Sanitized kegs....how long will they keep?

[BigTerp]

Was into homebrewing pretty heavily for a few years brewing at least a batch a month. Had a good working rotation of kegs, fermenters, etc. But since having my son, who just turned 2, I've only brewed one batch. So I have several kegs that are cleaned, lubed and sanitized that have been sitting for at least 2 years. They have a few pints of star san made with distilled water in them. They are pressurized with CO2, but not purged of oxygen. Are these kegs ready to fill with my next batch? Or should I clean them and sanitize again before filling?

 

[Rockn_M]

I'd clean and sanitize before using. No sense in risking an infection.

 

[SanPancho]

you should just freshen them up.

Sterilization means you kill everything. Star san is sanitization, which kills enough for an intended use. I dont think 2 year storage is an intended use.

 

[Vale71]

StarSan also doesn't smell that good once its constituents start breaking down. I'd definitely clean and santize them again just because of that.

 

[shoengine]

If they are sealed, they are probably fine. There'd be no food for bacteria to eat. People always crow about having buckets of premixed starsan for long periods of time, so why would it go bad sitting in a sealed keg? If you have a pH tester, you can see if it is still within range of it's range, give it a swirl and go. Otherwise we are all guessing.

 

[Vale71]

...why would it go bad sitting in a sealed keg?

For starters, dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid is not stable and will degrade with time. And 2 years is indeed a long time.

 

[passedpawn]

If you ever have 1 second of doubt whether something is sanitized, just spray it with starsan solution. It'll cost you 0.00001 cents. In the case of your kegs, put a cup of solution in there, lift and swirl for a few seconds, dump.

 

[balrog]

Agree with the rinsers above. Doesn't take much, time, effort or starsan. After two years I'd also look hard at any gasket/o-ring/poppit for drying just in case.

 

[BigTerp]

Thanks for the replies. I should've known as much, just needed some reassurance I guess. I'll plan to rinse well and re sanitize before filling.

Good idea on the o-rings. I keep them lubed well, but will definitely double check them all.

 

[shoengine]

For starters, dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid is not stable and will degrade with time. And 2 years is indeed a long time.

I'm all ears.