Advice on keg cleaning (gunk)

[Michael_biab]

Hi everyone, I've found it a challenge to clean the gunk off the bottom of a spent keg, especially when I want to refill the same keg on the same day

I've been using oxy clean with a warm water swirl. However, there's often a bit of gunk on the bottom of the keg nevertheless.

My first idea was a carboy brush but it's hard to reach the bottom and move it around sufficiently with the small opening given a normal size arm reaching down in there. Not to mention the large brush head hitting the "out" dip tube. I found my arm getting stuck a lot.

Anyone solve this before? Ideas much appreciated! Thanks in advance!
Hoping someone has solved this, ideas?

Thanks!

 

[Sunfire96]

Usually a hot oxiclean soak for a couple hours and a long carboy brush let's me fully clean a keg. They also make those carboy cleaning drill attachments, that might work for you if you have a power drill

 

[GFHomebrew]

Bucket blaster with a spray ball does the trick for me.
No elbow grease required

 

[Minbari]

I use a CIP ball, pump and hot water. (With pbw in it). 20 minutes and always clean

 

[Donoroto]

I always remove both ports and their tubes for cleaning, each time. Then I use a larger bottle brush and reach in there as far as i need to. Dish soap and hot water, thorough rinsing, and seal it up with a half gallon of star san. Pressurize and purge the gas a couple times, then leave it at 10-15 psi.

All gaskets get a dab of keg lube at reassembly too.

 

[Minbari]

Here is setup

Wish I had taken a before pic. It was filthy.
Only 15 min wash

 

[Michael_biab]

Thanks for all the ideas everyone! Very cool cleaning device! Wish I had more mechanical know how to build stuff like this!

 

[Minbari]

Thanks for all the ideas everyone! Very cool cleaning device! Wish I had more mechanical know how to build stuff like this!

That keg washer is off the shelf. Go to more beer and look at it. It just also cleans fermenters.

I did replace the crappy sprayer with a cip ball

 

[Sandy Feet]

Here is setup

Wish I had taken a before pic. It was filthy.
Only 15 min wash
View attachment 23576 View attachment 23577 View attachment 23578

Those are some nice toys

 

[Craigerrr]

I connect a Hose from a faucet to the liquid post and put the keg upside down in the sink to give it a super hot rinse, which gives the dip tube a good rinse to. I then fill the keg completely with a hot PBW mixture and let it soak for a half hour. I then use Co2 to move the PBW mixture to the next keg which has had the same hot rinse. I connect them with a liquid to liquid jumper hose, this gives both liquid posts a pretty thorough cleaning. The then empty cleaned keg gets another hot rinse. Next step is to fill the keg to the brim with starsan. I keep a get full of starsan so I can reuse it. Next step is to use co2 to move the starsan, either to the next keg, or to the starsan storage keg. This leave me with a clean, sanitized, and co2 purged/filled keg.

 

[Craigerrr]

I used this process yesterday to clean and sanitize two kegs and the fermzilla fermenter.