Do you fully disassemble kegs each time when you clean it?

[Omega]

It is my first cleaning of the kegs and I wonder if I should disassemble them, i.e. remove posts and dip while cleaning. Do you always do it?
Thanks

 

[Sadfield]

I do.

 

[Rwilts]

Not always
But probably should. They all get a good clean and sanitise

 

[xozzx]

I used to. Now I half fill with hot water, pour in some sodium percarb, shake like crazy wait few mins then attach a tap to the beer out and pour through some sodium percarb solution to fill the dip tube. leave 30mins, flip it over, leave 30 mins then empty. Spray out with garden hose then reattach the lid. I then connect beer out to beer out of another keg and transfer a full keg of starsan leaving one keg filled with CO2 and one ready to transfer starsan to next clean keg.
This requires a spare keg but I found it works well. Occasionally if I need the extra keg Ill use CO2 to push the starsan into the sink then make a new batch next kegs.

 

[Omega]

What is the cheap chemical to clean and sterilise kegs and fermenters, but without affecting the taste? I bought ChemClean, but it is quite expensive if I should use 50 g per 5 litres of water - if I half fill kegs, it is 100g, if I half-fill Apollo Pressure Fermenter, it is 150g...

 

[MrJay83]

Yeap... and after a hop heavy NEIPA I do the same with my tap.

 

[Sprocker]

I used to strip kegs right down, but recently bought a Kegland Bucket Blaster from BKT. This cleans inside the keg and inside the in/out tubes. Use it for kegs and my All Rounder. Game changer in terms of cleaning time for me.

 

[hoppyscotty]

I soak with my chosen cleaner and push through both ball lock posts. All the surfaces that see beer are getting a good cleaning with an active cleaner. The key is to use an active claner and give it time to work. If I were using kegs for fermentation then I would stip down to make sure I got rid of any soil that might be stuck in the spring and other areas.

Sometimes if I'm putting fresh beer right in after emptying a keg I'll give it a good clean and purge and put fresh beer in....and if it's the same beer I might not even clean the keg at all, just refill the keg with the fresh batch - the keg is already purged and sanitary. If the keg starts off sanitary and fully purged then you end up with a keg that is full of CO2 with some dregs of beer from the last batch so no reason you cant just put fresh beer on that - no chance of any bugs getting a hold, all you need to worry about is beer stone. Certainly saves on CO2. Clearly cant do this ad infinitum and will need a clean once in a while, but you'd get away with it for a few batches of beer, especially if it's the same beer going back in.

 

[AJA]

I think its impossible to clean the liquid out post without disassembly. These always have detritus in them, and only takes a couple of minutes if you have the correct socket/spanner. Also allow inspection of the O rings, which don't tend to last very long at all before needing replacement.

 

[Omega]

I used to strip kegs right down, but recently bought a Kegland Bucket Blaster from BKT. This cleans inside the keg and inside the in/out tubes. Use it for kegs and my All Rounder. Game changer in terms of cleaning time for me.

Really like Kegland Bucket Blaster - it looks like Clean in Place setup. Are there similar or better products than this at a lower price? Perhaps saves just a bit of effort, but does not involve a lot - set it up, go to online meeting, come back in 15-30 mins... Great!

 

[hoppyscotty]

I think its impossible to clean the liquid out post without disassembly. These always have detritus in them, and only takes a couple of minutes if you have the correct socket/spanner. Also allow inspection of the O rings, which don't tend to last very long at all before needing replacement.

always been pristinely clean on the odd occasion that I've disassembled them. Guess it depends on what you put in the keg. If there is alot of trub/hops and soil in your beer then that solid matter will collect in the spring and pin and might be difficult to remove with flushing and using acitive cleaner...unless you use something properly harsh like caustic. But if your beer is clear going in then you're minimising/avoiding any build up of soil.

 

[hoppyscotty]

Really like Kegland Bucket Blaster - it looks like Clean in Place setup. Are there similar or better products than this at a lower price? Perhaps saves just a bit of effort, but does not involve a lot - set it up, go to online meeting, come back in 15-30 mins... Great!

I was looking at getting a powerful submersible pump and using it with my Brewzilla, but by the time you add up all the cost of the plumbing and the pump its no cheaper than the bucket blaster kits you can get out there...but would probably work better I'd imagine. and you wouldn't have another bucket and bit of kit cluttering up the place.

 

[Druncan]

I used to, but now I have made a hose to cornie out that I connect to the hot tap for rough clean. Also a jet gun. So blast with the jet gun and invert to wash from the hose. Dismantled occasionally, but found spotless so far.

Tops get easy dismantle mainly the gas release and fat o'rings checked.

Then hot 60-70*C horizontal caustic soak lying on out side and turn. Rinse then hot PAA and invert, drain, re-assemble before filling.

I now pressure fill direct from the FV on a platform scale with the vent open.

Choons on full blast at all times obviously,,,

 

[crescent city Mike]

I once brewed a Helles and kegged it. After several weeks of lagering, I raised the keg to serving temp and had a pour or two. It was wonderful. Subsequent pours had a increasingly foul aroma and taste. After a week or so, it got so bad that I had to dump it. When I removed the "beer-out" post, I found it encrusted with what looked like a cluster of kidney stones. It was apparently left over dregs from a previous batch which festered in the post. I had to scrape them out with a small tool before brushing out the remainder.

It was heart breaking to dump a whole batch of what had been a very good beer. Now, without fail during the cleaning, I always pull at least the "beer-out" post just to make sure that history doesn't repeat itself.