Low pressure CIP ball experience? Help? Sanke keg fermenter cleaning...

[Baglorious]

Looking for a bit of help before I go and drop more $$$.

Spike and Blichmann both offer CIP balls (for around $50) that are designed to work with the common brew pumps... 7gpm. (I have a Blichmann Riptide pump.)

Here's the Blichmann:
https://www.blichmannengineering.com/cip-spray-ball.html

Spike's seems very similar... but I don't want it in a 1.5" triclamp fitting. (The Blichmann has perfect hardware for my application.)


Previously, I purchased this CIP ball from Amazon last year after reading about it on this forum (with Keg washer builds):
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0152FG7UE/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I am running it on a standard submersible pump from Menard's... 25gpm. (The $50ish Barracuda pump.) It is awesome for cleaning vessels over a bucket, using the submersible pump, a la "Mark's Keg Washer" on steroids. The spray is fast rotating and powerful.


HOWEVER... I now have a couple of inherited Sanke keg fermenters. My submersible pump won't work for cleaning those fermenters. I need to draw the water through the output valve of the fermenter, and pump it through the TC ball inverted (in a 4" triclamp plate) on the top of the fermenter.

So, back to a "non submersible" pump... like the Blichmann riptide I own.

I am wondering if the Blichmann (or spike) CIP ball is really better than the cheapo that I own (which works great at a higher pressure).

My riptide will spin the CIP ball I own... but the discharge is pretty weak. More of a gentle sprinkling than a spray, and the spray radius doesn't appear enough to be effective. It won't reach the upper sides of the fermenter, and doesn't spray with any force.


Anyone have/use the Blichmann CIP ball with the Riptide? Have thoughts on whether it would be effective in an inverted, top mounted configuration to clean a Sanke keg sized fermenter?

I don't want to spend $50 on a new CIP ball to see it perform exactly like the one I own.

My alternative is to find a more powerful non-submersible pump. (Which would cost more... but would get the job done for sure.)

Thanks for any advice.

 

[IslandLizard]

I think you answered your own question. The Riptide doesn't have the oomph to create enough pressure for cleaning.
At the Riptide's lower pressure/volume, the CIP ball needs to have smaller/narrower output nozzles to get more spraying action. That reduces flow, but overall, has far less cleaning power.

Comparable to your Riptide, I use my March brew pump to clean my keezer lines. Although the flow is quite pitiful, there's not much pressure needed to clean the smooth Ultra 235 lines, it's the "time*volume" that makes it work. Once I build a keg washer with a 1/3 HP sump pump, I'll be using that, instead.

 

[mtweeman]

To start with, there are nice CIP balls from McMaster-Carr available in SS or PVDF plastic. P/N accordingly 7064T1 and 71445T84 - have a look. I saw good comments about them here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Homebrewing/comments/8ky09s/is_a_riptide_pump_strong_enough_for_a_cip_ball/
and here from Joe Fisher:


@BrunDog in his 50A thread also uses them:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/brundog-50a-erig-no-hlt-for-me.542899/page-4#post-7368593

Above mentioned links made me thinking about them some time ago as I had no success with Chinese magnetic pump MP-15 and CIP balls that you posted.

Currently in my setup I use Chinese equivalent of McMaster-Carr CIP ball - it comes in SS and the price is the same as PVDF version from McMaster-Carr:
https://pl.aliexpress.com/item/32764593722.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.64f25c0f2wNW7S

I have to add that I bought bigger MP-40 pump in the meantime to get better CIP effectiveness and I haven't tested it with MP-15 at all. Nevertheless, it works really well with big one. I have a footage of it during operation on my IG:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B3K4XVHIoZM/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

PM me if you're interested - I could send you the model that I ordered.