Keg / Carboy Washer (yes another) . . .

CornyKegs 728
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stonebrewer said:
Whutever: I like this enough that I am going to finally build one. I absolutely hate cleaning carboys and kegs with a brush and your take on this has convinced me it is worth the effort and cash to make my own. Thanks!!
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Yes, it's a god send when it comes to cleaning carboys. Kegs I don't mind but carboys, ugh. Glad you like it but again, props to those who built them before me as I took ideas from many. Having said that, prices have dropped dramitcally and you can now buy it from MoreBeer for $99 (on sale). Yes, I'm a MoreBeer fanboy but it'll be tax free (at least for me) with free shipping. IIRC I spent around $90 to build it. So if you're just wanting the DIY aspect of it then have fun. If not, then I'd recommend that unit from MB.

Cheers stone!
 
I'm definitely interested in this project. Anyone have any experience with the one from morebeer? I like the idea to use the pump to drive my wort chiller as well. Not just as a cleaner. It justifies spending the money even more. I live in NC and it took 30 minutes to bring my wort to 80 deg and wouldn't go any lower. Can the more beer pump double as that or no?
 
I went to the harborfreight website. Are these pumps that some have used? I know next to nothing about pumps. Which one will work best. I want to both pump ice water through an immersion chiller and want to be able to use it to clean carboys/kegs?

35$ 620 gph http://www.harborfreight.com/620-gph-submersible-fountain-pump-68393.html
50$ 1350 gph http://www.harborfreight.com/16-horsepower-submersible-utility-pump-68422.html
65$ 2866 gph http://www.harborfreight.com/34-horsepower-submersible-dirty-water-pump-with-float-switch-69299.html

Thanks for any/all advice.

Corey
 
I'm going to be building mine with 1" pipe instead of 1/2", using the 1/6th HF pump.

We'll see how it turns out.
 
Redcat said:
I'm going to be building mine with 1" pipe instead of 1/2", using the 1/6th HF pump.

We'll see how it turns out.
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Strongly recommend against that...your water needs to get out somehow. On my conicals and carboys the 1/2 is perfect, shoots up hard into the vessel, and drains effectively. My conicals actually hold water, so If the pipe was any bigger my pump would eventually run dry
 
smittygouv30 said:
I went to the harborfreight website. Are these pumps that some have used? I know next to nothing about pumps. Which one will work best. I want to both pump ice water through an immersion chiller and want to be able to use it to clean carboys/kegs?

35$ 620 gph http://www.harborfreight.com/620-gph-submersible-fountain-pump-68393.html
50$ 1350 gph http://www.harborfreight.com/16-horsepower-submersible-utility-pump-68422.html
65$ 2866 gph http://www.harborfreight.com/34-horsepower-submersible-dirty-water-pump-with-float-switch-69299.html

Thanks for any/all advice.

Corey
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I bought the middle one. Will put it together this weekend and let you know but there was another post above that said it was all good so I think you are safe with it. The last one has bad reviews...
 
stonebrewer said:
I bought the middle one. Will put it together this weekend and let you know but there was another post above that said it was all good so I think you are safe with it. The last one has bad reviews...
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I just got the same one. I picked up the other project pieces at lowes and am looking forward to putting it together tomorrow. I got the pump for 40$ as I used a 20% off coupon. What a steal. That's like 1/2 price as compared to most places. Let's just hope it doesn't burn up after 2 uses.
 
smittygouv30 said:
I just got the same one. I picked up the other project pieces at lowes and am looking forward to putting it together tomorrow. I got the pump for 40$ as I used a 20% off coupon. What a steal. That's like 1/2 price as compared to most places. Let's just hope it doesn't burn up after 2 uses.
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Mines been going for months. No problems so far.
 
I don't know about others but I know I contemplated just buying the pre-fab keg/carboy washer or if I should go the DIY route. For future people that may ask themselves the same question I compiled an expense report. The total cost for the build was $91.20 which includes everything (even shipping for the carboy cleaner and ball lock disconnects).

