Cleaning Kegs

I finally broke down and purchased the equipment I needed to get my kegging system setup. More details on that to follow in the Bottling/Kegging forum. For now I have a question on cleaning a corny. I have three that I got from a friend of mine and they look like they've been sitting in a garage for quite some time. Here's what I've done so far to clean them up:

- Scrubbed them down with PBW
- Filled them halfway with water and PBW and shook violently
- Replaced the main o-ring and the smaller o-rings on the posts.

I just got my CO2 tank filled and tonight I plan to pressure test the kegs and then force some of the PBW mix out the picnic taps I'll be using for dispensing in order to clean the dip tube.

Anything else I should consider doing in order to clean these guys and make sure they're ready to take beer?

Make sure you clean the lid and pressure relief valve and make sure they close and get a good seal, but you will see that with your pressure test.

Thanks for the reminder, I forgot to mention the lids in my original post. I soaked the lids in a PBW/water mix and then scrubbed them.

How do you clean the pressure relief valve? Can it be removed or do I just pressurize the keg and then vent the valve to clean it out? I'm at work so I can't look at a keg right now.

Make sure to take apart the posts and soak in PBW and use a brush on them. Scrubbing the inside of the corny with a carboy or long bottle brush after a good hot PBW soak loosens any dried sugars. The pressure relief can not be taken apart but you can soak the whole lid and post parts in hot PBW and then run some hot water through it under the sink faucet. Then soak in Starsan 20 minutes. I assemble the whole keg and put 2 cups Starsan solution made with distilled water in it. Shake well. It is now ready for beer. Be sure to dump the Starsan before filling.

Some of the pressure relief valves can be unscrewed. The ones with the ring to pull should be able to be unscrewed by hand. The ones that have a toggle looking thing I think I needed a wrench to unscrew.

Also instead of pouring out the starsan I'd recommend pushing it out with co2, then you know your dip tube is sanitized. Also if you do this and you fill your keg through the liquid disconnect you can just open up the pressure relief and your beer won't be exposed to oxygen at all. I stick the keg on a scale so I know by weight when the keg is full.