Modded SS Brewtech Keg Washer
>> Friday, September 11, 2026
Cleaning is a big part of homebrewing. Sanitation is equally important, but as the old homebrewing adage goes, you can't sanitize something that isn't clean.
I've posted before about how much I hate cleaning draft lines. Kegs, on the other hand, never bothered me quite as much. My original process was to completely disassemble, clean, and sanitize each keg between batches. As my keg collection grew, that process became increasingly tedious.
My first purchase to assist with keg cleaning was a Mark II Keg and Carboy Washer. It worked so well that I eventually simplified my routine to recirculating PBW through the keg, rinsing thoroughly, and then recirculating sanitizer before filling. The Mark II also worked great for cleaning fermenters and dramatically reduced the amount of water I used in the process.
Fast forward a few years, and I spotted an Ss Brewtech Keg WaSsher for dirt cheap in the local classifieds. I figured having a second washer couldn't hurt, especially since it would allow me to clean two kegs at once.
The Ss Brewtech washer worked great—until the pump failed a couple of years later. I bought a replacement, and that pump lasted until about six weeks ago (~2-3 years) before suffering what appeared to be the exact same failure as the original. Based on my experience, the washer is great but the pump is a weak spot as it seems to fail after about 2-3 years of use.
Neither pump was ever run dry, and although I used hot cleaning solutions, I stayed well below the pump's 160°F maximum temperature rating. In both cases, something inside the housing appeared to swell, eventually causing hairline cracks in the case. I reached out to Ss Brewtech support after the first failure and they indicated that ceramic parts I'm the pump can swell and bind. I'm not sure whether those cracks allowed liquid into the motor or whether the internal swelling itself caused the motor to seize, but either way, the result was the same: a dead pump.
Rather than spend money on another replacement that will likely eventually fail the same way, I started looking for alternatives. That's ultimately what led to this project. Note: There was an announcement yesterday (9/10/2026) that parent company Middleby is shutting down SS Brewtech operations in the near future, so hopefully this post will help out other homebrewers that own this pump and are looking for a solution when their pump inevitably fails.
Unfortunately, I couldn't find a true OEM-style generic replacement pump, and there wasn't much information online from other brewers who had modified their washers. There are plenty of inexpensive submersible pond pumps available, but I had concerns about their temperature ratings, flow rates, and chemical resistance. I found one that looked promising and had good reviews, but it cost about as much as another Ss Brewtech replacement pump, so I decided to keep looking.
After noodling on the problem for a few weeks, I realized I already had a better solution sitting in my brewery: one of my magnetic-drive brewing pumps.
I currently have three. My oldest is a March 809 fitted with a Blichmann RipTide head. It was mounted to my brew stand until about a week ago, and has been an absolute workhorse, and serves as my primary brewing pump.
I managed to recently acquire a used (but by appearances, nearly new) Blichman RipTide pump from a buddy of mine in my brew club. I mounted this one to my brewstand as it has a sealed motor (like the Spike Flo) whereas my March 809 isn't sealed and I was always a little worried I might accidentally splash liquids into the motor.
I have a Spike Flo pump that I won as a Best of Show prize in a homebrew competition. It's also mounted to my brew stand and serves as a secondary pump.
Lastly, I have a Little Giant (LG) 3-MD-MT-HC. I picked this pump up brand new years ago for $50. I mounted it on a homemade portable frame and use it as an auxiliary pump around the brewery and occasionally around the house. This particular model is known for its chemical resistance, and it has been a great all-around pump. Once thing I really like about it is how easy it is to remove the pump head by simply removing four wing nuts. Considering this pump came out before the Riptide and Flo style with their tri-clamp-based pump head assembly, Little Giant's solution was pretty innovative.
As you can see, I have no shortage of pumps. They're all heavy-duty magnetic-drive pumps designed for handling hot brewing liquids, so adapting the Ss Brewtech washer to use one of them made a lot more sense than spending money on another light-duty replacement pump.
The biggest challenge was that the original Ss Brewtech pump is a submersible DC pump, while my brewing pumps are external and need to be gravity-fed and/or primed well.
In order to use the LG pump with the washer, I installed a bulkhead near the bottom of the washing bucket to provide a gravity-fed outlet to the external pump. On the washer itself, I installed a 3/8-inch stainless steel barbed elbow where the original submersible pump connected. A section of silicone tubing connects that fitting to the outlet of the external pump.
