Clean beerstone in a keg?

So I am out of PBW and can't get it locally. Tried OxiClean with no luck.

Any other suggestions on what I could use to get beerstone off the fittings of a corny keg?

BLC (beer line cleaner) works great. Ask your local pub to borrow an ounce of it.

Star san it does everything... You can even use it to clean stab wounds, it gets so clean you could toss a dead rat in there sew it up and not get an infection. Yea, it is that good.

Have you ever tried these guys:

http://www.cask.com/main/index.php?page_id=11

Not sure what they carry, but they are local and might be able to help.

Tried a 5 hour soak in Star San and it loosened it a bit. I think I might have to try something a bit more powerful if I am going to get the insides of my tubes and posts clean.

Unfortunately, I can't get BLC here either. But maybe I will try the folks at Cask.com.

Thanks for the tips guys.

Do you have a dairy supply store near you? They sell "dairy rinse" which is mostly phosphoric acid. This should remove the beer stone pretty quickly. Just follow the directions, etc. That is, ignore them and double the amounts of the active ingredient, Red Green-style.

FlyGuy,

An alkaline detergent, PBW, OxyClean, et al, will not remove beer stone.

Beer stone is a mineral build up. You need to use an acid to remove it.

Organic soils are what alkaline detergents are best at removing.

A nitric/phosphoric acid blend is best for getting rid of beer stone, but that is not something to use in a home environment.

Phosphoric acid would be much safer. The last rinse sanitizer used in commercial dishwashers is mostly phosphoric.

You can even try a long soak in a citric acid solution for a few days.

Wayne1 said:

FlyGuy,

An alkaline detergent, PBW, OxyClean, et al, will not remove beer stone.

Beer stone is a mineral build up. You need to use an acid to remove it.

Organic soils are what alkaline detergents are best at removing.

A nitric/phosphoric acid blend is best for getting rid of beer stone, but that is not something to use in a home environment.

Phosphoric acid would be much safer. The last rinse sanitizer used in commercial dishwashers is mostly phosphoric.

You can even try a long soak in a citric acid solution for a few days.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the tips Wayne. The parts/keg are soaking in phosphoric acid (Star San) right now. But I might try to step it up a bit if I can find some nitric/phosphoric acid blend.

Cheers!

Cascade Dishwasher Detergent!!!!!!!!!! It's caustic soda in disguise. :cross:

One other place you can look. Hydroponics stores sell pH up/down in concentrate.

A soaking in good ol' white vinegar from any grocery store will do the trick.

Alemental has the right of it.

StarSan is a GREAT sanitizer. It is NOT a good acid cleaner. There is not enough phosphoric acid in it to really do much to remove beerstone.

Try soaking your parts in distilled white vinegar. Remove all gaskets first.
Finish that up with a scrub with an old toothbrush and a paste made with baking soda.

Has anyone come up with a solution to removing this that works well. I can't get starsan unless I mail order it. Vinegar didn't touch the stuff on the dip tubes. I was able to scrub the inside of the keg with a baking soda paste it took a long time but it came clean. We don't have many dairy supply stores in the city but if its worth the drive I will make it.

thanks
John

Anyone have any experience using CLR to remove beer stone?

its a mix of lactic and gluconic acid:

http://www.shsd.mb.ca/MSDS/138124R14.PDF?FCItemID=S0028F7D8

I tell you what, I get beer stone in my fermenters all of the time. My water is that hard. The best combination that I have used and will continue to use, is Cl based caustic(BLEACH WORKS GOOD). Heat this to 140F and let is sit in the fermenter to dissolve proteins. Just work it around for a few minutes. I should note, that this short exposure to Cl, will not harm stainless. Then dump and rinse follow by hot water 140F and white vinegar. This will dissolve the beer stone. The heat is important. Starsan will do the same thing, but takes longer. Citric acid if you have access to it is the best after Nitric, but both are are highly caustic and require special handling. Vinegar is acetic acid and will do the same job, so that is my suggestion. Then rinse well, and sanitize with your favorite sanitizer. It works every time and is fast. Water comes out of the tap at my house at 140F, so that is what I use. I did some research and the pro's use a similar procedure with caustic soda and a acid based cleaner. The caustic is great for getting all the gunk,goo, and grime, but it is so nasty that if left will damage the Stainless, so they then follow it with a heated acid cleaner to neutralize the caustic and recondition the chromium oxide layer on the stainless, it just so happens that the acid will also react with the Calcium and lime deposits left by the ferment. It is a fun science project. S.