homebrew kegging; a few questions

1. Rinse clean with hot tap water than soak all parts in PBW solutionin keg
2. Star San in squirt bottle, then flip keg so that the upper inside gets sanitized.
3. Empty, post PBW dry, lid off, fittings loose so that they do not touch orings
4. Yes. A little dab will do ya.
5. Hook all connections, run CO2 for a minute at 10psi. Transfer beer in through lid while CO2 still flowing in. (this is what I do, could be too much or not enough). CO2 will be coming out of solution and pushing the air out of the keg.
6. ?
7. I do not, but I also never thought about it. I'll defer.
8. It would be more like a pamphlet. Kegging is not difficult once you get a successful procedure down.

 

kegging, like brewing, will have different answers.

1. For the past 5 years, I've just made up a PBW solution and let it sit. Then hooked a beer disconnect on the end of an auto siphon and used that to clean out the dip tube. No infections, but after taking off the post, there was a lot of crap trapped in the poppet. So now I've been taking them apart every other use.

2. however you normally would sanitize a fermentor.

3. This is where it can/will differ. I leave some sanitizer in there and pressurize the keg. This does one of two things: keeps it sanitized, lets me know if the keg is holding pressure or not when I go to fill it next time (and whether it needs to be rebuilt).

4. Never used keg lube. Have a tube, but have never used it.

5. I don't purge it. Just rack right into it, then pressurize it right away. Blow off that with the release valve, fill it back again, blow that again, then set it for the desired volume of CO2 and forget about it for a week or so.

6. I don't have a reliable source. list o' craig usually does the trick though.

7. I think that is too anal. I have never done this, and highly doubt anyone else has.

8. I don't think there is a bible persay. There's a good article in one of the Brew Your Own's (maybe 6 months back) that covered it for the entire issue.

 

Here's my approach:

1. Rinse with water, then soak in hot oxyclean (PBW is probably better). Soak parts. Soak tank. Shake. Rinse and return parts. Hook up to CO2 and run hot oxy through beer line for several minutes to clean line. Add hot water to tank, shake and swirl, then force through lines to clean lines. Repeat as needed to get rid of oxy residue (I taste water coming through the lines until I feel it's good).
2. After cleaning, I soak parts in add a quart or so of sanitizer. Add same amount of liquid to tank. Swirl and shake to contact everything. Put parts back on. Swirl and shake some more. Hook up to CO2 and force sanitizer through beer line to clean line. Let it run for a minute or two. Unhook CO2, drain keg.
3. I clean, sanitize, drain. They probably have a little sanitizer residue. I sanitize them again befor putting beer in.
4. I put a thin layer on the external area of the seal of the main O ring. I had a keg that leaked from there, problem solved.
5. I add CO2 to the empty keg, shut off the valve and purge. Repeat 5 times. Add beer.
6. I would think there are several. Look for something close by to avoid shipping costs. Or try some of the big boys like Northern Brewer, MW, Adventures in Homebrewing, etc.
7. Seems unnecessary
8. I watched a bunch of videos on youtube by other homebrewers, Northern Brewer, MW Supplies, etc., to get comfortable with what I ought to be doing when I keg. And I asked a bunch of questions here.

 

The answer to number 7 is at the bottom of the page.
http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/pages/zymurgy/free-downloads

 

OP: That link (A bottler's Guide to Kegging) is IMO the best single resource out there for new keggers.

 

1) Rinse with hot water, add a gallon or so of PBW solution while components are still connected, put lid on and shake vigorously. Add 10 psi or so and eject PBW solution out of the beverage line. Take apart all the poppets, o-rings, and dip tubes and soak in PBW solution in the keg. I have a long wire brush I use for cleaning the beverage pickup tube. Rinse off PBW solution with hot water, let air dry.
2) Add 1/2 gallon or so of StarSan solution (or sanitizer of choice), with components connected, put lid on and shake vigorously.
3) I leave the sanitizer in the keg then I add about 10 psi to the keg and store under pressure. This way, when I need to add beer, all I gotta do is eject sanitizing solution out the beverage line, release pressure, open the lid and siphon beer in, no worry about cleaning/sanitizing.
4) I like to use keg lube. Adds life to the o-rings and makes sealing the keg easier.
5) I just shoot about 10 psi into the keg, then release pressure, open lid and siphon in. You will see a dense C02 cloud in the keg when you open the lid. That is plenty of protection in my experience.
6) http://www.ritebrew.com/product-p/843312.htm
7) Nope
8) There is no "How-to-brew" kegging equivalent that I'm aware of.

