How to "recondition" my kegerator/kegs?

So, I did something kind of silly. I built a 4912 kegerator for 2 cornies, tricked it all out with perlicks, etc. and then ran only 4 kegs of beer through it or so. Then my 5g CO2 ran out, I never got it filled, and went on hiatus for a year...

Well, that's not the silliest part - leaving 2 partial kegs in the kegerator for the year hiatus, with it unplugged part of the time, is the silly part.

Now I want to get this thing running again because I ordered a kit to brew up soon and I have some apfelwein I've had fermenting/conditioning in bulk for a year that needs to go in to carb and serve.

I bought a new home so I have space for this now, time for homebrew parties with friends, and more space to brew. Help me get this running again!

The problems:
1) I have beer in the 2 kegs in there (I do have two extras but thats not the point) and its been in there unplugged for months. Are the cornies OK? What do I need to do to "recondition" them?

Oxyclean scrub and starsan sanitize session?

2) What do I have to do to get the beer lines back in order? It appears the one beer line has something "growing" in it. Is it possible I got mold, bacteria, fungus growing in there since I unplugged it and its been sitting in there at room temp? I didn't even think about it, I guess I thought it wasn't possible with no oxygen in the system. But then I guess there are anaerobic bacteria or whatever...

Do I just flush this out once I get my CO2 refilled tomorrow, then run a keg of oxy through it, then a keg of starsan through it? Should I use a special beer line cleaner? Or should I just buy new line?

Help!

Cornies will be fine with a good disassembling, scrubbing with oxyclean, and then sanitizing. The lines on the other hand I would change, you'll probably never get all the funk out.

MikeinAK said:

Cornies will be fine with a good disassembling, scrubbing with oxyclean, and then sanitizing. The lines on the other hand I would change, you'll probably never get all the funk out.

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I was guessing that would be the solution... I will place an order for 20ft of new line. At 50c a foot, I guess its not worth risking trying to clean what I have already!

Shame I only ever ran 4 kegs through it before!! Also definitely NOT looking forward to try to get it on the shanks in the tower - its a tight fit and pain in the butt!!

Well, with more space I'd be looking to get a full size fridge or a chest freezer. Time to expand!!! I snagged my old fridge off CL for $35, and it holds 5 kegs + a few bombers + yeast + frosty mugs + a buttload of hops in the freezer. After two cans of Krylon it looks better than new.

As for the cornies, a good overnight soak in PBW and hot water will get those cornies nice and clean. Depending on how nasty they are, do another soak in fresh PBW (yes, probably overkill). Then do an overnight soak in StarSan, and get some beer in there! Re-use the StarSan from one keg to the next and make sure to sanitize your air lines and probably just replace your beer lines.

Welcome back from the hiatus, now to get busy brewing! Grats on the house as well...

Good news is I will have an extra refrigerator b/c we are getting a new one and there is an older one, but working fine, in the home. I *might* make it into a kegerator, but at this point am just thinking I might use it for my supplies and a lagerator! We'll see!

How would I go about sanitizing my air lines? Just unhook at both ends and soak in some starsan?

RoaringBrewer said:

Good news is I will have an extra refrigerator b/c we are getting a new one and there is an older one, but working fine, in the home. I *might* make it into a kegerator, but at this point am just thinking I might use it for my supplies and a lagerator! We'll see!

How would I go about sanitizing my air lines? Just unhook at both ends and soak in some starsan?

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Yep, that's it. If you notice any chunkage in there, I'd do a soak in PBW first, then flush and soak in StarSan.

TwoHeadsBrewing said:

Yep, that's it. If you notice any chunkage in there, I'd do a soak in PBW first, then flush and soak in StarSan.

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"Chunkage" in the airlines? What would that be? Isn't the only thing that has been in those lines CO2?!

How would I see "chunkage" considering my lines are red and not clear?

RoaringBrewer said:

"Chunkage" in the airlines? What would that be? Isn't the only thing that has been in those lines CO2?!

How would I see "chunkage" considering my lines are red and not clear?

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I wouldn't think there would be anything in there...but if you had an open line and the pressure went down you could get moisture from the beer in there. But that's just me being paranoid about sanitation. If you don't see anything in there don't worry about it, it will probably be fine. But still, what would it hurt to PBW and sanitize the lines? Damn, there I go again...