How to take care of your kettle

[rquinonez]

I just finished my first batch and now am currently stuck with a sticky 8 gal stainless steel kettle. How can I clean it to take care of it? Star sans? Oxyclean? Soap?
Thanks

 

[PADave]

Rinse it out as soon as the wort is in the fermenter, put a little PBW in it, use a sponge to clean, rinse, and ready to go for the next brew.

 

[mulletmaster]

Rinse with hot water and a rag then maybe some PBW if it is really bad. Starsan is for sanitizing not for cleaning.

 

[day_trippr]

Cheers!

 

[KennyPowers55]

Cheers!

This stuff works really well.

 

[Drk93TT]

I love Bar Keepers Friend. Its my favorite cleaner. Ever.

 

[Inglorious]

Is there any truth to bar keepers friend eventually wearing away at etchings? If so then can you use BKF on the rest of the kettle and just be careful around those areas?

 

[jrgtr42]

I always rinse out as soon as the wort is out of it, usually with my cold hose that feeds my chiller, then later I'll go back and wash out with a soapy sponge. I'll use a scrubby if there's anything really caked on there. Rinse well, then let dry and put away. I try to store my kettles upside down, but I'll end up rinsing them out again when I start the next brew day.

 

[jtratcliff]

Rinse well before it dries.

See the DIY PBW thread for a recipe using oxiclean, tsp/90, and 7th Generation detergent. Use a scoop of that mixture in hot water to soak your kettle clean... Hit with sponge or scrub brush or other scrubby as needed. Use barkeeper's friend to re-passivate any rust spots.

 

[JonM]

I scrub the visible gunk off with a 3M green scrubby pad and rinse with the hose. Every couple of batches, I disassemble the ball valve and give the parts a soak. Once a year or so I'll fill the kettle with the homemade PBW to remove beer stone. That's it - no soap, no BKF, etc.