Overall the cost is comparable and overall savings was about 20$. Morebeer has the unit for $99 plus 10$ shipping, and rebel brewer has it for $93 plus $14 shipping.

Prior to collecting the materials I assumed the price would be close but I was hoping it would be a little bit more of a cost savings. Oh wellll... DIY projects are always fun. Other things to consider are the dramatic difference in pump strength. The pump included in the prefab is 520 GPH as compared to the 1350 GPH I used (harborfreight with 20% off coupon). Also, I wanted to be able to use the pump with my wort chiller to pump ice cold water in the final stages of cooling. These subtle differences to me make up for the time it takes to collect the materials and complete the build.

Corey

Carboy cleaner expense.jpg
 
Nice price list, pretty complete. I built mine for the cost of the pump and a couple of pieces of PVC as I had almost everything else laying around the house. Put mine together today and am itching to use it. Power was out here all day and just came back on, thank goodness! It is hot in the DC area and no AC, refrigeration, etc. was starting to make me cranky! Anyhow, I will post a pic or two tomorrow if the electricity stays on and clean 3-4 kegs I have been too lazy to get to and let all know how it goes. I have two carboys that I need to drain into kegs and then they will go on the beast next. This is going to save me a bunch of time and effort!!
 
Done! Washed three kegs today with my version of this and all are spotless and shiny new on the inside. The one thing I found that took some trial and error was cutting the top. At first, I tried to minimize the amount of plastic for stability and strength sake, but I soon realized that I needed to remove a lot more plastic or the PBW would all splash out and the pump would run dry. After a few surgical slices and some drilled holes, I got it to the point that next to nothing sloshed over the side. Pretty happy so far. Have an arrogant bastard and an alaskan amber clone finishing up this week, so into the newly cleaned kegs they go and we will give this puppy a spin with carboys.
 
Nice. I finished mine today also. It was a fairly simple project overall. The 2 "hiccups" i ran into were the bucket i bought wasn't deep enough to close the lid and the second being that it took me several attempts to get the lid hole size right. I did get a bit frustrated with the struggle of keeping the water in the bucket. I ended up using a small funnel and cutting the narrow end off. This drastically reduced the mess. Water was flying everywhere the first few trials of cleaning kegs.

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I used mine today for the first time on carboys and alas there is a fundamental flaw with this that I have yet to figure out: the water cannot drain out of the carboy fast enough! I am thinking of a couple of ways to limit flow on this to see if this clears up the issue. Here is the issue, in picture format.

First, the item to be cleaned:
351alg1.jpg


My cleaner in action:
25hfq6h.jpg

Notice that there is few inches of water at the bottom. This is preventing the cleaning action on the most important area of the carboy, where all the dried on krausen is deposited! This picture was taken after two ten minute wash sessions as it was a lot dirtier after the first 10 minutes. The second time I omitted the PBW as it was foaming and making a bit of a mess.

I also learned that you should not spin the carboy! This causes the water to back up and not drain out, and if you don't watch it the pump can go dry! I was hoping that spinning it would cause a whirlpool that would help drain, but it did the opposite.

Any thoughts on how to solve this? My initial thoughts are to try smaller pipe diameter to allow for more of an exit path for the water or put a cap/reducer on to attempt to limit the flow...
 
I had the same issue using 1/2 inch pvc pipe. I switched to 1/2 cpvc pipe (smaller diameter) and it made a big difference.
 
Mine does the very same thing but I just never thought about fixing it. I just shut it off, drain the carboy and turn it on again. I'm now thinking I might reduce it to 1/4" and see how that works.
 
