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  • Cleaning kegs!

    Woohoo, beat to death thread right?

    Well we are in the midst of trying to figure this all out. I am just reaching out to see if this would work. I would:
    1.fill our Brite with 150-160deg water
    2.add star-san
    3.Line out to 1/2 pump-line out to Keg coupler
    4. Let fill
    5.open c02 value outlet let liquid run back into brite
    6. rinse and repeat, 2nd rinse PBW

    We just got our first shipment of kegs in and I really have never touched them besides corny's, I currently dont have 17l for a small keg washer. Ive seen the other DIY ideas but Im curious to see if this would work, or if anyone else has ran this in there nano stages.

    Thanks Guys!
    Last edited by onetree; 05-06-2014, 06:29 PM.

  • #2
    There's a lot of things wrong with this. You can get a small, manual keg washer well under 17k. 17k gets you at least two heads with some automated run cycles.

    Star-san will do you no good, it's not a cleaner and it's gonna foam like crazy.

    PPW? Do you mean PBW? That should be your first run if at all since that is the cleaner. Also, powdered alkaline cleaners are good but you have to take your time to dissolve them and thoroughly rinse them or they streak. You can't inspect that in a keg every time....or at least you won't want to.

    The process off pulling from your Brite and recirculating will work, just be a bit time consuming.

    Sent from my 831C using Tapatalk
    Weston Barkley
    Brewer
    Joseph James Brewing Company

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by Ton View Post
      There's a lot of things wrong with this. You can get a small, manual keg washer well under 17k. 17k gets you at least two heads with some automated run cycles.

      Star-san will do you no good, it's not a cleaner and it's gonna foam like crazy.

      PPW? Do you mean PBW? That should be your first run if at all since that is the cleaner. Also, powdered alkaline cleaners are good but you have to take your time to dissolve them and thoroughly rinse them or they streak. You can't inspect that in a keg every time....or at least you won't want to.

      The process off pulling from your Brite and recirculating will work, just be a bit time consuming.

      Sent from my 831C using Tapatalk
      Sorry autospell. Yes PBW. I've seen the streaking you quote above, I plan on running two cycles through each keg then 2 fresh water rinses.

      On the kegs themselves, when filling upside down with cleaning solution do you fill the keg 100%. I've heard and read of only filling 50% is needed.

      Thanks again

      Comment


      • #4
        if your not cleaning a whole lot of kegs, just take the spears out and clean the insides with a pressure washer. if your cleaning a ton of kegs just get an automated system. IMO

        run hot pbw first to clean, then rinse, then sanitize

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        • #5
          I would advise against PBW and use acid cleaned.

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by Thirsty_Monk View Post
            I would advise against PBW and use acid cleaned.
            i would agree, ive never needed PBW with kegs, we take the spears out of ours and use a wide spray angle tip on a 1700 psi pressure washer to wash the crap out of them, we use a carboy brush for some of the stubborn stuff. works great so far and we can clean 3 kegs in about 10-15 minutes.

            Comment


            • #7
              I would suggest the following protocol:
              -purge out old product
              -PBW cycle for three minutes
              -Acid #5 cycle for two minutes
              -Star San cycle for one and a half minutes
              -use CO2 to purge the keg between cycles and pressurize after the Star San for storage until you fill the keg.
              All the chemicals must be used at their correct temperatures.

              This is not the only way to clean kegs but I've been using this protocol since 1993 with very good success (knock on stainless).

              Luck to ya'.

              Prost!
              Dave
              Glacier Brewing Company
              406-883-2595
              info@glacierbrewing.com

              "who said what now?"

              Comment


              • #8
                There's no way you are using Star San in a recirculation cycle, it would foam like crazy and your pump would constantly cavitate. Sani clean, IO star, or star xene maybe?

                Sent from my 831C using Tapatalk
                Weston Barkley
                Brewer
                Joseph James Brewing Company

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by Ton View Post
                  There's no way you are using Star San in a recirculation cycle, it would foam like crazy and your pump would constantly cavitate. Sani clean, IO star, or star xene maybe?

                  Sent from my 831C using Tapatalk
                  I am using Star San in a recirc cycle. The pump draws from a port on the very bottom of the reservoir so it is sucking in and pumping liquid, not foam. You have to ensure you are mixing to the manufacturer's instructions.

                  Dave
                  Glacier Brewing Company
                  406-883-2595
                  info@glacierbrewing.com

                  "who said what now?"

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Where does the star san return to the reservoir? Are your kegs right side up or upside down? How is this not turbulent enough to cause star san to foam?

                    (I'm asking purely for knowledge, not intending to be an ass)
                    Weston Barkley
                    Brewer
                    Joseph James Brewing Company

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Ton View Post
                      Where does the star san return to the reservoir? Are your kegs right side up or upside down? How is this not turbulent enough to cause star san to foam?

                      (I'm asking purely for knowledge, not intending to be an ass)
                      Not a problem Weston.
                      The kegs are inverted on the keg washer. The star san enters the keg through the keg spear and returns to the reservoir through the "gas in" port on the sanke coupler. There is some foaming inside the keg, but that is advantageous as it will slowly make its way down the walls inside the keg. I do believe the star san/hot liquor ratio is key.

                      Prost!
                      Dave
                      Glacier Brewing Company
                      406-883-2595
                      info@glacierbrewing.com

                      "who said what now?"

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Thanks guys. Ran it today and everything seems to be working just fine. Takes about 10-15 per keg but I will get faster. We have 30 kegs now but trying to get more of a market share. Thanks for letting me understand the "ropes".

                        Im finiding there is a lot of knowledge learned along the way

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          As others have said not the ideal way but we all have to deal with other issues and sometimes low $$. One other issue is if you are using your brite tank is it keeping the water up to temp? I would bet not.

                          Cheers
                          Mike Eme
                          Brewmaster

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            So I changed it up. I run fresh hotwater tap into pump, lineout into keg, then lineout into holding tank. waste of water but low cost cleaning at its best.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by onetree View Post
                              So I changed it up. I run fresh hotwater tap into pump, lineout into keg, then lineout into holding tank. waste of water but low cost cleaning at its best.
                              Are you opening your kegs to check the effectiveness of that procedure? After they've had beer sitting in them?


                              Aaron
                              Junkyard Brewing Co.
                              Moorhead M.N.

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