The flow path is simple: the washer bucket is essentially a reservoir feeding through the new bulkhead and into the pump inlet. The pump then sends it back through the washer's rotating spray assembly and into the keg, then the keg drains back into the reservoir.
The modification is surprisingly simple, and I can now use a much more robust brewing pump that I already own instead of continuing to buy replacement submersible pumps—and if the external pump ever needs maintenance, I'm dealing with standard brewing equipment rather than a proprietary replacement part.
Parts List - If you're interested in doing a similar modification, here's what I used:
- (1) standard 5-gallon bucket
- Bulkhead:
- (1) stainless steel 1/2" MNPT x 1/2" hose barb
- (1) stainless steel 1/2"lock nut. Preferably a grooved one that will help retain an o-ring.
- (2) -211Silicone O-rings. These are from my spare parts stockpile. I used one on the inside, one on the outside.
- (2) Stainless washers. These are from my spare parts and are part of the bulkhead. There are probably better weldless bulkhead options nowadays, so consider using one of them. If you're like me and don't throw stuff away, use whatever you have to create a leak-free bulkhead.
- 3/8" ID silicone tubing
- (2) female 1/2" camlock x 1/2" hose barb fittings. These are the basic versions, not the full flow versions.
- (1) stainless steel 3/8" barbed elbow
Building the Bucket
Drill the hole for the bulkhead - Drill a 13/16" hole in the side of the bucket near the bottom. Position the hole so there is approximately 1/2" of clearance between the bottom of the bulkhead fitting and the bottom of the bucket. This is important because the keg washer stand needs to sit flat on the bottom of the bucket. In my case, the center of the hole was approximately 1 7/16" up from the bottom of the bucket, measured on the outside of the bucket. I used a standard high speed bit to make a pilot hole, then a step bit to take it up to 13/16. That will give you a nice clean hole.
- Install bulkhead - Install the bulkhead of your choice and tighten fitting. In my case I used one o-ring on the outside, one on the inside. The washers are on the outside and help compress the o-ring and hold it in place for a leak-free seal.
- Make the pump inlet hose - Cut approximately 18–24" of 3/8" silicone tubing. Push one end over the 1/2" barb on the bucket bulkhead and install one of the camlock/barb fittings on the other end.
- Make the pump outlet hose - Make a second hose using the remaining camlock/barb fitting on one end and the 3/8" stainless barbed elbow on the other. I made mine approximately 22.25" long.
Note: The 3/8" silicone tubing fits very snugly over the 1/2" barbs and shouldn't require hose clamps under the relatively low pressures involved. However, you may want to add a clamp where the tubing connects to the smaller 3/8" barbed elbow.
Using the Modified Keg Washer - The flow path is: Bucket → pump inlet → pump outlet → keg washer → keg → bucket
- Connect the pump inlet - Connect the hose from the bucket bulkhead to the inlet of your brewing pump.
- Connect the pump outlet - Connect the second hose to the pump outlet.
- Connect the keg washer - Insert the 3/8" stainless barbed elbow into the blue fitting on the keg washer where the original Ss Brewtech pump was connected.
- Add your cleaning solution - Fill the bucket with cleaning solution, water, or sanitizer. Make sure the the pump head is fully primed before turning it on. This is particularly important with magnetic-drive brewing pumps, which should never be run dry.
- Install the washer and keg - Attach the washer to the keg, invert the keg, and place the keg and washer assembly into the bucket.
- Start the pump - Turn on the pump and verify that you have good circulation through the washer before walking away from it.
- Clean, rinse, and sanitize - Recirculate the cleaning solution until the keg is clean. Drain the bucket and repeat the process with clean water to thoroughly rinse the keg. I normally run two rinse cycles. Finally, repeat the process using a no-rinse sanitizer.
A Note About Sanitizer
I generally use an iodine-based sanitizer in my keg washers rather than Star San. In my experience, Star San can generate a tremendous amount of foam when continuously recirculated through a keg washer. Eventually, that foam can make its way into the pump and interfere with circulation, and could possibly overheat the pump head. An iodine-based sanitizer produces much less foam and has worked better for me in this application.
That's about all there is to it. I've had a chance to use this a few times in the last couple weeks and I think the washer actually works better than with the original pump, which is somewhat expected given the LG pump is able to generate higher flow than the OEM pump. Hopefully this post helps other homebrewers to keep their Ss Brewtech Keg WaSher
