Cleaning questions

[Michele Craft]

Hi there, 2 questions, one related to cleaning, one about keeping clean

1.) We just kicked our first keg. As we need to move the kegerator from the garage to it's final space in the basement, we aren't refilling it right away (still have 2 kegs on). Should I circulate the caustic cleaner through the line now and leave it there or should I wait until new keg is going on? I spray with star san on keg and also QDs before tapping no matter what, so I didn't know what best practice was for cleaning time.

2.) We have those rubber sleeves that go over the faucets and we're noticing that sometimes, they are falling off. Not enough to project it anyway so I'm not thinking it's a pressure issue and it seems to be random. The tap does sweat a bit on pour so I don't know if it's related to that but they are on snug and we never see it happen.

Thanks!

 

[Knightshade]

I prefer to clean my lines right after kicking the keg.

I imagine not doing so would be kinda like when you're scrubbing a dish and cussing up a storm because the darn food isn't coming off as easy as it should be....because instead of washing it when you were done eating..you went and did something else...got distracted and came back a couple of hours later and were like...danggit...I forgot about that stupid thing...frickin frack...I just imagine that old beer turning into funk in the lines..but I'm kinda weird that way maybe..idk.

Regarding 2, I don't use those so I can't comment.

 

[Michele Craft]

I prefer to clean my lines right after kicking the keg.

I imagine not doing so would be kinda like when you're scrubbing a dish and cussing up a storm because the darn food isn't coming off as easy as it should be....because instead of washing it when you were done eating..you went and did something else...got distracted and came back a couple of hours later and were like...danggit...I forgot about that stupid thing...frickin frack...I just imagine that old beer turning into funk in the lines..but I'm kinda weird that way maybe..idk.

Regarding 2, I don't use those so I can't comment.

Huh good point. Never thought of it that way! Do you cover the end of the line somehow until you put a new keg on? I have ball locks on all my ends so I guess nothing should be getting back up there

 

[Transamguy77]

I don’t do anything between kegs and when I do clean them it’s like 3-4 times a year. They have beer in them all the time what difference does it make if you leave some beer in them between kegs? Just because a keg kicked doesn’t mean what’s in there is going to go bad, if you didn’t pour a beer for a couple of weeks would you clean the lines before using it? Maybe dump the beer that was in there but you wouldn’t clean it.

Actually I’m the same way cleaning my kegs, I leave them until I have 6-8 and clean them all at once, not worth cleaning each keg 1 at a time.

Sorry to sound a bit harsh, not how I meant it but I’m kinda tired and grumpy and I don’t feel like unharshing at the moment so please don’t take offense I’m usually a nice guy

 

[Knightshade]

I don’t do anything between kegs and when I do clean them it’s like 3-4 times a year. They have beer in them all the time what difference does it make if you leave some beer in them between kegs? Just because a keg kicked doesn’t mean what’s in there is going to go bad, if you didn’t pour a beer for a couple of weeks would you clean the lines before using it? Maybe dump the beer that was in there but you wouldn’t clean it.

Actually I’m the same way cleaning my kegs, I leave them until I have 6-8 and clean them all at once, not worth cleaning each keg 1 at a time.

Sorry to sound a bit harsh, not how I meant it but I’m kinda tired and grumpy and I don’t feel like unharshing at the moment so please don’t take offense I’m usually a nice guy

Friday Eve...close enough.

RAHAHB Dude!!!!!

Huh good point. Never thought of it that way! Do you cover the end of the line somehow until you put a new keg on? I have ball locks on all my ends so I guess nothing should be getting back up there

I think there is a fairly recent thread about how everybody approaches their cleaning procedure with kicked kegs, maintaining lines, etc. I've only had a kegerator for less than a year and I've changed my approach twice already. Not sure if what I'm doing is best, but it seems to work...even though it is also a time suck. Need to figure out and balance that line of what works..and what isn't great. I run BLC for 20 minutes, flush with RO water via bug sprayer, flush with Star San for 20, then flush with RO water and then keep that in the lines until I'm ready to hook it back up again. When I am...I flush the stored RO and run Star San through again.

