Keg cleaning frequency - how often for a full breakdown?

[StewMakesBrew]

So, new to the corny kegging world after nearly 20 years of brewing (yes, say it now, "why the hell did you wait so long?") and just emptied my first keg.

Since I had beer ready to go right back into and it was also a brand new keg and this was its first use, I didn't do a full disassembly to clean it. What I wound up doing was actually using BLC to clean it and clean my tap lines at the same time - I mixed up a gallon of BLC, (after rinsing out the keg with hot water spray to get all the sediment out) and then closed up the keg and shook it all around - then hooked to my kegerator and Co2 and cleaned my lines.

So questions:
1) BLC as a keg cleaner? My only reaction is that it's expensive but if it works, maybe not so bad?

2) Frequency of disassembly? How often do you take your keg all apart and clean all the bits and bobs? Every batch? every other or so? I would definitely see where I wouldn't want to leave it with beer residue in the diptube and liquid post which is where the BLC came in ... but ??

Anyway, those are the questions of the day. Carry on, soldiers. Interested in your reply.

Stew

 

[CU_tony]

I think that BLC requires 20 min of contact time to clean, so unless you shook for 20 min, I dont think that would clean the keg fully... Maybe enough but not fully.

I have so far been cleaning my kegs with a DIY keg cleaner/sump pump doo-dad after each one gets kicked.

Procedure:
Relieve pressure
Rinse with hose (just to get the last yeast bits out, not trying to dislodge any stuck on bits here)
Remove air in post, diptube, washer and place with disassembled lid in the bottom of the sump bucket, Fill with ~2g PBW mix
My keg cleaner has a mast going into the keg and a ball lock to attach to the liquid post, I let this run for about 25 min
Sponge the outside and top of keg with PBW from the sump bucket, brush the air post inside and out, sponge the inside lip of the lid hole. Dont forget to sponge the outside of the diptube as there could be some crud that doesnt get hit by the sprayer or cascading PBW.
Sponge loose bits in the bucket and take inside to rinse off in the sink
My new favorite way to rinse the keg is connecting the hose to a ball lock connector and spraying up the liquid tube while rotating the keg to let water flow down all surfaces. Much easier and quicker to clean then my previous hose wrangling attempts.

Lastly after drying upside down (leave a ball lock connector on the liquid post so water in the diptube will drain) I re-assemble and put ~.5g of star-san into it until...
I always have a keg full of star-san and when its time to keg some beer, I use CO2 to push that into a clean keg giving me a sanitized and (mostly) O2 free environment for me to rack directly into the liquid post.

What I will be doing from here on out is disassembling the liquid post every other batch (unless I have suspicion that a batch was tainted, then I will nuke it all!). I will keep track of this by placing the old label from the top of the keg onto the side of the keg vertically so I know it was used once before. After the 2nd batch kicks I will do a complete tear down.

 

[enkamania]

I have extra kegs, so this may not work for you. After the keg has kicked, I rinse with water and then fill up with hot water and oxyclean (PBW if I have it) I use one of the extra kegs and do the hot water and cleaner and run about a gallon through and let it sit for half an hour. I then run the remaining cleaner through and then run just hot water through afterwards. I don't take apart and clean the posts as often as I should. (Now you have guilted me into this and will go home and do so) Just make sure you put the posts back correctly, they look a lot alike.

 

[CU_tony]

Just make sure you put the posts back correctly, they look a lot alike.

I was lucky to find that my LHBS carries green post O-rings so when I was reconditioning kegs I swapped all of my air posts to green, it helps to identify which is which since some of the air posts arent as clearly marked as the others.

Whats worse is having a few different types of keg and stupidly disassembling them ALL-THE-WAY for a thorough cleaning... then when assembling the last keg you realize that one of the posts doesnt fit...
It took over 3 months, ordering two replacement posts (the first did not fit :-\ ) and then luckily I remembered while cleaning a keg to check to see if the post would fit my odd-keg out, and it did!
I served two batches through a keg with a miss-matched post and didnt have any leaks or issues that Im aware of!

 

[enkamania]

I was lucky to find that my LHBS carries green post O-rings so when I was reconditioning kegs I swapped all of my air posts to green, it helps to identify which is which since some of the air posts arent as clearly marked as the others.

