Legging my first batch tomorrow got some questions
- Thread starter Osborne
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sputnam
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i'm not condoning my behavior but I have yet to take any o-rings off to clean anything (18 mths into kegging)...I may one day but that day hasn't got here yet.
Primary for a month??? Whatcha makin'?
Have you reached FG? I would assume so but...
Probably wouldn't hurt to bump the temp up about 5° for a couple to a few days.
Primary for a month??? Whatcha makin'?
Have you reached FG? I would assume so but...
Probably wouldn't hurt to bump the temp up about 5° for a couple to a few days.
I'm just worried about the oxyclean free getting behind or in cracks of the orings and then having oxyclean flavored beer.
I've been out of town it's an Irish red ale (i wanted to appeal to most of my family)
I don't see how it could be still fermenting the reason I had it at a cooler temparture is because I was using Nottingham yeast.
Brulosopher
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I'd definitely recommend checking the o-rings regularly for cracks and replacing when they start to feel/look dry. I lube mine every 2-3 uses. Cracked post o-rings are the #1 cause of leaks, it sucks!
When cleaning, I leave them in place.
When cleaning, I leave them in place.
To clean dirty kegs, I always remove the O-rings (as well as posts, poppets and dip tubes) and soak/clean in a small container with (homemade) PBW. Rinse, Starsan, lube, back in Starsan until ready to reassemble. Same with the lid and large O-ring. In the mean time I scrub the keg clean and rinse well. Fill with 1-2 gallons of Starsan, reassemble, invert/shake, push out some Starsan to sanitize the long dip tube, remove the lid and dump the Starsan back into its bucket. Reseal, and put a piece of painters tape on the lid. That means it's "Clean."
Now sometimes after a keg has kicked, and when ready to refill it, I just rinse out the keg with water, Starsan it and refill with fresh beer. Basically skipping the thorough cleaning and total disassembly. Judgment call on how clean that keg is, I guess.
Now sometimes after a keg has kicked, and when ready to refill it, I just rinse out the keg with water, Starsan it and refill with fresh beer. Basically skipping the thorough cleaning and total disassembly. Judgment call on how clean that keg is, I guess.
If you rinse well before Starsan treatment, there can't be much Oxiclean left behind the rings. The post o-rings may, as they're in that groove. To remove, I use a very small screwdriver and get it behind the o-ring and pry it over the edge.
That beer should be done! As someone mentioned, you could raise the temp a bit for a few days for some extra conditioning, although most yeast has probably dropped out already. Don't stir it up, it's probably pretty clear now. Then cold crash and fill the keg.
The CO2 coming out maybe just off-gassing. Did you take an FG reading/taste sample yet?
I disassemble every keg I get to clean initially, save actual new kegs. Then I put liek 1/2gal of starsan, shake it up, purge it, and run the starsan out the diptube (being some amount remains in the keg) purge again, and leave it for the next beer.
In between kegs, I usually just thoroughly rinse with very hot water a few times and do the starsan thing again. I'll occasionally disassemble it to clean but its only like every 4 or 5 fills of the keg.
In between kegs, I usually just thoroughly rinse with very hot water a few times and do the starsan thing again. I'll occasionally disassemble it to clean but its only like every 4 or 5 fills of the keg.
Will do, it was a completely new keg, I'll be sure to lube up the orings on my second batch.
Thanks, I just had trouble removing the orings from the posts? And the poppets in my AEB Keg have a rim around the bottom of them..So I'll need something to pry with...
This is pretty much what I did... I manually ran Star-San through the diptube though.
You would think there was a nifty must-have tool around to pull the o-rings out of the groove. I use a small jewelers type screwdriver and stick it from the top of the post into the groove behind the o-ring. Then lift it out of the groove with a little sideways pull. It then easily flips over the edge without damaging anything. Because of the bit of stretch applied, you can easily spot any cracks.
Those posts with the poppet on that ledge are a real PITA. Someone on here wrote an instruction on how he removes them, also with a small screwdriver, prying them over to one side a bit.
Now you really don't need to remove the poppets, unless you've got junk in the spring (hop fibers from dry hopping, piece of a cleaning rag, even a piece of metal wire, etc.), and they won't seal anymore. I just use a nail set (Harbor Freight) to push the poppets down and rinse them out. Most of mine just drop out. The ones that have the ledge I just leave the poppets in there.
With some CO2 pressure in the keg (5 psi is plenty) I push Starsan out through the liquid diptube (use as cobra tap). Then invert the keg over the bucket and press the gas poppet down with the nail set. That takes care of the gas port. I then pull the PRV ring and Starsan sprays out everywhere, that's the fun part. The insides are sanitized too now.
I really appreciate your info on the O-rings and poppets. I'm going to track down a jewlers screw driver ASAP to have on hand. Yeah I figured with the poppets as long as there isn't debri there isn't a need to take out. When cleaning I can push down enough for cleaning solution and sanitizer to run through.
For the dip tube I just had a huge bucket of starsan that was sealed since brew day a month ago (used tap water and the StarSan was still clear!). And it seemed to run through it pretty good I flipped it a few times.
I built this for my Keg lines and its worked wonderful so far!
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=226497
