Cleaning a keg

[trenta]

How much water and PBW should I use when cleaning a corny keg? Likewise how much sanitiser and water do I use for the next step?
Thanks

 

[philrob]

Don't know. Never used kegs.

 

[DU99]

i clean mine after its empty...fill with warm water ,i use a laundry scoop of sodium perc leave for awhile ,drain and rinse and put lid back in place and store.until needed...sanitiser i use as recommened on bottle...only santise when refilling keg...thats all i do..no issues....

 

[JDW81]

How much water and PBW should I use when cleaning a corny keg? Likewise how much sanitiser and water do I use for the next step?
Thanks

Hey Trenta, there's lots of different opinions when it comes to cleaning kegs, so here is what I used to do.

1: As soon as it is empty, rinse out and wipe clean with a soft cloth, rinse again.
2: If you use PBW you can fill the keg to soak, then rinse as per manufacturers instructions (the option is to half fill and lay down on it's side)
3: Store upside down and dry with the lid off
4: Wash with a small amount of dishwashing liquid and rinse well (chase out any spiders that have taken up residence if it's been a while)
5: Sanitise with starsan at the recommended dilution (I use a spray bottle to coat the surfaces an minimise waste) and let stand for the recommend period of time
6: Rinse with boiling water
7: Give it a final blast with steam prior to filling

Probably a few steps too many in there, and apparently starsan et al are no rinse, but I prefer to not let any cleaning solution come in contact with my beer throughout all stages of the process.

Never had an infection with this process, so I'll stick with it.

JD

 

[razz]

Hi Trenta. With PBW I use 5-10g per litre and would only make up about 5 lts. I use a CIP set up in a bucket. 5lts is plenty to clean that way. I use it hot so it works faster. I then rinse with 5 lts hot water and then sanitise with 5lts of no rinse sanitiser. The manufacturer says that PBW is good for about 8 hours after mixing but I keep it in a container and reuse it a few times. If you don't CIP then the same quantities will be okay to use but you would have to close up the keg and shake it.

 

[Sidney Harbour-Bridge]

Previously I would rinse/pressure wash keg ASAP after it blew then add a teaspoon of perc. and a litre of boiling water from the kettle, seal and shake about to cover all surfaces, leave it for half an hour or more then rinse, add a litre of sterilizer, shake about and blow out with CO2, leave sealed until needed.

Now I rinse out and use a keg king keg washer with perc, rinse, fill with sterilizing solution and store until next keg is available. When next keg is clean, it is filled with previous kegs sterilizing solution through beer to beer jumper line which leaves that keg purged of oxygen ready for low oxygen filling, usually I rinse with a bit of fresh tap water from a carbonated pop bottle with the beer to beer line and flush out with a picnic tap just before I fill it.

 

[Redracer]

I use a cleaning solution (PBW or napisan!!), put 3-5 litres in the keg, close the lid and shake for a while. Will use a kitchen cloth to wipe then inside if there are any suborn deposits. I remove the in and out nozzles and dip tubes. This way I can wash inside them in a bucket using the same solution from the keg.
Rinse to get any soap off and then apply sanitizer to the connections. Re-fit connections to keg. Add a few litres of sanitizer to the keg and shake so the sanitizer gets to act on all the inside surfaces of the keg. Pour the sanitizer out and reseal.
I will purge with a little CO2 after this and leave it with a small amount of pressure inside.
If it stays sealed with a small amount of positive pressure inside the keg then no contaminants can enter. So its ready to go for the next batch when needed.

 

[trenta]

Hi Trenta. With PBW I use 5-10g per litre and would only make up about 5 lts. I use a CIP set up in a bucket. 5lts is plenty to clean that way. I use it hot so it works faster. I then rinse with 5 lts hot water and then sanitise with 5lts of no rinse sanitiser. The manufacturer says that PBW is good for about 8 hours after mixing but I keep it in a container and reuse it a few times. If you don't CIP then the same quantities will be okay to use but you would have to close up the keg and shake it.

Might sound silly but what is CIP.?

 

[razz]

Might sound silly but what is CIP.?

No, not silly. Clean In Place.

 

[MashBasher]

You can speed up your cleaning, minimize your effort and chemical use, and probably get a cleaner keg by using one of these:

https://www.kegland.com.au/bucket-blaster-keg-and-fermenter-washer-kit.html
or

https://www.keg-king.com.au/corny-cleaner-keg-and-fermenter-cleaning-kit.html
Or build your own from bits.

I swear by mine.

 

[Swannie]

CIP == Clean In Place.

What commercial breweries do - you can't be disassembling everything every brew, so things that aren't regularly disconnected get Cleaned In Place. Typically this refers to hard plumbing, and all steel vessels.

CIP usually uses caustic alkali or acid chemicals, pumped through the piping, into a spray ball at typically a high temperature and pressure, which sprays the cleaning fluid against all the surfaces of the vessel that liquid doesn't typically settle into. This dislodges anything, and kills anything that can't be dislodged. Then hot water is used to rinse. Sometimes steam is used in the process (steam in place).