Whats worse is having a few different types of keg and stupidly disassembling them ALL-THE-WAY for a thorough cleaning... then when assembling the last keg you realize that one of the posts doesnt fit...
It took over 3 months, ordering two replacement posts (the first did not fit :-\ ) and then luckily I remembered while cleaning a keg to check to see if the post would fit my odd-keg out, and it did!
I served two batches through a keg with a miss-matched post and didnt have any leaks or issues that Im aware of!

Mine foamed like crazy when I had it backwards.

 

[blackbeer]

i do every batch. break down the poppets, pull the dip tube and run a 22 caliber cleaning rod with a cotton patch down the tube. this is after a soak with pbw. i then rinse it really good using a cotton rag to wash down the sides and then a soak in sanitizer and a drip dry. then on the day of kegging i soak the whole thing in sanitizer again and blow a quart or so through the whole system under pressure and let it drip dry while for a bit before kegging.

 

[Chris_Primavera]

i do every batch. break down the poppets, pull the dip tube and run a 22 caliber cleaning rod with a cotton patch down the tube. this is after a soak with pbw. i then rinse it really good using a cotton rag to wash down the sides and then a soak in sanitizer and a drip dry. then on the day of kegging i soak the whole thing in sanitizer again and blow a quart or so through the whole system under pressure and let it drip dry while for a bit before kegging.

Now you have me worried.

I rinse thoroughly, fill with a gallon of hot water and PBW, shake vigorously, run 1/2 through the tap, rinse and repeat with hot Starsan.

What am I missing?

 

[CU_tony]

then a soak in sanitizer and a drip dry. then on the day of kegging i soak the whole thing in sanitizer again.

Why the two sanitizing steps? Once its sanitized it will stay that way until it gets exposed to.... stuff.
I would either clean and drip dry to sanitize on the day of, or if you want to sanitize after cleaning, you could simply leave the star-san in there until you want to use the keg, right?

 

[IwanaBrich]

I too have been brewing for a long time, 25 years and I only got into kegging about 4 or 5 years ago. Keck, I'm only now building a kegerator (3 taps), I've been using party taps. I'd just hook the party on top of the keg in the frig inside the frig. It seemed to work well.

When my kegs are empty, I rinse with them water, then take them all apart (100%) and soak the fittings in Oxi-clean free, I also use oxi-clean free on the kegs as well. When I say take them apart, I mean take them apart, I remove the poppets, I take pare the ball lock fittings, remove the tubes and even take apart the party tap. Then I dry everything, When my next beer is ready, I sanitize everything and then I run Starsan thru the keg and put the beer in. Over kill....yes. Then I force carb the beer for a few days and then enjoy!.

 

[Bigfly]

I just started kegging but I took the used kegs I bought completely apart and cleaned with keg cleaning tabs and replaced o rings. I did not take the poppets out but they were soaked in the kegs full of cleaner with the dip tubes. The posts come off easy so I don't see why you wouldn't take the step. I also leave the kegs full of sanitizer between uses.

 

[tjmac5071]

Get a keg washer. I rinse with hot water place on keg washer with pbw, hook up to liquid disconnect for 10 min, then gas 10 min. Throw the next keg on while I rinse with very hot water. Once both kegs are rinsed I place it back on with hot water so I can get the liquid and gas. Empty, rinse with sani clean or star san.

I have not disassembled in quite a while with no problems at all...

 

[kristiismean]

I do a wash and rinse and a soak in star san of the poppit and tubes, etc.

the keg I rinse, scrub if needed, rinse and wet down with star san.

 

[blackbeer]

Why the two sanitizing steps? Once its sanitized it will stay that way until it gets exposed to.... stuff.
I would either clean and drip dry to sanitize on the day of, or if you want to sanitize after cleaning, you could simply leave the star-san in there until you want to use the keg, right?

it really depends on where i am in the rotation. i do the double sanitize because i always have some mixed up on those days. i usually brew a batch and keg the last batch on the same day. i also don't leave the sanitizer in for extended periods. no real reason. i just don't. and even if a keg is pre-sanitized, i sanitize it again before kegging. i'm just paranoid i guess.

bottom line though is that i break my poppets down after emptying a keg, do a pbw soak and hot rinse/scrub and clean the dip tube thoroughly.

