Keg Storage

[LongEared]

Does any body know if theres any reason I shouldnt store my unoccupied kegs with sanitizer?

 

[NWMOBrewer]

Some sanitizers will corrode the metal. Bleach I know is a no-no, but I don't know what others will corrode. I don't do it to be safe. Its easy enough to put some in and shake it, then push it through the dip tube with CO2

 

[JuanMoore]

I've read several threads here about carboys and kegs being stored with cleaners or sanitizers inside for long periods resulting in hard to remove deposits stuck to the inside. IMO the best thing to do is clean and store dry, then sanitize right before use.

 

[tesilential]

I don't buy any of that crap. I bought a used keg that had a cup of bleach water in it for 5 years. No problems at all, if anything it's my cleanest keg

 

[Flomaster]

Bleach can and will eat SS. people have had pine hole sized holes appear in their kegs from using bleach.

I personally would not use bleach on any of my equipment at all.

-=Jason=-

 

[Golddiggie]

StarSan would probably be the safest thing to keep in the keg... But, I wouldn't do that for more than a few weeks, or couple of months... Since it is so bloody easy to make up a batch of StarSan, you can just do that either the day before you fill it, or before you get everything else ready. IF you sanitize the keg ahead of time, then give it some CO2 (to fill/seal) and store it that way, you shouldn't have any issues. You could leave some sanitizer in it, just to CYA, if you wish.

 

[kmat123]

I fill my empty kegs half full of Star San and many stay this way for 6+ months at a time without issue. I simply turn them upside down prior to using them to sanitize the upper 1/2 of the keg.

 

[Golddiggie]

kmat123, nice... I might try that when it's time to clean my kegs (just started kegging, so it might be a bit)...

 

[lestershy]

Does any body know if theres any reason I shouldnt store my unoccupied kegs with sanitizer?

Why do you want to store them with sanitizer anyway?

 

[JuanMoore]

I don't buy any of that crap. I bought a used keg that had a cup of bleach water in it for 5 years. No problems at all, if anything it's my cleanest keg

I'm sure it is clean, and I'm also sure that the stainless in that section of the keg is thinner and has some level of pitting. From the metallurgy section of "How to Brew"-

The corrosion inhibitor in stainless steel is the passive oxide layer that protects the surface. The 300-series alloys (a.k.a. 18-8 alloys) commonly used in the brewing industry are very corrosion-resistant to most chemicals. Unfortunately, chlorine is one of the few chemicals to which these steels are not resistant. The chlorine in bleach acts to destabilize the passive oxide layer on steel, creating corrosion pits. This type of attack is accelerated by localization and is generally known as crevice or pitting corrosion.

Many brewers have experienced pinholes in stainless-steel vessels that have been filled with a bleach-water solution and left to soak for several days. On a microscopic scale, a scratch or crevice from a gasket can present a localized area where the surface oxide can be destabilized by the chlorine. The chlorides can combine with the oxygen, both in the water and on the steel surface, to form chlorite ions, depleting that local area of protection. If the water is not circulating, the crevice becomes a tiny, highly active site relative to the more passive stainless steel around it and corrodes. The same thing can happen at the liquid surface if the pot is only half full of bleach solution. A dry stable area above, a less stable but very large area below, and the crevice corrosion occurs at the waterline. Usually this type of corrosion will manifest as pitting or pinholes because of the accelerating effect of localization.

A third way chlorides can corrode stainless steel is by concentration. This mode is very similar to the crevice mode described above. By allowing chlorinated water to evaporate and dry on a steel surface, those chlorides become concentrated and destabilize the surface oxides at that site. The next time the surface is wetted, the oxides will quickly dissolve, creating a shallow pit. When the pot is allowed to dry, that pit probably will be one of the last sites to evaporate, causing chloride concentration again. At some point in the cleaning life of the pot, that site will become deep enough for crevice corrosion to take over and the pit to corrode through.

It is best to not use bleach to clean stainless steel and other metal. There are other cleaners available that work just as well without danger of corrosion. The percarbonate-based cleaners like PBW are the best choice for general cleaning.

As an interesting side note, engineering protocols for roof structures over indoor pools were changed in the 1980's after several pool roofs collapsed. Investigations determined in all cases that the roofs were held up by stainless steel supports which showed stress corrosion cracking caused by the chlorine vapors from the pool.