I just bought a used keg from NB and it still smells like ginger ale, other than that it is in real good shape.
I was thinking of just mixing up some star san, putting it in the keg and then putting it under pressure and let it run out the tap. Any thoughts?
You need to clean the keg first. I do an overnight PBW or Oxyclean soak to clean, then starsan to sanitize before filling. But pushing some starsan through the keg & tap is a good idea too.
Did you replace the o-rings? They should be replaced and can hold onto the soda smell.
Don’t forget to clean the inside of the dip tubes with the Oxyclean too. If you don’t have a dip tube brush you can use a string (longer than the out tube) with a small piece of cloth tied on one end and a finish nail on the other. Then drop the finish nail into the tube & shake it until it comes out the other end and pull the cloth through. Do this when you have the tubes out of the keg BTW.
If you smell soda you’ll need new o-rings like mentioned above. Cheers!!!
So you mean like oxiclean you use in the wash/laundry? why wouldnt the starsan take care of that?
oh…by the way I was sure to to buy the ring kit as well…they seem in good shape though… holding seal…should i sanitize them and put back on?? or just clean the new kit ans use that since it was like $2
Definately replace the seals with the new kit, the fact that they are still sealing is not the point. They can harbor the smell and taste of whatever was in them before, in your case, ginger ale, and it won’t go away until they do. Good luck, clean that thing up and fill it and enjoy draft beer!!!
Yeah, Oxiclean Free. No perfume or colorants. StarSan is an excellent sanitizer, not for cleaning though.
Star san won’t cut through the crud and junk that may be deposited on the inside of the keg, oxi clean or pbw will. Just remember, you can’t effectively sanitize anything until it has first been clean.
I would replace the seals with your new ones. The old ones could impart flavors or aromas to your beer.
My addition to this would be to thrice-rinse it with hot water after your oxyclean soak, to ensure that the oxyclean chemical is removed, too. Then, worry about sanitizing with starsan.
+1 If you were working on a car and your hands were covered with oil and dirt, rubbing some hand sanitizer around wouldn’t do anything worthwhile until you scrubbed the gunk off with soap and water. PBW and OxyClean are for the nasty crud that’s clearly visible. Then, StarSan is for all the nasty things you can’t see.
My new friend is a keg brush I bought at my LHBS, long bristles, shaped like a Q-tip and the diameter is the same as the ID of the keg. Then a bristle line down the pickup tube to scrub it.
Not to hijack, I take apart my kegs and clean out evertime I add a new beer to it. My sister was shocked at that and says she only flushes it with soapy water and then sanitizer. Am I just anal about cleaning the kegs?
[quote=“Central WA Brewing”]My new friend is a keg brush I bought at my LHBS, long bristles, shaped like a Q-tip and the diameter is the same as the ID of the keg. Then a bristle line down the pickup tube to scrub it.
Not to hijack, I take apart my kegs and clean out evertime I add a new beer to it. My sister was shocked at that and says she only flushes it with soapy water and then sanitizer. Am I just anal about cleaning the kegs?[/quote]
I do the same. Only adds a few extra minutes to my cleaning and I know everything is all good.
Like others said, you should always replace the o-rings on used kegs unless you know they were already replaced. But the fact that you can smell soda tells me they need to be replaced.
And again, like others said, star san is a sanitizer and not a cleaner.
[quote=“Central WA Brewing”]My new friend is a keg brush I bought at my LHBS, long bristles, shaped like a Q-tip and the diameter is the same as the ID of the keg. Then a bristle line down the pickup tube to scrub it.
Not to hijack, I take apart my kegs and clean out evertime I add a new beer to it. My sister was shocked at that and says she only flushes it with soapy water and then sanitizer. Am I just anal about cleaning the kegs?[/quote]
I don’ think they need to be scrubbed every time. When a keg kicks I just rinse it out, sanitize and fill 'er up again.