Whutever said:
Mine does the very same thing but I just never thought about fixing it. I just shut it off, drain the carboy and turn it on again. I'm now thinking I might reduce it to 1/4" and see how that works.
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Let me know if you do. I really hate cleaning carboys so if I can get this to work better, it would be awesome. I think I will try reducing the pipe size as well. First one to do it please report back here with your results. I will get to this either this weekend or next, depending on my honey do list, naturally.:)
 
stonebrewer said:
Let me know if you do. I really hate cleaning carboys so if I can get this to work better, it would be awesome. I think I will try reducing the pipe size as well. First one to do it please report back here with your results. I will get to this either this weekend or next, depending on my honey do list, naturally.:)
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Take a look at this link. Dude used a copper pipe with a closed end (I've seen them at fleet farm for $10 i think) narrow but rigid and has an end to drill holes into.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/billjohnn/999066116/in/set-72157601704533915/
 
The 1/2" works great for Kegs, but I couldn't fit my carboy on it.

I'm switching from glass to stainless anyways, so I hopefully won't have to clean the carboy's anymore.
 
I got to use the washer today for the first time. Pretty sweet indeed. It was crazy sudsy but overall it worked great. I ended up using 3/4" PVC for my initial build which caused a lot of backup in the carboy. I ran to lowes and got the supplies to make a second one that's 1/2" and straight up. While I was there I also bought a cord switch and wires that into an extension. I was very annoyed having to plug and unplug so frequently.

image-3804947311.jpg


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COMMISSIONING ALL CARBOY WASHER DIY'ERS!!! Can some one please post a video of a dorty carboy being cleaned with the washer? All the vids I have found are of clean carboys. Would love to see this in action on a dirty carboy or keg. Thanks!
 
Carlscan26 said:
What fittings am I looking for to connect the PVC to the tubing for the gas and liquid connections?
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Take a look at a previous post from Mellman. He has a shopping list with a link to the item you are asking about.
 
Mellman said:
Just picked up things to make one from home depot...they had the right parts this time! Since I hate going to HD and trying to find the right parts which they never seem to have (this was my 4th time trying to get to HD and buy what I needed) - I thought I'd post the parts I bought so anyone else can just try and order these online. I'll be assembling this tonight to make sure everything works as planned.

I have the 1400GPH Harbor Freight 1/4HP Pump which has a 1" FPT outlet. If your pump has a different outlet fitting, adjust accordingly. Also - I didn't have room for the 10ft length of 1/2" PVC, and nobody was around to help me cut it so i just got 2 2' PVC pipes instead...same price as 10ft, but they were there...and it'll get it done.

In any case here are the parts I used

012871626494 @ $0.64
1" x 1/2" PVC Bushing

012871626050 @ $0.50
1" PVC Male Adapter
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WOW... thanks for the part list, it's very helpful. However I'm embarrassed to say I have no idea what that first part is (the bushing) and where it's supposed to go? Can anyone shed some light? :eek:

Also, the second part is no longer a valid link so I'm not sure what that part is for..... but I'm guessing by the picture on the HD site, that's the part to connect the PVC to the pump.... is that right?





smittygouv30 said:
While I was there I also bought a cord switch and wires that into an extension. I was very annoyed having to plug and unplug so frequently.
Click to expand...


Just curious why you didn't just plug the extension cord into a power strip and use the on/off button on the power strip? I'm guessing there is some advantage to the way you did it.... but I can't figure it out.
 
So about the drainage issue...

I don't have a carboy washer [yet] but am quite interested and have been studying everyone's projects for some time.

Has anyone tried to use a vent to allow the carboy to drain faster? I'm thinking you could use a two foot piece of beverage hose to act as a vent by sticking it half way in the carboy while the washer is in operation.

Have you ever seen anyone shotgun a bottle of beer with a straw?? Same deal...

Let me know if it works!
 
GulfCoastGirl said:
Just curious why you didn't just plug the extension cord into a power strip and use the on/off button on the power strip? I'm guessing there is some advantage to the way you did it.... but I can't figure it out.
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That's definitely a good idea! Probably the primary reason why I didn't use a power strip is bc I didn't think of it. Haha.

My thought process for getting a switch was:
- I wanted a switch that would be close to the pump that could reach my driveway.
- I wanted something that would cover the electrical wires, as at least some water tends to spill out of the bucket.
- it wanted it to be cheap and easy.

