Bottle Sanitiser design - Your thoughts please

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BrewStew

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Yes, a Steriliser. As i'm assuming using steam wipes out pretty much everything.

I've been toying with designs to make a wall mounted bottle sanitiser/steriliser capable of doing 40 bottles at a time (ie one 5 gal batch) and thought of sprinkling sanitiser fluid into them, but thought steam would be more economical not to mention easier and less messy. So i thought about using one of those Steam strippers for removing wallpaper and tinkered with some varying designs.

This is what i've come up with:

BottleTree.jpg


This is using simple copper piping parts picked up anywhere, and 4 bits of 2x1 to give it strength and mounting points for my garage wall.

Please tell me your thoughts, give crits etc.

I've a feeling the top rack may not push out as much steam as the rest, or maybe the top and bottom racks will steam the most leaving the two in the middle basically un steamed.
 
I'll not comment on how it might work as things like that are not my sort of area, but I'd say your concerns about the pressure at the top level may be right.

Hopefully one of the other chaps more DIY minded will be along soon :cool:

Where did you get the pic, that one looks great?
 
Could you y the steamer and bring it in either side and t a pipe up the middle to make it easier for the steam to travel around? Great idea by the way :cool:
 
A T said:
Could you y the steamer and bring it in either side and t a pipe up the middle to make it easier for the steam to travel around? Great idea by the way :cool:


hmmm yeah good plan. taking it up the sides would work alot better on second thoughts... may be a bit less steamy in the middle but that would be better than a channeling type thing on the current design
 
ok here's Revision A (ugh there i go talking like i'm at work hehe, I work for an architects firm btw ;) )

BottleTreeREVA.jpg
 
I never used one of those steamers, will it produce enough steam to do all that? It looks like a big ask to me. I'd imagine all the top row of bottles will get a good cleaning but i'm not so sure about the middle and bottom rows. Maybe if you didn't connect in right at the corner? Move back in a bit on either side? I don't know really i'm just guessing :?
 
the one my old dear had really threw out the steam from the hose when you disconnected the head.

I'm looking around for a high powered one with lots of pressure, or failing that if i find some cheap enough i might hook two up ;)
 
I have it :shock:

Put a valve just below the the second and third row on either side and you can do one row at a time by turning on and offthe valves :D
 
A T said:
I have it :shock:

Put a valve just below the the second and third row on either side and you can do one row at a time by turning on and offthe valves :D


not a bad idea :)

except with the current design you'd be turning them all on to reach the top row hehe. would need some more modification but that could work... i could have 10 steaming, 10 cooling and 10 i'd be bottling at the time.... nice one :)

EDIT: found a link to some pretty cheap steamers... http://www.tooled-up.com/MicroCategory.asp?CID=18&MAN=Wall-Paper-Steamers&MCID=786&SCID=162
 
I'd be really interested in this if you build it, i hate sterilising and rinsing bottles as i'm sure many do. This would be really handy and you could just hang it on the wall and it would never be in the way. Genius idea ;)
 
Brew' i'd say that if you can put it together cheaply enough you might be able to sell a few on the 'bay!
 
A T said:
I'd be really interested in this if you build it, i hate sterilising and rinsing bottles as i'm sure many do. This would be really handy and you could just hang it on the wall and it would never be in the way. Genius idea ;)

Thanks :D it all depends really on the steam output though... i dont want to be spending loads of money on steamers in trying to find the right one hehe.

Wez said:
Brew' i'd say that if you can put it together cheaply enough you might be able to sell a few on the 'bay!

I'd hate to think what the postage would be on one of these bad boys haha
 
Would you be able to make it lighter? Is there a grade of plastic tubing that you could use that would handle the temp, then just sell them 'flat packed' with an attachment for people to connect to their own steamer?
 
Wez said:
Would you be able to make it lighter? Is there a grade of plastic tubing that you could use that would handle the temp, then just sell them 'flat packed' with an attachment for people to connect to their own steamer?

hmmm i'd be a bit concerned about the pressure aswell as the heat, having 10 or 20 psi of several hundred degree steam blowing in your face because of a push on fitting failing would most likely get me sued :shock: then again.... can solder take those sorts of temps? .... hmmmm food for thought
 
true but you'd need some amount of pressure so it sort of fills up with steam and jets out of the holes. if there's too little pressure then the steamer wouldn't work so well i would have thought.... think of a pressure cooker... it gets so bloody hot because of the pressure :)
 
I might go ahead and buy a steamer next pay day... i want to strip some wallpaper anyway :P so i may aswell get a small amount of copper and test to see how many bottle "prongs" i can add before i think the pressure is too low... i suppose that's the only way to find out... all in the name of science, and all in the name of brewing :D
 
I know what you mean but i can't see it working that way. I'd be relying on the hot steam rising through the pipes to the point of least resistance (the bottles) You can control where the point of least resistance is by using a few well placed valves
 
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