Cleaning And Sterillising Equiptment and Bottles Etc

[Whimpy64]

Hi All I have just done test with cleaning And Sterillising my Equiptment and Bottles with My Portable Hand Steamer purchased from my local Vaccum Cleaner supplier over here in Tassie (Aust). This has proved to be a Brilliant Time saving option for all my home Brewing equipment.

After my last two runs with my T500 I used this little gem of a machine to clean The T500 column after doing a spirit run and have found it to be awesome for this application.

Also I can sterillise all my bottle in half the time that it used to take....... because its just using water whitch turns into steam there's no need to use the home brew sterisler liquid at all.....
I just let it heat up and blast the bottles twice and let them dry off naturally

The unit only cost me 30 Dollars and it is worth it's weight in Gold!!!!

Thought I'd have to pass this on.....

Whimpy

[Admiral Toad]

Hi mate

Sounds interesting

Is it anything like this one ?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/ctm/Hand%20Held%2 ... 20Cleaner-

Cheers

[Whimpy64]

Hi Admiral, Yes mate that's it my friend..... They are awesome for this job buddy a must have i reckon

[The_Angels_Share]

Nice tip Thank you.

I will add one of these to my shopping list I think

Do you just blast steam up the column for a minute or two ?

[Whimpy64]

Yes After My last run I didnt even bother to unpack the column...... Just held it upside down And gave a couple of short blasts with the saddles still packed in there...... still got hot to touch only after two or three mins of blasting it with the hand steamer......

I wouls recommend that after doing it with the steamer twice then I'd take out the saddles do it again and then repack the saddles in after its cooled off

[Admiral Toad]

One is on the way

Like the sound off blasting shower tiles etc too

Just love me gadgets

[Whimpy64]

Hi Admiral, yeah they are a great little tool..... I wash my windows oven Microwave Clean the loo the hand basins etc Stove top..... the mrs even uses the fabric brush to give the lounge and bedding a blast as well.....

and the fact that I can use to clean all the brewing gear including the column on the T500 it's an indespensable tool in our house forever!!!

Glad I could give something back to this forum and it's members so quickly..... This place has been invaluable to me as a newbie in this wonderful hobby of Home brewin that I've embarked on


Happy Brewing and good Tastings my friends

Whimpy

[billmcc]

Just a thought and a little off topic but this little bit of kit could also be used for regeneration/rejouvenation of carbon if a small steam chamber was made
Cheers

[Normski]

Thats a bloody good Idea there Bill.

[Jimmy]

Another thought - is it any good for getting the labels off bottles so we can reuse them and put our own on? It could be the distillers ultimate tool!

[Admiral Toad]

Well the little buggars landed lot of kit fot £17 theres attachments to do anything you can think possibly even hot colonic irrigation LOL

Gonna give the pothead a blast tonight and the carpet where the cat knocked over the jar of olives

could be the families new best friend !

[Almanac]

I use this one

and they are a brilliant piece of kit. I even use if for cleaning inside my keg by feeding the steam in through to open drain tap.

Didn't get it for 16 quid though but I have it at least 6 years

AM

[Whimpy64]

Hi All,,,,, Sounds Like I have started a revolution here lmao

And Jimmy..... It works beautifully for removing the Labels..... I tried it with a batch of spare bottles I had here

Cheers guys and Girls

[madenairy]

hi, all a qwick q's with sterilising the airstill, yes or no and what to use?

[Almanac]

Steriliser not necessary as the inside of the still is made of Stainless Steel and it subjected to boiling temps when running.

There is a sachet of cleaner sold by the manufacturers but it's only Citric Acid. I generally give the inside a good cleaning with a little washing-up liquid and hot water after each run and and just wipe the outside with a damp cloth.

After a full stripping run (6 X 4lt batches) I fill the still with clean water and three teaspoons of Citric Acid. Bring to the boil and leave the still to cool. This takes care of any scaling on the inside of the boiling vessel. You can get Citric Acid from most HBS and Chemist Shops.

AM