king keg question

[grinchy]

I have just received a free king keg from a freecycler in my area (god bless freecycle :pray: ), i have never had one or indeed used one before. It is the one which requires the small bullet CO2 thingies which fit into the lid, which I have bought some new ones of.

Basically i need to know what to do with it, as there are no instructions with it (clean and sensible suggestions please ). I have just started a bitter kit and think :wha: i would like to put the brew in it when it is finished... i say think coz i'm not sure if i can or should.

Please give any advice re its use that you can, the more the better as i am new to the beer brewing side of things, only used to doing wine!!

 

[tubby_shaw]

First and foremost, can you get the cap off ?
If you can then the first thing to do is check the O ring seal in the cap to see that it is not split or perished. If it is OK then apply a "very very very" small amount of petroleum jelly (Vaseline) to the top of the barrel where the O ring seals.
Also check the rubber seal on the tap, if it's ok re assemble it, do not use petroleum jelly on the tap.
Then screw the cap back on, not too tightly as this can distort the O ring.
Now you need to sacrifice on of your little gas bulbs, insert one of the bulbs into the holder, use the holder to pierce the gas bulb by screwing it onto the valve on top of the lid, the bulb should be forced onto the hollow pin in the valve releasing the gas into the keg.
All being well the gas should enter the keg and stay in there, there may be some gas that escapes from the pressure relief on valve its self this is normal. It should not however leak from anywhere else, if you think it's coming out of the cap seal try tightening it a little more.
Do not be tempted to have some water in the keg, the CO2 will be absorbed into the water giving the false impression that the gas has escaped.
Leave the keg with the gas in for 24 hours, then check if it's still holding pressure, if it is all well and good and it's time to start cleaning and sanitising. If not and you can identify where the leak is from and it's repairable its up to you whether to you think it's worth repairing.
If all is good it's time to clean it.
My recommendation is to use un perfumed oxyclean or equivalent, place three scoops into the keg and then fill it with hot water until the foam gets to the top and place the cap on. Leave it for half an hour, the pressure that builds up as the oxygen is released will allow you to dispense the solution through the tap to empty it
Once all the oxyclean solution is out of the keg give it a good rinse to remove all trace of it this should have thoroughly cleaned the keg and removed any odours.
Then you just need to sanitise the keg in the same way you sanitise your wine making equipment :thumb:

I hope that helps

 

[grinchy]

Thats great thanks.... :

One thing though, where do i get oxyclean from? i normally use milton or such likes for sanitising.

 

[Parva]

Milton is about the worst thing possible you can use to sanitise stuff, it's probably harder to remove the residue than bleach! You should be able to get oxyclean at any supermarket.

 

[grinchy]

ok, so i actually use tesco's own version of the miltonie type stuff.

why so bad? what are the associated problems? and what does everyone else use?