Steps for Cleaning and Sanitising Cornies

[Dribble]

Hi all,

I'm just about to receive my first pair of shiny cornies from Norm and was wondering what the general consensus is on how to clean/sanitise them?

I have some StarSan that I have previously been using but have read a few post saying it's not really suitable for cornies as it produces too much foam...is this correct? Have been thinking of getting some SaniClean to alleviate this issue as it is (from what I understand) a low foaming version of StarSan.

If anyone can help, I'm looking for a kind of step-by-step guide on how to clean the cornies (what to use to clean them, how to take them apart, etc.) and then how to sanitise them.

I'd like to hear how fellow forummers do this...thanks!

[maxashton]

Starsan is perfectly suitable for cornies. The foam is not a problem, it can be safely ignored. In fact, it sanitizes whatever it touches assuming your star-san is good!

"Don't fear the foam!", as we say.

They're fairly straightforward to clean and dismantle. You'll need a couple of spanners for the pegs, I use an adjustable for the tap fittings.

I clean mine with a microfibre mitt or cloth and soda crystals, and sanitize with starsan. I can get my arm right to the bottom of the keg, on account of being a skinny so and so. They're really easy to clean, to be honest. You'll probably have more hassle cleaning the tap than the keg.

[Andy]

I clean mine with a hot solution of oxyclean (about 1/3 full in cornie), give it a good shake around, pressurise the keg and force some of the solution up the dip tube and through the "out" post. Leave it standing for 15 mins or so then another good shake, invert and leave for another 15 mins (to clean the top of the keg). Then open the keg up and get my hand in there with a microfibre cloth. As per Max I can reach the bottom of the cornie so it's easy to give it a good clean. Finally rinse well with cold water and leave inverted to drip dry. I then throw in a piece of kitchen towel and seal the keg up, leaving the pressure release valve "open" so some of the moisture can escape. The cornie is then stored until use when I just give it a rinse with cold water inside and out and spray some starsan inside + through the in/out posts. I then pour out the starsan, seal up the keg and purge the air inside by adding CO2 and venting. Keg then ready for accepting beer.

Every third or so use I strip down the in/out posts completely and clean/boil.

[chris_reboot]

similar to above.

1st time I got them, stripped them down and boiled smaller bits.

now clean with soda crystals and hot water and vigorous shaking for a few mins.
pressurise and blast some of that thru the out pipes.

rinse well, and pressurise, and blast out again through out pipes.

now 'clean', it gets sanitised in the same fashion with a small solution made with cold water and videne at the rate of 1.5ml/L.
rinse with cold water and repeat, each time flushing through the out post thus cleaning the dip tube and serving post.

oh, and its 'hard work' so be sure to remind yourself why you are putting yourself through this 'grief' by enjoying a pint served from another cornie at the same time.

[Shadowknight]

Excellent 'show me' on you tube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hC7MDb0I ... re=related

[JackA]

Would it be possible to make an adaptor to use compressed air instead of co2? Any implications in terms of sanity?