CIP Sizing and Comparison

The CIP ball was designed to integrate with common brewing equipment utilized by many home and commercial brewers.  

 

CIP balls are most effective with specific volumes and liquid pressures, that way the ball evenly distributes PBW and Sanitizers to all the crevices of the fermenter effectively, removing caked-on yeast or trub. 

 

The CIP ball includes a 1/2" MPT input, where a quick disconnect, hose barb, or another connection medium can be added.  The CIP sizing has more to do with pump size than the fermenter size but we recommend the following: (click here for larger image)

At the very minimum, we recommend the CIP | 3" TC | Spray Ball (Standard) with a pump flow rate of at least 7 gallons per minute (GPM) (like the Pump | Chugger Stainless Head) for vessels 30 gallons and under.

For 1BBL and larger tanks, use the CIP | 3" TC | Spray Ball (Pro) with a pump flow rate of at least 17 gallons per minute (GPM) (like the Pump | Chugger MAX Stainless Head.)

When to use 6" TC Reducers

For tanks with larger ports than 3" TC, a Reducer may be desired or needed for the CIP Build. For 10gal Brite Tank owners, we actually offer a 6" TC to 3" TC reducer that can be used with our existing CIP spray ball. 

For 7 gal, 14gal, and Half bbl Unitank owners, the 6" TC to 3" TC reducer can be also used in place of the chilling coil to eliminate the coils shadowing sections of the tank. This can also be combated by turning the coils a quarter turn every few minutes during the CIP operation.

When to use 8" TC Reducers

For 1BBL Unitank owners, an  8" TC to 3" TC reducer can be also used in place of the chilling coil to eliminate the coils shadowing sections of the tank. This can also be combated by turning the coils a quarter turn every few minutes during the CIP operation.

For 20gal and 1BBL Brite tank owners, an  8" TC to 3" TC reducer can be used to adapt the 3" CIP Spray balls for CIP operation. 

When to use 1.5" TC Spray Balls

For Standard Chronicals with the 1.5" TC port lids, we recommend the CIP | 1.5" TC | Spray Ball with a pump flow rate of at least 7 gallons per minute (GPM) (like the Pump | Chugger Stainless Head). These are only compatible with Standard Chronicals and are not compatible with 3" TC to 1.5" TC reducers.

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For more information on how to set up your CIP, our CIP Example Build Guide can be found here!