Tools for Cleaning used tubing

[ibby458]

While I'm pondering tubing systems and vacuum setups, I'm still getting ready to put out the buckets again. I picked up a whole lot more 5 gallon pails and covers from the cake shop, and need to make up the 4' pail drops that work so good with them.

I made up a bunch last year from used purple Lamb vinyl tubing. I used a long gun cleaning rod to scrub them, but broke a lot of them (the aluminum gun rods) when they got stuck in the stretched out, thinner sections of tubing.

I still got lots of that purple tubing, but I'm out of gun cleaning rods. Instead, I bought several spout brushes, and a 5' section of 3/16 brake line. I cut the ring off a brush, and the flares off the brake line. I reamed out the brake tubing a bit, inserted the spout brush wire and crimped them together.

We cut 4' sections of tubing and soak them in a tub of chlorinated water with a bit of dish washer detergent in it. I chucked the tubing in the cordless drill and spin it in and out of the tubing, getting it nice and clean. My wife wipes down the outside and flushes them good with hot water. They look like new again!

[Sugarmaker]

WOW, Where there's a will there's a way. I can tell you thought about this for a while, and at $55 per roll for new tubing we all try to save some dollars where we can. Sounds like a place where good clean used tubing (not being stretched) will work good into buckets.

Chris

[ibby458]

I've been convinced that reusing the purple vinyl tubing in a new system would be a bad idea. Still - I got miles of it cheap, and couldn't see the sense of buying new tubing just to go into a bucket.

Since I'm also a bit picky about cleanliness, I didn't think just flushing it was good enough. The brush on a brake line cleans them up like new; saves me a few bucks, and gives me some indoor work in the winter. Keeps the old tubing out of the landfill, too. Everybody wins this way, except the tubing dealers.

[220 maple]

ibby458,
I have been cleaning my drops every year with a gun rod. I have an old gun rod that is steel, I use 30cal. swab on the rod, I soak the drops in hot water then run the rod thru them. Cleans them like new. I only use lamb 33u for my drops. I perfer the flexiblity. With the drops in the hot water the spiles come right off and I use a battery drill with a gun swab in the chuck to clean the spiles. You would be amazed how much filth is in each spile.
Mark 220 Maple

[ibby458]

I didn't remove the spouts, but I cleaned the tubing, and brushed the spouts before flushing them good with clean hot water. They sure do get gunked up pretty good.

I never got around to making mesh bags to store them in, so the ones that didn't get used last year (hanging in the sugarhouse all summer) got plugged big time by the wasps. THe used (and washed) ones hanging in the weather on the side of the garage kept nice and clean. Must be the wasps don't build in exposed locations?

[lmathews]

I use the old milkhouse brushes that are on a 10' long cable with a nylon bristle brush on one end.Pull it through and the tube is clean.

[maplwrks]

I Remove All Of My Spout Reducers And Put Them Into A Lingerie Bag And Put Them Into My Syrup Pans When I Clean Them With Acid.i Boil Them For About 15 Mins., Then Rinse The Bejesus Out Of Them And Hang To Dry.
Mike