Greetings,
I’m giving some details on equipment that hasn’t been discussed yet on the Beverage Blogs. This entry sheds light on a preventative maintenance for a juice/soda gun. I recently performed a PM on this equipment for one of our customers and wanted to share the process with you. Here we go!
Many of you are probably aware that dispensing juice can be a pretty sticky situation. The process requires some regular general maintenance to ensure that everything is pouring correctly for the customer due to the ingredients of the product. For the specific location, I was performing the PM on a simple setup of a Wunderbar gun dispensing 3 types of juice (Apple, Cranberry and Orange). The gun was being fed by Flojet BIB pumps powered by an air compressor. In this set up, there was no remote chiller. I’ve attached pictures at the bottom for reference!
To approach this type of preventative maintenance, I needed a variety of tools. I used sanitizer, a bucket, some extra tygon tubing, a screwdriver, a brix cup, a syrup separator and some clean towels. Additionally, a condenser brush is helpful to have on hand as well, but only if the machine has a chiller attached.
I started by disconnecting the BIBS and placing them in a bucket with warm water and sanitizing solution (Kay-5). To help clean the parts efficiently, I opened the valve on the juice gun manifold by turning the flow controls. This stepallows the sanitizing solution to flow through better. I continued to run each button until the water began to flow clear with sanitizer. For the gun, I soaked the equipment by removing the nozzle and placing it in a bucket of warm water or seltzer water (if available). Next, I wiped down all the BIB connectors, tubing, the BIB pumps, manifold, and air compressor. Once all has been wiped clean, I will check for any obvious leaks, or issues with connections etc.
To finish the PM, I checked the pressure on the compressor. Once the pressure was confirmed, I checked the operation by running the gun. Once the lines have sat for roughly 15-20 min, I removed the gun and cleaned it off with a clean towel. I attached my syrup separator nozzle and re-attached all the BIB connectors to the appropriate BIB and ran through the gun until I had a steady stream of product. Finally, I closed each flow control back to normal and tested for the proper ratio. Juice is usually 4:1 but varies depending on the type. Once all the buttons were set correctly, I re-attached the clean nozzle. Done!
