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THE
CARE & CLEANING OF KEGS See also: The
Joys of Kegging
 Reprint
from Brewing Techniques' Jan/Feb 1997
All kegs are assembled from
many stainless steel parts and a number of rubber O rings. Most of these
parts come into contact with the beer and therefore must be cleaned and
sanitized before use. With careful disassembly and assembly, none of the
stainless parts should ever need replacement. O rings can eventually dry
out, crack, get cut, or simply get lost. One of the real advantages of
kegs is the wide availability of standard replacement parts. Most larger
homebrew supply shops and mail-order suppliers will have all the parts
you need, and several national distributors of restaurant and beverage
supplies also carry all replacement parts. |
| The view from above a typical
keg with lid removed. Lids can come in different styles, with or without
a pressure relief valve (top). The O rings from reconditioned kegs (shown
around the lids) should be thoroughly cleaned or replaced. |
| Because many home brewers
acquire used, reconditioned kegs, and because there's no way of knowing
where that used keg came from, it's always a good idea to disassemble used
kegs completely and inspect them for damage (such as pitting or rust spots
inside), residue, and general cleanliness. The kegs may well need a good
scrubbing with Straight-A. |
Disassembly and Cleaning
The lid: It should
be easy enough to remove the lid and the large O ring used to seal it when
the keg is depressurized by lifting the retaining bail (the lid won't budge
if the keg's under pressure). Often the O ring will smell strongly of soda
syrup. The smell can be removed by washing in warm soapy water. Many brewers
prefer to buy an O ring kit to replace all the rubber parts to eliminate
the syrup odor. I've never found the original O rings to have any effect
on beer aroma or flavor, but the choice is yours. In any case, the O ring
should be removed from the lid, and both parts thoroughly washed and reassembled,
along with the retaining bail. |
| The inside: A newly
purchased keg should be very clean inside and not require any special treatment.
An effective way to wash the interior, if it's needed, is to add about
1-2 tsp of un perfumed dishwasher detergent or TSP to about 2-4 qt of the
hottest tap water available. With the lid in place and locked, shake the
keg repeatedly, then drain and rinse. Usually, the kegs you buy will have
only been used as soda canisters, and any residue they contain is easily
water soluble. |
| Kegs can be harder to clean
after you've used them for beer making because of beer stone, protein deposits,
trub, and so forth. A standard carboy brush will come in handy for loosening
gummy material. The dishwasher detergent will then leave the keg bright.
It's sometimes difficult to tell whether the keg is completely rinsed,
so after draining all detergent water I rinse three times -- twice with
very hot water, and a final time with cold water. |
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| The connector valves:
Two valve assemblies, also at the top of the keg, allow the rapid connection
and disconnection of the gas pressure line and the beverage dispensing
line. These poppet valves are designed so that gas pressure inside the
keg seals the valves shut when the keg is not connected during storage
and transport. The gas and beverage hoses connect to these valves using
"quick-disconnect" fittings. The valves and matching fittings come in either
a ball-lock or a pin-lock style, which are just two different ways to couple
the fitting to the valve. |
 Examples
of a pin-lock (left) and a ball-lock keg.
Remove. The two valve
assemblies thread onto the keg like any nut to a bolt. For ball-lock kegs,
use any wrench or socket that matches the fittings (one is usually a standard
hex shape, and the other usually a 12-point style), turn them counterclockwise,
and remove them from the keg. On pin-lock kegs, the gas-side connector
uses two pins 180 degrees apart, and the beer side uses three pins 60 degrees
apart. The pins make it difficult to get a wrench on the beer side. Many
brewers modify a spark-plug socket wrench by cutting slots in the corners
for the pins to fit into, which prevents accidental snapping of the pins
off the connector. |
 |
A ball-lock keg with disconnect
fittings, gas hose, and beer hose with picnic tap. The IN and OUT fittings
on a ball-lock keg have very slightly different diameters. The mnemonic
for connections is Gray = Gas, Black = Beer. |
| Inspect the O rings.
Inspect the exterior O rings for damage, and replace them if they've been
cut. They can be removed from the valve housing using a small screwdriver
-- be careful not to use too sharp a tool. |
 Sanitize.
Soak the valve assemblies in Iodophor before reassembly.
The gas (IN) fitting of
a pin-lock-style keg has two pins; the beer fitting has three. The poppets
in these valves allow the keg's gas pressure to seal shut when the keg
is not connected. |
| The beer and gas tubes:
Remove. After you've removed the valves from each side of the keg,
you'll see the two threaded connections integral to the keg. In the hole
of each connection you should find a stainless steel tube. The tube on
the gas side of the keg, the side marked IN, is only about 3 in. long;
the other tube, on the beer side marked OUT, is much longer and reaches
to the bottom of the keg. Remove both tubes by simply reaching into the
keg and pushing the tubes up and out. |
| Clean. The top of
each tube is flared outward to retain the O ring and to prevent the tube
from dropping through the hole into the keg. Carefully remove the O rings
(original equipment on many kegs is often a rubber washer), and clean them
and the tubes with warm water and detergent. A long tubing brush is handy
for thoroughly cleaning the interior. |
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The pin-lock-style fittings
on this keg are not interchangeable with ball-lock connectors. Thus, it's
usually best to stick with one style of keg |
Reassembly
Reassemble the keg by inserting
the long dip tube into the OUT side of the keg and the short tube into
the IN side. Thread the valves back on, remembering to put the gas and
beverage valves on the correct sides of the keg. |
Sanitizing
When you're ready to rack
from your fermenter to the keg, add about 2 qt of Iodophor solution to
the keg, seal it with the lid, and agitate. Rock the keg enough to get
sanitizer inside both dip tubes, and occasionally invert the keg and depress
the pin in the center of the valve housings using a large nail or other
tool to allow any sanitizer in the tubes to drain out the valve assembly
and sanitize difficult-to-reach parts. After a few minutes of agitation,
I drain the sanitizer into an open pan and use it to sanitize the racking
tube and cane. (Be sure that all the solution is drained from the long
tube by standing the keg upright and depressing the OUT connector.) Leave
the keg inverted in a clean container while you prepare for racking. |
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copyright
2004 J.R.Leverentz
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