How Do You Guys Clear Your Beer Lines?

[starkesbier]

Just curious. When you guys (and gals) swap from one keg to the next how do you clear the beer from your lines if you want to make a fresh start? Is this a newbie question? Must be if I have to ask it huh .

Cheers

 

[Prawned]

i dont bother, i just connect up the new keg and just pour off half a pint..

 

[pokolbinguy]

Same dont really bother unless it is something very different or it has been there for a long time.

But if things are sticky or dirty i pull it all apart and give it all a nice clean

Pok

 

[slacka]

Unless I'm going through kegs like a Friday night at the race track, I put some iodophore through it and let it sit for an hour. The taps go in a jug with some soda water. Occasionally get a pipe cleaner to them.

 

[Franko]

keg and line cleaner

 

[Zwickel]

as long as the beer line is inside the fridge, means cooled, Im cleaning it once the week.....should do so.....but sometimes.....

as a cleaning agent Im using caustic soda, of course diluted and afterward rinse it with citric acid.

 

[randyrob]

this may sound dumb but i get an empty keg fill it with a kettle worth of boiling water and put the lid on and shake, this pressurises the keg
then i just hook up the 'beer out' qd and pour a few pints, it gets rid of any scum build up in the lines.

Cheers Rob.

 

[Zwickel]

this may sound dumb but i get an empty keg fill it with a kettle worth of boiling water and put the lid on and shake, this pressurises the keg
then i just hook up the 'beer out' qd and pour a few pints, it gets rid of any scum build up in the lines.

Cheers Rob.

yeah, thats what Im doing too, just add a little bit caustic soda to the water to clean the keg and the line at the same time.

 

[KoNG]

If it's clearing the line you mean. I just pour a half pint or so and drink it. Good way to try some blends. Won't kill you!

 

[Tony]

I havnt cleaned out my beer line in the fridge for...........oooooo over a year now. And its still clean and clear.

I do remove my tap "outside" the fridge regularly and clean it out.

one keg goes empty......... i just swap and pour.

keeping the tap clean does the job for me.

I have run all sorts or cleaners through the lines before but no differnece.

But everyones system is different. KEg and line cleaner is good, napysan (the home brend one are better..... look at the % active ingredients) works well too.

cheers

 

[lagers44]

I originally never used anything but started to notice some dark floaties accasionally in the beer & started using keg & line cleaner , heaps of black stuff would come out after each keg. Now I clean with keg & line cleaner , saves having to explain floaties to mates.

 

[Brewer_010]

napisan and hot water for me (run through the lines for a few minutes)
I usually try to do this every keg or two...sometimes it can be a few months but never noticed any difference
Never cleaned my taps inside though - now I'm too scared to see whats inside....

 

[quadbox]

yeah, thats what Im doing too, just add a little bit caustic soda to the water to clean the keg and the line at the same time.

I forsee a potential problem here in that caustic soda reacts with CO2 when it's hot. I guess if you empty all the co2 out of the keg it's not an issue, but meh

Personally I use sodium percarbonate if it really needs a clean, else just leave some iodophor in there. But if I'm just switching kegs over I rarely bother, just pour off half a pint as someone said earlier

 

[Tony]

brewer_010........... pull your taps apart and check them. They are the bits out in the heat and air ans they do get a yucky buildup in them

cheers

 

[big d]

Cellarman beer line cleaner and a good flush with boiling water does the trick.

Cheers
Big D

 

[kook]

Same as big d, though I don't rinse with boiling water, just flush with some beer.

 

[Zwickel]

I forsee a potential problem here in that caustic soda reacts with CO2 when it's hot. I guess if you empty all the co2 out of the keg it's not an issue....

no worries mate, there is no CO2 involved. I clean all my equipment first with caustic soda followed by a rinse of citric acid. Of course its not a strong solution, just 0.5 to 1%

 

[Online Brewing Supplies]

I forsee a potential problem here in that caustic soda reacts with CO2 when it's hot. I guess if you empty all the co2 out of the keg it's not an issue, but meh

Caustic + CO2 = implosion.Generally this is only a problem in brewery size applications but a good point to raise.
GB

 

[skippy]

hi Nev, Skippy here,,,

been offline for a while, should come down to Margs...


accumulated good wine collection.

 

[Cracka]

I have two male ball lock fittings joined together & just connect them both when I want to bleed the system leaving CO2 in

the lines. I bleed it regually as my beer line goes through the freezer. When it comes to cleaning, thats done after a keg is

emptied. I make up a cleaning mix in a keg with hot water from the urn, & flush it through the line, letting it sit for a few

minutes at a time. Do get a couple of small floates through when cleaning but nothing major.