keg disappointment

[simie]

Also, I bought one of those carboy cleaning wands..Works awesome in the keg too. a few seconds with the cleaning solution and they're ready for sanitizer and a good batch of homebrew to enjoy. Simie

 

[PhillyMike]

The only time I've ever broken down my keg was the initial cleaning. Aparently my keg was used for grape soda or something because it had a smell to it that took forever to get rid of.

I just soak, then presurize and run cleaner through the lines. Rinse and run water through the lines.

It's worked for me for the last year and a half.

I as well. I usually fill with PBW as soon as the keg kicks and let soak over night. It keeps gunk from possibly drying on any of the keg parts.

 

[marty1776]

Nolabrew, stick to it, you'll never look back. Once you get that pepsi syrup cleaned out of the gears of the thing, you'll be in good shape. I vote for a tear down once a year, rinse w/ pbw, run through both posts every time, run star san through posts every time.

 

[KarlHungus76]

Hope this helps.

[ame]http://youtu.be/RFmFbAWLmrY[/ame]

 

[SC_Ryan]

I wouldn't dismiss possible fermentation issues if banana is your off flavor. I started getting a lot of banana from Nottingham a while back even at temps in the low 60's that I've had success with in the past. I've since stopped using Notty

 

[Tombstone0]

Another thing that I haven't seen mentioned yet that can cause off favors in kegged beer vs bottled is oxidation. If you didn't flush the headspace in your keg with co2 when you filled it, it might have oxidized. I was a little too excited the first time I kegged a beer and forgot to flush the headspace and for the first few weeks my beer tasted ok but as time went on it just got worse and worse but it was my first keg so I forced myself to drink it.
What you want to do is hook the keg up to co2 and wait for it to stop filling then pull the release valve or let the pressure out through the gas in post if you're using pin locks. Repeat this 4 or 5 times.

 

[sudsstud]

Hi all! First post here but I've read a lot of great stuff prior to posting.

Some really good info on keg cleaning but there's some other variables not mentioned:
1. Don't forget to clean beer lines. And some new lines may give a funny flavor, although it is rare.

2. If you're a keg shaker, you can get beer in the gas line which can get moldy.

3. Don't over-carbonate! Too much carbonation can make your beer harsh.

 

[DPBISME]

The brewstore guy is wrong. All you need a 7/8" end wrench. Take the posts off, clean everything, probably replace the o-rings. If funk still persists, replace the poppets (http://morebeer.com/products/poppet-becker-brand.html) in the posts. If funk still persists... re-examine your cleaning/sanitizing procedures, because the rest is just stainless steel.

If, after all of that, the keg is still funky, talk to the brewstore guy about a replacement...

Or an 11/16....

A bunch of good suggestions here.. they should fix you problem.

I am building a keg washer but for years I have:

1. Rinse Keg or all the junk you see.
2. remove posts, tubes, drip them in the keg.
3. Two tablespoons of OxyClean and fill with COOL water.
4. After a day flip over the drawtube and liet it soak
5. Let it sit for a day or so or long it takes you to get back to it.
6. Rinse and reassemble
7. Mix up some hot water and StarSan 2.5 gallons is enough
8. Fill the keg
9. put the top on and shake it around
10. (this will expand the air inside and you can push on the OUT and let the mixture flow out)
11. turn it on it's side with the IN "down" and vent the IN to rinse it out.
12. Shake it a few times more
13. Pour the hot StarSan in to keg number two and repeat.
14. You can also StarSan you lines this way

BUT I brewed three batches this weakend ad that means six (6) kegs::: I really got-a finish that Keg washer....

 

[Clonefan94]

I always break my kegs down and clean them after every use. I'm not saying everyone should, but it just gives me piece of mind and really doesn't take that much longer. I build a keg cleaning brush that I attach to my drill, fill the keg with a 2 gallons of water and PBW, shake it up, take off the posts and dop tupes and put them in a tray I have, then I pout out enough PBW solution to cover them and let that soak. Then I go ahead and use the power brush on the keg. Rinse, fill with starsan and drop the small parts into a bowl with starsan for a few minutes, then reassemble the keg. Then I shake the keg for a little bit and let it sit upside down. At that point I autosiphon the starsan back into it's container and that sanitizes my autosiphon for the next step of beer transfer. I think it takes me about 20 or 25 minutes from start to finish.

The big key is to make sure you clean those kegs out well. It actually took me a while to get that old soda smell out of hte used kegs I bought. Even the ones that said they had been cleaned. A good PBW soak and let them sit open for a while, along with new o-rings did the trick though.

 

[marty1776]

Good point, clonefan^^^, orings from back when these kegs were used in soda fountains can be on their last legs by the time brewers get them.

