Is that the March AC-5C-MD pump? How is that working? My buddy is looking to upgrade from a March 809/815.
Sanke Keg Washer build
- Thread starter marcb
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marcb
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Hi, it's the AC-5B-MD from Tesco pumps. It shows $290 on amazon right now but I picked it up cheaper back in August last year primarily to whirlpool my 20 gallon batches. It works great! I just picked up the SS version for my newest project. These things put out some serious volume/pressure when fed right.
Nice! Looks like a great pump at 17gpm and 27' of head.
Another new project?!?! What now?:rockin:
I saw your conical heater project....that is pretty awesome...forwarded to my buddy with a 27gal Fermenator.
marcb
Well-Known Member
nvrstck said:
Next up is the 1.5BBL brewery. I've been doing 2/3 BBL and it is time to go bigger ; )
marcb
Well-Known Member
Washing two kegs at the same time! I really need to document the steps for purging the old beer and cleaning as it got even more confusing with two kegs simultaneously!
Two drain valves
Two valves on each sanke tap
One for the pump (mostly to stop air from bleeding back into the bottom of the kettles)
Two for flow direction
Two for the air/co2 manifold
One for the return
10 valves total!
Two drain valves
Two valves on each sanke tap
One for the pump (mostly to stop air from bleeding back into the bottom of the kettles)
Two for flow direction
Two for the air/co2 manifold
One for the return
10 valves total!
That's pretty awesome. How are you heating the cleaning solution?
marcb
Well-Known Member
Currently I'm using my tankless to fill the left kettles with 160 degree water and PBW. I plan on adding a 2KW element and a PID based controller to keep it there for a whole session (usually I clean 8-10 kegs at a time). Tomorrow I'm welding fittings on the bottom for a drain valve.
marcb
Well-Known Member
Sorry for the lack of updates. Had quite the fiasco as the welder accidentally welded the bungs upside down so I couldn't thread the valves in on the kettles!!! We got it resolved though and it's all back together. Fastev is just about done with the panel and this thing may get finished up tonight! Will be posting more pics and info as well as some video links. For those of you that wondered why I went so crazy on a keg washer, check out my new build thread and you'll understand why ; )
marcb
Well-Known Member
Someone had asked for a pic of the top without a keg on it, here you go. Note the outer edges of the supports are 8" apart, I would probably make the gap a little larger on the next one as I didn't account for the oversized micromatic filler/cleaner heads. The second pic is the super clean fastev panel for 1500w element pid and pump control.
marcb
Well-Known Member
Last of the work should be stitched up tomorrow! Phew, this has been one fun build! Thanks to fastev for all the effort and helping me drink all that Pliny!
Carlscan26
Well-Known Member
Nice rig!
Have you considered rotating the air in connection so it comes up from below rather than above? It is probably fine but it looks a little awkward with the hose looping up and then down to the connection. I doubt it's putting any real tension on the valve assembly but it also looks like it could.
Have you considered rotating the air in connection so it comes up from below rather than above? It is probably fine but it looks a little awkward with the hose looping up and then down to the connection. I doubt it's putting any real tension on the valve assembly but it also looks like it could.
marcb
Well-Known Member
Carlscan26 said:
Thanks!
I have, unfortunately I'm using a plastic co2 QD so I purposely put it on the bottom to avoid tension. On the air side I'm using a metal QD and have a long enough hose that its not an issue. If I built another one I would probably build that manifold a little differently.
trip2hard
Well-Known Member
Where did you get them little tanks?
marcb
Well-Known Member
trip2hard said:
eBay from robo-ron66, he doesn't have anything listed right now so PM me if you want his email address. He also is the one that sells Chinese conicals really cheap on eBay too, that's how I found him.
marcb
Well-Known Member
fastev said:
You know I didn't! The down side to when Pliny is on tap is that EVERYONE stops by and I have a tendency to socialize more than I should when I need to get stuff done. Tonight! I need to finish this!
marcb
Well-Known Member
Thanks to fastev for kicking me in the a$$ to finish this up as I've just been sitting around drinking instead of getting any projects done.....
First test with cold water with 1500w 120v element.
First test with cold water with 1500w 120v element.
I can't get over how bright that pump switch lamp is!
Looking forward to seeing this in action!
