Cleaning and sanitising wort pump

[Kev888]

Hi all,

I currently use a pump for transferring wort from my boiler to the FV, and as it is post-boil this has the potential to cause infections if I don't sanitise it properly. Unfortunately my pump (a totton GP20-12) isn't rated above 85c, so I've been using chemicals rather than heat: it and the pipes get cleaned by first back-flushing with a hose and then recirculating bleach or percarbonate cleaners for a bit after use, and then starsan solution before use.

Not too long ago i somehow got mould growing in the hose between brews, and more recently my batch sizes have increased, so I'm thinking I need to take this risk more seriously. I'm also possibly going to use the same pump for transfering from the MT too, which means I'll need to clean and sanitise it effectively after the sparge and before FV filling, when time may be more limited.

Am I right in being concerned, or would the starsan do its job even if there was a crud/mould build up hidden inside the pump? If it is a concern, is there anything I can do better, or would I really be looking at disassembling it and/or swapping it for a pump that could be sanitised more convincingly by recirculating the boiling wort?

Many thanks,
Kev

[Andy]

I worry about the same issue! Starsan will be no good if there's an existing buildup of crud so I try any ensure that the pump housing is flushed with high pressure water soon after use. I've also recently recirculated a hot PBW solution through the pumps/hoses to try and remove anything which may have found sanctuary in a hidey hole somewhere. At some point however I guess dismantling / cleaning the pump housing is going to be required, nowt as good as elbow grease and all that!

[Kev888]

Thats useful, Andy, many thanks. Its good to know that I'm not just being over-cautious, and also that you've not so far needed to dismantle it each time; wasn't sure if I was being unduly lax there. Perhaps I'll just take more care day-to-day and take it apart every once in a while.

I'm also thinking of getting an RG550 at some point in the future (for other uses) - this has a similar temperature rating but people seem to think it can take boiling wort if the flow or power isn't restricted - possibly it could double up in this role if the hop stopper lets enough through..

Cheers
kev