 

Does this leave a pool of starsan solution in the recessed bottom where the dip tube can't reach?

 

A couple of things to do that are not obvious.

Buy a dip tube brush so that you can clean the dip tube.

If you have the posts off, boil for 10 minutes, as any bugs will survive that.

Have extra O-rings, poppets, and pressure relief valves on hand. That is one of the downsides of kegging, parts wear out, and you need to do maintenance now and then.

If you want to purge the keg before or after filling, pressurize to 30 PSI, and then vent. If you do this 3 times you will have very little O2 left in the keg.

 

I'll list what I do as close as possible.



(1) Parts and keg itself I take apart and soak in warm PBW for about 30 mins. rinse and let dry. I store kegs upside down and disassembled, parts in a ziploc after dry.
(2) The stored keg are taken out, parts all dunked in starsan. Assemble keg and throw in some starsan, put lid on and shake it up, dump it and reseal until you start filling.
(3) Empty upside down.
(4) Yes, I use a small amount on all o-rings. I put it on then throw them back in star san for a min.
(5) I don't but if you were serious about it put a beer line out post on your Co2 line and purge through the dip tube bottom up.
(6) Keg Connection or craigslist I would guess if you don't have a local store with a good supply.
(7) It doesn't hurt when you get new lines just to make sure nothing is in them but not necessary I would say.
(8) Not that I have seen.

 

To be clear, this is my process for filling the keg with beer: I eject the sanitizer through beverage line, open keg, dump out the little pool at the bottom, re-seal keg, add 10 psi (this gives me my C02 cloud), release pressure, rack beer into keg. I know it seems like a waste of C02, but it's fairly cheap compared to the time/effort I put into my beer. I feel it's worth it.

 

(1) Don't open it until you're ready to clean it. That could be days, even weeks later. The inside will stay wet (easier to clean) and bug free until you open it. When cleaning day comes (I usually wait until two or three kegs are ready to be cleaned), I disassemble all of the kegs - posts, poppets, etc. The o-rings go in the trash (a bag of 100 costs about $2, so I change them every time). The small parts wait in a bowl of hot soapy water until I've cleaned the kegs, themselves. I wash the kegs, using plain dish soap and a long handled brush, then rinse the hell out of them (FYI, I do this on the patio). I set the kegs upside down while I move on to the dip tubes. As hopfenunmaltz mentioned above, get a dip tube brush. After washing and rinsing each tube, I shoot some StarSan solution in one end and let it run out the other, add a lubed o-ring and drop it into it's correct post (turn the kegs upright for this step ) I then use a soft bristle brush on the poppets and posts (I usually just use the tube brush for this), rinse them, then screw them back on the keg. Wash and rinse the lid, wash, rinse, and lube the lid o-ring, put the lid on and you're done.
(2) (I actually do this before putting the lid on after cleaning) Spray the inside of the keg with a StarSan solution, making sure every surface gets wet.
(3) Purge/pressurize with CO2 and put them away. When it's time to fill, you have assurance that the seal is good and it's already purged and sanitized.
(4) Yes!!! Even if you only use it in the brewhouse. FWIW, a tube is a lifetime supply (assuming you only use it in the brewhouse).
(5) (see #3, above)
(6) Can't help you with a source. As to the number, if you can handle the $$$ hit, get four times as many as you think you need.
(7) too anal
(8) This forum is one of the best sources for information, IMO. Even differing opinions can be helpful in formulating your own strategy.

 

TURKEY FRYER IN THE BATHROOM!




4) in my experience, you can't go overboard with the large lid o ring. This seems to help seal that sucker up tight when you first hit your keg (and the beer inside it) with CO2. <--- I behaved.

7) I wouldn't, it'll just get moisture where it shouldn't be. I'd rather have unsanitized gas lines than moldy gas lines.

I would also recommend a practice run on a few gal of water. Make sure you're comfy racking the water over, capping it off and pressurizing it before you go over to beer. This will save the anxiety of what the hell do I do now and ohmygod my beer's getting oxidized. Hit it with pressure and practice serving. Oh and check check check for leaks with starsan.

 

I should have said 8!

Other than that, I don't get the turkey fryer comment.

 

Maybe it's a chair, but there's a fermenter on a tripod on the picture for "So I Married a Homebrewer." Maybe I should be more worried about the plastic bucket on top of the turkey fryer.

 

Don't worry It'll get funnier as I explain it more....

 

A cartoon?

 

http://s1122.photobucket.com/user/inchrisin/media/bathroom.png.html?sort=3&o=0

 

Still not getting any closer to actually linking pics on the forum, I see.