Prep cleaning before brewing

siestakey · Joined: 10 Mar 2017 Posts: 49

Had a question for everyone - I keep my stuff in the garage and it gets pretty dirty in between brews. If the cleaning regimen is followed from this thread ( http://www.theelectricbrewery.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=28374 ), what do you do before you start brewing your next batch? Just hook it up and go? Flush with hot water? It is pretty much to the point for me where I have to clean everything again from scratch. I'm particularly interested in what everyone does with the hoses. I've read the thread about using a shop vac to dry them out, but normally hang them up and let them air dry. I'm just concerned about all of the other nasties in a garage that could make their way in there (off gases from cars, weed killer, fertilizer, etc). I'm interested in also hearing what folks do if they store everything indoors as well - I am moving and have the potential to move everything down to the basement.

Thanks!

Ozarks Mountain Brew · Posted: Sun Nov 19, 2017 1:26 am Post subject:

I add half a pot full of star sans in my hlt and flush the whole system and drain right before my brew, even if some foam is still in the bottom I still start brewing

sillbeer · Joined: 15 Sep 2016 Posts: 44 Location: West Point, UT

I hang my hoses up and don't worry about them. When I finish brewing I boil water in my BK and run it through all my hoses, pumps and heat exchanger then I let that stuff air dry. The kettles I wipe out with an old shirt and put the lids on so no dirt will get in. My garage isn't particularly dirty so I don't worry about it much. I get a little dust on the kettle lids but nothing to be concerned with. When I'm done brewing I also run compressed air through my HERMS coil to get any excess water out. I usually leave all my valves open when I'm done. Before I run wort through my heat exchanger I let starsan sit in it for several minutes during the boil and flush when I'm ready to transfer.

SD Endorf · Joined: 24 Apr 2015 Posts: 88

Another garage brewer here.
After a brew day, I push hot water through the boil kettle, wort pump and counterflow chiller.
Blow out the herms, pumps, and chiller with a shop vac.
Wipe the kettles out, then lids on, valves shut, and good until the next brew session.

**kal** · Posted: Sun Nov 19, 2017 3:09 am Post subject:

I follow the steps from that thread you linked to, specifically here:

http://www.theelectricbrewery.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=312798#312798

I don't do anything before brewing the next time.

Kal

jcav · Joined: 21 Sep 2011 Posts: 205 Location: Central Florida

I store my rig in my garage and then set it up on my lanai when I brew. After brewing I clean everything and air dry the hoses. When I put it all back in the garage I have a huge plastic cover that I got from a box store, (you could even use a plastic drop cloth in the painting department) and I put the cover over the whole rig. Even the hoses are hung over the HLT valves and they are protected underneath the cover.

John