How to Clean Fermenter Tank Properly Before Using?

How to clean fermenter tank properly before using?

The fermenter tank equipment is usually cleaned in 4 steps before normal use:

1.Water cleaning of fermenter tank

Connecting the tap water outlet to the CIP port of fermenter tank by hose. 

Connecting the hose end to the discharging port at the bottom of the fermenter tanks, 

and place the other end of the hose to the drainage ditch. 

Opening the tap water valve, stainless steel fermenter tank’s CIP valve, 

simple valve and discharging valve to clean the inner tank until the water from the sewage outlet is clear, 

and repeat this for 3 times.

Special attention:

The cleaning pressure shall be above 1.0bar. If it cannot be reached, you can choose to add water into the Brewhouse system and clean it through the brewhouse pump.

2. Lye cleaning

Prepare alkali liquor with a concentration of 3% in the Kettle/Whirlpool tank, 

starting the heating to let its temperature get 50℃，then close the heating, 

and transfer the lye into the cylindro conical fermenters by the wort pump 

(discharging port at the bottom of the cylindroconical fermenters), 

and then connecting the wort pump inlet with stainless steel conical fermenter’s discharging port by hose, 

connecting the wort pump outlet with wine fermenter tank’s CIP cleaning port by another hose. 

Opening the valves. Starting the wort pump, perform cycle cleaning for 20 minutes, during the process, 

the beer outlet is briefly opened for 1-3 seconds and repeat it 3 times. 

When it is finished, pump the lye into another stainless steel fermenter or discharge it.

3.Water cleaning

The procedure is the same as that of "1 Water cleaning"

 (Open the beer outlet before cleaning, and close the beer outlet when there is no negative pressure).

4.Hydrogen peroxide cleaning

Dispose 0.5% hydrogen peroxide solution in the Kettle/Whirlpool tank (Or fermenters) 

to clean the stainless steel fermenter. The procedure is the same as that of "2 Lye cleaning". 

After cleaning, close all valves.

*Special attention：

A: It is forbidden to enter the fermenter tank immediately after use , 

the carbon dioxide concentration inside is too high and it is easy to suffocate. 

If you need to enter, you need to use air to replace the carbon dioxide in the tank to ensure that the carbon dioxide is emptied. 

When entering, ensure that all valves and manholes are open , 

and there is someone on-site, and it is not allowed to enter the fermenter tank without authorization.

B. It is necessary to wear protective equipment during operation, 

and it is strictly forbidden to directly contact the limbs with lye and hydrogen peroxide.

C.The sampling port is always open during the cleaning process and closed after the cleaning is completed.

D.After lye cleaning and before water washing, first open the beer outlet, 

and then close the beer outlet valve for cleaning after there is no negative pressure.

E. It is forbidden to sterilize the fermenter tanks with hot water, 

hypochlorous acid, chlorine gas and other bactericides containing Cl-.

F. After the hot cleaning of conical fermenters, 

low-temperature water cleaning (such as below 10 ℃) is forbidden to be carried out immediately. 

If low-temperature water cleaning is used, it is easy to deform the stainless stteel fermenter tank due to negative pressure. 

The stainless conical fermenters shall be cooled to normal temperature (below 30 ℃) before flushing.

G.Before caustic soda cleaning, replace carbon dioxide with air to avoid chemical reaction 

between carbon dioxide and caustic soda, which can form negative pressure and cause deformation of the tank.