How Do You Store Your Empty Kegs?

Just started kegging, and I have a few empty cornies sitting around now. How should I store them?

Should I do the full oxyclean+starsan flush and then seal them with CO2? Or is it ok to simply clean them and leave them sitting open until I need to use them, then sanitize them? This is what I do with my bottles with no problems.

Just wondering what you experienced keggers do.

I like to keep my empty kegs full of beer

I used to clean and sanitize them after the kicked, lately I've just been leaving them pressurized with whatever was left in them. Before I use them again I go through my clean/sanitize routine.

Back when I used to clean them right away, I would clean then rinse and let the lid hang inside them. When I was ready to use them I would give them a good rinse, sanitize, then use co2 to push the sanitizer out

I clean them out with oxyclean after use, rinse with water, leave it upside-down to dry out (pushing the out-poppet a few times to let the dip tube drain) and sanitize before filling.

Rinse with hot water drain and allow to dry overnight.
Pour approx .5 gallon starsan into keg
close lid
pressurize
shake to wet all surfaces
push starsan out of the out tube
fill with beer
drink
repeat.

I completely disassemble, soak in oxyclean, then rinse, reassemble, and sanitize.

It's a total PITA and probably way overkill, but I can't sleep right if I know it wasn't done perfectly.

ive been cleaning, sanitizing and then putting enough co2 in to seal them. Then when I'm ready to put beer in them whenever that might be, I just open em up and rack into them.

I do this:

Bokonon said:

II've just been leaving them pressurized with whatever was left in them.

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Until I either need one, or I have enough empties that it makes sense to:

davebl said:

I completely disassemble, soak in oxyclean, then rinse, reassemble, and sanitize.

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Just did 5 kegs tonight. Doing 5 doesn't seem to take that much longer than doing one, which is why I like to wait. If my brew schedule goes as planned for the next couple months, though, I'll be into the kick-and-fill mode, with no interim maintenance of any kind

I clean them out with Oxyclean, then just leave them unpressurized. I Starsan them before filling.

Thanks for the input.

For now I'll go with an oxyclean wash and storing open until needed. I'll rinse again and sanitize just before use. Every so often I'll completely dissassemble and clean. This should work, I think.

I have never understood some people rationalization for CO2 pressurizing kegs in storage. They, inevitably always claim that the CO2 drives out moisture. Whaaaaat? The keg is sealed people, wheres the moisture gonna go?

I do however clean and pressurize mine with plain old compressed air. Makes for a nice quick check on the seals. If it has lost pressure in storage then I know it has a leaky "something" and I can just go to the next keg that held pressure saving the leaky keg for another day when I have more time to troubleshoot.

I store them with a couple cups of star-san solution inside. I put a bit of Co2 pressure on them so I can get star-san out both poppits and the pressure relief valve.

GilaMinumBeer said:

I have never understood some people rationalization for CO2 pressurizing kegs in storage.

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I do it as a pressure test. If I put it under pressure, and it is still under pressure a couple of weeks later, it is good to go. If the pressure has leaked out, I know to tear it down and see what needs replacing.

Cpt_Kirks said:

I do it as a pressure test. If I put it under pressure, and it is still under pressure a couple of weeks later, it is good to go. If the pressure has leaked out, I know to tear it down and see what needs replacing.

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That's an expensive pressure test. If you rebuild your kegs there good to go for years of trouble free service. I store mine clean and dry. Then a quick rinse and star san before filling.

Cpt_Kirks said:

I do it as a pressure test. If I put it under pressure, and it is still under pressure a couple of weeks later, it is good to go. If the pressure has leaked out, I know to tear it down and see what needs replacing.

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Yeah. I just use an air compressor(Schrader valve connected to disconnect).

Same concept.

A better rationalization than 'it drives out moisture' would be:

Storage of a CO2 pressurized, sanitized keg means you do not have to sanitize the internals before use.

As for 'expensive' *shrug* a few pennies at best--- it's not huge volumes of CO2--- just a couple second squirt to seat the seals.

I'm not comfortable assuming my kegs are sanitized before use, regardless of what condition I've stored them in.

