do kegs infect top down? lol

[bracconiere]

so i'm finishing off a keg, it's been keged for a few weeks....i'm noticing though, these last few pours, kinda taste a bit off more?

has it been losing weight doing aerobics? just asking, because i've a super dupper, spiffy shiny, fermenter that needs to be kegged....

PBW is really cost prohibitive to use every keg(x2)....i'd be better off getting a pump and recirculateing, with a HP sprayer in the keg for a few minutes....

 

[Beerstein]

my pours frequently change toward the end. More bitter, sometimes darker, sometimes more tart. ymmv.

this is how i know how much my dad is drinking

 

[bracconiere]

sometimes more tart

i'd describe this as 'tangy'....but, so you experience similar....food for thought

 

[Golddiggie]

PBW is really cost prohibitive to use every keg(x2)....

Care to explain that part?? I use a bucket blaster with about 3 gallons of hot PBW mix to clean a bunch of kegs at a time. I have four lined up waiting to be cleaned and sanitized. I buy the 8# containers of PBW as needed and don't really think about it.

 

[bracconiere]

Care to explain that part?? I use a bucket blaster with about 3 gallons of hot PBW mix to clean a bunch of kegs at a time. I have four lined up waiting to be cleaned and sanitized. I buy the 8# containers of PBW as needed and don't really think about it.

hmmm elaborate? to make PBW cost effective for me....what do you think of something like this, with a sump pump feeding the intake from a storage tote, with the keg upside down in it?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2544291617...FmQ7BPkCCpUX3Ts3F-WAuMs6YnROEjzxoCTlUQAvD_BwE

 

[Golddiggie]

Dude, just get a bucket blaster (or make something that's the same) and don't over think it. The blaster has fittings for both keg posts. I have mine fitted with a NPT CIP ball on the end of the pipe (for inside the keg). No mess, no worries, and you can keep using the mixture until you think it's not working well enough.

I have a pressure washer (electric too) but I wouldn't even think about running PBW through it. It will make more mess and there's no guarantee it will do any better than the bucket blaster setup.

Also, the bucket blaster is rated for HOT water use. I doubt that pressure washer is. So you'll be using cold/cool solution, which won't work as fast, with it.

 

[bracconiere]

Dude, just get a bucket blaster (or make something that's the same) and don't over think it. The blaster has fittings for both keg posts. I have mine fitted with a NPT CIP ball on the end of the pipe (for inside the keg). No mess, no worries, and you can keep using the mixture until you think it's not working well enough.

I have a pressure washer (electric too) but I wouldn't even think about running PBW through it. It will make more mess and there's no guarantee it will do any better than the bucket blaster setup.

Also, the bucket blaster is rated for HOT water use. I doubt that pressure washer is. So you'll be using cold/cool solution, which won't work as fast, with it.

the bucket blaster recirculates the PBW?

 

[Golddiggie]

the bucket blaster recirculates the PBW?

Yes, comes with a 4 gallon bucket, pump, and such. You put the keg upside down in it (on a stainless stand setup) and the pump shoots the PBW up into the keg. Plus runs it up through the ball lock posts to clean those too. I mix up 3 gallons of PBW when using it, one time. I run all the kegs I'm cleaning through it, rinse them out then sanitize. I let it run for 10 minutes for each PBW cycle. I also don't stand there while it runs.

You can also use it to clean out your carbois and such. Hell it could probably be used with your new milk can fermenter.

 

[bracconiere]

Yes, comes with a 4 gallon bucket, pump, and such. You put the keg upside down in it (on a stainless stand setup) and the pump shoots the PBW up into the keg. Plus runs it up through the ball lock posts to clean those too. I mix up 3 gallons of PBW when using it, one time. I run all the kegs I'm cleaning through it, rinse them out then sanitize. I let it run for 10 minutes for each PBW cycle. I also don't stand there while it runs.

You can also use it to clean out your carbois and such. Hell it could probably be used with your new milk can fermenter.

the picture makes it look like it just shoots the PBW from the bucket, and lets it drain on the ground....good tip!

 

[Homebrew Harry]

...

 

[bracconiere]

Hell it could probably be used with your new milk can fermenter.

i can use a soapy dish cloth to clean my milk pail.....more then i could ever say for HDPE buckets....hell if need be, i can use S.O.S. pads on my milk pail....

 

[Knightshade]

@bracconiere ..you're killin me dude.

