Keeping pumps clean

[Buffers brewery]

I use the small 12 volt dc solar pumps for recirculating and transferring during my brew day. When I’ve finished a circulate hot clean water through the pumps and when it’s time to brew again they get stripped down to clean all the nasty black gunge out and sanitise. I’m thinking this must be a problem with all pumps left wet after a brew day. I did strip the pumps down immediately after brew day for a clean and air dry then I left them in bits until next brew day but for some reason (laziness?) I stopped.

What do you do to keep your pumps clean and mould/gunge free?

 

[chopps]

Stainless head pump. MP15-RM style.
Takes 20 seconds to wizz the screws out of the head and detatch it. Very easily cleanable head, as is the impleller. Reassembly is the reverse of disassembly.

 

[Buffers brewery]

Yes @chopps I don’t have a problem with taking my pumps apart and cleaning them it’s the “how to stop them growing stuff” that I’m interested in. Do your pumps grow mould if left for a couple of weeks? If not, how do you stop it?

 

[chopps]

There’s no mould as they’re cleaned every brew day. as long as they’re dry they stay clean till next use.
I don’t know that theres a shortcut. You could pump a strong cleaner through them after use, but there is always trapped debris that will eventually decompose. So don’t be lazy :)

 

[chopps]

I’ll add, I’ve pumped clean hot oxy through for an hour or two after a brew, then disassembled to find bits of hops and sludge still on the impellers.

 

[Buffers brewery]

as long as they’re dry they stay clean till next use.

Yes, I mustn’t be lazy and should disassemble my pumps after brew day clean and then leave...to air dry? Is that what everybody does? Interested to find out. Thanks @chopps

 

[foxbat]

I’ll add, I’ve pumped clean hot oxy through for an hour or two after a brew, then disassembled to find bits of hops and sludge still on the impellers.

And this is why I'll never use a counterflow chiller. If it can't be disassembled then I don't want it. It's good that you've got a decent pump that comes apart for cleaning.

 

[matt76]

I've been using a recirculation pump during the mash for the last 5 or so brews.

As soon as the mash is finished, while the wort is heating, I flush the pump and lines through with water to stop any sticky wort drying inside.

At the end of the brew day I flush the lines with Starsan, though not it must be said, the pump itself. I just shake/blow the excess water or of the pump, but maybe I should flush it with Starsan too.

I'm not saying this is right, it's just what I do but maybe I should be more thorough. As the pump is only used in the mash I figure any microscopic nasties will be dealt with later by the boil - all the same, dead or alive I still don't fancy a lump of black mould floating around in my wort!

 

[Buffers brewery]

After being chastened by @chopps about my approach to pump cleaning, as I had a brew day yesterday I decided to do a deep clean on my 2 12 vdc pumps .
In the past I’ve just removed the four screws and removed the pump cover to expose the rotor which I remove and give a scrub with a toothbrush and hot oxy solution. A flue brush is used to clean the pipes. Sadly this still leaves staining on the plastic parts.

I’ve never been able to verify how clean the bottom of the rotor cavity was cos couldn’t see down there.
Turning my attention to the rotor, I’ve only cleaned the surfaces that I could get to with my toothbrush as the spring clip at the end of the rotor makes taking it to bits a bit of a challenge..

Decided a full autopsy was required, so after a bit of brute force, the clip was removed (aka bu****ed) allowing the various parts to be removed.
First the impeller. The back face had a nice brown coating of . So that got cleaned off.

The steel pressing also had a coating of nastiness on it’s inside surfaces.
The little cog shaped bearing housing was a home for all things nasty with all it’s little nooks, crannies and crevices!

The pictures are after they’d had a good scrub!
The ends of the rotor similarly have a nice groove at each end that would trap moisture and grow something nasty, given enough time. At least one end is accessible for cleaning, but not the end trapped behind the spring clip.

While these pumps have served me well and enabled me to establish my process, I think it’s time to move on to a more hygienic pump that can be easily dis-assembled, cleaned and re-assembled. Could do with a bit more HP on my whirlpool as well.

 

[chopps]

I can see why you reduced the cleaning regime. So many pumps to choose from but these magnetic ones are a doddle to clean.

MP15-RM available all over the internet, Some UK retailers re-brand them, eg Angel call them Diablo and MM call them Magnetically Coupled Pumps. AC mains powered.

Head is stainless although nylon versions are available. The impeller floats in the pump cavity. No mechanical coupling to the motor.