High speed reusable beverage container washing system

An apparatus for sanitizing a beverage container, comprising:

• a housing including an entrance and an exit that is separate from the entrance, the entrance configured to receive a beverage container prior to sanitizing and the exit configured to provide access to the beverage container after sanitizing;
• a holder disposed within the housing and configured to hold the beverage container during a sanitizing operation;
• a spray assembly including at least one sprayer disposed within the housing and configured to spray a wash fluid onto the beverage container during the sanitizing operation while the beverage container is held by the holder, wherein wash fluid sprayed by the spray assembly is heated to a sanitizing temperature;
• an ultraviolet sanitizing assembly including at least one ultraviolet light disposed within the housing and configured to emit ultraviolet light toward the beverage container during the sanitizing operation while the beverage container is held by the holder;
• and
• a controller configured to control the spray assembly and the ultraviolet sanitizing assembly to perform the sanitizing operation on the beverage container while the beverage container is held by the holder;
• wherein the spray assembly further includes:
• a tank including first and second chambers and a cross-over fluidly coupling the first and second chambers, the first and second chambers having respective first and second outlets, the first chamber coupled to a collector that collects wash fluid sprayed by the sprayer, and the cross-over including an inverted conduit extending into the first chamber and having an inlet disposed below a maximum wash fluid level in the first chamber of the tank and above the first outlet of the first chamber such that solid particles in wash fluid collected by the collector sink to a bottom of the first chamber and such that floating particles in wash fluid collected by the collector float above the inlet of the inverted conduit, wherein the first and second outlets are coupled to at least one drain device configured to convey wash fluid stored in the first and second chambers to a drain, and the second outlet is disposed below the inlet of the inverted conduit;
• and
• a pump in fluid communication with the second chamber of the tank and configured to supply wash fluid from the second chamber of the tank to the sprayer.