Bought an old jockey box on CL, how to clean it?

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vince805

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I bought an old jockey box on craigslist, and want to use it this weekend for new years eve party. The guy said he hadnt used it in a couple years. There is no smell or anything growing anywhere, so I dont think it is in too bad of shape. I plan on running some PBW through it a few times, then water to rinse it. Then some starsan. Do you guys think that would be good enough? Anything else you would do?
 
I'd take the taps apart and soak them to make sure nothing was inside but other than that I think you're good. And you might think about replacing the line if it's the stuff that's been sitting there.
 
I'd take the taps apart and soak them to make sure nothing was inside but other than that I think you're good. And you might think about replacing the line if it's the stuff that's been sitting there.

Good point. The taps look pretty bad, and I am replacing them and the shanks.


Is it a cold plate style?
It has an aluminum coil.
 
Stainless is expensive and not as good of a conductor as Aluminum or copper, but safer for serving the pH of finished beer. I think most of them I've seen use a cold plate design.

If finished beer sits in the copper or aluminum serving lines, it can leach the metal and lead to health problem, so the theory goes anyway. Some consider copper to be a viable material as long as the beer is not stored in the lines for very long.
 
Are you sure it is not stainless? I would be nervous about running finished beer through aluminium.

Lot's of beer sits in aluminum cans....and aluminum conducts heat better than stainless. Overall it'd be a lot better than copper.

That said, I'd agree that it's probably stainless. Al wouldn't be very durable in a jockey box.

Give it a good cleaning and you should be good to go. My jockey box uses a cold plate that had sat unused for almost 30 years, works just fine.
 
Shockerengr said:
Lot's of beer sits in aluminum cans....and aluminum conducts heat better than stainless. Overall it'd be a lot better than copper.

That said, I'd agree that it's probably stainless. Al wouldn't be very durable in a jockey box.

Give it a good cleaning and you should be good to go. My jockey box uses a cold plate that had sat unused for almost 30 years, works just fine.

Aluminum cans have a thin liner, the beer never touches the aluminum.
As far as copper is concerned, copper is involved in some staling reactions. It is fine in wort, but the yeast consumes most of the copper.
 
I have a number of Jockey boxes, all using cold plates (2 pass, 5 pass, and 6 pass).

I would highly recommend replacing any tubing that came with it.

I would also recommend you to use BLC rather than PBW to run through the lines, let it soak, and do the same with the shanks and faucets. The rest would be done as you said, water, then starsan.

While you are flushing the lines, make sure to keep an eye to see if there are any leaks, and address those as you go. You definitely don't want to be serving at your event and trying to fix a leak (I've been there and done that - no fun at all).

Also, after you have used it, make sure to flush out all beer from the lines, and let the inside dry out. Mold grows amazingly fast inside a wet cooler - I've also made this mistake numerous times, and had to replace the coolers a couple of times.

I use chrome plated brass hardware for my jockey boxes (at this point, probably just brass), but I don't mind since I use them for events where the beer is flowing pretty quickly, and only for a few hours. If you have the money though, you can think about upgrading to all stainless hardware.
 
Here are the coils. I don't know if they are stainless or aluminum.


ForumRunner_20111230_083244.jpg

I decided to go a different direction so I'm going to try to sell these. Anyone know how to tell if its ss or aluminum?
 
There will be a significant weight difference between aluminum and S.Steel. So, if those coils weigh more than 10 pounds, they would be SS.
 
Another way is to take a screwdrive and try to scratch it. Al will scratch/gouge easily...you won't make hardly a mark on SS
 
There will be a significant weight difference between aluminum and S.Steel. So, if those coils weigh more than 10 pounds, they would be SS.

Another way is to take a screwdrive and try to scratch it. Al will scratch/gouge easily...you won't make hardly a mark on SS

It's very easy to tell the difference with these methods. Aluminum won't weigh much at all. A scratch test will tell you quickly.

There is also the bend test. Aluminum will bend pretty easy while SS is pretty stiff.

Also, Aluminum is a kind of white color, while SS is usually pretty silvery.
 
if those are actually aluminum, which is unlikely but possible, your cleaning options are limited to oxiclean or a regular concentration of starsan.

if they are stainless steel, i would suggest running some hot caustic (sodium hydroxide, like BLC line cleaner) thru them for a few minutes. if you see beer stone or the caustic doesnt remove everything, you can also use an acid cleaner (like ALC line cleaner, or more concentrated starsan).

another idea would be to get a short legnth of flexible brush, run some cleaner thru the coil, and then blast the brush thru after it with some compressed air. possibly repeat a few times if necessary. that way you physically scrub the inside.
 

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