First Cornelius Keg and Cleaning Advice

[zyx345]

I have a 5 gallon ball lock keg that is almost empty. It is a new keg like the one below and has had only the initial brew in it.

http://www.kegconnection.com/five-gallon-keg-ball-lock-new/

I won't have a chance to brew for a few months. Do I need to fully break down the keg and clean everything or could I get away with simply rinsing it out, soaking with oxiclean free, and running it through the lines?

Also should I lube the O rings and pressurize the keg when not in use?

 

[orangehero]

It takes me less than 2 minutes to break down a keg.

I break it down completely. Fill keg half-way with hot oxiclean with the dip tube resting inside. After about an hour I place a 5 gal bucket on top of the keg and flip everything over. Raise the keg a little to let more of the oxiclean out to cover the top of the keg. Place the rest of the parts in the bucket. Rinse everything off the next day.

If I'm storing a keg I like to let everything dry so I know nothing is going to get moldy, put it back together, and seal it with 15 psi CO2. I also like putting a plastic shower cap over the top to keep dust and critters out. I got 100 of them for about $5 shipped.

When it's time to use fill it with star-san from a dedicated carboy or keg, push the star-san out with CO2 back into the carboy or another keg, and you've got a clean, sanitized, and purged keg ready to be filled through the liquid in post.

 

[UpstateMike]

^^^ What he said. And if you have to scrub the inside, get a NEW toilet brush. Can't emphasize the word NEW here enough for this. They get inside and deep down, and it works wonder. Unless you have Olive Oyle arms and can actually reach into the bottom of a keg.

 

[tooldudetool]

To offer a conflicting viewpoint, I very rarely fully break down my kegs. I keep them refrigerated after they are empty so nothing really "grows", until I have two or three to clean at once. I rinse thoroughly with hot water, add about a gallon of hot water, some oxyclean, put the top back on, shake the crap out of it, use a pen with the tip and ink well removed to push down the poppit so I can force the cleaner out. Let it soak for 20 minutes or so, shaking it and forcing the solution out the posts three or four times during the soak. Rinse thoroughly with hot water. Add starsan for 5 minutes, shaking and forcing out of the posts the same way, dump starsan, purge with CO2, then pressurize with CO2 to keep the lid sealed. Done and done. No issues with contaminated batches. I have better things to do with my time than being super paranoid about keg cleaning, especially when it hasn't shown itself to be a problem after over 150 batches. Cheers!

 

[Yooper]

^^^ What he said. And if you have to scrub the inside, get a NEW toilet brush. Can't emphasize the word NEW here enough for this. They get inside and deep down, and it works wonder. Unless you have Olive Oyle arms and can actually reach into the bottom of a keg.

I'm an Olive Oyle, so I just reach down with a scrubby and clean it with my hands but most people are bigger than I am, especially guys.

Think of it this way- when you finish a great meal of pasta, wine, veggies, and roast- do you do the dishes? Or do you just figure you're going to have dinner again sometime in the future, so just stick the plates and pots and pans in the fridge for next time?

If it doubt, sometime pull a diptube from a used keg and then hold it up to the light and eyeball it. If it's an IPA, or something with floaters, you'll be disgusted while a light lager may not show any sediment or issues in the diptube. But, still, it's just good practice to clean your stuff.