 

[EcuPirate07]

Every time I kick a keg I completely break it down, clean and sanitize. As far as the line, while I have sanitizer in the keg I pop pressure on it and pull sanitizer through the line and faucet. I keep the extra sanitizer in the line until I hook up a new keg wether it be 2 weeks or 2 months before I hook up a new keg. I also have ultra silver beer(think that's what it's called) line from morebeer which is naturally anti microbial. I will also keep sanitizer In the keg until I use the keg, then I will push it out with CO2 and fill that way.

 

[passedpawn]

If you're in a hurry, you can refill a dirty keg no problem. I would NEVER do that, though, if that keg had been opened. I have opened an empty keg, closed it again, and a week later found bad infection at the bottom.

I have a lot of kegs, so I usually clean them and put them away until needed. Cleaning DOES involve a full breakdown. So easy really. I soak the posts and poppets short dip tube for 10 minutes in starsan and put them back on. Long dip tube just gets hosed out. Keg gets a quick scrub, hosed, then I put a 1/4 cup of starsan solution in there and after reassembly I shake it up. Ready for service whenever I need it later. I usually wait till I have 2 or 3 kicked kegs before I clean them. Don't open them until it's cleaning time!

BTW, there is a sweet tool you can get at Sears that will spin off posts of differnt sizes. No more socket driver. Makes it a breeze. If anyone needs this info, quote this post and I'll post the info.

 

[Goforthegusto]

I break down after every batch. The most likely place you are going to get retained materials which could breed bacteria is going to be in the posts, springs or dip tubes. I rinse with water, use a brush to clean out all large material, then soak in oxyclean free, give a quick final scrub (all parts), then rinse thoroughly. I then do one of two things. I either seal it up an pressurize it just a bit to keep it sealed, or I fill it up with 5 gallons of starsan and pressurize it out until its empty, purging the tank with CO2 so it is essentially oxygen free. I leave it pressurized at around 20 psi until I'm ready to fill. I will usually wait until I have a few kegs to purge and then do it all at once, and save the star san in a bucket for the next brew day, which is usually within a few days.

Once you get used to breaking down a keg, its just so quick and easy you realize its worth the little extra time to know its sanitized and ready for the next batch. I have a dedicated wrench in my cleaning area, so I'm never looking for a wrench.

 

[oujens]

For me, I use oxy to clean everything including the beer lines. I fill it up halfway and let it sit upright and upside down to get contact with all spots of the keg while saving on the amount of oxy and water I use. I then run some through my picnic tap and let it set in the line for a few minutes. I collect a small amount in a bowl to then disassemble my posts after rinsing and let them soak for a bit. I used to just run oxy through but recently found some gunk hanging around inside the parts and vowed to break them down after each use. No need to risk infection. I usually have some star san water to keep in the keg, or I just put the lid on and sanitize the day I need it. So far no infections.

 

[dpeters]

Wow, when my kegs kicks I just leave it under pressure until I need it and then soak it in Oxy and occasionally take everything apart I then hit it with Starsan and then fill it with the new beer. I have been doing this for years without issues. Now I wonder if I have just been lucky so far?

 

[Dog House Brew]

If you're in a hurry, you can refill a dirty keg no problem. I would NEVER do that, though, if that keg had been opened. I have opened an empty keg, closed it again, and a week later found bad infection at the bottom.

I have a lot of kegs, so I usually clean them and put them away until needed. Cleaning DOES involve a full breakdown. So easy really. I soak the posts and poppets short dip tube for 10 minutes in starsan and put them back on. Long dip tube just gets hosed out. Keg gets a quick scrub, hosed, then I put a 1/4 cup of starsan solution in there and after reassembly I shake it up. Ready for service whenever I need it later. I usually wait till I have 2 or 3 kicked kegs before I clean them. Don't open them until it's cleaning time!

BTW, there is a sweet tool you can get at Sears that will spin off posts of differnt sizes. No more socket driver. Makes it a breeze. If anyone needs this info, quote this post and I'll post the info.

There ya go, this is how I handle my kegs. I just bought 6 more at a yard sale for $30ea.
Gives me 20 now, I'd like 5 more to be finished.