A power strip could definitely work. Just run an extension cord from the garage outlet to the drive way and plug the strip in there. I didn't have an extra power strip, but if you do that would be a great substitute. Just be careful with the water that will be thrown around the outlets.
 
smittygouv30 said:
A power strip could definitely work. Just run an extension cord from the garage outlet to the drive way and plug the strip in there. I didn't have an extra power strip, but if you do that would be a great substitute. Just be careful with the water that will be thrown around the outlets.
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Thanks for the reply.... I just wanted to be sure I wasn't missing some key piece of information. I'm no electrician... but I do know just enough to know to keep the electricity away from the water :D

Thanks again for the reply.... any idea what that "bushing" thing from the supply list on page 4 is and if I need it?
 
GulfCoastGirl said:
Thanks for the reply.... I just wanted to be sure I wasn't missing some key piece of information. I'm no electrician... but I do know just enough to know to keep the electricity away from the water :D

Thanks again for the reply.... any idea what that "bushing" thing from the supply list on page 4 is and if I need it?
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Ha that wasn't meant to be insulting, but I guess that was kind of a "duh" comment.

The bushing is necessary, yes, you'll use that to thread onto the pumps attachment piece. The size of the threaded side will depend on the attachment size of your pump. The opposite end of the threaded bushing will then be glued to the first part of the PVC pipe.

image-969999048.jpg
 
Made one using CPVC due to the thinner size. This thing is awesome for carboys! Already had the pump for recirculating water. Bucket + CPVC parts at the hardware store cost me about $18 (without threaded barbs). Need to pickup some additional keg connection hardware to clean them as well. Plugs in the threaded holes for now.
 
Huaco said:
Just over 9 hours left on this... Today only
I ordered one!
I hope 1/5th HP is strong enough. I was already looking at the Superior Pump brand and this price is just ridiculous.
http://1saleaday.com/
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Wow that's a crazy good deal. I'm tempted to buy a second one just for sh**s and giggles.
 
Yep, I just hope I get the pump... I usually don't purchase from the internet if it isn't amazon, ebay, or one of the vendors in this craft. They had the option to pay via Pay-Pal, so at least I know I can get my money back if things go south with this order. We will see...

I was already looking at the Superior Pumps as they have stainless housings and double o-rings.
 
blackoutdodge said:
So about the drainage issue...

I don't have a carboy washer [yet] but am quite interested and have been studying everyone's projects for some time.

Has anyone tried to use a vent to allow the carboy to drain faster? I'm thinking you could use a two foot piece of beverage hose to act as a vent by sticking it half way in the carboy while the washer is in operation.
Click to expand...

Hilarious... I was finishing reading through the thread to suggest this. Just take a piece of tubing and zip-tie it to the side of the pipe from the top down to somewhere below the carboy/keg. It'll draw air from outside, up into the bottom of the item you are washing, and you'll never have to clamp/hold it.

Err.. for anyone that didn't read all 3 pages... this is the answer to the question about getting carboys to drain fast enough, while the water/suds are blasting up into the carboy.
 
So, I really want to do this design but the free/available/in-my-possession water pump is 1/3 hp. It is from a working sump pump that was left in the house when we bought it last year (I guess 1/3hp wasn't enough for sump-pumping so they installed a larger one). Also, it is clearly not a motor that can be submerged.

My question is how difficult it would be to shroud the motor (inverted bucket?) to protect it, with access to the water-level switch to turn it on/off. Then, I can set it in another bucket/basin down below it, filled with my cleaning solution of choice. I would have to angle the pump path outward and then up, to come up under whatever it is I am cleaning (possibly through an extra deep-sink I originally bought on craigslist to mount the dishwasher 'guts' in for a keg washer).

Here are some photos... hoping someone smarter than me can 1) tell me if 1/3 hp will make me a corny rocket or 2) tell me how best (and cheapest) to make this happen. Thanks!

p8310013-56281.jpg



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