Hidden Gunk

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big d

Hopaholic
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shock/horror
after removing my temp gauge from my ag kettle i was gob smacked by the amount of hidden gunk that resided in the threads and hidden places.ive been a regular after boiler of water in the set up to remove goolies and the like thinking i was on top of hidden bacterias etc.
wrong.....strip down ya gear and have a look.its amazing what lurks in the small places.
so the question is have you a regular strip down maintenance program or are you more hit and miss.
after todays episode im going to become a regular strip and clean brewer.

cheers
big d
 
But if that gunk spends 90 mins at close to 100 degrees before it touches a cooled wort is it still a problem?
 
big d said:
after todays episode im going to become a regular strip and clean brewer.
That conjures up some horrible mental images :lol:
 
oh yeah - you gotta watch those NASA burners and flamable 'fibres' in the vacinity !!! :)
 
Well, M'sieu Lurker,

Biologically, a boiled protein coagulate can form a shell on the surface, and protect the greeblies in the middle.

So yeah, as a Biology graduate, I can attest that it's a lesser issue, but U can still get contaminated.

Don't risk it! Would a commercial Brewery (other than Outback) clean it up? Why wouldn't you do the same?

Peace, out...
 
well guys being a metalurgical manipulator and maintainer ordinarily i wouldnt bother but however when a long sssslimy snake like thingy came outa the threaded attachment i kinda wondered how clean is my post boil up doing my brewing methods.sterile or not it doesnt look the goods when you do an equipment strip and clean.(hope that sounds some what better.)
food for thought anyway

cheers
big d
 
You would be suprised to see the "growing things" inside the boiler tap and the connecting pipe.

They don't get full boil outside of the kettle, so run at least a some boiling wort through the tap at about the fifteen minute mark into the boil.

They can impart off flavours while not reaching spoilage levels.

Steve.
 
I'm thinking I should check mt fittings :unsure: :unsure:
 
One batch I encountered the "counterflow slime". I was recirculating the wort with my pump to sanitise the CC chiller and transfer tubes. These long strips of brown "seaweed" started to appear.
Now I always wash my chiller immediately after a batch and before the next batch.
I do this by recirculating hot water with a dishwasher tablet in it.
A lot of gunge accumulates behind my ball valves too.
 
Funny thing this thread came up. When playing with my pump the other night I borrowed my ball valves off my HLT and kettle. The HLT obviously only heats water (although also the odd sugar wash ;) ) and was nice and clean, but when I was playing with my kettle ball valve I noticed there was a slimy sort of stuff that when I opened the valve formed a bubble like film in there. I was shocked and as you did Big D, decided then that ball valve cleaning and kettle stripdowns will need to become more of a priority-especially considering that there will soon be a thermometer added and also the possibility of a permanently mounted chiller coil.

I've previously not worried about this, and although I've been infection free (until last brew but I pitched a dodgey starter) I'm now making that a regular clean up procedure. Hell, thread tape is cheap as chips anyway.

I started thinking about sanitary valves, I can see why they have them. I had no idea there was that little hiddie hole in you ball valves.

Cheers, Justin
 
I recently got caught by hidden sludge/nasties on my taps. I have two taps on the serving fridge and I normally wash them through with Idophor before putting on a new keg and thought that was enough for the time being. I had only stripped them down a couple of times previously.

I then had two brews go off on me in the keg. When I first put them on they were fine but after a week or so developed that stale cardboard taste. When the first one happened I put it down to bad technique in racking(?) causing oxidation but then when the very next keg on the same tap did exactly the same thing the penny finally dropped.

Anyway, I pulled apart both taps (something I'd done before but not for a little while) and bugger me but the infected tap had dregs of some sort of black slime. The unaffect tap was still clean. Both got a good clean in Napisan followed by Idophor.

Damn - I've now upped the frequency of pulling the taps apart etc.

Has anybody got any well founded rules for cleaning routines?

Trev
 
I clean all my nooks, crannies and crevices regularly.
 
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