NDeselle said:
we consider most SS hardware to be one time use.
What do you do to it that is so harsh?
Maybe you should switch to an inco alloy (except it's several times the material cost)
Cleaning is one of those topics about which a lot of people take very strong positions.
There's the: "Tear everything down and boil it and cleanse it and boil it again and maybe dust it with Strontium 90 for storage."
Then there's the: "Aww what the hell, The monks hardly ever washer their hands they picked their noses and butts and brewed in open tanks and had chickens pigs and goats shitting and pissing all over the place."
And then there's everything in between.
One should wonder what sort of swell or swill the abbey's actually produced coz they sure as hell don't do it the old fashioned way any more.
I say a lot depends on your tolerance and your preferences.
There's nothing wrong with disassembling valves and pipe threads cleansing 'em sanitizing or boiling 'em and re assembling them each brew cycle. On the Fermenter I do exactly that. It all comes apart. But then it's made to come apart. Then I cleanse it and Star San it and leave the Star San foam in place when I reassemble and put it away.
On the mash tun I cleanse it and Star San it and put it away with residual Star San on it.
On the kettle? Well my current kettle hasn't got a valve. My new one which is full of holes and under construction will have a valve
interalia and that may end up on a Tri clamp so I can have a rotating racking arm (drain tube) in the BK. Since it'll be tri clamped I'll prolly get a sanitary valve and take the little sucker apart for cleaning because it Will Not get to 212 F.
Reason I don't think the BK valve will get hot enough is compound: (1) it'll be standing out proud of the pot a tad due to the triclamp rotating dip tube rig which will allow heat dissapation and (2) my brewery will be electric and most of the energy making the boil will stay in the boil. This unlike a propane rig where you have oodles of hight heat blasting all the hell over the place making things like valves quite hot.