Hi All,
I wanted to give a quick write-up of my experience using Powdered Brewery Wash (PBW) as a cleaner instead of ISO. Please don’t take this as a guide, it’s just my thoughts following my first cleaning with it.
First a little summary about PBW from Gemini
Powdered Brewery Wash (PBW) is a safe, non-hazardous, buffered alkaline cleaner used to remove caked-on organic soil, proteins, and krausen from brewing equipment. [1, 2, 3]
Key Features
** Safe on Metals: Unlike caustic soda, it will not corrode soft metals like aluminum, brass, or stainless steel.*
** Active Oxygen: Uses active oxygen to penetrate carbon and protein soils.*
** Hard Water Tolerant: Formulated with chelators to work effectively in hard water environments. [1, 2, 3, 4]*
Standard Usage
** Hot-side cleaning (kettles/tanks): Dissolve 1 to 2 ounces per gallon of warm/hot water.*
** Cold-side cleaning (fermenters/kegs/bottles): Dissolve ¾ to 1 ounce per gallon of water.*
** Process: Soak or circulate the solution, then rinse thoroughly with water. Note: Do not mix with hot water in an airtight container, as it creates pressure. [1, 2, 3, 4]*
PBW is most effective when used in around 60C water according to what I read. I bought a basic sous-vide machine to control the water temp and put some glass vape stems and WPAs in a mason jar along with a disassembled Frolic CU no aluminum heatsink. PBW can cause pitting on aluminum and it is a sensitive metal so not worth the risk when cleaning vapes.
I filled the quart (basically 1 liter) mason jar with tap water and added 2 tsp, which is on the higher side to help with thick resin stains. My glass is kinda thick but you could put a silicone mat or towel at the bottom of the jar for safety but I didn’t. Could also use a ziploc but I didn’t want to risk a leak for my first time.
I put the mason jar in a pan with my sous-vide attached set to 60C and added water to match the level in the jar, and stay in the min/max range of my sous-vide machine.
I had some really nasty thick resin stains on some Solo WPAs, glass stems and the Frolic CU so I waited a full hour. Rinsed everything in hot tap water after pulling them out of the jar and most stains slid right off. A few things required brushing while rinsing in hot water to dislodge stuff.
The PEEK Frolic CU needed the most brushing but stuff came off. I still find I didn’t get the “squeaky” clean effect i.e. things still felt sticky on some pieces even with nothing visible but I wiped these with ISO wipes and that worked.
Because I still needed at least some iso, I’m not sure this is a total success. I want something cheaper and less environmentally damaging so I’ll see if I can improve things in the next cleanings.
Edit: I left all silicone gaskets/o-rings in the PBW bath as it’s safe for those which is a bonus. I would suggest letting them cool after the hot bath before using them as they’ll deform when hot.
