The Sanitizer Server

I had a keg I didn't want to use for beer, and a lid I wasn't going to use either, so now I use it to serve santizer!



I use a foot pump to pressurize the keg and a picnic faucet to spray (or rather pour) sanitizer where I want it.



Just thought I'd share, I'm sure there are similar systems already.

How long do you find a batch lasts when hermetically sealed in a keg like that?

If I use distilled or reverse osmosis water I would guess about 6 months. I have yet to test that theory though.

Note that I've heard Star San can muck up the stainless steel after a (long) while. I don't know the validity of that statement but have seen it floated around a number of times here when folks have stored Star San in a keg.

If it's no worry then cool deal, so long as it doesn't foam all to heck on you when you dispense!

Psych said:

Note that I've heard Star San can muck up the stainless steel after a (long) while. I don't know the validity of that statement but have seen it floated around a number of times here when folks have stored Star San in a keg.

If it's no worry then cool deal, so long as it doesn't foam all to heck on you when you dispense!

Click to expand...

Hmm looks like I'll be running stainless trials then. After I empty this out I'll check for rust spots and any other signs of damage. As long as it doesn't rust inside I have no problems with it. Like I said, I'll never be drinking out of this keg anyway.

What's up with the Schrader valve in the lid? I've never seen one of those.

He said he had an air pump to pressurize. Since he's not using CO2, the gas-in isn't much use. He's probably using the Schrader to connect his pump.

Yeah, I was thinking it was like that before the sanitizer dispensing

Ya it's hard to see but if you look in the second picture you can see the bike pump hooked up to the lid valve. The gas in valve has been abandoned for now.

Psych said:

Note that I've heard Star San can muck up the stainless steel after a (long) while. I don't know the validity of that statement but have seen it floated around a number of times here when folks have stored Star San in a keg.

If it's no worry then cool deal, so long as it doesn't foam all to heck on you when you dispense!

Click to expand...

This piqued my curiosity. I keep a Cornie full of StarSan much of the time for sanitizing and purging my other kegs. I push the StarSan into the keg being sanitized, then push it back with CO2, so that the keg was purged of air and has only CO2 and a little StarSan in it. It happens that that keg is empty now, so I rinsed it and took a look inside. That keg has a satin appearance all the way up, without any evidence of the StarSan level. I looked at the other 3 kegs I have clean and empty right at hand, and one other had a satin appearance, while the other two had more of a mirror appearance. The StarSan keg is a Firestone Challenger VI, while the rest were actual Cornelius kegs. It feels smooth to the touch. I can't say that I see a convincing difference.

Incidentally, I have kept StarSan in that keg in the dark for about 3 years, changing it perhaps once a year. I have checked it's pH with pH paper, and it has stayed at 2. I had come to understand that at a pH of 3 or below, StarSan is still good to use, even if cloudy. Mine has stayed clear.

l3asturd said:

I had a keg I didn't want to use for beer, and a lid I wasn't going to use either, so now I use it to serve santizer!

I use a foot pump to pressurize the keg and a picnic faucet to spray (or rather pour) sanitizer where I want it.

Just thought I'd share, I'm sure there are similar systems already.

Click to expand...

I went a step further and put wheels on my set-up.

l3asturd said:

Hmm looks like I'll be running stainless trials then. After I empty this out I'll check for rust spots and any other signs of damage. As long as it doesn't rust inside I have no problems with it. Like I said, I'll never be drinking out of this keg anyway.

Click to expand...

Yeah best to be sure, I think it was like a corrosion thing that someone experienced, pitting the metal or something.

But then I've heard of people storing star san in a keg for months and nothing. Grain of salt, but best to check periodically at least

I checked another Firestone Challenger keg I have, and the interior looks the same. To my knowledge it has never had StarSan in it. It is a "planter keg" that Northern Brewer or Midwest sold a few years ago guaranteed NOT to hold pressure, and suitable only for planter use. I wrap my CFC around it. Just from looking at the interiors, I cannot tell it apart from my StarSan keg, which has held various batches of StarSan for about 3 years essentially without a break. I do push the StarSan with CO2, not air, so atmospheric oxygen exposure is pretty limited. Just my observations; I'm not a metallurgist. YMMV.

I've kept batches of star san in the same keg for 2 years and you would never even know that it was used.... no pitting or anything. in fact it's probably the cleanest keg in the whole world...ha..ha..ha.. "evil laugh continues" and the last batch was in the keg for around 4 months as I took a non voluntary break from brewing because of moving and life.... but I'm back with a vengeance!