Kegging noob question re: sanitation

Absolutely, bust it all the way down.. Posts, pop its, dip tube and run some through the lines as well

 

Then build (or buy) a keg washer / sanitizer and save yourself the grief moving forward.

 

Do as Losdiggityy says; take them all apart and give them a good washing (I start with normal detergent). Then an overnight soak in PBW, then a very thorough rinse, then sanitize. Don't be afraid to use some CO2 to pump the rinse/sanitized water through the system. Doing this is not wasting carbon dioxide, this is the purpose for which it was intended. A good storage technique is to leave your kegs partially filled with sanitizer under pressure.

Now is the time to do all your troubleshooting . . . before your precious brew is added. I recommend at least one extra set of O-rings for all your fittings (a dozen would be better, you will use them). Put a head of pressure on a keg filled with water and make sure it holds. Pump some sanitized water through your faucets and see if they behave. You really don't want to the headache of disassembling a keg when beer is at risk. You will end up being an expert on all the corny fittings . . . may as well learn it all at the beginning.

If you're not familiar with cornys, here's a pretty good starting point:
http://www.wikihow.com/Assemble-a-Cornelius-Keg

Oh yeah, welcome to the many advantages kegging will give you.

 

Break it down and clean it. I do it every time a keg kicks, unless I'm refilling it immediately (that's another thread. I'm not going to hi-jack this one ). I'd recommend a dip tube brush - just a long, flexible rat tail brush.

I change the o-rings every time I break down a keg. Definitely overkill, but I'm going to remove them anyway to wash them, so it's no extra work, and, at under 2 cents each, why not?

 

Don't forget keg lube!

 

Don't trust the o rings. Replace the two on the posts and the two inside of the dip tubes. Inspect the lid ring. They are usually pretty durable.

Mcmasters parts carries all the rings you need (and other good stuff like hose clamps etc). It's a great way to save a lot of money because LHBS seem to think that o rings should cost $0.25-0.50 ea.

 

Break it all down the before the first time you use. Not really necessary to do it every time though. I haven't done anything more than sanitizer pushed through the system before a new keg goes on and a hot pbw soak/pushed through the system every 2-3 batches - for the last 5 or so years. But others may want to perform a more thorough cleaning on a more regular basis than what I am comfortable with.