Baglorious
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2019
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Greetings all. I built a DIY keg/carboy/multipurpose washer that I am fairly proud of. Very similar to what others have made in many respects, with perhaps a bit more PVC than necessary. I attempted to make something functionally equivalent of the SS Brewtech Keg Washer, where the whole unit could be picked up (keg, washer, pump, and all) and moved from bucket of cleaner (PBW) to bucket of rinse, to bucket of sanitizer (saniclean). With the PVC bracing I made, the 'frame' is constructed so that when the pump is resting on the bottom, the frame fits the inside diameter of the bucket fairly snugly. Keg sits on top of frame. I can use a carboy with one of those plastic stands (for drying) where you invert the carboy on the plastic stand. Good stuff. Whole thing is pretty darn stable, and can be picked up and moved in a singular unit, with keg still attached. It all works great, except...
Even with saniclean rather than star-san (when running in the sanitizer bucket), it overfoams with a keg, to the point where i have to shut it off in about a minute to avoid an overflow of nice sanitary foam out of the bucket. I think on the first run, I may have very slightly over-mixed the saniclean, but nothing drastic. I used just over the 1/2 oz line for 1.5 gals of water.
When washing a carboy, it is apparent that the sanitizer is getting really foamy. I'll have several inches of foam in the bottom of the carboy that is foamy to the point it is not flowing freely, and builds up in the carboy.
The pump is the equivalent of a pump it seems everyone uses for these projects. Got it at Menard's... Barracuda, 1/4 hp, 1500 gal per hour.
Has anyone experienced problems with even Saniclean overflowing due to foam in one of these setups? I think there just may be too much agitation with the fairly powerful pump. I tried it with the CIP nozzle in place and without, hoping that perhaps less 'spray' would result in less foam... but it didn't help. (May have been worse without the CIP nozzle.)
Anyone have a similar experience?
I am wondering if I simply needed a less powerful pump?
Anyone ever 'dilute' their saniclean a bit more than instructed, or have advise on how to address this problem? Was pretty excited by my washer, but the overfoaming really puts a damper on it. I can't simply let it be and come back in 10 minutes.
Hoping for some help. Thanks.
Even with saniclean rather than star-san (when running in the sanitizer bucket), it overfoams with a keg, to the point where i have to shut it off in about a minute to avoid an overflow of nice sanitary foam out of the bucket. I think on the first run, I may have very slightly over-mixed the saniclean, but nothing drastic. I used just over the 1/2 oz line for 1.5 gals of water.
When washing a carboy, it is apparent that the sanitizer is getting really foamy. I'll have several inches of foam in the bottom of the carboy that is foamy to the point it is not flowing freely, and builds up in the carboy.
The pump is the equivalent of a pump it seems everyone uses for these projects. Got it at Menard's... Barracuda, 1/4 hp, 1500 gal per hour.
Has anyone experienced problems with even Saniclean overflowing due to foam in one of these setups? I think there just may be too much agitation with the fairly powerful pump. I tried it with the CIP nozzle in place and without, hoping that perhaps less 'spray' would result in less foam... but it didn't help. (May have been worse without the CIP nozzle.)
Anyone have a similar experience?
I am wondering if I simply needed a less powerful pump?
Anyone ever 'dilute' their saniclean a bit more than instructed, or have advise on how to address this problem? Was pretty excited by my washer, but the overfoaming really puts a damper on it. I can't simply let it be and come back in 10 minutes.
Hoping for some help. Thanks.