take off the one way check valve I have in between the manifold and the acid port brewery hose. That bumped my pressure up to 10psi, which is still not what it should be doing. I started trying to trouble shoot and , I'm an idiot. I never stopped to think about the input flow to the pump. Yes I have all 1" tubing running from the ball valve on the kettle all the way to the inlet on the pump. However, on the inside of the kettle it is sucking through a 3/8" pickup tube..so basically the pump is trying to suck through a straw for that size pump.

I ordered a 1 1/4" greenlee knockout punch which came Friday. Going to punch a whole in the kettle and weld on a 1.5" tri clover flange. That way the pump has zero restrictions. I just have to make sure the level of fluid stays high enough so I don't run the pump dry.

I also bought a 1HP stainless/plastic submersible pump off Amazon to flow the sanitizer. That way I can do hot water, acid, and sanitizer in one run instead of having to break them up.

Once I get this new flange welded on, I'll post another update after trying a few things to see where my PSI is sitting.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

Wow...Quite the build.
I hope your fermenting in the keg otherwise you could just dump some Oxiclean in the keg and forget about it for a few hours....or just rinse with warm water which is really all you need to do 99.9% of the time

 

[Beerwildered]

What would you charge to build this??