Infected Cornelius Keg - Advice please

[SimonS]

Hi guys,

My beer has an infection in the cornelius keg. The rank taste/smell (very sharp/sour) is very similar to the smell when the keg arrived (bought off ebay and still had the last dregs of beer in it - smelt terrible!).

I know some people say infection in cornelius kegs can be difficult/ impossible to remove, so I thought of doing the following - please say if you think it is sensible or stupid.

1. Completely strip and clean keg
2. Throw old plastic lid in bin, replace with metal lid. Replace all o-rings.
3. Boil all posts and dip tube in water for a good length of time (10-15 minutes).
4. Fill keg with hot water/VWP. Soak overnight.
5. Place keg upside down in a bucket of hot water/VWP. Leave overnight (to make sure I get all the difficult to reach bits at the top of the tube)
6. Place keg upside down in big pan of boiling water for 10-15 minutes (will ensure lid and top is boiled, and the steam should sterilise all the inside. Will this damage the glue holding the plastic on?
7. Reassemble and store charged with gas.
8. When ready, clean again with VWP/water, rinse with water, and fill with kit beer (thinking St. Peters Ruby Red or Festival IPA)
9. Drink kit beer after two months.
10. If infected cry, kick keg and buy new one.

I think I may be going a little psycho with it, but all input welcomed.

Simon.

 

[NickW]

I'd do ANYTHING to get it clean.

Do all of that, then do it all again with a strong strong bleach solution. Use 100% bleach if you have to!

Just make sure its rinsed, rinsed, rinsed, rinsed, rinsed and rinsed again. And then rinse it.

 

[Aleman]

Consider buying some PBW from The Home Brew Shop It really is the business when wanting to deep clean.

Not really much point in a long soak in VWP . . .As after about 30 minutes you run the risk of a coating being deposited. . . .Again if you are not going for PBW then consider some unscented Oxi cleaner . . . again a really hot soak for 30 minutes then rinse.

Full dismantle And boil good idea . . . If it is possible to get a 21" long immersion heater it is actually possible (but potentially fatal) to use that to boil the water in the keg . . . For safety reasons I put mine in a stainless container to prevent splashing.

Replace all seals Yes . . . Poppets too ideally

I personally let my kegs dry, then store with the lid off but covered with a plastic bag taped to the keg.

It sounds a good thorough cleaning regime . . .Ball Ache . . . but thorough :thumb: :thumb:

Of course you could just drop a milton tablet in it :nono: :nono: :nono:

 

[Darcey]

I would replace all the O-Rings which are fairly cheap to get hold of. Disassemble as you said and give a good surface clean. A good soak in VWP. Also make sure you force (at pressure if you can) the cleaning agent out of the keg under gas. This should ensure that the spear is clean on the inside. Once clean and rinsed water should cascade down the inside of the keg rather than form spots or droplets. Droplets are a sign that there is something on the surface of the SS that the water is nucleating on. The water should come down equally in a sort of ribbon rather than gathering. You can get a good idea of this from using a not very clean glass and doing the same then cleaning a glass thoroughly then trying again.

Even if a keg is pitted any infection should be cleared by this point. Its also worth giving you gas lines and disconnects a good clean as well. I have seen a few pub cellars with pockets of old beer sitting in gas lines

Or take it down to a local micro and ask if they can give it a run on their cask washer (hopefully with a steam generator!)

Hope this helps.

D :thumb:

 

[SimonS]

Cheers guys.

While scouring the forums I noticed that a lot of people use Iodine (as Vindine).

Has anyone used Chlorhexidine (Hibiscrub). Reading up on wikipedia it will kill anything (except viruses and prions) if in a high enough concentration. I must confess I have used it to wash cups and dishes, and couldn't taste anything afterwards. Thoughts?

I am liking the immersion heater idea….

 

[Aleman]

I am liking the immersion heater idea….

I've not been able to find a 21" Immersion heater to do it with my big kegs, but a 7" one works wonders on my Smaller cornies

The big kegs get filled with boiling water straight from the Copper, then left to cool off overnight . . .I then blow the cold water out of the keg with CO2 . . .which means I have an oxygen free keg to transfer beer into

 

[SimonS]

Boiling water from the HLT - now that is a bloody obvious idea I had not thought of…

So basically, once (very) clean, it is getting attacked with noxious compounds then boiling water..

Thanks for the heads up about VWP - I shall get some of the other stuff as suggested. And I do like the idea of forcing it out of the posts when under pressure.

I will see how I go, and let all you good folks know how I get on.

 

[Fil]

heat n pressure will sterilise..

a corny is a pressure vessel ???

there is either some millage in that or a big BANG!!

 

[zgoda]

After thorough cleaning with caustic soda I left my infected corny with 200ppm ClO2 for a month, then with sodium bisulfite for another month. Will see if it helps.

 

[IPA]

Boiling water from the HLT - now that is a bloody obvious idea I had not thought of…

So basically, once (very) clean, it is getting attacked with noxious compounds then boiling water..

Thanks for the heads up about VWP - I shall get some of the other stuff as suggested. And I do like the idea of forcing it out of the posts when under pressure.

I will see how I go, and let all you good folks know how I get on.

Go to your local swimming pool supplier and buy a tub of calcium hypochlorite granules. Two teaspoons in a cornie full of warm water left overnight. Result the cleanest cornie you have ever seen. It's 70% strength chlorine. It will clean any type of barrel.

 

[Hawks]

Go to your local swimming pool supplier and buy a tub of calcium hypochlorite granules. Two teaspoons in a cornie full of warm water left overnight. Result the cleanest cornie you have ever seen. It's 70% strength chlorine. It will clean any type of barrel.

Although I doubt recommended for cleaning stainless steel... :wha:

 

[IPA]

Go to your local swimming pool supplier and buy a tub of calcium hypochlorite granules. Two teaspoons in a cornie full of warm water left overnight. Result the cleanest cornie you have ever seen. It's 70% strength chlorine. It will clean any type of barrel.

Although I doubt recommended for cleaning stainless steel... :wha:

There are lots of bits in swimming pools made of stainless steel and I can assure you that it does not corrode it nor does it affect cornies.

 

[Aleman]

Although I doubt recommended for cleaning stainless steel... :wha:

There are lots of bits in swimming pools made of stainless steel and I can assure you that it does not corrode it nor does it affect cornies.[/quote]
I believe that it is a different grade of stainless steel that is used for immersion in Swimming pools.

The 300 series will corrode in Chlorine given a long enough exposure particularly at the liquid air interface where there are any crevices. . . Although I have had a strong bleach solution in a keg for 6 months with no ill effects. . . . One of the main issues with sanitising with thick bleach is the thickening agent is Salt . . .Chloride corrosion of stainless steel is a very real problem, and why when using thick bleaches for cleaning and sanitising contact time should be limited to 20-30 minutes, Not More!

 

[Hawks]

There are lots of bits in swimming pools made of stainless steel and I can assure you that it does not corrode it nor does it affect cornies.

The 300 series will corrode in Chlorine given a long enough exposure particularly at the liquid air interface where there are any crevices. . . Although I have had a strong bleach solution in a keg for 6 months with no ill effects. . . . One of the main issues with sanitising with thick bleach is the thickening agent is Salt . . .Chloride corrosion of stainless steel is a very real problem, and why when using thick bleaches for cleaning and sanitising contact time should be limited to 20-30 minutes, Not More!

Interesting, thanks gents :thumb: Seems I only had half the information, so something else learnt