Iodophor left in a keg

Are you able to leave Iodophor in a keg?

I have three kegs I wanted to clean at once with no need for them in the near future. I cleaned the kegs with Oxyclean and they now have an Iodophor solution in each, I was just wonderin how long this would be able to stay. Also If I could get dump the iodophor out when it was done and fill will beer.

Sorry if this was address already I tried looking.

It's my understanding the an Iodophor solution will lose it's sanitizing potential after a few hours because iodine is volatile (evaporates out of the water). In a sealed keg I'm not sure where it would go. I use Iodophor myself, and have sanitized a keg, dumped out the solution and then sealed the lid. Filled it again 10 days later, if it's sealed up nothing bad should be able to get in anyway.

I guess it wouldn't really help to leave the solution in the keg, it would be just water the next day so keeping it in there would not really serve a purpose. I'd just dump it out and seal the keg until the next use. I don't think it would hurt anything to leave it in either, but I wouldn't depend on it as a sanitizer at that point.

I don't think the Iodophor will hurt your keg, beyond maybe a slight flavour. The real issue is that iodophor solution needs to be used fairly soon after it is mixed (a couple hours is about as long as I let it go). Star-san can be mixed and kept for extended periods (like weeks sometimes) and will continue to be active until it goes cloudy or pH rises above (3?). It also keeps your keg shiny.

Terje

So if I were to empty the kegs seal them and have them sit until I needed them would you think I could just add the beer and they should be fine?

MirImage said:

Are you able to leave Iodophor in a keg?

Click to expand...

Sure. There are no ill effects, flavors, etc. when used in the correct concentration.

MirImage said:

I have three kegs I wanted to clean at once with no need for them in the near future. I cleaned the kegs with Oxyclean and they now have an Iodophor solution in each, I was just wonderin how long this would be able to stay.

Click to expand...

An iodine solution open to air will maintain it's strength for up to 24 hours. If kept in a closed container, it can last for days.

It is not advisable to use iodine solutions older than twenty-four hours. After that time the iodine solution gradually loses strength and is apt to lead to uncertain results.

Click to expand...

I prefer iodine to Starsan simply for its stronger bactericide properties. Oh, and it's cheaper too.