5L Mini Kegs Rust

How do you prevent rust build up on the bung hole?... yeah I kinda just wanted to say bung hole, but all jokes aside this is a serious question!

I know there are quite a few people on here using 5L mini kegs because this is where I got the idea, but after a bit of searching I haven't seen this addressed.

Every time I kick one of these kegs and pull out the bung for cleaning I see some rust build up on the inner rim. I can't be the only one with this issue. How are you guys dealing with this?

Thanks!

Dave_K said:

How do you prevent rust build up on the bung hole?... yeah I kinda just wanted to say bung hole, but all jokes aside this is a serious question!

I know there are quite a few people on here using 5L mini kegs because this is where I got the idea, but after a bit of searching I haven't seen this addressed.

Every time I kick one of these kegs and pull out the bung for cleaning I see some rust build up on the inner rim. I can't be the only one with this issue. How are you guys dealing with this?

Thanks!

Click to expand...

Are they Stainless Steel? If so, I would passivate them. This is easy. Clean the rust spots with a non-scratchy pad and TSP (the sort of this for a glass or ceramic stove--not wire wool). Then soak in Star-San for 20 minutes. The acid soak will remove any free ions on the surface which can rust. There is lots of information out there. Look up passivation of stainless steel.

Good luck.

darylwoodman said:

Are they Stainless Steel? If so, I would passivate them. This is easy. Clean the rust spots with a non-scratchy pad and TSP (the sort of this for a glass or ceramic stove--not wire wool). Then soak in Star-San for 20 minutes. The acid soak will remove any free ions on the surface which can rust. There is lots of information out there. Look up passivation of stainless steel.

Good luck.

Click to expand...

Just searched a bit and couldn't find any mention of the actual type of metal. They just refer to it as "Brushed silver metal."
Also, the inside has a protective coating like a beer can.

I think if it were stainless steal they would advertise it as such. So I'm going to say it's not, unless someone here knows otherwise.

If they are cheap, I would still try and passivate one. You need to remove the rough material. You will get rust when you have moisture, metalic surface and an electron receptor. You cannot remove the metal or the moisture, so treat it with an acid and see if it helps. Make sure you clean it really well with Tri Sodium Phosphate (TSP) first. You can buy it by the box for a few bucks. Most paint stores or hardware store sell it.
You could try citric acid also. This is available in canning sections of stores like Walmart or the grocery store. Just some ideas to try.

Thanks for the advice Daryl. Sounds like it's worth a shot.

Still curious how those with experience with these kegs have handled it though.

I have experience with them. Unfortunately I found the same problem. I then moved to the Party Pig PET bottles. I was trying to use them as small kegs but with either the metal or plastic vessels, I found the seal at the bung was problematic and not worth the trouble. Northern Brewer has some good articles on using those mini-kegs.

Cheers!

So nobody using these has found a way around the rust?