 

[brewcat]

I don't breakdown, they are AEB. I do clean after I kick a keg. I soak it in brew clean. Push the out post to get cleaner in the dip tube. After an hour or so I'll hook it up to the beer lines and run some through and let everything sit for another hour. Then run a bit more through. Rinse with cold water. Let dry. Sanitize on keg filling day. Have used them 2 years without a problem.

 

[day_trippr]

I don't breakdown, they are AEB.[...]

The posts can't be removed?

Cheers!

 

[brewcat]

The posts can't be removed?

Cheers!

They can be. But from what I've read there isn't a point. If you remove the posts you more than likely destroy the poppets. I suppose eventually they'll wear out and have to be replaced. But the recommendation was to not break them down for cleaning.

 

[Murphys_Law]

I hose out the keg, fill about half way with hot water and add some oxy or PBW (what ever is in arms reach). Shake like hell for a few mins, hook keg to my tap and flush the line.

Rinse well, fill again about half way with star san and shake, hook keg to tap and flush line.

Boom! done.

 

[augiedoggy]

Some people get hop residue in their kegs. I have not had this issue yet therefore I just rinse with hot water and maybe give the keg a quick wipe inside with a sponge if the yeastcake on the bottom is persistent... then I fill with a gallon so so of starsan water and close up and shake.. I pressurize the keg and release starsan through both poppets a few times... after doing this I disassembled my poppets a few times on advice I got here that hop residue would be stuck in the poppet area but I always found mine to be completely clean so I dont bother anymore.

I think ones process in brewing fermentation and coldcrashing/filtering makes a big difference here. I also wait to open a sealed and bacteria free keg until the point I need to minimize redundant work and risk of infection.

 

[itsnotrequired]

i built a cheap-o keg washer with a 5 gal bucket, sump pump and some pvc pipe/tubing (can also be used to clean carboys). take off the lid, spray out the bulk of the gunk and then run on the cleaner with hot pbw for 15 minutes or so. the washer has connectors for the gas and beer lines so the hot pbw is flushed through the dip tubes. that is one disadvantage to just filling up with some cleaner and shaking, it is difficult for the cleaner to get up into the liquid dip tube. after running through the pbw solution, i rinse with hot water, being sure to press down on the poppets to get hot water down the dip tubes. then i let it air dry until i am ready to use it. that is when i sanitize, i see no need to sanitize after washing unless you are going to use the keg right away.

i only do a full break down about once a year. if doing full break downs, i recommend having spare o-rings on hand. i've had a couple issues where the poppet springs have cut into the o-ring when threading the post back on. maybe user error but it sure is nice to have those spares if something like that happens.

 

[TorMag]

Wow, when my kegs kicks I just leave it under pressure until I need it and then soak it in Oxy and occasionally take everything apart I then hit it with Starsan and then fill it with the new beer. I have been doing this for years without issues. Now I wonder if I have just been lucky so far?

Same here.. No problems

 

[jdonley]

I break it all down every time and often boil posts/poppets. And honestly more times than not i find a tiny bit of hop particles somewhere. I mess around with recipes, I mess around with techniques. But when it comes to sanitation, I take no chances in any of the steps between post boil and my glass.

 

[pshankstar]

BTW, there is a sweet tool you can get at Sears that will spin off posts of differnt sizes. No more socket driver. Makes it a breeze. If anyone needs this info, quote this post and I'll post the info.

Please share! I picked up some more corny kegs and the posts are a slightly different size than my other ones. So having one tool that works for multiple sizes would be great to have in my brew toolbox.

i built a cheap-o keg washer with a 5 gal bucket, sump pump and some pvc pipe/tubing (can also be used to clean carboys). take off the lid, spray out the bulk of the gunk and then run on the cleaner with hot pbw for 15 minutes or so. the washer has connectors for the gas and beer lines so the hot pbw is flushed through the dip tubes. that is one disadvantage to just filling up with some cleaner and shaking, it is difficult for the cleaner to get up into the liquid dip tube. after running through the pbw solution, i rinse with hot water, being sure to press down on the poppets to get hot water down the dip tubes. then i let it air dry until i am ready to use it. that is when i sanitize, i see no need to sanitize after washing unless you are going to use the keg right away.

i only do a full break down about once a year. if doing full break downs, i recommend having spare o-rings on hand. i've had a couple issues where the poppet springs have cut into the o-ring when threading the post back on. maybe user error but it sure is nice to have those spares if something like that happens.

