Hard plumbing, CIP question.

[Truman42]

Ive been thinking about changing some of my silicone hose for hard plumbed lines but was wondering about cleaning?
If I set it up so I can run PBW through the lines to clean them then flush with water im concerned about water sitting in the lines and in the bottom of my herms coil between brews and getting all mouldy etc. What do brewers do to overcome this? Does this water have to be blown out or something?

 

[QldKev]

Serious question, why would you hard plumb it?

 

[razz]

I'm with Kev on this one. Truman, over the years of gone from copper to mostly silicon and a few s/s pick ups. I stripped my mash tun tap and pickups last week and they had a brown build up in them, it came out easy enough but when I used copper it was always in the longer runs. Using silicon you can see when it gets dirty/old and clean or replace as you see fit. As for your herms coil store it upside down so it stays dry, maybe fill it with starsan after cleaning and let it drain and keep the ends plugged to keep bugs out. I do that with my plate chiller.

 

[Truman42]

Serious question, why would you hard plumb it?

Just toying with an idea Kev.

I suppose so its less hoses to have to pull off and clean and put back together on the next brew day. If I could get it setup so I just have to flush PBW through the system then flush with clean water and leave it be it should make my brew day clean up a lot easier.

But maybe not. interested to hear peopls opinions on this from those that have hard plumbed lines. It must wok as thats what breweries do but how do they get around water sitting in lines? is it because they brew often enough so its not sitting there for too long anyway? I usually only brew once a month.

 

[Camo6]

Do you need a reason to add more stainless?

Jokes aside I bought a bunch of ss comp fittings to hard plumb some of my rig but I think I like the ease of silicone hose and butterfly clamps.

Razz raises some valid points.

But I can understand your desire to add more bling!

Yours truly,
Superficial ******* -_-

 

[QldKev]

I find with {insert favorite clamping}/cam locks it takes 2 secs to pop the hoses off and drop them in a bucket of {insert favorite cleaning solution}/napisan. Once they have soaked I hose them out and hang to dry. Also I lift my vessels off the brew stand for cleaning. The HLT is just a tip over to drain, but the mash tun and kettle are carried out to the lawn area for a hose out and scrub. With hard plumbing I would need to unbolt the compression fittings, which is a lot more work. Also as razz mentioned with silicon hose you can easily see whats happening inside of it.

 

[Truman42]

Ok so it sounds like its not worth the hassle then. just thought I would ask.

Ill move onto the next project I have in my head.

@Kev...Thats the exact same procedure I currently do as well.

 

[komodo]

The only thing I'd plumb with copper would be my gas line as I dont really like how hot the rubber hose gets.

Other than that the silicone is easy to strip and wash and I can replace it cost effectively when/if it gets too manky

 

[Camo6]

Whats the next project Truman?

 

[mikec]

The only thing I'd plumb with copper would be my gas line as I dont really like how hot the rubber hose gets.

Other than that the silicone is easy to strip and wash and I can replace it cost effectively when/if it gets too manky

Eh?
You mean you're running LPG through a rubber hose?

Edit: actually, the one on my BBQ is rubber... not sure what was going through my head then.

 

[Truman42]

Whats the next project Truman?

A Pid controller with ramp soak option...

 

[Camo6]

Perfect. A thorough article with pics and wiring diagrams is expected. Will make my job easier when I get round to the control unit!

 

[Truman42]

Perfect. A thorough article with pics and wiring diagrams is expected. Will make my job easier when I get round to the control unit!

HAHA....Yeh well, Ive got to buy all the gear yet.

 

[Truman42]

Perfect. A thorough article with pics and wiring diagrams is expected. Will make my job easier when I get round to the control unit!

Well it took a year but.....lol

 

[wide eyed and legless]

http://keep0smiling.blogspot.com.au/2013/07/and-plumber-of-year-award-goes-to.html

Can we add it to these pics Truman

 

[browndog]

Truman, my rig is hard plumbed with S/S, after a brew I flush with hot water from the HLT and then add some PBW, let this sit for a while then flush with cold water at mains pressure.

 

[husky]

My new brewery is all hard plumbed and although I have not brewed on it wet I plan to recirculate a 2% caustic solution around for 15 mins or so at 50 odd degrees and then rinsing with water. I will then add some sanitiser and leave it in the lines. I'm also toying with the idea of hooking up compressed air to blow any water out of the dead legs.
I actually hard piped mine to simplify cleaning(and I like bling). Having not used it as yet I cant comment on if it worked or not.
Hard piping is common in industry and generally cleaned with caustic and at times followed by a dilute acid. Cant see any reason it wont work on a smaller scale.

 

[Fat Bastard]

I just completed the commissioning brew on my new rig, which has some hard plumbed elements. I just flushed them through with PBW for an hour or so and then with fresh. And disconnected everywhere I could to let it air and drain. It remains to be seen if this is good enough. It has been with the HERMS coil in the past. I've never seen moulds water inside it yet, even after it's sat for 2 months. I've never been able to get all the water out either, even with compressed air. There always seems to be a trickle coming out of it when inverted, no matter what I do.

 

[BlueMutt]

Where do you chaps buy 1/2" SS tube from?
I want to hard pipe some of my new rig stand and run silicone off it for quick disconnection and cleaning.

 

[HardEight]

You can buy SS tube from most plumbing places (Enzed, Pertek etc) dull or shiny.

I have a lot of my system hard plumbed (mostly SS valves and lines + copper HERMS coil). Pics are in my gallery http://aussiehomebrewer.com/gallery/album/1075-ag-herms-rig/

To clean it after each brew day I run 80deg cleaner (alternating between PBW and Pink Phosphoric) from the HLT and circlulate it through the HERMS and MLT for 30 minutes, then the BK for another 30. Then sanitize with starsan after using the same process, HLT-MLT-BK...

Brewing once a week means I don't have to worry about gunk as much.