Cleaning Kegerator Lines

[ninjai]

How do you guys do it?

If the system is sealed from keg to tap when not in use, you should just be able to rotate the next keg in and the lines will then be consumed with the next beer, right?

If the lines become discolored, then what?

It seems like cleaning is a waste in one of 2 ways:

1. You either fill your keg full of cleaning and/or sanitization solution, then connect the CO2 to the keg and run it into/through the lines
2. You fill a bit of cleaning/sanitization solution in the keg and the rest with CO2 (waste of CO2) and run it through

Or am I doing this all wrong...?

 

[balrog]

Some build a sprayer jug with liquid disconnect, fill jar, disconnect from keg, open tap into bucket, and run cleaner, then water, then sanitizer through.

There are several pictorial threads of different ways people have done it.

 

[TheHopfather]

I've got Intertap faucets with the ball lock connector attachments for them. I've also got a home made keg cleaner with a pump. I connect the ball locks that would normally go on the keg for cleaning to the Intertaps and run PBW through the lines with the pump. I just take the ball locks off the end that would normally attach to the kegs inside the kegerator and hang them in the bucket of PBW so everything recirculates.

Basically hook my kegerator up backwards from how it would be setup for serving beer. I give it 10 mins or so of recirculation with PBW, then a minute or two with clean water to rinse and call it a day. Eventually your lines will discolor, you can either ignore it or swap lines for fresh ones when it happens.

If I kick a keg and have another ready to go right away I don't bother cleaning the lines. Just swap kegs and keep on pouring.

 

[Rev2010]

I simply use a hand pump kit like the one pictured below but instead of that wing nut I have the connector that connects directly to the tower. I simply remove the Perlick faucet, place the o-ring into the screw on connector, then screw it onto the tower. I then unscrew my ball lock quick disconnects from the line and put the end of the line into a 1G RubberMaid container. You fill the hand pump with water and BLC and simply pump it through the line. Since the cleaning pump only holds a half gallon I usually redump the cleaner back in and do one more pump through then I rinse with water once then sanitizer. I clean my disconnects separately, I just disassemble them and soak them in the same BLC I used to clean the lines then rinse and reassemble. It's really not a hassle at all and believe it or not it's actually a rather fast process. This way also saves me from wasting CO2.




Rev.

 

[4of7]

I use the brew pump.. yes i thought it would waste co2..

 

[brew703]

Aquarium pump, carb cap, silicon tube. Circulates cleaner/sanitizer/water as long as you want.
The hand pump version works fine but using the aquarium pump is great. Basically set and forget.
I let it circulate for 15 min or so for each step.
Get a carb cap like in the photo then a silicon tube from the faucet to a bucket so the liquid can re-circulate.

 

[VVbrewery]

I have a small submersible pump made for indoor "water features" that sits in a small paint pail. The pail hangs from the tap and the pump connects to the line. Open the tap, run BLC through it for 10-15 minutes (or longer if I get involved doing something else), run rinse water then Star San. Easy peasy and only uses a few oz of chemicals.