Keg Cleaning And Steralization

[new2brew]

Hey there guys, guessing there is heaps of threads on this topic, but im too lazy to look

Just wondering what product people prefere to use to clean and sterilize thier kegs. I am using neo-pink at the moment but have traditionally just used bleach to clean my brew barrels and the like.

I read somewhere that bleach can be carosive to stainless steel and will end up rusting my kegs. Is this true or can I just go back to bleach for easy of use. Bleach is heaps cheeper too!

any thoughts?

 

[mickpc]

I use PBW (cleaner) and starsan. The PBW is good as it gets rid of beerstone and I like the starsan as it seems to last forever and doesnt taint beer.


Mick

 

[tavas]

Hey there guys, guessing there is heaps of threads on this topic, but im too lazy to look

Just wondering what product people prefere to use to clean and sterilize thier kegs. I am using neo-pink at the moment but have traditionally just used bleach to clean my brew barrels and the like.

I read somewhere that bleach can be carosive to stainless steel and will end up rusting my kegs. Is this true or can I just go back to bleach for easy of use. Bleach is heaps cheeper too!

any thoughts?

Bleach will corrode stainless steel. The chlorides in bleach attack the surface and pit it. As the ad says, it won't happen overnight, but it will happen.
You can clean up corroded stainless and re-oxidise it, but considering it involves nitric acid, I wouldn't recommend it. There are more suitable cleaners on the market.

 

[jayse]

snipped> The PBW is good as it gets rid of beerstone and I like the starsan as it seems to last forever and doesnt taint beer.


Mick

It does not do anything of the sort in fact for beer stone you would be better using the starsan as a cleaner, beer stone is inorganic material from the water such as metal and salts etc etc and needs a acid cleaner.

 

[mickpc]

I stand corrected,Removes protein soil and staining, baked on carbon, and fatty acids
:

 

[edddy57]

After a keg is empty I give it a good rinse in cold water and then fill it up with water with some napisan. I put the lid on and then leave it 2 -3 days turning it upside down for at least a day. I then rinse and leave until I am ready to fill again. Prior to kegging I throw a couple of litres of Starsan in (1.6 mls starsan per litre) and shake well. I usually do this 30 minutes before I fill, then I tip upside down into a tub and let drain. There is still a fair bit of foam in the keg but that doesn't matter as it acts as a guard against bugs as you fill (or thats what I think anyway) ie. you fill from the bottom pushing the foam up. Have never had any problems with this regime
Eddy

 

[Housecat]

wow, maybe I'm just lazy but all I have been doin is rinse my kegs and lines out with boiling hot water within a day of emptying them. Then I do the same just before I refill them. After 5 years of doing that, I haven't noticed any troubles. Although, after a years break, I have used the beerstone/line cleaning stuff (can't remember the name) once and could see a slight difference in my lines.

just my two cents

 

[mickpc]

Heres a good way of cleaning the kegs and lines:

 

[jayse]

wow, maybe I'm just lazy but all I have been doin is rinse my kegs and lines out with boiling hot water within a day of emptying them. Then I do the same just before I refill them. After 5 years of doing that, I haven't noticed any troubles. Although, after a years break, I have used the beerstone/line cleaning stuff (can't remember the name) once and could see a slight difference in my lines.

just my two cents

It seems to be working for you but there is a problem with doing your first rinse with boiling water in that you could possibly be baking the organic material onto the inside of the keg making it harder to clean.

 

[crozdog]

It does not do anything of the sort in fact for beer stone you would be better using the starsan as a cleaner, beer stone is inorganic material from the water such as metal and salts etc etc and needs a acid cleaner.

+1 that is almost a direct quote that Jon from 5star made yesterday

 

[jayse]

+1 that is almost a direct quote that Jon from 5star made yesterday

yeap, his other product saniclean he stated would be even better for several reasons one being it can be used hot, it does not foam either but that is more important when it comes to cip, high pressure pumping, spray balls etc not some much a problem for the homebrewer.
I bailed him up for some time and questioned him at length and his presentation I thought was great, I can't imagine there is anything he does not know about chemicals and cleaning.