Cleaning Your Kegs System?

[Cortez The Killer]

No staining that i have seen

But I haven't really sussed it out

They look clean when I look inside

Cheers

Cortez,

Do you get brown staining of your kegs when you soak for long periods with Iodophor, like you do with plastic?

 

[SJW]

Is sodium percarbonate just Napi-San? If it is I would of thought that stuff would be way too soapy to put anywhere near a keg or lines. Just touch it with wet hands and see how long it takes to rinse off.
I think that flushing with Iodophor and running thru the taps just prior to putting a new beer on would be the go. Just a bit concerned about what to use to clean the keg. But I guess they should not get that much crud on the inside anyway.
Does anyone dry hop in the keg?
I am getting close to a commitment with a keg system just getting some prices now on bits.

Steve

 

[tangent]

i agree, napisan needs a damn good rinse.
i keg hop and reckon it sh!ts over secondary hopping for massive aroma. love it!
Once your keg needs a clean, not just a sanitise, a caustic solution is supposed to be the go.

 

[Sammus]

Is sodium percarbonate just Napi-San? If it is I would of thought that stuff would be way too soapy to put anywhere near a keg or lines. Just touch it with wet hands and see how long it takes to rinse off.
I think that flushing with Iodophor and running thru the taps just prior to putting a new beer on would be the go. Just a bit concerned about what to use to clean the keg. But I guess they should not get that much crud on the inside anyway.
Does anyone dry hop in the keg?
I am getting close to a commitment with a keg system just getting some prices now on bits.

Steve

I use pure sodium percarb (which is what makes up about 20-30% or so of napisan). I think its so hard to rinse from your hands because of all the lines and creases on your skin, I find on something smooth (glass or SS for example) it is fully rinsed off in one or two rinses (by which I mean wet all all surfaces with water, swirl and tip out) - I usually do a third to be sure. Napisan suds up a lot (where as the pure stuff doesnt at all) which makes it a little harder to rinse, 2 or 3 good swirls of clean water will still do it though. Plus if your doing beer lines, its not hard to put 5L of water in a keg, hook it up and open the tap for 10 seconds to rinse.

 

[goatherder]

For the record, PSR (pink stain remover) is a chlorine based cleaner and it will damage stainless. It is not the same as napisan or sodium percarbonate.

My cleaning regime goes like:

1: In the bathtub, rinse the keg well with hot water.
2: Fill it with 2-3 litres of hot water and add some scent-free napisan.
3: Put the lid on and shake-shake-shake
4: Apply a little bit of C02 and pump the hot napisan solution through the beer tap into a bucket.
5: Rinse the keg well with cold water and fill it up with 2-3 litres.
6: Run the 2-3 litres through the tap to rinse out the napisan.
7: Add 1 litre iodophor solution, apply gas and run a bit through the tap.
8: Leave the keg sealed until ready to use.

It sounds like a lot but it only takes 5-10 mins.

 

[SJW]

For the record, PSR (pink stain remover) is a chlorine based cleaner and it will damage stainless. It is not the same as napisan or sodium percarbonate.

My cleaning regime goes like:

1: In the bathtub, rinse the keg well with hot water.
2: Fill it with 2-3 litres of hot water and add some scent-free napisan.
3: Put the lid on and shake-shake-shake
4: Apply a little bit of C02 and pump the hot napisan solution through the beer tap into a bucket.
5: Rinse the keg well with cold water and fill it up with 2-3 litres.
6: Run the 2-3 litres through the tap to rinse out the napisan.
7: Add 1 litre iodophor solution, apply gas and run a bit through the tap.
8: Leave the keg sealed until ready to use.

It sounds like a lot but it only takes 5-10 mins.

And there we have it. For my money, thats the way i will go. Maybe not have a bath with my kegs though

Steve

 

[tangent]

wasn't it mentioned that napisan is bad for s/s as well?

 

[SJW]

wasn't it mentioned that napisan is bad for s/s as well?

I'm sure it is. Just like everthing we eat drink and breath in will give us cancer. I PM'ed Doc who's opinion I rate very high, and he said that he uses PSR (Pink Stain) in his kegs but only for 10-20 mins max. Also I soak my s/s kettle in napi-san and PSR for days on end with no ill effects. :blink:
Go figure <_<

Steve

 

[rwh]

I use the G&G keg cleaner which is Oxyper. It's an oxygen (peroxide) based bleach, which I'm assuming doesn't have the same problems with SS that a chlorine bleach has. Works good too.

 

[SJW]

I use the G&G keg cleaner which is Oxyper. It's an oxygen (peroxide) based bleach, which I'm assuming doesn't have the same problems with SS that a chlorine bleach has. Works good too.

I went to Coles today and checked out all those Oxy type products. It appears that they are all basically Napi-san with varing degrees of active agent. ie. Sodium Percarbonate. up to about 25% for the expensive stuff, approx $6 per kg.
I might try a chemical mob and get hold of some straight Sodium Percarb.
Or just go the PSR for a quick rinse.

Steve

 

[SJW]

I checked out what some fellas are refering to as the PURE STUFF. Thinking it was 100% active ie. 100% Sodium Per. but even the PURE STUFF is only 33% active. So I recon there would be no diff between the PURE STUFF and a cheap napi-san type producr with a high % active ingredient.

Steve

 

[Steve]

Is boiling water bad for o-rings? When empty I fill with 2 litres boiling water....shakey shakey, leave until cool, rinse out with squirt of cold water, fill with 2 litres of cold water and iodophor....shakey shakey, leave for a while (or until I remember), pour out and air dry upside down.
Cheers
Steve

 

[justsomeguy]

I checked out what some fellas are refering to as the PURE STUFF. Thinking it was 100% active ie. 100% Sodium Per. but even the PURE STUFF is only 33% active. So I recon there would be no diff between the PURE STUFF and a cheap napi-san type producr with a high % active ingredient.

Steve

Are you sure about that ?

I suppose it depends on what your definition of pure is. I recently bought a 25Kg sack of Sodium perc direct from a chemical manufacturer and it indicates that its 100% sodium perc. I doubt chemical manufacturers would be able to label it as anything else. The stuff from the supermarket certainly ain't pure as you have found.

Pure sodim perc is a bugger to dissolve. Chuck it in water and it just sinks to the bottom of the bucket. You need really hot water and not a lot of the stuff. I've found that the slimy feel you sometimes get from using it is generally because I've chucked too much of the stuff in.

Someone also asked about whether it affects SS. I doubt it. From my understanding, when you wet the stuff oxygen is released. About the only thing it would do is repassivate any non-passivated steel. Anyway it becomes ineffective after a day or two. I've left the stuff in a kettle for a week or more with no ill effects.

THere are plenty of references floating around on the net about sodium perc and what you can use it for. The wife loves putting the stuff in with the dirty washing go get stuff extra clean.

gary

 

[Jerry]

Is boiling water bad for o-rings? When empty I fill with 2 litres boiling water....shakey shakey, leave until cool, rinse out with squirt of cold water, fill with 2 litres of cold water and iodophor....shakey shakey, leave for a while (or until I remember), pour out and air dry upside down.
Cheers
Steve

Steve,

I've been using boiling water to clean out my kegs for years and haven't had or noticed any problems with any of the seals.

Scott