Weldless bulkhead and ball-valve cleaning on boil kettle

[ne0t0ky0]

I'm using a bargainfitting weldless bulkhead and 3 piece SS ball valve on my converted keggle. I've got a nice, tight seal that does not drop though I had to fiddle with it a bit to get there.

I've done two brews with this setup and now I'm wondering if I need to clean both the bulkhead and the SS valve? Only the valve? And how often to folks clean either or both?

My preference would be to not mess with the bulkhead since I've got a nice, leakfree fit. And the 3-piece is pretty simple to breakdown and clean. But, I am pretty pedantic about cleaning and sanitizing so I don't want to skip over an important step.

Thoughts?

 

[chromados]

I have been using many weld-less fittings for a long time without disassembling them on everything from my mash tun to BK. I do clean everything with a good soak of PBW/Oxyclean and rinse after every brew and then dry everything off after a brew. The only reason I disassemble my weld-less fitting is if the silicone O-ring is in bad shape or leaking and it needs to be replaced. I would not worry about it, especially in a boil kettle where it will have a good hour to be sanitized in the wort.

chromados

 

[ne0t0ky0]

Thanks for the reply. I'm doing exactly what you're describing for cleanup. I'll keep an eye on the o-ring thought; thanks for the tip.

 

[mr_cad]

I took my weldless fitting apart today to put it in another keg and I could not believe the gunk that was in it. I am soaking it in a tub of oxyclean overnight and will install it tomorrow. I guess I did not run cleaner thru it last time I brewed. From now on I will be more careful. I am sure an hour boil would have killed it but over time I think you could just get lots of nasty build-up.