Beer Line Cleaner

[rhino171]

G'day Guys,

My first post here.

I put down my first brew last night. I have gone the whole hog and have a keg set-up with a kegerator. I have seven 19 litre kegs and two 45 litre kegs.

I'd like to have one keg full of beer line cleaner so I can regularly flush the lines without inconvenience. What product would be suitable to remain in the keg for a lengthy period of time.

Thanks
Rhino

 

[razz]

Welcome Rhino, you are in for some fun on this forum ! I've kept napisan made up in a keg for a couple of days, but you don't need to do what you are planning. Each time you empty a keg you can clean it and fill with napisan and run that through your beer lines and let it sit for 30 mins then flush out with water or beer. I do this each month and my beer always tates great. Good luck

 

[Wortgames]

Hi Rhino,

Generally line cleaner works best if it's fresh and hot. Most (if not all) will become less effective over a few days, and they can also have a negative effect on stainless with prolonged contact.

Napisan works well, just make up a couple of litres with hot water every time you empty a keg and push it through the line, followed by a no-rinse sanitiser like iodophor. That way you've cleaned and sanitised the empty keg as well as the beer line, and it only takes a couple of minutes.

 

[rhino171]

Thanks for the advice guys. It sounds like I won't need to flush the lines as often as i thought. I figured that if I hadn't poured a beer in a few days then I'd need to flush the lines.

 

[Wortgames]

I think you'll find some of the guys here haven't cleaned their lines since last century.

The lines themselves should remain as clean as the inside of the kegs or bottles. Where you can get gunky stuff is where it meets air, ie in the tap. If you wanted to squirt something up there every few days to keep it clean that probably wouldn't be a bad idea, but plenty of us don't bother.

Usually our taps aren't dormant long enough for anything to really develop.

:beer:

 

[rough60]

WortGames is right, I can't remember the last time I cleaned my beer lines. It definately wasn't this year.
I've got 2 taps and run a keg through both of these every 7-10 days, I do clean the taps and disconnects though, but not that often. I haven't contracted any desease yet (I do wake up rather ill sometimes, but that usually goes after another couple, lol.)
Cheers.

 

[blackbock]

I put down my first brew last night. I have gone the whole hog and have a keg set-up with a kegerator. I have seven 19 litre kegs and two 45 litre kegs.

I find it amazing that you have never brewed before and already have seven kegs! You must have confidence in your brewing prowess!

 

[rhino171]

I find it amazing that you have never brewed before and already have seven kegs! You must have confidence in your brewing prowess!

I find it amazing that you can't count. I have nine kegs. Seven 19 litre and two 45 litre.

You must be a bottler!

 

[blackbock]

I find it amazing that you can't count. I have nine kegs. Seven 19 litre and two 45 litre.

You must be a bottler!

I don't count the big ones since I've never heard of a 45L keg.
what are they?

:beerbang:

 

[rhino171]

I don't count the big ones since I've never heard of a 45L keg.
what are they?

:beerbang:

I'll post pics if you want. And get this, they have both post mix and CUB fittings.

 

[blackbock]

OT I know, but what configuration do you plan to use them in?

 

[rhino171]

Here are the 45 litre kegs. I say that they are 45 litre because I took them to work, and before high pressure cleaning them, I placed them on a tared scale and filled with water. At 45kgs they were full. As you would know 1 litre of water = 1 kilogram.

 

[blackbock]

WTF...

 

[rhino171]

WTF...

You must have more to say than that :excl:

 

[Tony]

they look great

where did they come from?

cheers

 

[rhino171]

they look great

where did they come from?

cheers

I've had them for a little while now. They came out of the MCG while the Great Southern Stand was being renovated. I am considering putting them on the market. Seven 19 litre kegs should be enough. A bit easier to handle when full.

 

[Wortgames]

Gee there's something for everyone on those buggers isn't there?! 'The OmniKeg'!

At a guess I'd say they were put together for cleaning duty, fill em up with cleaner and you can take care of your beer and postmix lines (as well as whatever's under the black thing - what is that - 3-phase?)

 

[rhino171]

Gee there's something for everyone on those buggers isn't there?! 'The OmniKeg'!

At a guess I'd say they were put together for cleaning duty, fill em up with cleaner and you can take care of your beer and postmix lines (as well as whatever's under the black thing - what is that - 3-phase?)

The "black thing" was a level sensor. It has been de-commissioned.

 

[Online Brewing Supplies]

Search the net for a product called "Pipe" (beer line cleaner) its made for beer lines and works well for your kegs and S/S plate chiller as well.I stock it in Perth but cant ship because of dangerous goods policy.
Neville
Gryphon Brewing
Perth