Sanitizing a corny keg

[Bauerbrewery1989]

So I'm taking the kegging plunge, and want to be sure I do it right. I bought a kegging setup on amazon, supposed to be here next week.

I was going to let the keg soak in oxyclean for a few days, then sanitize with Star San.

Am I missing anything? Any tips/tricks that will help?

 

[zach976]

Make sure you disassemble the post and soak all the parts. You may need some kind of scrubber to get down in the bottom. It's easy.

 

[deflagratio]

If they are used kegs pick up a set of new o-rings.

 

[bad67z]

I would agree with the others, completely disassemble, OxyClean and replace orings. I found these videos from Chris very helpful when I started to keg.

 

[Pratzie]

Videos are good. make sure u get new orings and some keg lube. Oxyclean works and def get a large scrub brush.

I also invested in a 3/4" Gear Wrench to get the poppits on and off.

 

[Bauerbrewery1989]

Thank you for the information! Now with the oxyclean, I read with hard water you can get mineral deposits in the keg, would it be crazy to buy bottled water to prevent this?

 

[ChuckO]

Thank you for the information! Now with the oxyclean, I read with hard water you can get mineral deposits in the keg, would it be crazy to buy bottled water to prevent this?

Any slight deposits from Oxyclean and hard water should easily dissolve in the acid StarSan when you sanitize. Don't worry about it.

 

[Bauerbrewery1989]

Thank you. I ended up getting oxi magic, not chlorine or fragrance. Ill get the tubes and keg clean with the magic, and when the brew is ready ill sanitize with Star San.

 

[mjohnson]

Also, this took me a while to figure out: sometimes you need to hit the kegs with a shot of 30psi to get them to seal (a little keg lube helps too).

 

[torso]

In response to these videos: That seems like cleaning with this method uses more gas than dispensing beer would. Is there a way to do this and be more efficient with gas?

 

[bad67z]

In response to these videos: That seems like cleaning with this method uses more gas than dispensing beer would. Is there a way to do this and be more efficient with gas?

I suppose you could fill the keg with more OxiClean/Starsan to reduce the headspace in the keg filled by the Co2.

When making the move to kegging (after my 4 or 5 brew) it was primarily for the time savings. And the time saved with preparing one keg compared to rising, cleaning, sanitizing, filling and capping 50 12oz. bottles or 30 22oz. bottles compared to the cost of Co2 for me was well worth it.