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Author Topic: Comment on proposed keg cleaning procedure  (Read 5961 times)

Offline tom

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Re: Comment on proposed keg cleaning procedure
« Reply #15 on: November 20, 2010, 09:18:41 am »
Chlorine can damage stainless, don't know about iodine or StarSan.
Brew on

Offline tumarkin

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Re: Comment on proposed keg cleaning procedure
« Reply #16 on: November 20, 2010, 09:29:51 am »
I really like Lonnie Mac's cleaning procedure. Homebrewers are an inventive lot and this is great.

Not being a metallurgist, I don't know if it's safe to store Star San in a stainless keg. I have done it without any apparent pin holes, leaks or problems..... but maybe I should add "yet". 

But unless you're storing the Star San for future use, there's no real reason to leave any significan quantity of it in the keg. If you fill the keg with Star San, or partially fill it & shake it around, it is just as effective to blow the solution out of the keg & leaving it empty and under pressure - especially if it's been first cleaned with PBW before the Star San. The Star San would dry, leaving perhaps a minimal amount of liquid and the keg would be fully sanitized.  Very unlikely that anything would grow to the point of being a danger to the beer that would be next put into the keg.

Disassembly & cleaning of dip tubes is another issue - should be done regularly in my opinion, but not necessarily every time. More of an issue when dry hopping in the keg.
Mark Tumarkin
Hogtown Brewers
Gainesville, FL

Offline Pawtucket Patriot

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Re: Comment on proposed keg cleaning procedure
« Reply #17 on: November 20, 2010, 11:27:04 am »
All you really need to do is rinse a few times with hot water, let dry, and store. Before the next use, rinse with hot water again, sanitize, and purge with CO2. I've never used PBW or oxyclean on any of my serving kegs (fermenting kegs are a different story).

I do think it is a good idea to break kegs down completely after each use though (remove posts, poppets, and dip tubes - rinse them all thoroughly with hot water and utilize a dip tube brush if necessary). 

+1

This is pretty much my process too. Works very well -- minimal work and it does the job.
Matt Schwandt | Minneapolis, MN
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Offline wingnut

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Re: Comment on proposed keg cleaning procedure
« Reply #18 on: November 21, 2010, 07:42:34 am »
Thanks everyone one for their comments!

I was somewhat inspired by Lonnie's technique for cleaning kegs, as his procedure is not too different from what I was thinking of doing.  The difference being that I was going to use CO2 instead of city water, and I was going to only partially fill the keg and shake it around. 

Essentially, I agree with most people's comments that taking apart a keg is not a big deal... heck I have been doing bottles for the past 35 batches or so... so a little keg tear down is really no big deal!  The real goal was to keep the keg purged with CO2 and do so "as efficiently as possible". 

However, most of what I am hearing from reading through the comments is that there is simply too much "gunk" left after a keg kicks, and the only really good way to be sure it is out of the keg, is to open it up and look.  Yeah, I may save some CO2 by just putting some Star San or PBW in and shakeing a few times, and then pumping it out, but the reward is not all that significant compared to the risk of leaving some gunk behind.

Cheers!
-- Wingnut - Cheers!

Offline tom

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Re: Comment on proposed keg cleaning procedure
« Reply #19 on: November 21, 2010, 09:09:50 am »
And keep the keg parts together with each keg. I put the parts in a hop bag and hang it in the keg while it's full of PBW.
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Offline bluesman

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Re: Comment on proposed keg cleaning procedure
« Reply #20 on: November 21, 2010, 05:00:24 pm »
And keep the keg parts together with each keg. I put the parts in a hop bag and hang it in the keg while it's full of PBW.

+1

I also soak the lid in the pbw. This is sound advice.
Ron Price

Offline wingnut

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Re: Comment on proposed keg cleaning procedure
« Reply #21 on: November 21, 2010, 05:39:48 pm »
And keep the keg parts together with each keg. I put the parts in a hop bag and hang it in the keg while it's full of PBW.

Indeed, I learned that one the hard way.  When I bought my 8 used kegs, I later found that one was not a "true" coney keg, and the poppets were slightly different.  Fortunatly, I kept all the old poppets and was able to diagnose the reason one of the kegs would not seal at the posts!  (of course I already had 5 gallons of beer in it when I found out!)

I guess for now, I will keep up with the same procedure I used when I got all 8 kegs.  What I did was something similar to what Lonnie is doing.  I took a spare 1/4 hp "sump pump" I had around the house... filled up a sink  and keg with PBW, and connected the sump to the gas and liquid posts.  Then I turned on the sump and let it pump hot PBW thorugh the tanks for a half hour a piece.  It worked great since I had 8 kegs to do and I just swapped each one every half hour or so during the day.  Then I re-built each one with new poppits and gaskets.

It seems a bit overkill for just one keg at a time, so I will probably rinse each one as it dies, and then when I get two or three..do the same thing I did when I got them.

Knowing the most critical things to makeing beer is sanitation, sanitation, sanitation, sanitation, good fermentation, and avoid oxidation... my hope to be able to be a bit more lazy may not be advisable!



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Offline octess

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Re: Comment on proposed keg cleaning procedure
« Reply #22 on: November 21, 2010, 07:28:20 pm »
Most of my kegs are well over 12 years old. I rarely if ever disassemble them. Some of them have never been disassembled to this day. I think I have posted my cleaning regiment here somewhere here before. There is not a single spot inside your keg that beer can touch, and sanitizer wont...

http://www.youtube.com/colplink#p/u/10/OaFVkNP_WAA


very nice indeed! and makes a lot of sense too.
Viva el art of brewing alchemy!

Offline micsager

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Re: Comment on proposed keg cleaning procedure
« Reply #23 on: December 01, 2010, 11:44:14 am »
I made the keg cleaner that was on the AHA page a few months back.  Basically a pond pump in a sink full of PBW water, with a T to split the hose into both the out and in on the corny.  The corny fills with the PBW water, and overflows into the sink.  I just leave for an hour.  But, I only do that every three or four fills.  Other than that, I rince immidiately, purge both poopets, and store until next use.  Then I sanitize and fill.

Offline cheba420

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Re: Comment on proposed keg cleaning procedure
« Reply #24 on: December 04, 2010, 10:00:43 am »
Up until now, my procedure was to rinse with hot water, fill with cleaning solution (pbw or oxyclean), pressurize to run solution through the diptube, hose and faucet. Wait. Drain. Rinse. Fill with sanitizer, pressurize to run a little sanitizer through the system. Drain. Dry. Store. Sanitize again before filling. Every 2-3 times, I pull the whole think apart to clean the dip tube and the valves. This process has always served me well, however....

I will now be on the Lonnie Mac program!
Matt
Mesa, AZ.
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