Do you need to pbw your pre-boil equip?

[Khasta]

Im wondering if just a good cleaning with like dish washing soap is enough for your pre-boil equip or should i still pbw everything? For everything that comes in contact with the wort post boil this is all pbw/rinse/starsan of course but say your boil kettle and your mash kettle, false bottom etc...? Thanks in advance

 

[flars]

A good rinse after use and before the next use should be good for preboil equipment. Stuck on gunk could be taken off with a weak PBW solution or wet wiped with Barkeepers Friend. I do this to avoid any chance of some soap residue remaining on the equipment.

 

[JonM]

Same here. Pre-boil stuff gets a rinse with the garden hose and maybe some elbow grease with a paper towel.

 

[eadavis80]

I actually cleaned my brew kettle for the first time in probably 15 batches yesterday with some Oxy Clean. I normally just hose it out with a green scrubby once the yeast is pitched, but I actually cleaned it yesterday. I doubt it makes any difference in all honesty.

 

[dk21]

I hose my mash tun out, but I do mix up a few gallons of PBW in my boil kettle, primarily because I can conveniently soak other items in there while I clean everything else up. I don't think it's a bad thing to run PBW through my kettle's ball valve, either.

 

[TheMadKing]

I actually cleaned my brew kettle for the first time in probably 15 batches yesterday with some Oxy Clean. I normally just hose it out with a green scrubby once the yeast is pitched, but I actually cleaned it yesterday. I doubt it makes any difference in all honesty.

This

I never PBW my kettle, mash paddle, or chiller. I just wipe them down with a green scrubby after each use, and rinse them well.

I wouldn't recommend using dish soap on anything unless you rinse the everlovin' crap out of it too. It can leave residue that kills head retention.

 

[jlongstreet]

I run PBW through my kettle, because I want to run it through my hoses, pump, etc. Recirculate for a few minutes, use a sponge to get the gunk out, then do the same with hot water for a rinse.

My mash tun gets a hosedown. I've never "cleaned" it.

 

[Sir_niveda]

I usually soak all the hoses, canes and such in my mash tun (with PBW) just to keep it looking decent and smelling like nothing. If you've never thoroughly cleaned your ball valves, you may want to take them apart and check em out. I've seen some nasty stuff going on in there.

 

[TheMadKing]

I usually soak all the hoses, canes and such in my mash tun (with PBW) just to keep it looking decent and smelling like nothing. If you've never thoroughly cleaned your ball valves, you may want to take them apart and check em out. I've seen some nasty stuff going on in there.

With my ball valve on my kettle, I fill my kettle halfway up with hot water and work the valve open and closed while the water is running out. It's amazing how much wort gets trapped in the ball and won't come out unless it's in the partially opened condition.

 

[TorMag]

I hose my mash tun out, but I do mix up a few gallons of PBW in my boil kettle, primarily because I can conveniently soak other items in there while I clean everything else up. I don't think it's a bad thing to run PBW through my kettle's ball valve, either.

+1 here. My kettle gets filled with water, heated and PBW'd, then everything is cleaned in there.

 

[Khasta]

Thanks for all the feedback fellas
Cheers

 

[IslandLizard]

I run PBW through my kettle, because I want to run it through my hoses, pump, etc. Recirculate for a few minutes, use a sponge to get the gunk out, then do the same with hot water for a rinse. [...]

I like to chime in on this:

Recently, after recirculating 3-4 gallons of a strong, near boiling PBW solution for several hours through my kettle, hoses, and plate chiller, I was amazed at the richness of the brown color it yielded. All had been cleaned after each brew and occasionally recirculated before. I'm doing this thorough recirculation more routinely now.

For reference, I brew 2-4 5 gallon batches a month, on average.

 

[headfullahops]

I brew basically once a week. I wash my MLT and kettle (both Bayou Classic pots) with dish soap, water, and a scrubber sponge after every brew. I then back-flush my plate chiller with 6-7 gallons of clean (not soapy) water from my kettle. I will recirculate hot PBW solution if there's buildup on anything that won't scrub away, but I pretty much use PBW for fermenters and flasks only.

I use PBW to clean other non-brewery related household things all the time - espresso machine, coffee maker, fridge, etc. I also use Star-San for brightening up metal utensils and removing buildup from glassware. Am I the only one? LOL

Cheers!

 

[oakbarn]

Yes and no. I regularly clean my entire system after a brew. I have a Stay in Place SS manifold that I do not take apart anymore. I do use PBW on my manifold, pumps, MLT, and Brew Kettle. I cycle hot (140) PBW through all of it about for two hours including my Plate Chiller and Hose that I transfer cooled wort to the Fermentor. You have to think of the Hot side and the Cooled side. The Cooled Side is much more important. That being said, I clean everything. Why did I say no? I had a Blickmann brew kettle that had one of those bolted together ball valves. After a year of brewing, I decided to clean it. It was full of gunk and all the seals were brown. It never seemed to effect the brews so it made me think of the Hot Side vs the Cooled Side. You need to be very careful on the Cooled Side, but not so on the hot. In fact, one time a grain bag broke and we had to sweep up the grain off the floor. Beer was good. Another time I stepped into a bucket of wort (pre boil), We called that "sneaker beer". It was fine.