Wort/Beer line cleaners?? What would you recommend?

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Turfgrass

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I have only washed my HERMS setup with soap and water and then followed with recirculating boiling water to continue the cleaning process. I do have brewery wash that I have yet to use. For the keezer- it is new, but I know that I will be cleaning it in the near future after my kegs finish carbonating and I tap them. What would you recommend for line cleaning intervals and products? Thank you.
 
I have only washed my HERMS setup with soap and water and then followed with recirculating boiling water to continue the cleaning process. I do have brewery wash that I have yet to use.

For general cleaning of stainless steel, I like PBW. If that's what you mean by brewery wash, I'd say you're good.

For the keezer- it is new, but I know that I will be cleaning it in the near future after my kegs finish carbonating and I tap them. What would you recommend for line cleaning intervals and products?

For tap lines, I like BLC Beer Line Cleaner to clean, followed by water (to rinse), followed by Star San solution to sanitize.
 
My tap lines I use a small mini keg. I'll put some really hot water in it and run a couple quarts thru the line/faucet between each keg until the line blows empty. The line is well flushed.

Then a new keg gets hooked up immediately and a quick burp to purge any air in the line and start clearing the keg trub from the new beer.
 
PBW is great. If you can get a 50# pail you will save a ton on $$$ vs retail.
Or use Homemade PBW at around $2-3 a pound.
30% Sodium MetaSilicate (TSP/90)*
70% Sodium Percarbonate**

* Regular TSP (TriSodium Phosphate), where available, can be used instead.
** Oxiclean Free (or a decent generic) can be used instead. The higher percentage of Sodium Percarbonate it contains the closer to real PBW it will get (more oxygen).
 
PBW is great. If you can get a 50# pail you will save a ton on $$$ vs retail.
It comes in pail????
b71249ec2e0c98f80443f5b63b6cf25f.png
 
I've had my current 50# pail of it for about 4 years and no concerns, however I keep it sealed so that humidity can't get to it. I used it today and it works just as well as when first bought.
 

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I bought a cheap submersible pump from Amazon for like $15 and use it to recirculate BLC through my draft lines. Makes the process really easy.

I use it to recirculate ice-water through my chiller when groundwater gets too hot as well. Nice to have.
 
I buy PBW by the 50# pail as well. I keep an old 5# container and refill that occasionally, then hammer the lid back in place. I use picnic taps inside my keezer, so when they kick, I just pull the keg and line out. Wash out the keg on a Marks Kegwasher, then change to a different fitting and hook up the line. Warm PBW for both, Use it for the fermenters too...

Handy thing is I plumbed a ball valve to a ball lock post to my house water. connect the line and rinse. Pop another post in to drain. siphon some starsan through and reassemble.
 
Do you just use an air compressor?
Any concerns or getting oil in the keg or do you use one of those oil free air compressors?
 
The compressor has an oil crankcase but has never had an in-line oiler on it. Never sensed any oil out of it.
 
For wort side (HERMS coil) I either give it a good rinse post brewing, or run PBW solution through it followed by a good rinse (to clear out the residue).

For beer lines in the keezer, most of the time I run StarSan through them when a keg kicks. I keep a keg with that in it just to clear lines and such. I just put it on CO2 for ease of use. If a line has sat vacant for any length of time, I run StarSan through it again before connecting it to a keg. It's easy to see if the line is clean or not (clear lines are good for that). Plus filling it with StarSan and letting it sit for a few minutes (or more) means it will kill anything that might be in there.

IF I have ANY concerns about the beer line I replace it. I typically have enough line on hand to replace at least two feeds. I actually make it a point to have that much in reserve.
 
The compressor has an oil crankcase but has never had an in-line oiler on it. Never sensed any oil out of it.
It's almost impossible not to have oil being nebulized into microscopically fine droplets with such a system.
But I think it would be fine if using it with an (alkaline) line cleaner, as it should bind any grease.
I use homemade PBW as line cleaner with a little lye solution (2%) added to it. Then rinse with water, followed by Starsan. I usually pump the solutions through the lines, saving CO2 for better uses.
 
For wort side (HERMS coil) I either give it a good rinse post brewing, or run PBW solution through it followed by a good rinse (to clear out the residue).

For beer lines in the keezer, most of the time I run StarSan through them when a keg kicks. I keep a keg with that in it just to clear lines and such. I just put it on CO2 for ease of use. If a line has sat vacant for any length of time, I run StarSan through it again before connecting it to a keg. It's easy to see if the line is clean or not (clear lines are good for that). Plus filling it with StarSan and letting it sit for a few minutes (or more) means it will kill anything that might be in there.

IF I have ANY concerns about the beer line I replace it. I typically have enough line on hand to replace at least two feeds. I actually make it a point to have that much in reserve.
I do this also and just leave Star San in the line until I'm ready to connect the new keg. Is there anything wrong with doing that?
 
I do this also and just leave Star San in the line until I'm ready to connect the new keg. Is there anything wrong with doing that?
I sometimes do that, never had any trouble.

As a matter of fact, leaving the line filled with Starsan may be better when being stored for very long times (several weeks, months even) between uses, as any air in the line may contain mold spores that may grow over time, especially when kept stored in warm areas.
I often get some very visible mold/mildew growth on the inside (headspace) of partially filled Starsan buckets and the bottom of their lids if left for several months.

An alternative would be drying the inside, but you know how long that takes, unless you can blow (hot) air through it.
 
I've only ever used Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (Sodium Carbonate) with hot water to clean all of my equipment, beverage lines, siphons, taps and kegs. At least if you were to consume any residue or inhale the dust as you prepare a solution it isn't as toxic as all of the other alternatives out there nor is it caustic enough to damage anything but just strong enough to be effective. You can usually find boxes of washing soda in the laundry detergent aisle of the supermarket.
 
I've only ever used Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (Sodium Carbonate) with hot water to clean all of my equipment, beverage lines, siphons, taps and kegs. At least if you were to consume any residue or inhale the dust as you prepare a solution it isn't as toxic as all of the other alternatives out there nor is it caustic enough to damage anything but just strong enough to be effective. You can usually find boxes of washing soda in the laundry detergent aisle of the supermarket.
I agree, washing soda is a very decent all round cleaner, degreaser, I too use it a lot, and it's cheap as heck.
But where it counts some oxygen action (Oxiclean Free) will assist, as does adding some TSP or TSP/90 to supercharge it. I got this link posted in another thread:

https://www.bertusbrewery.com/2012/11/super-charge-your-oxiclean.html
 
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