1. I think this is what @Golddiggie was alluding to. I've built one myself using a HD bucket, some PVC pipe, PVC caps and a sump pump I have other uses for. I have two vertical pipes, one with random holes and only in the top to clean out fermenters and another very similar with a T connector for the ball lock connectors. Similar to the pics on this page.

https://brulosophy.com/2016/12/22/brublaster-keg-carboy-washer-do-it-yourself/
2. Where are said pics of new drilled fermenter? I see you talking about it all over, but I haven't seen the finished product yet. I genuinely want to see it!

 

[bracconiere]

@bracconiere ..you're killin me dude.

1. I think this is what @Golddiggie was alluding to. I've built one myself using a HD bucket, some PVC pipe, PVC caps and a sump pump I have other uses for. I have two vertical pipes, one with random holes and only in the top to clean out fermenters and another very similar with a T connector for the ball lock connectors. Similar to the pics on this page.

well hell, thanks for the post!!!, so really all i gotta do is get a piece of pvc, a threaded side, a drilled capped side....drop my sump pump in a bucket!

2. Where are said pics of new drilled fermenter? I see you talking about it all over, but I haven't seen the finished product yet. I genuinely want to see it!

well here it is 60L milk pail....i've got two now, this i drilled a slightly larger 5/8" hole for a bigger tube...next month i plan on buying some ball lock posts, and floating dip tubes for both, try my hand all the cool stuff i read about other people doing....

nice silicone oring i hope lasts for ever....(but i don't actually talk much about it beacuse it was just a fancy SS bucket, that cost me $150. even though, i can lay it on it's side and stand on it and it doesn't crush...it's just a fancy bucket. but easier to clean then my old HDPE ones.

PITA to drill holes in though!

 

[UdonPete]

Instead of using PBW why not buy Sodium Percarbonate - buy in bulk is very cheap

 

[bracconiere]

Instead of using PBW why not buy Sodium Percarbonate - buy in bulk is very cheap

will it clean a keg by it's self, if i fill it and soak it, and dump? my bucket of PBW i have now is the 'homebrew' version....i know it's in it, but will it work on it's own?


(all these carbonates, my tap water is so hard.....i wonder if my usual rinsing with a hose is as good! lol j/k)

 

[UdonPete]

Do not know about kegs but i do know it cleans the caked on crud in old bottles very well - I leave soaking overnight then rinse well
Use it for all cleaning before a rinse and Starsan

 

[bracconiere]

Do not know about kegs but i do know it cleans the caked on crud in old bottles very well - I leave soaking overnight then rinse well
Use it for all cleaning before a rinse and Starsan

hmmm, i see i can 50lb sack for $100...probably only cost like 50 cents a keg to clean with it.. anyone else know if all the other stuff in PBW is just so they can patent it?

 

[marc1]

hmmm, i see i can 50lb sack for $100...probably only cost like 50 cents a keg to clean with it.. anyone else know if all the other stuff in PBW is just so they can patent it?

There's a whole giant thread here on making pbw.
Sodium percarbonate and sodium metasilicate. I bought 5 or 10 pounds of each a while ago and they work great.

 

[bracconiere]

There's a whole giant thread here on making pbw.
Sodium percarbonate and sodium metasilicate. I bought 5 or 10 pounds of each a while ago and they work great.

i've read, and made it...still got a 1/4 bucket of it left. but it's still expensive. just wondering if the percarbonate, per se, is the magic active ingredient?

 

[Barbarossa]

Washing soda(sodium bicarbonate) is really cheap. Sometimes, if it's not that crusted and I can soak for a long time, I use half oxiclean and half washing soda. Otherwise just oxiclean. You can put less than the recommended amount and just need to soak for longer. For heavy stuff I use pbw. And if that does no or work, I learn that bkf will do the trick, but haven't had to try yet.

 

[bracconiere]

i think ihave some left over from my homebrew pbw....think i'll toss a few ounces in a water filled keg tomorrow, see how it does...

 

[Beerstein]

i've read, and made it...still got a 1/4 bucket of it left. but it's still expensive. just wondering if the percarbonate, per se, is the magic active ingredient?

I think its 75% effective compared to PBW. I use straight oxiclean, works fantastic.

 

[Homebrew Harry]

I think its 75% effective compared to PBW. I use straight oxiclean, works fantastic.

I use the Kroger brand of oxicleaner. Works for me.