Cleaning Tap lines

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eager_brewer

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Last month my kegerator died. It just stopped cooling. So I got a new/old fridge and have it ready to go. However when I took out my old beer lines they were dirty, even though I have run Iodophor and water. So I need a better clear for the lines. What does everone use and how often do you clean the lines?

Thanks!
EB
 
I just use star san and water through my lines every time I empty a keg..and they always stay nice and clear and clean.

Dan
 
Sanitizers are NOT cleaners and shouldn't be used as such. Your cheating yourself out of a consistent taste if you don't clean your lines regularly. I've done more than a few cleaning tests with 3 different kegerators in my house and two friends. There's absolutely no debate the taste will start to degrade after 3 weeks to a month. I don't EVER sanitize a beer line as it's just not necessary.

A good thorough cleaning with BLC, or I use the powder micromatic sells, works great. If you spring for the kit, it only takes 20 minutes and requires very little effort.
 
Sanitizers are NOT cleaners and shouldn't be used as such. Your cheating yourself out of a consistent taste if you don't clean your lines regularly. I've done more than a few cleaning tests with 3 different kegerators in my house and two friends. There's absolutely no debate the taste will start to degrade after 3 weeks to a month. I don't EVER sanitize a beer line as it's just not necessary.

A good thorough cleaning with BLC, or I use the powder micromatic sells, works great. If you spring for the kit, it only takes 20 minutes and requires very little effort.

Agreed. At least once a month, in my book. The cleaning is pretty easy, and if you don't want to spend the $50 for a cleaning kit, you can make your own for about half that with a pesticide sprayer bottle (clean, of course) from Home Dump or bLowes ($10), a short piece of tubing, and a tap adapter ($10 or so from LHBS).
 
I use a keg that has a small crack and doesn't hold pressure.

It is full of BLC and I was out the lines with that and then star-san after every keg !
 
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