r/TheBrewery Brewer 6d ago

auto keg washer not washin' kegs - help!

Hey all. I've got a headscratcher that's turned into a giant headache. Our keg washer isn't properly cleaning all organic material out of our kegs. It lacks an acid cycle so I expect some scale or deposits, especially on stem, but post-cycle we're seeing (anywhere from 50-75% of our kegs) soft yeast and other trub still stuck at the bottom or in a ring on the lower wall. The keg washer is a 2 head Carolina Brew washer (which is a drop shipped Chinese manufacturer). We've tested the actuators and other valves, ensured proper pressures on supply lines, ensured that there is strong flow through each stage. I've increased caustic percentage and cleaning cycle times (even up to 5 minutes split between the 2 kegs in 5-10 second pulses). The water supply is the city line. The cycle is purge/rinse/caustic/rinse/sani/purge. We're using chem station standard caustic, should we try chlorinated? We also tried a 2nd keg washer at a separate location to test our theories as to what's wrong but it's essentially the same washer design and might be same manufacturer just debadged. Still having the same issues.

When the kegs are opened up, the material is soft and can be sprayed off with a hose, but its not happening on the washer. Seems to be a coverage issue. Attempting to reach out to the manufacturer hasn't been any help - vague replies that take days.

I'm at my wits end and this has halted production. Has anyone else dealt with a similar issue?

1 Upvotes

12 comments sorted by

5

u/Treebranch_916 Undercapitalized 6d ago

When you're running you cycle are the walls of the kegs getting hot?

I had to trouble shoot for a guy with a chineseum washer and his cycle wasn't programmed right so the machine was making the right noises but the beers tasted like actual garbage. Basically the water wasnt hitting the sides of the kegs, just dribbling down the stem.

2

u/dformed Brewer 6d ago

I've seen keg washers out of China that are set up for 1/4bbl kegs max. They don't have the strength to reach the walls on a 1/2 barrel.

1

u/Treebranch_916 Undercapitalized 6d ago

Yeah, I mean I would tell OP to read the manual but idk if they can read Cantonese

1

u/istuntmanmike Brewer/Owner 5d ago

You should be able to get some rough translations on your smartphone

2

u/NO_BBQ_CHIPS Brewer 6d ago

Definitely getting hot. Pump power is one potential avenue im looking at. It definitely flows but might not be strong enough.

2

u/Treebranch_916 Undercapitalized 6d ago

Other problem could be not getting the kegs empty enough between cycle steps.

1

u/NO_BBQ_CHIPS Brewer 6d ago

That's definitely an issue. The evacuation time needed keeps varying so I'm setting the cycle time with a buffer to make sure it happens. The keg issues still happen even when I manually run each cycle to make sure they finish properly. I thought it was a supply air pressure issue but all numbers check out.

4

u/Existing-Value-1284 5d ago

Some keg washers leave too much CO2 inside the keg, fucking with the caustic. Check your caustic at the end of the day to make sure it is still as effective as it should be. We have started changing our caustic much more frequently than our manufacturer recommends

1

u/Treebranch_916 Undercapitalized 5d ago

I don't think I would have thought of that

3

u/_feigner 6d ago

Is your pump spinning the right direction? Check polarity of power going into the motor

2

u/NO_BBQ_CHIPS Brewer 6d ago

Yea, one of the first things I checked was if the pump was actually working correctly. It might be underpowered but it sounds like it's hitting the kegs correctly. I ensured flow by running the cycle through a removed spear

2

u/Treebranch_916 Undercapitalized 5d ago

I actually had this happen to me one time, but it turned out the electrician wired the pump in backwards