A while back I bought a cheap pump off of eBay for less than $20. It hasn’t been very useful to me as it doesn’t really “fit” into my current brew in a bag (BIAB) brewing method. So it sat for a few months until I came up with the idea of building a line cleaner for my beer fridge.
I have seen some setups where they would use a sprayer filled with PWN and use a hand pump to push the cleaner through the lines. I liked this idea a lot. However, I knew I had this pump lying around and other random parts and pieces. So I went to work with what I had, saving myself a trip to the hardware store.
The basic components included:
- A cheap water pump
- A 1-2 gallon pail
- Various tubing
- A liquid post for a keg
I tested various positions of the pump and found that on the side worked best. This is a cheap pump and it didn’t work when I positioned it above the bucket (which was my initial hope since it would not require putting holes in the bucket). I drilled a hole slightly smaller than the outside diameter of the tubing I was using for bring cleaning solution in from the bottom of the bucket to the pump. I then squeezed the tubing through the hole. It was tight enough to not leak water.
The next step was to find a way to get the liquid quick disconnect connect to the outlet of the pump. I used some more tubing and screwed on the post to this tubing. It drips a little bit but is mostly water tight. I think a couple adapters and this design could be much better. However, I am determined to use what I have on hand so I press on.
Using the device is relatively simple. First fill the bucket with about 1/2 gallon of water. This is a good time to prime the pump. Next, connect the liquid line you want to clean to the pump. Then place the pail under the tap faucet. Turn on the pump and open the faucet to pump the water through the system. This is to get the majority of the beer rinsed out. Next repeat the process with a gallon of hot water and about 1/4 of PBW (Powdered Brewery Wash). I let it run for about 10 minutes. I then repeated the process with a StarSan sanitizing solution.
Other than priming the pump I feel the initial test run went fairly well. I wish I had some better adapters for the liquid post, but for now what I have seems to be a good working prototype.
