Scratched keg

Hey guys...

I bought a corny keg from my LHBS a short while back and noticed that it has several scratches on the bottom near the dip tube. Should I worry about these? I'm about to keg a batch soon and the last thing I need is another infected beer.

I was thinking about tossing in some boiling water to make sure there is nothing living in them. Good idea?

good idea. should be a perfectly usable keg if you keep it clean.

Is there much more fermentation going on in the keg< im Kinda new but it seems that after boiling water, some star san and the alcohol in the beer it should be fine.

All mine have scratches on the bottom. If a previous owner is unscrupulous in tightening the liquid dip tube, they will wrench it out of the impression in the bottom and scrape it along the base of the corney, making those scratches.

Never had a problem though. I just use good old oxyclean, then starsan.

Thanks guys

I'll probably try the boiling water thing just this time to be safe. From then on, I'll use my normal oxyclean, then starsan routine.

Just an FYI about boiling water to clean something:
When you use water hotter than 180F, you will lock in organic matter and may do more harm then good.

from ProBrewer.com

Pasteurization temperature is 140oF. Cleaning is most effective above 140oF but below 180oF. Just like in the brewing process temperatures over 180oF will cause some organic contaminates to precipitate proteins which can inhibit cleaning.

Click to expand...

Getting your equipment beer ready is a two step process. First you have to clean and then sanitize. You shouldn't take a shortcut with boiling water.

olllllo said:

Just an FYI about boiling water to clean something:
When you use water hotter than 180F, you will lock in organic matter and may do more harm then good.

from ProBrewer.com


Getting your equipment beer ready is a two step process. First you have to clean and then sanitize. You shouldn't take a shortcut with boiling water.

Click to expand...

I was just planning to use the boiling water to kill whatever might be living in those scratches. I was going to follow that up with my normal oxyclean soak/rinse and starsan.

But from reading your post, it seems like I might just be better off using the hot oxyclean water?

But from reading your post, it seems like I might just be better off using the hot oxyclean water?

Click to expand...

Yes. Use water under 180F.

good to know. i'm currently using glass, so it' kinda moot, but I had planned to go stainless conical and was thinking I could clean with steam.