Mark II Keg and Carboy Washer Mod – Adding a Stainless Steel CIP Spray Ball

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I’m a big fan of the Mark II Keg and Carboy Washer.  I use mine for lots of things including… kegs, carboys, Speidel Fermenters, buckets, tubing, draft lines [See: Mark II Keg & Carboy Cleaner… As a Recirculating Draft Line Cleaning Pump] and more.  See: Hands on Review: Mark’s Keg and Carboy Washer for a comprehensive look at this great homebrewing tool.

A while back I became aware of this Stainless CIP Spray Ball (1/2″ size) via a reader tip.  Thanks to HBF Reader Sam for the original heads up on these and HBF Reader Chris for the idea to use in conjunction with the Mark II Keg and Carboy Cleaner! [8 Ways to Connect with HBF].

CIP (Clean in Place) Spray Balls are generally used for vessels that are too large to move.  Since they’re too large to move you… clean them in place.  If you have a larger setup, you could incorporate these into your system or routine to help clean your vessels more easily.

I gave this a try on my Keg and Carboy Washer and I was really pleased with the results.

cln_img_2959This is a heavy well made CIP spray ball assemblycln_img_2962A look at the lower portion  It reads 1/2″ and SS304cln_img_2965A look at the openings on the spray head.  Note that the top portion rotates using liquid pressure.cln_img_2967This threads nicely onto the top of the PVC tube on the Mark II Keg and Carboy Washer.  Replacing the end cap that contains one spray hole.  In the background, My ITC-308 Temp Controller.cln_img_2969This fitting makes the total height a little higher compared to the standard tip.  Note that, depending on the size opening of your carboy, this may not fit.  Look back for an update to this post that has more dimension information so you can determine if this will work with vessel’s with smaller openings.  Here’s MoreBeer’s 6 gallon PET Carboy on the cleaner.  You can see there’s still plenty of clearance.cln_img_2973A picture of the spray ball in action

A video of the spray action

NEW 0.5 Inch Stainless Rotary Spray Ball Female CIP Tank Cleaning Ball by QM Stainless

Mark’s Keg & Carboy Washer can be found at:

CIP Spray Ball Sources:

Related:

Make sure the components you use are compatible and rated for your intended application.  Contact manufacturer with questions about suitability or a specific application.  Always read and follow manufacturer directions.

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16 thoughts on “Mark II Keg and Carboy Washer Mod – Adding a Stainless Steel CIP Spray Ball”

  2. Matt

    While it works great in carboys, it does not seem to work as well with my FastFermenters. The couple of times I have tried it, it got the bottom of the fermenter really clean, but the top didn’t seem to get as clean. I am going to mess around with it some more and see what happens.

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    1. admin Post author

      It’s going to depend on the carboy, but I believe the general answer is no, it doesn’t fit most glass carboys.

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  5. Mark

    What’s the actual outside diameter of the spray ball? I’d like to know the diameter of a carboy neck required to accept the ball as I have some vintage glass carboys, some with slightly narrower necks (size 6 stoppers)

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    1. admin Post author

      I’ve heard some sizes do not fit, but I’m not sure which sizes. If it’s too long for your fermenter, getting a shorter threaded pvc pipe should resolve that problem.

      Reply ↓
  8. Mike

    Just an FYI that this thing is powerful enough (without the CIP though) to clean out my 50 gallon (not a typo) FlexTank Dexter tanks in my meadery. I basically just take the sprayer only and put it through an upside down milk crate and balance the fermenter on the crate with the washer going inside. It is able to clean all the gunk off my fermenters using PBW and then moving to the next sink with Saniclean (a Starsan alternative from the same makers that doesn’t foam up as much). I have video of it in action if anyone wants to see….quite amazing to me.

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  9. Richard

    So this fits right in to the existing top connection on the Mark II Keg and Carboy Washer? No other parts needed? Do you feel as if the spray action is better/do you think it will clean better on a dirty fermenter?

    Reply ↓
    1. admin Post author

      Yep, it fits right on top no additional parts needed. I do feel like it’s a better spray action. I would never suggest putting a completely dirty fermenter on this or the standard nozzle. I cleaned a 10 gallon corny keg fermenter using this last night and sprayed it out well first so that yeast and trub didn’t muck everything up.

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