Long term keg storage?

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RonRock

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Probably been asked before, but a search was hopeless.

I have several clean and sanitized cornies. How can I long term store them so that they will be ready to use months from the time they are cleaned?
 
IMHO, you should always sanitize before filling. No need to clean if they are stored dry and closed.
 
I've heard star-san foam or film drying onto the surface retains its sanitizing capability, so that would seem optimal, but really if you clean and sanitize it with anything well, shouldn't it be just as clean the next time you open it? You could even leave some sanitizer (at least star-san since it will last) in the keg and splash it around before you use it and dump it out before filling. People do that with carboys. As long as its mixed right and the ph is below 3.5. If you could boil it or steam it, it would probably also be sanitary if not sterile.

In the grand scheme of things, I think homebrewers really have no proof if something is sanitized, we can only put our trust in the products and the results we see. Its gotta be better than nothing.
 
I always sanitize with starsan overnight, dump out as much as possible, then purge and pressurize to 10 psi for storage-no problems yet. My thinking is that once void of oxygen-not much can live.
 
Star san is acidic, so it can pit the stainless over long periods, so i wouldn't leave it in the keg for too long.

When i'm storing kegs empty (not my preference) I clean, sanitize and let dry thoroughly. Then seal, pressurize with CO2, and set aside. When I'm ready to use one, I check to see if it's still holding pressure, which lets me know whether it needs attention, then just sanitize and fill.
 
I don't clean them until I'm ready to use them. When a keg kicks, I take it out of the fridge and just leave it there in my basement until I'm ready to use it. Sometimes this is several months. Then on kegging day I rinse it and scrub a little if needed to get dried yeast off the walls/bottom of the inside of the keg, then sanitize and fill.

I figure the keg was sanitized when I filled it, the beer wasn't infected, and now it's full of CO2, so it should be stable. I don't want to have to go through a cleaning procedure every time I kick a keg, which could happen at any random time. But when I'm filling a keg, I am already in cleaning mode, so it's easy to clean it then.
 
Clean, let dry and put the lid on. Store indefinitely, once needed swish a little star san around and your good to go. I always pump in a little co2 and gently depress the out post to sanitize the liquid out tube.
 
Star san is acidic, so it can pit the stainless over long periods, so i wouldn't leave it in the keg for too long.

When i'm storing kegs empty (not my preference) I clean, sanitize and let dry thoroughly. Then seal, pressurize with CO2, and set aside. When I'm ready to use one, I check to see if it's still holding pressure, which lets me know whether it needs attention, then just sanitize and fill.

The coke that was originally stored in the cornies is WAY more acidic than star san is. I wouldnt worry about that.

I clean then store them with a little star san in them. Shake it up, dump it out and its ready to go.
 
I Clean/Sanitize and then Pressurize using CO2 to about 10psi. If the pressure holds, I am reasonably certain that no nasties are present, but I always re-sanitize with iodophor solution and allow to drip dry. I guess I am a bit anal, but I try not to take chances. Using nitrogen to store cornies pressurized will ensure nothing survives inside. Most museums use nitrogen to preserve their display case items as nothing know to man can survive in a nitrogen atmosphere (at least that is what I have been told).

Salute! :mug:
 
I use a jumper setup - 1/4" tubing, with a gas disconnect on one end, and a liquid on the other. Fill one keg with starsan, and when I'm done cleaning a batch of kegs, I seal 'em all up, and use co2 to push the starsan from keg to keg via the jumper. This way starsan has run absolutely EVERYWHERE inside the keg that beer can/will, and when the starsan's out of a keg, it's still pressurized with CO2.

Completely clean, completely sanitized, and ready to roll!
 
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