Keg lines/storage

[Brews and Blues]

So I have finished my first keg of beer
Now what?

I currently have another beer in the fermenter. It probably has about 2 more weeks to go.
I have read a bunch of threads on keg storage until the next fill. That seems to vary quite a bit, but the moral of the story is clean and sanitized.

The biggest question I have is about my keg lines. Can I fill the keg with oxi and run it through my keg system? Or should i just use hot water or Star San? Or is that not the right method at all?

Appreciate the help!

 

[VikeMan]

The biggest question I have is about my keg lines. Can I fill the keg with oxi and run it through my keg system? Or should i just use hot water or Star San? Or is that not the right method at all?

I've never tried Oxiclean in beer lines. I use BLC, followed by hottish water, followed by Star San.

For kegs, they really should be disassembled, cleaned (I like PBW), and sanitized. It doesn't have to be done as soon as they are kicked. As long as they are sealed under pressure, they can sit for days/weeks/months before doing it.

 

[grampamark]

I’ve used Oxiclean Free, followed by hot water, followed by Star-San for as long as I’ve been kegging (8+ years). No problems. As Vike Man noted, as long as a keg is sealed and under pressure, there is no hurry to clean it.

 

[TheBluePhantom]

I’ve used Oxiclean Free, followed by hot water, followed by Star-San for as long as I’ve been kegging (8+ years). No problems. As Vike Man noted, as long as a keg is sealed and under pressure, there is no hurry to clean it.

Agreed. I use PBW, Hot water and Starsan on everything, no problems for 5 years. After cleaning I used to store kegs sanitized and ready to go, but one time I found some light corrosion from excess Starsan. Now I store them dry, unless I plan on filling them in a few days.

 

[myndflyte]

I'm also on the PBW, hot water, starsan train. As for kegs just sitting around, I'll rinse them all out and just let them sit with the lid off to dry out. Of course they get hit with starsan again before I fill it.

 

[Elric]

I like to clean immediately when a keg kicks, but that is just my ocd. I rinse the keg out getting rid of any solids that settled at the bottom. I then add hot water/oxy give it a good shake and then hook up to the line and run the oxy through it (i don’t waste gas for this, instead I hook the keg up to a bicycle pump). I then let this sit in both the keg and line for awhile, then do a water rinse of both, followed by a starsan run through both. I then leave both the line and the keg empty until the next beer is ready

 

[Jim R]

I made one of these simple line cleaners from a $10 tank sprayer at the local discount hardware store. I clean my lines after every keg. I don't take any chances on a line infection. I clean with PBW followed by Star San. It is quick with this tank sprayer. Of course, I also clean the keg as soon as it is empty. With homebrewing, I never put off "doing the dishes."

 

[Knightshade]

One of my kegs is getting ready to kick. I'll use an aquarium pump to recirculate for 15 minutes with each step but I'll cycle BLC through, then rinse with tap water. Then I'll use a dedicated bug sprayer to cycle through a couple runs of star san. If I time it right...then I'm hooking up another keg...but that doesn't seem to happen very often. So if I have to let the line sit for awhile, I'll fill it with RO water until I'm ready. Then I'll run a fresh cycle of Star San through it before I hook up the keg. Fingers crossed..haven't had an issue w/these steps yet.

 

[Kerrden]

So I have finished my first keg of beer
Now what?

I currently have another beer in the fermenter. It probably has about 2 more weeks to go.
I have read a bunch of threads on keg storage until the next fill. That seems to vary quite a bit, but the moral of the story is clean and sanitized.

The biggest question I have is about my keg lines. Can I fill the keg with oxi and run it through my keg system? Or should i just use hot water or Star San? Or is that not the right method at all?

Appreciate the help!

Don’t open the beer line to air until you’re ready to clean it. As long as the draft spout is closed the beer won’t dry out in the line.

 

[mcmeador]

I use Kegco Beer Line Cleaner. I pump it through with a hand pump that I bought from Kegco along with an adapter that allows me to connect the ball lock liquid line directly to the end of the pump hose. Let the cleaner sit in the line for 15 minutes and then drain into a bucket. Disassemble the tap and let it soak in the bucket of cleaner. Then rinse and reassemble tap and pump water through the line to wash out the cleaner.

For the keg, you can clean, sanitize, purge, and pressurize so it’s ready for the next kegging day. Or just keep it sealed and under pressure in the kegerator/keezer until it’s time to keg the next one and save the step of pressurizing an empty keg and consuming that CO2.

 

[El Duderino]

I use a 2 Liter Soda Bottle with cleaning solution with a Carb cap.I pressurize it with CO2 then I connect it to my tap line, and open the tap

 

[ace0005]

I use hot water and PBW. Afterward, I sanitize with some Star-San. I use with this fancy machine to clean my lines....



It was easy and cheap to build, and it works great!