Breaking Down Kegs Before Filling

[Dave258]

Just getting my first two kegs ready to put to use. I was breaking everything down for another good cleaning (soaked them in oxy when they got here) & and will sanatize before filling them on Friday.
How often do you guys break down the entire keg for cleaning and sanatizing? I mean taking posts off and pop-its out? It did not seem too easy to get the pop-its back to the exact position.
I have heard people that say they do it every three or four keg fillings, and I have heard people say they never take the posts off.

Thanks!

 

[Yooper]

I do it on just about every fill. It's really easy to do.

I just broke one down, and I was so glad I did! The "out" post and poppet and dip tube were loaded with crud. It was a hoppy beer, but even some yeast sediment was caked around the o-ring on the dip tube. It really grossed me out, and made me think more about cleanliness.

I mean, I guess I could put it this way. Would you bottle a beer in a dirty bottle? Even a sanitized bottle? I wouldn't- so I'll spend the extra 5-10 minutes on breaking down the keg. Even without the oxyclean, a hot water rinse will clean up most of the crud nicely.

 

[Dave258]

What about the poppet's? Is there a trick to make sure they sit straight? or do you just tighten down the post and seat it the best you can?

Thanks Yooper!

 

[remilard]

What about the poppet's? Is there a trick to make sure they sit straight? or do you just tighten down the post and seat it the best you can?

Thanks Yooper!

8 times out of 10 they just seat right for me. The other two times I screw the post back off and try again and it works that time.

 

[remilard]

I should add that every time the poppet is in there a little crooked and 8/10 it corrects itself and seats correctly as I screw it in. You shouldn't expect to just plop everything down loose and have it line up perfect.

 

[Hugh_Jass]

I clean my kegs each time before using. In fact, as soon as I kick a keg, it gets an percarbonate soak, the poppets and dip tube are cleaned, and all is reassembled.

It would be a shame to invest all the money and time it takes to brew/ferment just to have it spoil because of I wouldn't take the 5 minutes to disassemble/reassemble a keg.

 

[Yooper]

I should add that every time the poppet is in there a little crooked and 8/10 it corrects itself and seats correctly as I screw it in. You shouldn't expect to just plop everything down loose and have it line up perfect.

Yes, that's been my experience, too. It'll straighten out as you screw it down. If it doesn't just back it off and try again. I have a couple of kegs with weird quirks- like one poppet just doesn't seem to want to sit right until I push on it with a spoon handle under pressure. Then it just pops right into place, and stays there until the keg is empty. I never wonder why- I just do it.

 

[samc]

Some poppets are long legged and they stay in the post fitting. To remove them in many cases breaks the damn legs off. With those I leave them in all the time. To help with poppets that don't want to line up you can put a little keg lube on to help them stick in place or if you are really having a time of it - turn the keg upside down and screw the poppet/post combo on. Make gravity work for you!

I generally break the keg down every time except as noted above.

 

[Dave258]

Thanks for all the replies!
I know it does not take long to pop off the post and clean it up, the reason I asked is because someone I know that kegs said they never take off the posts because you would not be able to get a good seal after putting it back together. Their LHBS does not even sell the orings for the down tubes. They were told not to touch the posts.
Thanks for the info!

 

[kornkob]

Well, that LHBS is fill of crap and there's no reason whatsoever not to completely tear down a keg any time you like. Not ever cleaning the posts and dip tubes seems like a sure fire way to create an awesome breeding ground for infections.

So long as you don't mix and match parts between different models and makes of kegs you should be fine. The easiest way to do that is to simply clean only one keg at a time.

I tear down, inspect, clean and reassemble each time a keg is emptied.

 

[CharlosCarlies]

Meh, I've never torn down a keg and never had any problems so as always YMMV.

 

[jldc]

I don't always clean the gas post, but I always clean the dip tube and poppet. About one time in three there is debris in the tube or poppet. Then I sanitize (put in about a quart of StarSan and run some out the dip tube with a cobra tap) and pressure seal and then they're ready to fill whenever I need them.