Did you know that incorrect line cleaning is one of the biggest causes for wastage in beer dispense? Getting it right (and cleaning regularly) will lead to less flat, fobbing pints and ultimately, up to 10% less beer going to waste. It’s easy to do, as you can see in the following steps:
Put up signs on the taps you’re cleaning, put on your safety goggles and other protective gear and (depending on your system) turn off the remote coolers at least 2 hours before) to get off to a safe start, especially if you have an extra-cold system…you don’t want your lines freezing after all!
Remove creamers and nozzles and soak them in diluted line cleaning solution. Agitate the fluid every 10 minutes. Fill up a cleaning vessel with clean water. Turn off the gas valves to the kegs you’re cleaning before disconnecting the couplers. Leave the gas on to the gas pumps. Then soak them in the solution as well, before rinsing them thoroughly with clean water.
Connect the freshly cleaned couplers to cleaning sockets on the dispense board and turn on the gas cleaning pump. Bleed water through the fob detector until it’s all water and no beer. Then set the detector to “cleaning position”. Finally, flush the beer out of each line with clean water.
Empty and refill the vessel you filled with clean water, with fresh water and detergent (ensure you stick to the manufacturer’s dilution recommendation). Then bleed it through the fob detector. Then, pull the detergent solution through the dispense taps in bar. Give it 10 minutes, then pull enough to replace all the solution in each line. Bleed a pint of fluid through each fob detector after each 10 minute soak. Repeat this 3 times, for a total of 30 minutes. Never open any more than x2 taps at a time as this will reduce the flow rate, which could compromise the quality of the clean.
Empty the vessel and fill it with clean water. Bleed it through the fob detectors until water replaces the cleaning fluid. Now it’s time to flush the line out with clean water until there’s no detergent left. The line volume, plus 5 litres more should be enough. Rinse off your soaked creamers and nozzles, turn the gas on to the couplers and engage the handle to ensure any water is vented from the gas line before reconnecting the lines.
Switch the gas supply back on, and bleed beer through the fob detector. Now you can put it back into “serve” mode. Turn off gas to the cleaning pump and turn on the remote cooler. Remember, pull the beer through the lines before you turn on the remote cooler.