Clean in place system

Abstract

A system for cleaning cone/shake makers in place. Cone/shake makers have at least one freezer for making ice cream cones or milk shakes. Each freezer has a product inlet, a product pump for pumping product from the inlet into the freezer, and at least one draw valve for dispensing the product in the freezer. The cleaning system has a mixing tank for mixing water with a cleansing chemical, the mixing tank having a capacity of less than one-fourth the volume of the water and cleansing chemical mixture to be used while cleaning a cone/shake maker. The system controllably provides the cleansing chemical to the mixing tank at a rate corresponding to the rate at which water flow into the mixing tank, thereby making a cleansing chemical solution of predefined concentration on the fly as the mixture is being used to clean the cone/shake maker. The system monitors the conductivity of the water/cleansing solution and generates an error message if the conductivity falls outside a specified range for at least a threshold period of time, thereby providing the user with a warning that the system is having a chemical dispensing problem. The cleaning system includes a draw valve actuator for each of cone/shake maker's draw valves and a controller for opening and closing these draw valves in accordance with a specified schedule.