I have an old 1/2 bbl sanke keg that I am going to be filling with beer. I am not sure how long it was sitting around for, but there are stains inside that I cannot get rid of. I have been looking in with a small mirror and light, and from what I can tell there are stains on the sides and the bottom of the keg. To this point I have soaked it in a hot oxyclean solution for a day, which did not work. For my next cleaning attempt, I added 2 gallons of water and boiled this for about 20 minutes. I was hoping to essentially steam everything off, but the stains are still there. Does anyone have any other ideas? I am considering using caustic, but only want to do this as a last resort. Thanks.
It is almost impossible to scrub since I am working through the 2 inch opening in the top of the sanke. I will give barkeepers friend a try.
From some googling, it seems that barkeepers friend works best when it can be scrubbed. Does anyone have any experience with soaking something in barkeepers friend (ie no scrubbing).
Bar keepers friend cleans due to the scrubbing. Once the surface is deeply cleaned, it will passivate when exposed to the O2 in air. Nitric acid is what would work, as the acid dissolves dirt and rust, and it releases oxygen that passivates. Handle with care and use safety gear.
When I cleaned my keg last year, it was after it had sat for nearly 12 months with 1/5 of Busch Light still in it. I was using it for my BK, so I cut the top off and was able to get my entire arm in it to scrub. Barkeeper's Friend worked the best. Got interior wet, scrubbed BKF with as much elbow grease as I could, let it sit for 30 minutes, scrub again... repeat until satisfied. Worked like a charm. Without taking the top off... I have no idea how you will get enough scrubbing power, even with a carboy scrubber to clean it. Make it into a HLT, MT or BK and get that top off. Cheers.
A few years ago, I had problems cleaning a better bottle plastic carboy. I didn't want to use a brush, because I didn't want to scratch up the plastic. Someone on this forum suggested that I put some hot oxyclean in it (but not filling it) with a cloth and then shake the hell out of it so the cloth has an opportunity to repeatedly bang against the resistant sludge. It worked! Cloth was retrieved ny turning the carboy upside down and hooking it with a short length of bent wire. However, my sludge was not hardened over several years, as may be the case with your keg. But perhaps this will stimulate some ideas?
Line cleaner. Put about 1/2 gallon of mixed solution in there and roll it around. When you're done just rinse really well and let it sit until it is bone dry.
