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Help with the dirtiest kegs in existence

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  • Help with the dirtiest kegs in existence

    Hi all,

    We're a new brewery and bought ~200 used kegs several months ago.We pulled a few random spears and discovered some BAD examples of beer stone and grime. So now we're pulling all the spears and trying different cleaning methods with a much smaller success rate than we were hoping. I'm hoping someone out there may have had a similar experience or may have an idea that we haven't tried. Here is what we've tried so far:

    Premier 3 head automatic keg cleaner. 2oz Ultra Niter/gal H2O + 2mL X-Puma/gal H2O in first basin, maintained at 130F. 2oz Bru-R-Ez/gal H2O + .5oz Cir-Q-Late/gal H2O, started at 140F with no temp. maintenance but minimal temp. drop (~5F/hour) over time. 3rd basin of water for prerinse and sani dosing at end that was skipped b/c kegs would be opened afterwards. pH levels were checked after each cycle; almost no change over time.
    Cycle consisted of
    1) keg evacuation
    2) 30 second water rinse with 10 second spear rinse
    3) 5 minute acid rinse with 1 minute spear acid rinse
    4) 5min alkaline rinse with 1min alkaline spear rinse
    5)30s water rinse with 15 second spear rinse
    6) remove kegs, pull spears and inspect inside

    This gave us a ~20% success rate with kegs that were completely clean on the inside. We took the non-clean kegs and then power washed them as best we could with another ~20% success rate from that step. We also tried a carboy cleaner drill head before and after the power wash with very little effect (it sucked).

    We are currently trying an overnight acid soak in a couple dirty kegs. ~30oz ultra niter / ~15gal H2O is the keg, mix started at ~120F but not temp. maintained. Our first trial helped out a very filthy keg but it still has a few good beer stone streaks. We then tried using the carboy cleaner drill head with again very little effect. Power washing after that helped some but it seems that the power washer head has to basically be touching the point of interest for any reasonable efficacy.


    We've already put an order in for some new kegs and in the meantime we will be working through the kegs on hand at our current success rate to get some usable kegs.

    After all this I've run out of ideas at the moment. Does anyone out there have an idea or some similar experience with a happy ending?

    Cheers,
    Rob

  • #2
    Undiluted Acid

    We had some really bad beer stone issues with some used kegs a few years ago and the only bulletproof way of getting it off was to use undiluted acid (phosphoric/nitric blend) and letting it sit overnight or longer.

    I would put in enough to cover the bottom dish of the keg and let it sit overnight. Then if the walls needed it, I would put the stem back in and lay the keg on its side and rotate daily until all stone was removed.

    You can re-use the acid on several kegs.

    Sometimes a green scrubby zip tied to a broom handle could speed up the process.

    Good luck! Sounds like not fun...

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    • #3
      re:

      I was thinking of upping chem concentration so I guess that would be the ultimate chemical attack. I'll try that and report back how well it worked for our situation.

      Thanks

      Comment


      • #4
        5 Star sell acid #3AB that might work.
        You might consider sending them to Sabco for cleaning and refurbishing, cheeper than replacing.
        Brewmaster, Minocqua Brewing Company
        tbriggs@minocquabrewingcompany.com
        "Your results may vary"

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        • #5
          re

          Thanks for the recommendations. Right now I am going through at our current success rate just to get SOME clean kegs. I kind of took the first suggestion and doubled the acid concentration for our keg cleaner with some noticable effect. I'll probably up the acid concentration again to see how the success rate improves.

          I got a quote from sabco and it seems reasonable. Factoring in the cost of freight (which I assume we pay both ways) I will probably reserve that service for the real stubborn kegs.

          Thanks for the tips!

          Comment


          • #6
            We have had good success using alkaline cleaners like 5 Star PBW or Madison PBC. It requires removing the spear and filling the keg with hot water (over 160 deg F). Then add between 12 and 16 fl oz. of the cleaner to each keg. It will readily dissolve in the hot water, and you should be able to dump the keg after letting it sit for 24 hours and the stone will be dissolved or softened. Then we would run them through our regular keg cleaning cycle. This obviously uses a lot of water and chemical, but it gets the job done. The spears can be treated the same way, just fill a drum that can handle the hot water with the spears while they are out and soak them in the same solution while the kegs are soaking overnight. After you dump the kegs, you can rinse off the spears and re-insert them into the kegs before running them on your keg washer.
            We tried extending the time on the keg washer, but you never get everything out, or you start to clog up the system when the stone starts coming off in chunks.
            It definitely isn't fun, but I wouldn't suggest trying to get thick stone out with your keg washer.

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