Hey everyone. I was wondering whether any of you have a CIP system for your home breweries? Once I drain the wort into the fermenter and pitch the yeast, I get really pissed off that I have to scrub the brew kettle clean, was wondering if there was an easier way?
Thanks in advance.
Cleaning in Place
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Kev888
- So far gone I'm on the way back again!
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Re: Cleaning in Place
Some people do use these in homebrew, but 'usually' only for larger systems where size makes reaching in awkward and/or volumes make filling/soaking costly. Within that, its perhaps more common for FVs where scrubbing/scratching is undesirable.
There are a number of challenges with it; good spray heads tend not to be cheap, you need a powerful pump thats also capable of reasonably high temperatures, and you need lids that seal well enough to stop it all escaping. These aren't insurmountable, but the cost and time/complexity can make manually cleaning small boilers look like a good option.
I don't usually need to spend more than a few minutes cleaning my boiler with a white scrubby and water, though its only 25 gallons and easy to reach into. But if crud is proving stubborn then filling with water (and heating to warmth) then soaking overnight can soften it greatly; possibly with some soda crystals or PBW in it if necessary. Although if your boiler walls are scaled up with beerstone it can make things harder to shift, so its worth keeping ahead of that, and gas boilers can be worse because the extra heat rising around the outside can dry on crud above wort-level.
Cheers
Kev
There are a number of challenges with it; good spray heads tend not to be cheap, you need a powerful pump thats also capable of reasonably high temperatures, and you need lids that seal well enough to stop it all escaping. These aren't insurmountable, but the cost and time/complexity can make manually cleaning small boilers look like a good option.
I don't usually need to spend more than a few minutes cleaning my boiler with a white scrubby and water, though its only 25 gallons and easy to reach into. But if crud is proving stubborn then filling with water (and heating to warmth) then soaking overnight can soften it greatly; possibly with some soda crystals or PBW in it if necessary. Although if your boiler walls are scaled up with beerstone it can make things harder to shift, so its worth keeping ahead of that, and gas boilers can be worse because the extra heat rising around the outside can dry on crud above wort-level.
Cheers
Kev
Kev