Pitting in SS Keg?

[Mark_]

Hey folks,

I was at someone's house the other day, attending a BBQ, when I spotted what looked like a 15g Sanke keg in some overgrown bushes. I asked the guy who owned the house about it, halfway joking about taking it off his hands. He handed it right over.

He found this thing on the side of the road about 15 years ago grabbed it and threw it in his backyard, figuring someone could use it.

So, 15 years old.

I brought it home and pressed on the ball valve and it was under some pressure, that's good!

The smell coming out wasn't horrible but it definitely still had some old beer in it.

I popped the spear out, rinsed it, and filled it with an Oxyclean solution for about a week. I emptied it yesterday and rinsed it out and the inside is BEAUTIFUL, save for one very small spot, about 4mm across, that is a little darker than the surrounding metal. It is on the inside/bottom of the keg. I have never seen pitting on stainless before so I am sure what it looks like. So a few questions:

• How can I tell if that is pitting?
• If it is pitting will it taint the flavor of my brew? (I intended to ferment in it.)
• If it is pitting is there anything I can do about it?
• Can anyone point me to a good picture of a SS pit? I can't seem to locate a good one.
• If it isn't pitted, is it possible it is just a little discoloration?

Thanks in advance!

 

[day_trippr]

I'd grab a can of Bar Keeper's Friend and attack that spot with a paste made with a bit of water, and use a green scrubby. If it's a rust spot the BKF paste will take it out; if it's dried syrup or some other deposit the scrubby and BKF will take that out, too...

Cheers!

 

[Komocabo]

BKF is amazing stuff! I second Day_Trippr

 

[Mark_]

I'll give it a shot, Any ideas for getting a green scrubby in the tiny Sanke hole and ALLLL the way to the bottom of a 15 gallon keg?

 

[day_trippr]

Ah. there's the rub with intact Sankes.

Hopefully someone has a better idea, but I'm thinking some long skinny but rigid thing chucked into a drill with a scrubby duct-taped to the other end to form a more or less round "scrubber" that you could use to work the BKF paste...

Cheers!

 

[Mark_]

I'll see what other's have to suggest as well but will start thinking about how to implement this. Thanks day_trippr!

 

[Komocabo]

This is why I cut the lid off on mine and made a Plexiglas lid with a Nitrile gasket (just finished it this week and is fermenting beer as I am typing this!)

 

[Mark_]

Hey now, that's not a bad idea either. How much pressure do you think it can hold?

Also, let's say I do have one or two small pits in the metal. Will that cause any off flavors if I don't do anything and just ferment in it?

 

[jbaysurfer]

This is why I cut the lid off on mine and made a Plexiglas lid with a Nitrile gasket (just finished it this week and is fermenting beer as I am typing this!)

Pictures?