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Example of milk pipeline washing system that kills bacteria and removes milk residue after each milking.

Recorded on the 35 cow dairy farm of Ken Mahalko / Kenneth Mahalko, Gilman, WI, USA, on July 8, 2008. My older brother Kevin Mahalko works alongside my father to run the dairy farm operation.

Recorded, edited, ogg/theora transcoded, uploaded, and documented by Dale Mahalko, son of Ken Mahalko.

File versions:

• Medium size, low detail: 320x240 30fps, 170 kbit streamed (ffmpeg2theora Video Quality 3, Audio quality 1)
• Medium size, high detail: 320x240 30fps, 340 kbit streamed (ffmpeg2theora Video Quality 3, Audio quality 1)
• Large size, low detail: 640x480 30fps, 420 kbit streamed (ffmpeg2theora Video Quality 6, Audio quality 1)
• Large size, high detail: 640x480 30fps, 950 kbit streamed (ffmpeg2theora Video Quality 6, Audio quality 1)

Wash process

The washing is run by a control box mounted on the edge of the milker claw wash tank. It contains a mechanical timer and various relays and solenoids that run the operation. In the wash tank is a solenoid operated drain plunger and a plastic hose that senses the fill water level. Behind the wash tank is a soap reservoir jar on the bottom of the wash system. This is removed and filled with a dose of pipeline cleaner for each washing.

This combined system washes the milker claw nipples, the milker hoses, the milk pipeline, the milk receiver jar, the overflow float jar, the bulk tank transfer pump, and the bulk tank transfer pipe. Various stainless steel fittings are placed in the bottom of the milker wash tank and flushed with the swirling waters.

Typically there are three programmed cycles: a pre-rinse, the wash cycle, and a followup rinse cycle. However, on this farm an extra, one-shot manual flush is done after milking before running the wash system. Just before milking, the pipeline is manually flushed again to remove any pipeline cleaner residues.