used keg cleaning

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Secla
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used keg cleaning

Post by Secla » Wed Jun 12, 2019 10:52 pm

what would people suggest as a good way to do an initial clean on a used keg ive purchased ?
should i split it all down and soak it or is there a good way of cleaning everything in place ?

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Re: used keg cleaning

Post by joe1002 » Wed Jun 12, 2019 11:27 pm

Do you have PBW? If not oxy cleaner will do but PBW is preferable.

I would half fill with hot a PBW/ oxy put the spear in then add a very small amount of PBW and water to the top of the spear where the coupler connects. Leave for 10 mins, invert & leave for another 10 mins then rinse thoroughly.

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Re: used keg cleaning

Post by TheSumOfAllBeers » Thu Jun 13, 2019 12:28 am

Look into keg cleaner builds. water butt pumps, spray ball, old fermentation bucket.

you will probably be using multiple chemicals, but you will want to be able to clean the kegs again, not just after first use

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Re: used keg cleaning

Post by Secla » Thu Jun 13, 2019 1:49 am

i did think of knocking something up with a sprayball and pump but that still wouldnt clean out the dip tubed etc.

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Re: used keg cleaning

Post by IPA » Thu Jun 13, 2019 6:31 am

https://swimmingpoolchemicals.co.uk/chl ... p-795.html

One teaspoon in twenty five litres water. Leave overnight then rinse thoroughly. The best and cheapest sanitiser/cleaner available . I've been using it for years
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Re: used keg cleaning

Post by PeeBee » Thu Jun 13, 2019 9:59 am

Secla wrote:
Thu Jun 13, 2019 1:49 am
i did think of knocking something up with a sprayball and pump but that still wouldnt clean out the dip tubed etc.
Use the beer-out post for pumping from and pump out to the sprayball (diverting a dribble to the gas-in post).

But sprayballs can be a pain. Getting a pump powerful enough (lots of flow, high pressure is only good if you want to clean off dried on crud) is no minor detail (I still haven't got one I could recommend). Many home-brewers using sprayballs use the fixed sort (not rotating) for a less traumatic experience.
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Re: used keg cleaning

Post by Robwalkeragain » Thu Jun 13, 2019 2:09 pm

I’d strip it down, ain’t many moving parts, soak in PBW or thin bleach solution then rinse the next morning. Inspect seals (keep a pack of spares on hand anyway). Good as new.

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Re: used keg cleaning

Post by Kev888 » Thu Jun 13, 2019 3:41 pm

I would take the spear out and probably also take it apart for this special occasion. Then soak-clean the keg and all the parts with PBW or similar.

Thereafter for routine day-to-day cleaning I probably wouldn't disassemble the spear every time, just once in a while. If you connect an old coupler (with no one-way check valves in) whilst soaking, it opens out the seals so cleaner can get to them properly.

Though you may or may not want to remove the spear from the keg. In theory it can be left in place and all the chemicals and rinsing water sent through a coupler - either to spray the inside or just fill it for soak cleaning. But it is fairly tedious by gravity so personally I'd only want to leave the spear in if I used a CIP pump. Also, beer kegs are really intended for quite bright, clean beer - if yours contains stuff like hop debris and chunks of compacted yeast then it is better IMO to rinse through an open neck than through the gas out orifice. Nice to be able to do a visual check, too.
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used keg cleaning

Post by LeeH » Thu Jun 13, 2019 4:54 pm

Secla wrote:i did think of knocking something up with a sprayball and pump but that still wouldnt clean out the dip tubed etc.
Use a cross connector or 2 T’s and plug in the disconnects.

I have a pump in a bucket with a hole cut in the log. Plug in the disconnects, invert the keg over a FIXED spray ball.

I’ve also only used pbw, they already degreased at the factory as all my new kegs have been spotless.

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Re: used keg cleaning

Post by TheSumOfAllBeers » Thu Jun 13, 2019 8:55 pm

Secla wrote:i did think of knocking something up with a sprayball and pump but that still wouldnt clean out the dip tubed etc.
I plan to hook up the water butt pump to the coupler to get the dip tube properly clean on the inside.

Actually quite happy with the pump and how versatile it is considering the price of it

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Re: used keg cleaning

Post by TheSumOfAllBeers » Thu Jun 13, 2019 9:00 pm

Robwalkeragain wrote:I’d strip it down, ain’t many moving parts, soak in PBW or thin bleach solution then rinse the next morning. Inspect seals (keep a pack of spares on hand anyway). Good as new.
Where do you get spares?

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Re: used keg cleaning

Post by TheSumOfAllBeers » Thu Jun 13, 2019 9:07 pm

Looking forward to all the pics of people’s keg cleaning setups.

I recently built an unusual whirlpool arm to go through a 3/4” threaded hole on my kettle. Took 2 months for all the parts to arrive separate from the bay of evil.

The water butt pump/ keg washer OTOH was just plugging together some common fittings and I was good to go.

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Re: used keg cleaning

Post by john luc » Fri Jun 14, 2019 7:58 am

I just put the finishing touches to a 30 litre bucket where I put a solar pump in the bottom and brought a 1/2" pipe up through the lid. Under the lid I used 2 T's to spur off a corney gas and a corney beer disconnect. The top of the pipe I had a spray fitting. Now I can put a corner on to it and wash keg And outlet pipes at the same time.
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Re: used keg cleaning

Post by vacant » Fri Jun 14, 2019 8:24 am

Secla wrote:
Thu Jun 13, 2019 1:49 am
i did think of knocking something up with a sprayball and pump but that still wouldnt clean out the dip tubed etc.
I've cleaned silicone hose by passing string through, tying a some cloth to the emerging end and dragging that back through the tube. Same principle should work with a dip tube though fishing/strimmer line or wire could go through first, then tape string to the end, drag that through?
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