After I kick a keg, I rinse it thoroughly with hot water, then use it to flush my lines with BLC, so the keg and both diptubes get cleaned at the same time as my lines. I then rinse the keg again with hot water, drain, put a paper towel over the mouth and put the keg away.

I rinse and sanitize before filling. That way there's no question about whether the keg is clean and sanitary.

Anal-retentive? Maybe; I'm an engineer. But it helps me sleep better at night, so there it is

-Joe

after my keg is emptied, i clear it out with PBW.
rinse it with starsan and leave alittle in the bottom and put the lid on.

i shake it up and rerinse with alittle starsan before refilling with beer.

kornkob said:

A better rationalization than 'it drives out moisture' would be:

Storage of a CO2 pressurized, sanitized keg means you do not have to sanitize the internals before use.

As for 'expensive' *shrug* a few pennies at best--- it's not huge volumes of CO2--- just a couple second squirt to seat the seals.

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Okay. But isn't that a potential false security? Is the pressurized CO2 a toxic enough environment against non-pathogenic anaerobic contaminants?

Just playing an, ignorant, devils advocate here. I agree taht the volume of CO2 is cost wise inconsequential at least until you have a pesky leak. Even then it won't send you to the poor house to use it for testing.

Why "test" for leaks on a keg that was just sealed with beer in it? It seems foolish to me. And when you have 18 kegs you can burn through a lot of co2.

wildwest450 said:

Why "test" for leaks on a keg that was just sealed with beer in it? It seems foolish to me. And when you have 18 kegs you can burn through a lot of co2.

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I have 20 kegs. Half of which are waiting for beer ( a horrible, horrible condition).

Leaks happen. Stuff dries out or just plain wears out and I'd like to know the keg will seal at the desired pressure before I have it full of beer.

A lot of variety on how everyone does it, and all seem to work.

When a keg kicks, I try to get to it within a week. I normally just rinse in hot water, dis-assemble, soak parts in star-san, slosh a couple cups of star-san inside, reassemble, and put the lid on without pressure.

When I want to fill it, I pour out the old star-san, and slosh some fresh around in it, drain and fill with beer. I try to clean and refill when I have racking to do from fermenters, so they don't have to sit clean and empty.

If I think they are dirty, I clean with PBW or Oxyclean, depending on what I have then, then the starsan soak, reassemble and leave a couple cups of star-san inside. With no heat combined with beer, beerstone is not really an issue, but over time, trub and hops can get so it's not getting clean by rinsing with hot water. Sanitized is the important thing.

I always take them apart. It is seconds to dis-assembbe and reassemble.

empty kegs? I never seem to have to worry about that. I usually have to bottle the rest of one to empty a carboy.

wildwest450 said:

Why "test" for leaks on a keg that was just sealed with beer in it? It seems foolish to me. And when you have 18 kegs you can burn through a lot of co2.

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A small leak, which you might fail to detect when the keg is attached to the CO2 line, will probably become evident when the keg is under finite pressure.

You could be slowly "burning through" CO2 right now and not know it.

GilaMinumBeer said:

Okay. But isn't that a potential false security? Is the pressurized CO2 a toxic enough environment against non-pathogenic anaerobic contaminants?

Just playing an, ignorant, devils advocate here. I agree taht the volume of CO2 is cost wise inconsequential at least until you have a pesky leak. Even then it won't send you to the poor house to use it for testing.

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Nope. If you are applying CO2 to keg that is still damp with star san there's no significant amount of infection agent, no oxygen to facilitate biological growth and no way for anything to get in the keg (a vessel under pressure doesn't allow contaminants in by definition). Thus--- if it is sanitary enough for beer when you pressurize it, it is sanitary enough to add beer to later on, so long as pressure is maintained.


None the less, I prefer to keep most of my empties in 'Charlie fashion'. Clean, Dry, open and inverted. Only the occasional 'on deck' keg stays sanitized and under pressure--- or a keg I am trying to troubleshoot a slow leak in.

No need to waste CO2 to store and empty corny.

I store all my empties upside down with the lid on top. I give each corny a quick cold rinse just prior to filling.