I built a similar keg & carboy cleaner and it works wonders. I also use the pump for my wort chiller when the summer is hot and I need to get the water temp down a little cooler with a cooler with water and ice. Anyhow, it's great to place a keg (or carboy) on this cleaner and let it run for a while, while I am cleaning up from a brew day or whatever. Then I switch out the cleaning solution with hot water for a good rinse and continue on my way. I will usually wait to sanitize the keg until I need to fill it, but I will push some CO2 into the empty keg so I know there are no leaks before I sanitize it then fill it.

Now that I think about it, I should break down my older kegs and give them a good clean and soak. But I will wait till spring actually arrives so I can do it outside and not worry about a mess. Although with this Nor'easter hitting NY spring may be a ways away...

 

[TorMag]

i built a cheap-o keg washer with a 5 gal bucket, sump pump and some pvc pipe/tubing (can also be used to clean carboys). take off the lid, spray out the bulk of the gunk and then run on the cleaner with hot pbw for 15 minutes or so. the washer has connectors for the gas and beer lines so the hot pbw is flushed through the dip tubes. that is one disadvantage to just filling up with some cleaner and shaking, it is difficult for the cleaner to get up into the liquid dip tube. after running through the pbw solution, i rinse with hot water, being sure to press down on the poppets to get hot water down the dip tubes. then i let it air dry until i am ready to use it. that is when i sanitize, i see no need to sanitize after washing unless you are going to use the keg right away.

i only do a full break down about once a year. if doing full break downs, i recommend having spare o-rings on hand. i've had a couple issues where the poppet springs have cut into the o-ring when threading the post back on. maybe user error but it sure is nice to have those spares if something like that happens.

Do you have a build thread on your cleaner? Or can you give us some better pictures?

 

[Morrey]

Lets say you don't break down the keg to component level each and every time it kicks. There is a major place you can develop issues...the dip tube.

I fill keg with hot water and PBW. Take a blunt object like the cap of a ball point pen and depress the poppet on the liquid out. Gravity will force down on the cleaner and you'll see cleaner come out of the poppet. You'll know you have cleaner in your dip tube by doing this.

When you clean and rinse your keg, leave keg empty and depress that same poppet, now the contents of the dip tube will drain back into the keg so you have cleaned the dip tube which is an area often overlooked that can harbor infection. Rinse well, same steps apply for starsan if you choose to sanitize which is recommended.

 

[itsnotrequired]

Do you have a build thread on your cleaner? Or can you give us some better pictures?

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showpost.php?p=7588357&postcount=278

 

[TorMag]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showpost.php?p=7588357&postcount=278

Cool thanks. Does the cleaner solution actually get pushed up the tubes to through the quick connects, seems with the 90 degree turn, not much would get pushed up that way and all the pressure would just go straight up the main pipe...

 

[itsnotrequired]

Cool thanks. Does the cleaner solution actually get pushed up the tubes to through the quick connects, seems with the 90 degree turn, not much would get pushed up that way and all the pressure would just go straight up the main pipe...

i can't say with absolute certainty how well it flows through the dip tubes but that pump throws off some pretty gnarly pressure, i'd be amazed if not of it was making it through the tubes. should be easy to test though, i have some of those post-to-post jumpers from brewhardware, i'll just hook those up to the ends of the disconnect when washing a carboy and see how much stuff flies out of them.

 

[TorMag]

i can't say with absolute certainty how well it flows through the dip tubes but that pump throws off some pretty gnarly pressure, i'd be amazed if not of it was making it through the tubes. should be easy to test though, i have some of those post-to-post jumpers from brewhardware, i'll just hook those up to the ends of the disconnect when washing a carboy and see how much stuff flies out of them.

Let us know, I am curious to know.

 

[augiedoggy]

Lets say you don't break down the keg to component level each and every time it kicks. There is a major place you can develop issues...the dip tube.

I fill keg with hot water and PBW. Take a blunt object like the cap of a ball point pen and depress the poppet on the liquid out. Gravity will force down on the cleaner and you'll see cleaner come out of the poppet. You'll know you have cleaner in your dip tube by doing this.

