Deep cleaning a keg

[sa1126]

I recently got a free keg from a guy on craigslist that had some old stale beer in it for about a year. After cleaning it out and sanitizing it with star-san it still smells funky.

What do you all recommend for a good deep cleaning agent that will take the funk out?

 

[tre9er]

Soak it in hot water and oxyclean overnight, then hit it with a keg brush. That should do it.

 

[KingBubbaTruck]

I just cleaned up some kegs that had old beer, and one had a cyser in for 12 YEARS.

Dismantle, replace the O-rings, and an overnight soak in a strong PBW solution took care of all the nastiness.

Make sure to soak the dip tube as well.

 

[jbaysurfer]

I'd go big on that cleaning. Time, super hot water (I'd heat it to 160 in my hlt before adding it to the keg with PBW) PBW, and I'd even go 2 kinds of sanitizers. I find Iodaphor works a bit better on the nastier nasties then Starsan, so I'd use Iodaphor first then finish, rinse, and then you starsan.

Also, break the whole keg down. Completely. If you have a very thin pipe/line/tubing scrubber, use it to scrub out the dip tube, after you let it all soak in the very hot PBW mixture. Every seal should be replaced, every post removed, broken down (remove poppits) scrubbed with a toothbrush and soaked in a super hot PBW mixture. Let it soak for a long time. Overnight in hot water, then dump, rinse and repeat if it's still smells funky. Also, like Tre9er said, use a keg brush and elbow grease. Don't miss anything.

Sounds like a lot of work, but it's worth it to me for peace of mind.

 

[PistolsAtDawn]

Worth the peace of mind for sure, plus - I speak from experience - you don't want to trust old o-rings and poppet valves. You'll lose beer to that if you do.

In between major maintenance sessions, I like to push unscented oxyclean through my dip tube, beer lines and faucet and follow that up with clean tap water. Sanitize afterward, seal it up (maybe even fill with C02 up to a decent pressure to see if everything took).

 

[sa1126]

By Oxyclean are you all speaking of the stuff Billy Mays used to sell or something they sell at the homebrew shop?

 

[PistolsAtDawn]

Basic Billy Mays stuff. They sell "off brands" everywhere, including dollar stores. My local dollar store carries unscented varieties off and on (sometimes they have fragrance in them) for $1/lb.

Just make sure you rinse the keg out really well and push plenty of clean water through the lines after.

Oxyclean is great at dissolving organic stuff, including gunky beer. PBW is basically Oxyclean with TSP/90 mixed in.

 

[day_trippr]

I'm super OC about commissioning new-to-me kegs. Definitely all new o-rings, break down and clean the posts and poppets, take the PRV apart and clean it, scrub the inside within an inch of its life, and use a dip tube brush. Hit all the new rings with keg lube, assemble, fill to overflowing with sanitizer and make sure to flood the dip tubes, let sit for a day before trusting it with my beer...

Cheers!

 

[Pratzie]

I use a cheaper version that I get a that I get at the dollar store, but u wanna make sure its main ingredient is Sodium Percarbonate...

http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter2-2-1.html

That's the best thing for a deep clean.

 

[sa1126]

Thanks for that link!

I soaked the kegs in oxiclean and keg #1 smells like it is new. Keg two is soaking in a fresh mix. I'm going to take it to the car wash and spray it off with high pressure and then soak it again with PBW until it is stank free.