I've also gotten the nastiest junk possible on my cobra tap rubber insert if a beer sits tapped for many weeks, even at 34deg or so. Warmer temps make it worse. And the mold eats into that rubber.

 

[eluterio]

This is what I do. I'm sure some will disagree with it but this is what I do and have had zero issues. I rinse out the keg, then fill it with a gallon or so of hot water and pbw. Shake it around a bit. Then I let it sit for a few minutes, while its sitting I remove the liquid post and lid and set them in some hot water and pbw. After the few minutes I drain the keg and rinse with hot and cold water again. Also rinsing the lid and post, and then I fill it with some cold water and star-san and shake it around a bit. Before I put the post back on I spray it down inside and out with my star-san mix I keep in a spray bottle. I have had zero issues.

I agree with the cleaning method but I use about 1.5 to 2 gallons of water pbw mix. I lay it down with everything connected still and quarter turn it every 30 mins or so. This way I can cover the entire keg and better yet if your during the process of cleaning equipment I use the mixture to clean out my equipment as well, no sense in wasting PBW.

 

[eluterio]

Great advice above..... I also take mine apart between every brew - it does not take much to do.

Yooper's advice in regard to keeping parts from one keg organized and separated from other kegs is worth seconding...... save you troubles down the line of poor seals, leaks, etc. of mismatched parts.

I would definitely start with a more aggressive cleaning of the kegs the first time you get them (if they are used). Replace rubber parts if they were not new when you got them. Totally disassemble, Fill the keg all the way up with hot water and PBW for a nice long soak (overnight). Same with the other parts. Make sure you have a brush for the long diptube. Rinse well . . . sanitize with starsan and you are ready to go. After this initial cleaning . . . .it should be much simpler and easier if you take good care of your kegs, rinse right away when you are done with a keg, etc.

I just clean out 6 kegs the other day filling it up with to the top with 2.5 oz per gallon of pbw and hot water. I took everthing out of each one and had them soaking in the same solution. I took the dip tubes and placed them in the 5 gal solution. Soaked for 1hr or so then auto syphoned into the next. I then took the dip tubes and turned them upside down and did it this way on each one. Took me two days cause I started late in the evening but all of them came out clean and had no soda smell to them.

Now I wish I would have kept the parts to each keg but had issues with one keg not able to screw on and the dip tube gas in was a smaller in diameter. I also remember it was plastic never seen that before.

 

[LouBrew13]

Now I wish I would have kept the parts to each keg but had issues with one keg not able to screw on and the dip tube gas in was a smaller in diameter. I also remember it was plastic never seen that before.[/QUOTE]

I learned that first time filling. Threw all of the parts into a bucket. Little did I know some were different.

 

[Dolomieu]

Now I wish I would have kept the parts to each keg but had issues with one keg not able to screw on and the dip tube gas in was a smaller in diameter. I also remember it was plastic never seen that before.

I learned that first time filling. Threw all of the parts into a bucket. Little did I know some were different.[/QUOTE]

I pulled this move after buying my first 7 kegs as a group. It was a PITA to get everything sorted out. Now i throw the pieces in a paint strainer bag and toss them in the reservoir of my keg washer. I just added some disconnects to the keg washer setup so i can clean everything in place.

 

[golfduke]

completely disassemble, oxyclean/boiling water, scrub, reassemble with new orings, starsan, hook up gas and a picnic tap, run starsan through for 2 minutes, fill.

I also dedicate 1 keg specifically to dark beers, and 1 specifically to belgians/wheats/estery yeast beers.

 

[marty1776]

Learned the post sizes were different the hard way too.

First keg, disassembled, cleaned, rebuilt. Gas in went on fine, beer out was too tight to go on. I needed that beer to come out real bad, so I used a mallet and securely placed the beer out pop off on that post and drank all the beer.

Cleaning time came and vice clamps and hammer were involved in its removal. But beer had been successfully consumed.

 

[eluterio]

Learned the post sizes were different the hard way too.

First keg, disassembled, cleaned, rebuilt. Gas in went on fine, beer out was too tight to go on. I needed that beer to come out real bad, so I used a mallet and securely placed the beer out pop off on that post and drank all the beer.

Cleaning time came and vice clamps and hammer were involved in its removal. But beer had been successfully consumed.

Ive swapped the ball valves several times and same thing happened. YES BEER CONSUMED!

 

[revelation]

Learned the post sizes were different the hard way too.

My first keg experience had me wanting to break down because I couldn't figure out why the couplers didn't want to go on. I didn't make it to the hammer but I certainly had pliers and screwdrivers working. Of course, I felt like an idiot, when I pulled up a video on kegs and realized the posts were on the wrong ports...

 

[BigFloyd]

You might be right but I need to learn how to clean this thing.