When you clean and rinse your keg, leave keg empty and depress that same poppet, now the contents of the dip tube will drain back into the keg so you have cleaned the dip tube which is an area often overlooked that can harbor infection. Rinse well, same steps apply for starsan if you choose to sanitize which is recommended.

Thats why I put my keg under pressure with starsan in it and flush the starsan through both poppets... anywhere the beer can come in contact with anything so will the starsan..I usually leave the keg upside down with the starsan in it while I'm prepping other stuff. (again I keep the solids out of my kegs and dont put hops in them so YMMV) It flushes the diptubes clean and when I drain the keg I depress the poppet again to drain the diptube.. if I forget I just get starsan coming out for a spilt second when pouring my first pint. It doesnt hurt anything.. dont fear the foam! Your not supposed to rinse the starsan actually.. It can defeat the purpose.

 

[Weezy]

I give them a simple cleaning everytime and every second batch gets a tear down and thorough clean.

Simple cleaning is rinse out, warm pbw and hand scrubbed inside, dump, rinse twice with water.

Thorough cleaning is as above but with Stan filling and purge with co2. Before that, All the little bits get washed in warm pbw by hand then put into a pot of near boiling water to sanitize for twenty minutes.

 

[itsnotrequired]

thats why I put my keg under pressure with starsan in it and flush the starsan through both poppets... anywhere the beer can come in contact with anything so will the starsan..I usually leave the keg upside down with the starsan in it while I'm prepping other stuff. (again I keep the solids out of my kegs and dont put hops in them so YMMV) It flushes the diptubes clean and when I drain the keg I depress the poppet again to drain the diptube.. if I forget I just get starsan coming out for a spilt second when pouring my first pint. It doesnt hurt anything.. dont fear the foam!

i do this when i go to fill a keg (10 gallon batches so i need two kegs). fill a keg with cold tap water, add an ounce of starsan, shake it a bit and let it sit for a few minutes upside down (lid on, of course). flip over and use co2 to push beer out into a second keg, pushing liquid out through the liquid dip tube and filling the second keg through the liquid line from the bottom up. this approach ensure starsan gets everywhere. bottom-filling ensures minimal foaming. i made a special hose with a liquid ball disconnect on each end for this purpose. plus i just purged the keq with co2.

now i let that second keg sit upside down for a few minutes and then push that out through the liquid line with co2 into a bucket. i use one of those jumper posts from brewhardware on the disconnect that sits in the bucket. i save that bucket of starsan and use it over the next several weeks when sanitizing flasks for starters, sanitizing carboys before dumping in wort, etc. i then dump that bucket of starsan out when i'm ready to keg the next batch.

 

[StewMakesBrew]

If you're in a hurry, you can refill a dirty keg no problem. I would NEVER do that, though, if that keg had been opened. I have opened an empty keg, closed it again, and a week later found bad infection at the bottom.

I have a lot of kegs, so I usually clean them and put them away until needed. Cleaning DOES involve a full breakdown. So easy really. I soak the posts and poppets short dip tube for 10 minutes in starsan and put them back on. Long dip tube just gets hosed out. Keg gets a quick scrub, hosed, then I put a 1/4 cup of starsan solution in there and after reassembly I shake it up. Ready for service whenever I need it later. I usually wait till I have 2 or 3 kicked kegs before I clean them. Don't open them until it's cleaning time!

BTW, there is a sweet tool you can get at Sears that will spin off posts of differnt sizes. No more socket driver. Makes it a breeze. If anyone needs this info, quote this post and I'll post the info.

Would love to know what tool it is! Please share!

 

[schatzke]

I used to break them down after it would kick but then...I got lazy. Now when a keg kicks I dump the sludge and hit it with hot water, shake and dump a time or 2. Add about a gal of star san and push most of it out and put the keg away sealed up with a little stan san in there.

 

[augiedoggy]

Would love to know what tool it is! Please share!

I wonder if its the "as seen on tv" socket with the little spring loaded pins inside to conform to any size nut or post... I have one myself I though about using but I cant find the damn thing.
\
I just googled it now and sears came up as one of the sellers.

http://www.sears.com/gator-grips-un...bxZvM4B5oyzFLAi-nuS9EhoC11Xw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

ebay has them too for as little as $5 with shipping.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-4-3-4-Gat...120178?hash=item4896f27ff2:g:W6gAAOSwXYtYwMJu