Should I even try cleaning this??

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

PurpleJeepXJ

Ah... Leafy Goodness
HBT Supporter
Joined
Dec 10, 2010
Messages
659
Reaction score
70
Location
Woodstock
So I only have one 5 gallon corny keg. It has sat for a year half full of old beer with no gas on it and the kegerator off. Lots of mold and slime. If I were to clean it, what would be the best way? Rinse, take all parts off, and soak in bleach? Would it even be possible to clean the carb stone?
 
So I only have one 5 gallon corny keg. It has sat for a year half full of old beer with no gas on it and the kegerator off. Lots of mold and slime. If I were to clean it, what would be the best way? Rinse, take all parts off, and soak in bleach? Would it even be possible to clean the carb stone?

a quick scrub with bar keepers friend and some starsan and maybe a $3 seal replacement kit which it shouldnt need if it wasnt under pressure and it would be good to go... Honestly I think its funny you would consider tossing a stainless keg because it "slimy and moldy" stainless is not pourous and cleans easily.

bleach is bad for stainless it eats it. If you do use it rinse it well and dont let it sit on the stainless long.

the carb stone can be soaked in starsan and bnoiled but for the fact that they are one $9 to replace it I could see doing so being a good option. its your choice either way
 
After taking it apart I'd rinse it to get most of the goop out, give it a good scrub with a toilet brush and then fill it with very hot PBW, throw in the lid and leave it overnight. Get rid of all rubber parts. Soak the fittings and carb stone in PWB after scrubbing them if needed with a toothbrush. After that you can toss the carb stone in some water and boil it on the stove for some time, I'd renew that one though.

EDIT: what augiedoggy said :)
 
After taking it apart I'd rinse it to get most of the goop out, give it a good scrub with a toilet brush and then fill it with very hot PBW, throw in the lid and leave it overnight. Get rid of all rubber parts. Soak the fittings and carb stone in PWB after scrubbing them if needed with a toothbrush. After that you can toss the carb stone in some water and boil it on the stove for some time, I'd renew that one though.

EDIT: what augiedoggy said :)

If it still has liquid in it leaving it overnight wont really do anything since theres no hard dried buildup to remove... even so a green scotchbrite sponge would remove it in seconds... unless it sat upsidedown, since it wasnt under pressure (which I dont understand because it would build up co2 pressure on its own from sitting) The seals would not be exposed to any beer so they would most likely be fine.
Honestly if there was mold inside when you opened the keg it tells me it was an infected batch of beer to begin with otherwise the mold/bacteria wouldnt be in there in the first place.... The slime could sometimes be from the yeast...
Ive got like 20 kegs myself and some have been sitting for years uncleaned (the way I inherited then from others), hell a few are still completely full of soda pop... when I recommission one I pull it apart and srub it down with bar keepers friend and a green scotchbrite , than I check the seals and replace if necessary... never had an issue.
 
I was actually more concerned about the threads on the fittings and such. Didn't know bleach messed with stainless but thanks for the info.

The threads on the post are clean they are at the top? anyway a quick wipe with a cloth or a brush and some starsan will kill anything that your worried about.
Yes I use to be a maintenance man for a large restaurant and Ive seen bleach eat the bottom right out of stainless sinks to the point that they leaked from multiple pin holes.
 
Try cleaning the rubber before throwing it away. People are far too anxious to replace rubber seals around here. Clean them with pbw them sanitize them in some hotwater. I'll boil a few cups of water in a 2 quart sauce pan, turn off heat, then throw all the little pieces in the water for a half hour. Done. Don't throw it away unless they don't keep their seals anymore.
 
I came back from a 2 year hiatus with the Navy. In my haste to leave, I left some kegs 1/2 full of beer and some just nasty. Needless to say 2 year old beer smells like ****. So, I heated up some PBW and pumped it through all my kegs (about 20 minutes each). I then took all the kegs apart scrubbed the hell out of the threads and places where I thought the PBW didn't reach. Gave all the parts a good soaking in the hot PBW. I for sure replaced all the gaskets. Most of them stunk! Hit them with a starsan rinse, closed them up, topped them off with 10 psi of CO2. I've used them all and with no issues. I have even lagered and aged big beers in them. The beauty of stainless steel!
 
Back
Top