By the way, I ordered wire labels for the big panel today. I have a layout in mind I think you'll like. Ill run it by you when you drop off the kettles.
Looking forward to seeing this in action!
By the way, I ordered wire labels for the big panel today. I have a layout in mind I think you'll like. Ill run it by you when you drop off the kettles.
marcb
Well-Known Member
fastev said:
Awesome! Thanks!
marcb
Well-Known Member
finally got the controller stitched up last night! I think we can call this build complete. I've received a couple of PM's from people who are interested in building these. I'm happy to share any information you'll need to do this build, it wasn't tough but there was lots of learning along the way and I would consider doing a few things differently next time.
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So awesome. I've been wanting to build a sanke keg washer myself. This may be the push I need.
Even with all the shinies, this is a serious bargain compared to the commercial ones. Could you easily make this guy totally manual? Would love to have a total instructable on this build. Been wrestling with how to clean my kegs for a while.
marcb
Well-Known Member
It was originally totally manual and worked fine, Fastev built the panel and I hacked it to completion : )
The plan was to provide better documentation but my new build has slowed that down a bit, several small breweries are now building manual keg washers off of this design. I'm happy to answer any questions for provide any additional detail you may need to complete one of these!
Do you think you could do it with a smaller pump like the chuggers? I have 3 AC-5B-MDs (two mounted to the stand) and could probably appropriate the cold side pump (not mounted to anything) for this, but it'd be nice to have a dedicated pump for the keg washer.
marcb
Well-Known Member
daksin said:
No, you need the volume/pressure that the bigger pump provides. Mine isn't mounted as the plumbing holds it in place. Two TC connections and a pigtail and its ready to use elsewhere.
trip2hard
Well-Known Member
Just got my pump in to build this bad boy 
marcb
Well-Known Member
trip2hard said:Just got my pump in to build this bad boy
How's the build coming?
Fantastic work, man! I've been thinking about seting up a sankey CIP system in the future. I don't have the space (or funding) for a dedicated rig like this, so I'll probably use my existing mash and boil keggles as the chemical brinks. I will be refering back to this thread when I tackle the project.
marcb
Well-Known Member
Thanks! Even with the brewery redesign and rebuild I'm not sure exactly where this is going. The footprint is small and it will also be my CIP cart. Let me know if you have any questions, I'm sure this can be done really inexpensively with 3/4" NPT on the in and 1/2" NPT on the out side.
thereefspot
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Could you PM me the guys email addy for those kettles?
marcb
Well-Known Member
He's no longer building those kettles, they were too expensive to produce.
marcb
Well-Known Member
dolemike said:
Sure, I'll post one in a day or so!
marcb
Well-Known Member
marcb said:
Sorry, been lagging on this. Will get one posted tonight.
marcb
Well-Known Member
Parts List:
40 linear feet of .065 wall 304 ornamental finish 1" square stainless tube (purchased in 20ft lengths)
2 10 Gallon kettles with TC fittings for distilling
3 1" T-type 3 way 1.5" tri clamp ball valves
1 1/2" 1.5" tri clamp ball valve
2 1/2" T-type 3 way 1/2" NPT ball valves
4 1" TC 90's
4 1" tri clamp tube (6" length)
1 March nano pump 1" inlet, 1/2" outlet
1 1/2" nipple (6" length)
4 caster city casters and 4 McMaster 1" tube threaded caster connectors
that about does it for the physical components.
40 linear feet of .065 wall 304 ornamental finish 1" square stainless tube (purchased in 20ft lengths)
2 10 Gallon kettles with TC fittings for distilling
3 1" T-type 3 way 1.5" tri clamp ball valves
1 1/2" 1.5" tri clamp ball valve
2 1/2" T-type 3 way 1/2" NPT ball valves
4 1" TC 90's
4 1" tri clamp tube (6" length)
1 March nano pump 1" inlet, 1/2" outlet
1 1/2" nipple (6" length)
4 caster city casters and 4 McMaster 1" tube threaded caster connectors
that about does it for the physical components.
marcb
Well-Known Member
marcb said:
Oh and for control I would definitely recommend auberins pids and rtds. I just replaced the love setup I had in there (wrong options - great support!) for less than $50 and had it swapped out in like 10 minutes and working like a champ.
marcb
Well-Known Member
Brandjes said:
No, actually it is all 1" but that isn't clear in my list ; )
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