How often to Clean lines and taps

[Jerome Sidley]

I have a four tap Keezer and four kegs going with just me and my wife consuming they have been hooked up for a couple of months. I have noticed the taps sticking should I disconnect everything and do a cleaning or waite until each keg is finished and do it then?
Thanks.

 

[Mike_kever_kombi]

I flush lines and taps in between every keg, and disassemble clean about 2x a year. I have a 3 tap with just the wife and I drinking.

You may want to invest in a set of these. They will help to keep things cleaner for a little longer, but depending on the style of tap you may need to invest in new/better taps in addition to plugs/brushes if the taps are used infrequently.

https://www.amazon.com/Pack-Brush-F...t=&hvlocphy=9015306&hvtargid=pla-624605894048

If taps are truly gross, I would not hesitate to disassemble and clean mid keg.....just remember to disconnect keg first.

 

[brewbama]

One of the reasons I connect taps directly to the keg sensa lines is so I don’t have to clean them. I disassemble, clean, and reassemble taps every time a keg kicks.

 

[Jerome Sidley]

I do clean with brushes every couple of weeks. I am using these faucets https://www.ontariobeerkegs.com/Taprite_S_S_Beer_Faucet_S_S_Lever_p/taprite-ssfaucet-ss-lever.htm

 

[Mike_kever_kombi]

The brushes in my link are meant to be left in the taps between uses. Helps to keep the nasties out. I keep a cup of water by tap and swish them (brushes) out when I pour. I change water every day/every other day.

Check out "forward sealing taps" on google for different type than you are using.

No matter the type, if you are going for extended periods between pours taps are going to get sticky if the time is long enough.

The only cures for that are drink more, or only hook up 2 kegs at a time.

 

[bkboiler]

I pull every tap and line and break them down; dunking in star-san whenever I clean a keg. More thorough cleaning is much less frequent and dependent on taste, performance or visual inspection.

 

[HopSing]

Geez, I feel like such a slacker. I clean my taps and lines every 6 to 8 months. I'm using Intertap faucets and never have a problem with them sticking even if they're not pulled for a few weeks.

With 4 lines, I daisy chain the faucets with silicone hose and daisy chain the ball lock connectors with the jumpers from Bobby. These are a game changer. https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/ball_lock_jumperpost.htm

I mix up a gallon of BLC cleaner and water and pump that through all 4 lines for 10 minutes, flush with fresh water, then check each one with a few pints to ensure it all still works.

~HopSing.

 

[gnef]

I'm embarrassed to say how infrequently I clean my lines. I actually haven't done a thorough cleaning since I installed them years ago when I did a major upgrade to my serving setup.

I believe this is one reason why I can go for extended periods though, the line I installed is the bev seal ultra 235 barrier tubing. I also use John Guest fittings for the quick disconnect as well as on the shank, my shank is stainless, and my faucets are stainless Perlick 650ss.

Part of it though, is I have 14 taps, so just the thought of cleaning all of them makes me not want to think about it. haha. My cleaning regimen is time consuming when I do it - I have a manifold that I built with John Guest fittings for the lines that I connect 7 of my lines to at once, then I use my Stainless chugger mini-max pump with a small pot filled with line cleaner (I use 'penetrate'), on top of a camping stove that is heating the solution so that the recirculation temperature is around 130F for 15-20 minutes. This setup takes time, and I also have to do it twice to clean all my taps and lines.

 

[Sammy86]

One of the reasons I connect taps directly to the keg sensa lines is so I don’t have to clean them. I disassemble, clean, and reassemble taps every time a keg kicks.

Same here!

 

[Imhoppy]

I always flush all with warm water first. Then clean my lines, taps, and ball-locks using Beer Line Cleaner (BLC) recirculated for 15 minutes using a small pond pump, then dumped, and 15 more minutes with a fresh mix. Finally, a good rinse out with warm water and then drain the lines. Then hook-up and carbonate another keg while doing a first-taste testing on a carbonated ready-to-drink full keg.

Process done after every keg. Always good to tap a fresh keg knowing everything is nice and clean. Mmmmm [emoji481]

 

[SEndorf]

After each killed keg, I disassemble and toss into PBW.
The exception being immediately replacing a keg with same beer. (doing 10 gallon batches)

 

[day_trippr]

The brushes in my link are meant to be left in the taps between uses. Helps to keep the nasties out.[...]

As those are brushes and do not seal at all I've always felt they're actually ideal for growing nasties inside the faucet spout.
I prefer spout caps...

Cheers!

 

[sicktght311]

After each keg kicks, I’ll typically flush the line with starsan from my new keg before I transfer from my fermenter. Ill remove the old keg, put the starsan filled clean keg in my keezer, hook it up to gas, hook up the liquid post, and then open the tap. I’ll typically pour the first few pints into a bucket, and then I’ll position another clean keg under the tap and fill that keg with the starsan until the keg in the keezer is empty. Now I have a clean line, a keg filled with starsan, and an empty keg purged with co2 ready for transfer from the fermenter