I just picked up nearly 20 kegs and all related equipment from a quickly-departing homebrewer. Problem is, he wasn't very good about cleaning the kegs after he drained them..... more than 3 years ago. Needless to say, the bottom sludge has turned into cement.
Before he left he was kind enough to describe his typical cleaning process, which included letting an extremely strong caustic soda solution sit in the bottom for 15 to 30 minutes. I was skeptical, to say the least.
I've been browsing this forum (and others) all weekend looking for the best way to dislodge this stuff but most advice is to clean it before it gets to this point. I agree. I've found one passing reference to caustic soda but mostly it's napisan and hot water - neither of which has worked so far. I've even scrubbed it with a long bottle brush to no avail.
Has anyone else ended up in this situation and were you able to salvage the kegs without damaging them? Will the caustic soda solution, even if it works, damage the stainless steel, dip tube, or o-rings?
Thanks for any help.
- S
2nd Hand crusted kegs
Re: 2nd Hand crusted kegs
soak in PBW - should remove it with no problem & totally safe to handle unlike caustic .
cheers Ross
cheers Ross
Re: 2nd Hand crusted kegs
by partners dad cleans all his gear with caustic, won't use anything but caustic to clean and then he uses something else to nutrilise it. he also has been know to load 6 kegs into his car trailer and drive around the neighbourhood to really get it flowing.
drsmurto = trusted seller 
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peterspeck
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Tuesday Feb 24, 2009 7:31 pm
Re: 2nd Hand crusted kegs
caustic is great, it'll work fine, but dangerous....
Peter
Peter
Re: 2nd Hand crusted kegs
If you go down the road of caustic a few words of warning.
Pre mix it in a bucket using cold water and follow the instructions on the container it comes in. When caustic soda (NaOH) is mixed with water it heats up rapidly. If you mix it with hot water you are asking for a lot of trouble. The slang name used for it (caustic soda) gives it away. It will cause severe burns if you spill it on yourself. I've seen pictures of people who mixed it with hot water, it started fizzing and popping and got in their eyes. They are now blind.
Once mixed, add it to your keg slowly so you dont splash it on yourself. It wont take long to do the job as its a lot more pwerful than something like PBW but as Ross said, the risks are higher.
Rinse the keg out a few times. You can then rinse with a dilute vinegar solution of using some citric acid.
I use dangerous chemicals on a daily basis so i am trained to deal with them, if in doubt, use something like PBW, napisan etc which will do the job and reduce the risk of harm.
Pre mix it in a bucket using cold water and follow the instructions on the container it comes in. When caustic soda (NaOH) is mixed with water it heats up rapidly. If you mix it with hot water you are asking for a lot of trouble. The slang name used for it (caustic soda) gives it away. It will cause severe burns if you spill it on yourself. I've seen pictures of people who mixed it with hot water, it started fizzing and popping and got in their eyes. They are now blind.
Once mixed, add it to your keg slowly so you dont splash it on yourself. It wont take long to do the job as its a lot more pwerful than something like PBW but as Ross said, the risks are higher.
Rinse the keg out a few times. You can then rinse with a dilute vinegar solution of using some citric acid.
I use dangerous chemicals on a daily basis so i am trained to deal with them, if in doubt, use something like PBW, napisan etc which will do the job and reduce the risk of harm.