Yes. If you're going to keg, you have to learn how to take them apart (its' not hard) to give them a thorough cleaning when needed. Otherwise, there's no way to properly clean the inside of the dip tube (where your brew flows) or the insides of the posts.

Having one of these will make the process so much easier - http://www.sears.com/craftsman-11-16-x-7-8-in-wrench-offset-ratchet/p-00943365000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1&PDP_REDIRECT=false&s_tnt=39869:4:0

Clean one keg at a time and pay careful attention to which post is gas (with the notches) and which is liquid. To take the poppet out of a post, set it right side up on the table and use a golf tee to push the poppet out.

The more you work on these, the more comfortable you'll be taking care of them. I can't believe that your LHBS guy is telling you to not take them apart for cleaning. It sounds like yours really need it. Did he happen to sell them to you?

 

[Hawkeye11]

Having one of these will make the process so much easier - http://www.sears.com/craftsman-11-16-x-7-8-in-wrench-offset-ratchet/p-00943365000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1&PDP_REDIRECT=false&s_tnt=39869:4:0

I second the wrench recommendation. Well worth the $10. I tried deep sockets, etc this makes removal very easy.

 

[BreezyBrew]

I second the wrench recommendation. Well worth the $10. I tried deep sockets, etc this makes removal very easy.

What's different than the deep socket?

 

[YtBoI]

Ok I guess this would be a good place to put keg disappointment.

I just bought 3 new ball lock kegs from my uncles best friend who used to brew in the 90's. 2 of the kegs are brand new but the 3rd one has a lot of scuffs and a plastic keg lid.... Has anyone ever seen a plastic keg lid? it doesn't seem to fit right either... Should I just buy a new lid or are they ok to use??????

 

[DrunkleJon]

What's different than the deep socket?

The deep sockets try to go over the whole post. Oftentimes they are not deep enough. The preferred wat is the ratcheting box crescent style wrenches where its just a ring that fits over the post and ratchets. You get a better grip that way.

 

[Avocet]

Haven't bottled anything but stout (I just drink a stout once in a while as a change-up or a treat) but the ease and cleanliness of kegs vs. washing and all those damned drippy bottles--and the possible shaking up of the yeast----maybe somebody made root beer of something was left drying out in that guy's keg (or tap or lines).

I'm wondering if the keg had possible been stored upside-down and some kind of gunk is laying there around the top-virtually invisible -but maybe "feel-able" with a fingertip.

 

[BigFloyd]

Ok I guess this would be a good place to put keg disappointment.

I just bought 3 new ball lock kegs from my uncles best friend who used to brew in the 90's. 2 of the kegs are brand new but the 3rd one has a lot of scuffs and a plastic keg lid.... Has anyone ever seen a plastic keg lid? it doesn't seem to fit right either... Should I just buy a new lid or are they ok to use??????

Please post a pic of the plastic corny keg lid. I've never seen one. Will it take the same size o-ring?

 

[eluterio]

Ok I guess this would be a good place to put keg disappointment.

I just bought 3 new ball lock kegs from my uncles best friend who used to brew in the 90's. 2 of the kegs are brand new but the 3rd one has a lot of scuffs and a plastic keg lid.... Has anyone ever seen a plastic keg lid? it doesn't seem to fit right either... Should I just buy a new lid or are they ok to use??????

Yes post picture of it would be intersting to see what it looks like. I think if it only had beer in it then keep it. Thats what Im getting with plastic parts from kegs if it has soda toss it out by replacement parts and reassemble.

Im starting to wonder if the poppets are contaminated and need replaced from the old soda kegs i have.

 

[YtBoI]

Please post a pic of the plastic corny keg lid. I've never seen one. Will it take the same size o-ring?

Yeah it uses the same o-ring...

Yes post picture of it would be intersting to see what it looks like. I think if it only had beer in it then keep it. Thats what Im getting with plastic parts from kegs if it has soda toss it out by replacement parts and reassemble.

Im starting to wonder if the poppets are contaminated and need replaced from the old soda kegs i have.

Well im not sure if it was used with soda or not.

 

[Big_Cat]

Yeah it uses the same o-ring...

Well im not sure if it was used with soda or not.

I personally don't see anything wrong with that plastic ...as long as it hold pressure you'll be fine...if you don't trust it then replace it but it would be only for peace of mind.

 

[YtBoI]

I personally don't see anything wrong with that plastic ...as long as it hold pressure you'll be fine...if you don't trust it then replace it but it would be only for peace of mind.

Ok i'll give it a try... I was just curious i've never heard of or seen one lol

 

[DrunkleJon]

Strange. I would think you are fine with it unless it smells really funny or has a lot of scratches to harbor little nasties.