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absolutely clean

rocky_creek

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I have a 950 gph pond pump that I have previously used for hydroponics that I want to use in construction of a carboy cleaner.
I can take it apart and physically clean the impeller and other parts. There is a cavity where the little magnetic part spins around that will have little or no access. I believe (without knowing) that it would stand up to bleach. So I'm thinking soak in 10 - 15% bleach then rinse and soak with star san or pbw. Any one think bugs would live through those two or have additional suggestions.
 
Bleach, PBW amd Starsan should be ample.  I'd soak in 15% bleach for 20 minutes, rinse with cold water then PBW in 120-130F water (depending on the pump rating) for 20 minutes then starsan for a couple minutes.  I encourage you to use proper dilution for all. 
 
jomebrew said:
Bleach, PBW amd Starsan should be ample.  I'd soak in 15% bleach for 20 minutes, rinse with cold water then PBW in 120-130F water (depending on the pump rating) for 20 minutes then starsan for a couple minutes.  I encourage you to use proper dilution for all.

Yep, although pbw does work in cold water. I personally just pbw stuff then star San it. And call it a day
 
rocky_creek said:
I have a 950 gph pond pump that I have previously used for hydroponics that I want to use in construction of a carboy cleaner.
I can take it apart and physically clean the impeller and other parts. There is a cavity where the little magnetic part spins around that will have little or no access. I believe (without knowing) that it would stand up to bleach. So I'm thinking soak in 10 - 15% bleach then rinse and soak with star san or pbw. Any one think bugs would live through those two or have additional suggestions.

Greetings rocky - I have to agree with jomebrew. According to the Directions for Use on the PBW label, 5-Star recommends using ?warm to hot water? for cleaning brew kettles, tuns, fermenters, tanks, etc.  Being you?re cleaning a pump that was once used for the purpose of moving pond water, I would recommend following the manufactures printed instructions.

The hot water and 15-20% bleach solution will kill any bacteria that might be lingering, followed by a healthy dose of PBW in hot water to remove any dead bacteria, followed by an application of StarSan and you should be in good shape.  I would also allow these chemicals to circulate for several hours each.

Good luck!
 
Unless I am forgetting something the PBW will do everything you need, the bleach is an unnecessary step, but I would suggest pumping PBW solution through it for only a few minutes.
Pump PBW solution for 1-5 minutes, let sit 15-20 minutes, pump 1-5, wait 15-20...cycle like this until the PBW solution has been in the pump a minimum of 1 hour [for the first cleaning, for subsequent cleanings 30 minutes should be fine]. Then rinse by pumping some water, then a Star San mix for total contact time of 5 minutes and everything should be golden [as in good, not the color, LOL].
 
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