Root Beer Smell Won't Leave!

I bought a bunch of old kegs on the cheap, and there was a 3 gallon corny that was converted to a sanke. The place used this for root beer before, and I cannot get rid of the smell.

I pulled and dismantled the spear, replaced everything rubber, and soaked the keg in oxyclean 4x, but the keg still has that minty root beer smell (the spear is free of smells). Any suggestions on what else I can try to get that smell out?

I'm not a fan of rootbeer, but are there any beers that would complement or mask the rootbeer enough for me to keg something in it?

I've read somewhere that baking soda will help get rid of the smell. Not sure on how much to add but it said to let it sit in the keg for 24 hours

if you have replaced everything soft (rubber) already, then you need a dip tube brush to scrub the inside of the dip tube if you ever want to have a chance at getting rid of that smell. you also need to dismantle the ball/pin locks and poppets and scrub them seperately, if you havnt already.

In PET bottles, I tried getting the root beer smell out with oxy, soap, boiling water and iodophor with no luck. Finally tried a little bleach and that got rid of it. Just gotta make sure you get the bleach rinsed out after and with steel I wouldn't let it sit there to long either.

audger said:

if you have replaced everything soft (rubber) already, then you need a dip tube brush to scrub the inside of the dip tube if you ever want to have a chance at getting rid of that smell. you also need to dismantle the ball/pin locks and poppets and scrub them seperately, if you havnt already.

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Its a corny that was converted to a sanke, so there are no dip tubes anymore... it's the inside of the body that smells, the spear has no smell and has been out of the keg for ~2 months now.

spokaniac said:

In PET bottles, I tried getting the root beer smell out with oxy, soap, boiling water and iodophor with no luck. Finally tried a little bleach and that got rid of it. Just gotta make sure you get the bleach rinsed out after and with steel I wouldn't let it sit there to long either.

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What concentration would be good for 3 gallons? Any idea how long to leave it before I risk pitting?

I just used about a capful of bleach in a 2 liter bottle then filled it about 3/4 with hot water and shook it up real good. About 10 minutes or so should be good, dump the bleach water into a bucket and rinse the keg out. If it still smells, dump the bleach water back in go a little longer.

strumke said:

What concentration would be good for 3 gallons? Any idea how long to leave it before I risk pitting?

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chlorine starts to pit steel immediately. the longer you leave it there, the higher the concentration and the higher the temperature, the faster it occurs. however there is no amount of time before it starts to corrode; it happens as soon as it makes contact.