Cleaning Cornelius Kegs

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Gilbey

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 8, 2005
Messages
261
Reaction score
2
I am in the market for a few new kegs. It's been a while since I bought them. What is the preferred method to clean a used soda service keg for the first time before you sanitize and use it for beer?

Thanks!

Gilbey
 
My preferred method is to buy em refurbished at sabco... 30 bucks saved me a bunnch of headache...
 
I pull the valves off, pop them apart, and toss them into the keg. I fill it up with water and a couple scoops of Oxyclean. I put the lid on and let it sit for an hour or so. Then I dump half the solution out, and scrub the hell out of it with a toilet brush, with the valves still in the bottom. I rinse it out really well, and put it all back together.

Then I fill it with a sanitizng solution, using either bleach or iodopher. This is what I've done in my limited experience with kegging, but it seems to be easy and effective.
 
kkroger said:
My preferred method is to buy em refurbished at sabco... 30 bucks saved me a bunnch of headache...

Hear hear! Cleaning those things can be a pain. Sabco does a great job. Well worth the trouble free $30.

Prosit!
 
29.95 each at Sabco Refurbished with all new seals and valves...
48.95 Ea at the LHBS still smelling of root beer.... 20 dollar upcharge for refurbished so 68.95 refurbished... I went with Sabco it was a deal even shipped I ordered 4 at that price... I plan to order a couple more at least...
Shipping was quick and ordering on line was easy... all came pressurized and clean with new seals... I am very pleased. No scrubbing with a toilet brush for me... now I just need to rinse em after the beer then a little cleanser and a sanitizing with one step no rinse and I am a happy camper again...
 
I will preface this by saying I was going to Oshkosh for the EAA Airventure first. But I did email the keg guy who advertised a little bluntly last week. He does say he is sorry didn't mean to use all the forum sites. Anyway he sold me 12 kegs for 13.50 each (some for friends and brother). They weren't cleaned, but they all were pressure checked. The outsides were in great shape and weren't dented or otherwise beat to hell. The price was a little lower than he advertises, because I was picking them up as he wasn't far from the EAA. I will report further after I have cleaned the insides and nipples as well. MPW
 
Gilbey said:
What is the preferred method to clean a used soda service keg for the first time before you sanitize and use it for beer?Gilbey
If you haven't read my post on cleaning kegs, here's a link to it. I always prefer to remove any doubt about cleanliness.
 
cbotrice said:
I will preface this by saying I was going to Oshkosh for the EAA Airventure first. But I did email the keg guy who advertised a little bluntly last week. He does say he is sorry didn't mean to use all the forum sites. Anyway he sold me 12 kegs for 13.50 each (some for friends and brother). They weren't cleaned, but they all were pressure checked. The outsides were in great shape and weren't dented or otherwise beat to hell. The price was a little lower than he advertises, because I was picking them up as he wasn't far from the EAA. I will report further after I have cleaned the insides and nipples as well. MPW

That thread got pulled but did you get any cheese kurds with the deal :D
 
Nah no cheese curds, don't like them eventhough I grew up in chedder land, but did see some neat machinery. They guy handles a ton of food service related stainless machinery and what not. He said they do up to 28000 kegs a month trade between soda fillers, homebrewers and what not. Nice enough guys. Bad forum manners, but he said he would contact moderators and say sorry, don't know if he will or won't. MPW
 
Back
Top