how often do you clean your keg lines and faucets?

Just curious, how often do you clean your kegerator/keezer lines? How do you go about doing this? I am planning on just filling an empty keg with an oxyclean solution, and pressurizing the keg and pushing it through the lines, and then repeat with a water only rinse.

I do that but then I also run StarSan throught them....

I have heard two rules of thumb.

Every two months or every second keg.

DPB

Detergent (pbw, one step) followed by StarSan every time I bring a keg online (both faucets and lines). Never had a problem. Hard to argue with success.

I clean the line from QD through faucet when a keg kicks. I use one of these to run some PBW through followed by Star San then a rinse with fresh water. A lot easier than messing with a keg that I'd rather have beer in (and today all fourteen kegs have beer in them!)


Cheers!

day_trippr said:

and today all fourteen kegs have beer in them!

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Off topic, but this guy.... this guy needs an award for awesomeness.

Oh, and I clean my lines every couple two or three or so kegs. Oxy then iodophor.

Every other keg, I do an Oxiclean recirc for about 5 minutes then a StarSan recirc for another 5 using my keg line cleaner.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/recirculating-keg-line-cleaner-287625/

I too run oxyclean and then some hot water - and then some star san through the lines. Does anybody run a brush through the lines?

Every time I change the keg.

14 kegs..... WOW!

Every time I change a keg. And if I don't connect a new keg I fill it with water so de the lines don't stay dry

+1 on every time I change kegs.

mtyquinn said:

I too run oxyclean and then some hot water - and then some star san through the lines. Does anybody run a brush through the lines?

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Nope, running a brush through the lines could scratch them up. Make the beer foam more.

Thanks for everyone's input.

Hot water is a no no guys. Will distort lines which causes turbulence and dead spots.

Usually when a keg kicks. But the keg gods are going to be upset with me cause I've been out of beer the last couple months and the faucets have siezed up. A cardinal sin for sure.

OntarioBeerKegs said:

Hot water is a no no guys. Will distort lines which causes turbulence and dead spots.

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Hmmm, interesting. Thanks for the info!

OntarioBeerKegs said:

Hot water is a no no guys. Will distort lines which causes turbulence and dead spots.

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Depends on how hot you're talking. I use hot tap water to rinse my lines (which is basically just really warm water) and I've never had any issues with it.

OntarioBeerKegs said:

Hot water is a no no guys. Will distort lines which causes turbulence and dead spots.

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Can you explain that please?

Koffie said:

Can you explain that please?

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Heat warps beer line. When you soak the end in hot water from a kitchen sink to fit on a barb it fits because you expanded the line unevenly (distortion). That ruins the integrity of the tubing at that spot. Not a big deal for a very small length next to the barb, that little bit is not going to contribute to knocking your co2 out of solution. Now imagine submerging the entire line in hot water...

I intend to start a habit of cleaning my 4 tap lines whenever I kick a keg. Clean the keg, refresh the PBW, lines soak in PBW while I sani the keg, rinse lines with sani, leave corny pressurized with sani until kegging again. My fridge holds 5 cornies, so this should be sufficient.

Scrub the faucet that kicked, also.

I clean the line every time I kick the keg - just run BLC through it and rinse twice.

I have been using a cleaner that hooks up where the faucet hooks up, and breaking down the faucet and giving it a good oxyclean soak every time, but I'm considering putting together something like was posted early in this thread with the ball lock post on it, and just running the BLC straight out through the faucet to save myself some work and only break down the faucets a couple times a year...

I've only gone through 7 kegs so far in my 4 tap kegerator, but I've done the oxyclean/rinse/star san method, with each new keg. I don't find it to be that much of a PITA, but it does seem to use a good bit of gas up. I'm still on my first 5# tank, but likely have to swap it out in the next keg or two.

I haven't yet broken down the MFLs, lines, and faucets though. Eventually I may do that, if I see the need in the future. I think it may be a good idea once or twice a year, we'll see.

After every keg kicks.

day_trippr said:

I clean the line from QD through faucet when a keg kicks. I use one of these to run some PBW through followed by Star San then a rinse with fresh water. A lot easier than messing with a keg that I'd rather have beer in (and today all fourteen kegs have beer in them!)

Cheers!

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I made one of these also, it works great!

I use the pump at the end of every weekend and push StarSan solution through the lines and faucets. I know weekly is a PITA but it is easy with the DIY pump and it also helps prevent my non-perlick faucets to cease!