 

[Transamguy77]

@Knightshade thanks man, it’s been a looooonnnnggg week and I’m crawling to the finish line!

 

[Michele Craft]

Sorry to sound a bit harsh, not how I meant it but I’m kinda tired and grumpy and I don’t feel like unharshing at the moment so please don’t take offense I’m usually a nice guy

I would most definitely never ask anyone to unharsh, unless they were harshing directly AT me, then that $hit needs to stop

 

[Michele Craft]

I think there is a fairly recent thread about how everybody approaches their cleaning procedure with kicked kegs, maintaining lines, etc. I've only had a kegerator for less than a year and I've changed my approach twice already. Not sure if what I'm doing is best, but it seems to work...even though it is also a time suck. Need to figure out and balance that line of what works..and what isn't great. I run BLC for 20 minutes, flush with RO water via bug sprayer, flush with Star San for 20, then flush with RO water and then keep that in the lines until I'm ready to hook it back up again. When I am...I flush the stored RO and run Star San through again.

My cleaning that I did on startup that I planned to keep the same was that I flush with clean water, circulate caustic for 20 minutes and then flush with clean water again until the pH on the water reads the same as it did to start (well water here, tho tested so we know there's no fecal/bacterial etc contaminants). In the midst of this my taps are off and soaking in star san before scrubbing and then the shank and all gets a scrub with star san before reassembly. I have a friend that had a double lung transplant 2 years ago (as a thank you from the US Marines no less oy!) and while he's allowed to have beer on tap, his doctor's have advised that it might not be best when he's out and doesn't know the cleaning status so we maybe go a bit overboard to make sure things are super clean, for the love of him and the beer.

Now if I can just figure out why the caps keep flying off lol!

 

[bracconiere]

Sorry to sound a bit harsh, not how I meant it but I’m kinda tired and grumpy and I don’t feel like unharshing at the moment so please don’t take offense I’m usually a nice guy

LOL, it's the new avatar! "bite my shiny metal ass!"

2.) We have those rubber sleeves that go over the faucets and we're noticing that sometimes, they are falling off.

....i so want to make a joke!

maybe you can try "universal"? for smaller taps?

https://www.restaurantsupply.com/bar-maid-tap-cap?keyword=

 

[Michele Craft]

....i so want to make a joke!

maybe you can try "universal"? for smaller taps?

https://www.restaurantsupply.com/bar-maid-tap-cap?keyword=

And I certainly couldn't blame you because in my head these are nothing but "tap condoms".

I thought what I got was a standard size, didn't think there'd be "sizes" (size does matter??) My one friend suggested the guitar pick looking things with the short brushes on them instead but didn't offer a reason why the sleeves come off.

 

[bracconiere]

I thought what I got was a standard size, didn't think there'd be "sizes" (size does matter??) My one friend suggested the guitar pick looking things with the short brushes on them instead but didn't offer a reason why the sleeves come off.

i actually still use picnic taps, but i know there's intertap faucets i believe, and perlick? so maybe different sizes? i was just trying to toss out an idea....

being that there is a such thing as universal would suggest there are different ones?

 

[Tom R]

Squeezing the caps a bit as I put them on works for me. Makes a bit of a vacuum, instead of building pressure in the faucet.

 

[franknbeans]

I've got Intertap faucets with those black condom covers. Mine too popped off for no reason before, but I started doing as @Tom R mentioned by squishing them a little and shoving on to the base of where the spout tip meets the faucet body and haven't had one pop off since.

 

[day_trippr]

I've been running covers for a decade+ on my six faucets and if I don't squish them before sliding them on they may well pop off - because of the compressed air (duh). They never pop off when squished

Cheers!