2 newbie keg questions

Making the plunge into kegging and bought a setup from on online dealer and I have now cleaned the kegs in order to transfer beer next weekend. The kegs are used but advertised as being visually inspected and tested to hold pressure. I have 4 corney ball lock kegs now.

1. Upon cleaning one of the kegs I found rust on the inside surface of one of the kegs. I estimate the rust area to be about the area of a dollar bill. Will this rust affect the beer stored in the keg? No point in putting $25 worth of beer ingredients into something that will damage the taste.

2. What will be a good indicator that the kegs hold prsssure when tested? I hooked them up to the CO2 and did not see any visual leaks/bubbles. However, I am partially deaf and can not hear well enough to notice if there was any air escaping. I have left the kegs pressurized and disconnected them from the air source to see how the seals hold pressure. I am just not sure what evidence I should be looking for.

Thanks for any input you might have.

Mick

I would maybe use some CLR and see if you can get rid of the rust using a sponge and scrubber. For testing the to see if you have any leaks fill in a spray bottle a soap and water combination or if you have star san that should work as well in a spray bottle. Add pressure your kegs and spray with whatever is in your bottle and see if any bubbles form that is where your leaks are.

I'll try the spray bottle method. Good idea.

The interior rust is located at the base of the keg and I cannot get my arm to reach down that far w/o getting stuck. Will the CLR do anything w/o scrubbing the surface?

Mick, I would definitely, try to remove the rust from the inside of your keg before adding your beer. I would try a stainless steel scrubbing pad or a scotch pad to remove it. You can attach it to a long spoon or a carboy brush so you can reach it. For the pressure issue, on my regulator I have a gauge. I can put a known pressure on my keg, let it stabilize, then disconnect the gas line from the keg, back off the regulator and isolate the gas from your CO2 bottle. Press the gas inlet valve (that attaches to your keg) with your finger to bleed any CO2 out of the regulator line, then put it back onto your keg. It will read the pressure in the keg instead of the regulator. Also, More beer has a gauge that is attached to a gas fitting (p/n FIL42A) but it's $40. You can buy the gauge from Northern brewer for about $8 and piece the rest together for much less than $40. Hope this helps you out.

Greg