Idea for Column Cleaning Tool

CothermanDistilling

Picture opening up your manway, inserting a plate shaped tool up into the column that can lock in and little or no flow by, this tool is attached to a rope so that you can never leave it in and shut the manway... or even better, the tool has a flapper valve(s) that would never stop upward flow...

Then, you flush with backset and/or citric acid, then water a couple times

maybe a handle with a trigger to dump the contents of the column...

ideas to hold it in place are either spring loaded pins with a lever release or cogs for a 5 degree or so rotation...

heck, what if we had a flapper plate built into the CD tower end that had small circular discs that were retained but could let vapor pass, and then you could defeat one with a lever through the tower end... just use a custom gasket, a bubble cap plate, and some circular discs with legs/retainers on them and it is an easy retrofit to ANY size/type of SD column....

CothermanDistilling

for the last idea, since it has no drain activation from the outside, you would want a drain hole that would empty the column in a reasonable amount of time, but let you use a small 1-2gpm pump to keep the column full enough to keep the top plate covered.

vooharmy

I have been thinking about CIP solutions for my column, its only a home column and not commercial scale. My plan was to have a hoist on the roof to lift the column off the boiler than attach a fitting on the bottom to pump in PBW. I also wondered how feasible or possible it would be to have a triclamp on the inside of the boiler might be, which sound a little like what you are saying. The benefit here is that you could pump a cleaner into the system, with the parrot blocked off it would cascade over the bend and clean everything. I would love the have a robust conversation on CIP solutions, I hate the idea of pulling my column to pieces!

grim

Want a crazy idea?

Disconnect Parrot, Hook up a hose to a collection drum

Hook up some kind of blower to the manway, or an electric leaf blower to a 2-4" port

Start flooding it from the top

I wonder if you could get enough upwards air movement to create a good scouring action

If you are going to use pbw, citric, save it in drums and re-use it multiple times.

CothermanDistilling

hmmm... an 8" valve tray:

lorien.ncl.ac.uk/ming/distil/distilint.htm

CothermanDistilling

or an 8" free-swinging butterfly valve with off-center pivot that would open when pushed from below, but shut when pushed from above...

grim

Teeny Tiny Sprayballs between each? Valve trays have less turndown than bubble caps, less usable range.

CothermanDistilling

not as a bubble cap replacement, as a tool to keep cleaning solution filling the column when filled from the top..