Cleaning rdwc

firsttimeARE

firsttimeARE

Well-Known Member
Is bleach OK to cycle through a chiller to clean the tubing? It's a titanium exchanger

Also, what do you use to clean the pipes that connect your buckets? Mines 1" so I can't exactly stick my hands in there.
 
JSB99

JSB99

Well-Known Member
firsttimeARE said:
Is bleach OK to cycle through a chiller to clean the tubing? It's a titanium exchanger

Also, what do you use to clean the pipes that connect your buckets? Mines 1" so I can't exactly stick my hands in there.
Click to expand...
For pipes, tie a rope to two opposing corners of a washcloth. Suck one rope through the pipes with a vacuum cleaner (if you don't know what I mean, I'll describe it better). Then floss the pipes by pulling the cloth back and forth.
 
JSB99

JSB99

Well-Known Member
I posted this in one of my threads a bit ago..

Cleaning tips for noobs:

To clean the inside of your small pipes and tubes, take a length of nylon cord, and run it through the pipe. If you have curves and corners, run water through the pipe you're working with, and feed the rope into the pipe at the same time. The water will carry the cord through to the other side. Once passed through, tie a knot just smaller than the diameter of the tube or pipe, then floss :)

If you have a lot of corners in your smaller PVC pipes, you can use a vacuum to suck one end of the cord through.

To clean larger pvc, pass the cord through the pipe, tie corners of a washcloth with each end of the cord, then floss :)
 
firsttimeARE

firsttimeARE

Well-Known Member
What about the insides of pumps and chillers? Was thinking of running bleach and water dilution through and recirculating that like it's nutrient solution. The bleach I have says for disinfection it's half a cup per gallon. My system can run with a minum of 30gal(brings it up to the pump line) so that'd be 15cups of bleach. Sounds like a lot. Not to mention I'm dumping this into my lawn and don't want to kill my grass.

Or is bleach overkill? I didn't have any root rot this last grow and just rubbed down the tote surfaces between last grow and this one.
 
JSB99

JSB99

Well-Known Member
firsttimeARE said:
What about the insides of pumps and chillers? Was thinking of running bleach and water dilution through and recirculating that like it's nutrient solution. The bleach I have says for disinfection it's half a cup per gallon. My system can run with a minum of 30gal(brings it up to the pump line) so that'd be 15cups of bleach. Sounds like a lot. Not to mention I'm dumping this into my lawn and don't want to kill my grass.

Or is bleach overkill? I didn't have any root rot this last grow and just rubbed down the tote surfaces between last grow and this one.
Click to expand...
I'm not 100% certain, but diluted bleach should be fine. Chlorine is run through pvc, and im sure in pretty high percentages at times. You might even run vinegar solution through as well.
 
Airwalker16

Airwalker16

Well-Known Member
I just run a bit warm solution of soapy water through with a single 5gal bucket. Then another with h202 and then a rinse of just water. All somewhat warm in temperature. The chiller stays off.
As for pipes, harbor freight sells a great set of PIPE CLEANERS that come with various sizes, small AND LARGE.
 
redi jedi

redi jedi

Well-Known Member
firsttimeARE said:
Is bleach OK to cycle through a chiller to clean the tubing? It's a titanium exchanger

Also, what do you use to clean the pipes that connect your buckets? Mines 1" so I can't exactly stick my hands in there.
Click to expand...
Bleach wont hurt your chiller just be sure to rinse it out well. Take the hose off the outlet of the chiller when rinsing.
 
Keesje

Keesje

Well-Known Member
There is also stuff on the market for the food industry. For example farmers who have milking machines, use good stuff.
I can imagine that they have stuff that a/ cleans well and takes away residu, and b/ it is not harming your pumps or tubes because it will not be to agressive.
Always rinse well after unsing whatever you use.
 
firsttimeARE

firsttimeARE

Well-Known Member
Thanks everyone for the replies.

The piping was a PITA to put on so I wanted to avoid disassembly.

My shop vac is tiny and it's already a pain trying to suck the last bit of water out.

Does anyone use bottom drains? My bulkheads leave 2-3 inches of water on the bottoms.
 
JSB99

JSB99

Well-Known Member
firsttimeARE said:
Thanks everyone for the replies.

The piping was a PITA to put on so I wanted to avoid disassembly.

My shop vac is tiny and it's already a pain trying to suck the last bit of water out.

Does anyone use bottom drains? My bulkheads leave 2-3 inches of water on the bottoms.
Click to expand...
I've tried bottom drains. The problem is that the roots clog them very easily.
 
rkymtnman

rkymtnman

Well-Known Member
firsttimeARE said:
Thanks everyone for the replies.

The piping was a PITA to put on so I wanted to avoid disassembly.

My shop vac is tiny and it's already a pain trying to suck the last bit of water out.

Does anyone use bottom drains? My bulkheads leave 2-3 inches of water on the bottoms.
Click to expand...
if you have a brewing supply nearby, get some sanitizer from them. i used star*san to clean all my brewing stuff.

and i used bottom drains that were really shower drains so they had the built in metal grate. would keep hydroton out too. mine was in the middle of the tub so the roots weren't directly above it.
 
firsttimeARE

firsttimeARE

Well-Known Member
Not worried about roots. These would be for cleaning between harvests.

I don't vacuum out remaining with just nutrient changes. I figure the 5 gal left isnt going to throw off 100 gal system.
 
friedguy

friedguy

Well-Known Member
Clean it first with brushes, rags and a mild bleach solution. Then run a 10% bleach/water solution for about an hour. Empty. Rinse well.

Bleach should not harm the titanium.
 
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