Keg ???

[La brewski]

Came across this in work any good?

[La brewski]

It's smaller and more narrow than a standard pub keg

[TheSumOfAllBeers]

Its some kind of Sanke(y) keg. Get yourself the right coupler, and a spear removal tool (or youtube the coin trick) and these are really good kegs. Very hard to clean though for homebrewers - though I wonder if  the immersion water butt pump that showed up in ALDI last week or two could be converted into a keg washer.

You can buy these kegs (or ones like it) from a few (typically UK based) retailers. Note that there is no point asking the bar to part with it (they dont own it).

La brewski - are you waterford based?

[La brewski]

Yep I'm in waterford I thought someone here might want it I'm only starting out so won't
even be thinking about kegging for  a long time

[Tom]

No harder to clean than a corny, if you're happy to use chemicals. I've yet to put my arm inside my cornies.

Perfect for "cask" kegs, as they seal with no pressure, unlike cornies which need about 5psi.

[TheSumOfAllBeers]

No harder to clean than a corny, if you're happy to use chemicals. I've yet to put my arm inside my cornies.

Which chemicals Tom? I have a small corny that has been left empty for a month , but sealed. I have a pump which I could use to circulate cleaner through it.

Happy using oxi and other room temp cleaners but won't use hot caustic.

[Tom]

Hot caustic, sorry. I use it (correctly-ish) on everything now, including beer glasses. Works a treat, spotless glasses. But you really need to treat it with respect. That shit burns.

[TheSumOfAllBeers]

Hot caustic, sorry. I use it (correctly-ish) on everything now, including beer glasses. Works a treat, spotless glasses. But you really need to treat it with respect. That shit burns.

And blinds. Your bodies ability to recover from an acid splash is higher than most people realise (weaned on Alien movies  I suspect). Hot caustic in the eyes? Get your white cane out.

We got a toddler about here, and even doing an outdoors brewday makes for a tense afternoon. Wont add caustic into the mix.

If I just use PBW/oxi clean/citric acid etc. can i get these things clean? If I have to spend more time, or use multiple cleans/rinses I am okay with that

[Tom]

Yeah, it's rough stuff. Nobody ever died from over-caution. Honestly, good for you.

And yes, PBW will do the work that caustic will do, I just like how easily the caustic washed off, and I KNEW that it would do the job in the blind spots. I acid rinse with starsan afterwards, and blend the wastewaters before dumping. I dare say I could take more caution, thanks for pointing out blindness before the chemical did!

[TheSumOfAllBeers]

i know a guy who swears by the hot caustic, but his brew space is dedicated (dare I say droolworthy for a small microbrewery).

I put the lid on my kettle and forgot to switch off the elements at 0 yesterday, and had boiling wort and hops fountaining 3 feet out of the 3/4" whirlpool port towards where my son was playing 10 mins earlier.

I cant be trusted with caustic.

RIght so mixed cycles of oxi & star san will get my kegs clean. I worry about the dead spaces too.

[Tom]

Eek, yeah, fair enough. Keep that caustic out if reach of you!

For my cornies I pour in about a litre of boiling water and a drop of starsan, close it up and shake like I'm making daiquiris. Then you can press your thumbnail into the OUT poppet, and the dip tube fills with solution.

Any other hidden space is dealt with by standing the keg upside down for a bit.

To drain, empty over a sink, stand upright and press the poppet again to let the solution out, the let air-dry upside down. Bullet proof.

[TheSumOfAllBeers]

I got a good pump that will run with hot wort and doesn't mind long execution. I have used it for CIP with the conical, and I am thinking it would run well as a keg cleaner for pumping through the in/out posts, with my main kettle as the cleaning reservoir (or something else)

Got some kegs that need some oxi love and worth an experiment.

Could be a great idea  or just pricey on parts and line etc.