Sanitizing a keg without gas

I am filling my first keg this weekend and I do not have my kegerator setup yet. How can I properly sanitize everything without the ability to push starsan through the dip tube and such?

If you have a party tap, you can connect it to the OUT plug and let the starsan drizzle out. It will go faster if you only use a gallon of hot solution and open the relief valve.

Why not just wait?
Need the fermenter for another batch?

I guess I could wait. it's a dry hopped batch of lake walk, I'd prefer to get it off the hop and into the keg sooner then later. I plan on drilling the holes for the fridge this weekend, just don't know when I'll get gas.

I don't have a party tap but I do have a faucet on a disconnect. I could maybe open that and pour starsan down to get the dip tube?

Take the diptubes out and soak them with your posts and lid in your sanitizing bucket. When finished, dump some sanitizing solution into your keg. Put in the tubes (with lubed o-rings), attach the posts, and then put on the lid (with lubed o-ring). Shake the f@$# out of the keg to ensure contact with the remaining un-sanitized portions. Open lid, empty sanitizer back into bucket. Fill with beer, seal up and relax.

Stick the fermenter in the fridge now at just over freezing. It'll clear your beer and slow the dry hopping process.

Ace_Club said:

Fill with beer, seal up and relax.

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He doesn't have gas so he can't purge or seat the seal. It's better off staying in the fermenter.

I sanitize my cornys with a gal of boiling water. Fill,put lid on then shake. this will pressurize it. then put on the party tap and let it push the near boiling water out. been doing it this way for about a year now. place the keg on counter and the tap in the sink lower than the keg and it will drain every bit. Then I cool the keg and fill.

buzzkill said:

I sanitize my cornys with a gal of boiling water. Fill,put lid on then shake. this will pressurize it. then put on the party tap and let it push the near boiling water out. been doing it this way for about a year now. place the keg on counter and the tap in the sink lower than the keg and it will drain every bit. Then I cool the keg and fill.

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This sounds like an excellent idea for the OP

its also a good way to leak test the keg. after the shake,flip it over. If near boiling water doent drip on and burn your hand its good.

and I use alot less chemicals this way.

I add about one gallon of Star San mixture to the keg, close the lid, add the black and gray quick disconnects to the In and Out post, then turn the keg swishing it around and draining some of the mixture out thru the quick disconnects and then the pressure relief valve. The out post I do several times to insure the dip tube got enough thru it.

AnOldUR said:

Stick the fermenter in the fridge now at just over freezing. It'll clear your beer and slow the dry hopping process.




He doesn't have gas so he can't purge or seat the seal. It's better off staying in the fermenter.

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All he asked was how to sanitize.

Ace_Club said:

All he asked was how to sanitize.

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And your recommendations in the fifth post in this thread is the best answer. My point was just to suggest that if he didn't need the fermenter before the rest of his kegging stuff arrives, transferring the beer would be a small but unnecessary risk. Pointing out that purging and seating the lid are standard kegging practices.


While I’m here, might as well give my opinion on the boiling water advice. Give that one a little thought. You’re pouring scalding hot water into a 3” wide hole. (edit: suppose a funnel would help, but still splatter) After that you’re handling a thin wall vessel. The extreme temperature is immediately transferred to the outer wall, so touching the metal surface will hurt. Next you’re spewing hot liquid under pressure out a non-insulated picnic tap. More fun. And then there’s the risk / reward part. Did all parts of your keg stay hot enough for long enough to sanitize them or was what you did only washing and it still needs to be sanitized?

I hold the keg by the rubber foot and rubber top,yes the side will get hot.

when I drain out the tap, the water runs out away from my hand.

and if the keg wasnt already clean why in the hell would I be try'n to sanitize it?

This is how 'I' do it. and it works great for me. I use alot less chemicals and it gives the OP something to think about.

why would you assume I would do this to a dirty keg? 95% of this hobby is all about cleaning,cleaning and more cleaning.

buzzkill said:

why would you assume I would do this to a dirty keg?

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hmmmm . . .
Why would you assume that I assumed that your keg was dirty.

All he asked was how to sanitize.

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I only suggested that your process may be considered cleaning, not sanitizing.
Most of the time that may be all that is necessary to prevent infection during the time it takes to finish a keg.
So, have at it. Hey, it's your skin . . .

Why not used compressed air? Must we use CO2? You could easily hook up a vavle to a compressor with low pressure. Right?

ultravista said:

Why not used compressed air? Must we use CO2? You could easily hook up a vavle to a compressor with low pressure. Right?

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I'm guessing that the OP doesn't have access to a compressor, but that is an option and one that I always use. Works fine for cleaning and sanitizing!

Here's my set-up:
(note: Don't set the pressure too high with this type of filter. 30psi has worked for me, but YMMV)

has anyone had any problems with contamination in dip tubes before? For the last year I have just been filling the corny half way with starsan, letting it sit for 5min, then putting a bucket over the top and turning upside down in the bucket. I let it burp out some mixture so the top of the keg is under water and let it sit again for 5min. I guess im not guaranteeing the sanitizer is completely filling the dip tube?

crap, I forgot about the tube! damn I hope I dont ruin two batches. I already put it in. I opened the top and used a vegtable sparyer with really hot water to clean it out.

whe the inline pancake filter?

ultravista said:

why the inline pancake filter?

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The quick disconnect hooks to shop air for pressurizing kegs to push sanitizer. The filter is an attempt to trap any oils or rust and dirt particles from the black pipe that runs through the shop to a compressor in the basement.