Although a good rinse with cleaning solution will sometimes do the trick, sooner or later you’ll want to break down your kegs to clean them fully, replace malfunctioning poppet valves, and swap out O-rings. Keg maintenance is very easy once you know how, and you can usually work it in alongside your other homebrew cleaning chores.
What you’ll need
The most critical piece of equipment is a wrench, but if only it were so simple! Homebrew kegs come in both ball-lock and pin-lock varieties, and ball-lock posts come in different sizes with both 6 and 12 points. To keep things simple, here’s all you really need to know:
- Homebrewers who use ball-lock kegs should invest in 11/16” and 7/8” 12-point box wrenches. With these two wrenches, you can remove just about any ball-lock post you come across.
- Homebrewers who use pin-lock kegs should purchase a special pin-lock post tool. The mechanically gifted may prefer to cut notches in a 13/16” 6-point hex deep socket.
You’ll also need the cleaning solution of your choice: PBW, One Step, and OxiClean will all do the trick. Avoid dish soap, though, because even small amounts of soap residue can destroy the head on your beer.
What to do
1. Prepare your cleaning solution.
2. Take off the lid, remove the large O-ring, and soak it in the cleaning solution.
3. Use a wrench to loosen the gas-in and liquid-out posts. If you haven’t done this before, they’re probably very tight. Hit the free end of the wrench with a hammer if you have to.
4. Remove the posts and poppet valves and place them in the cleaning solution to soak.
5. Remove the gas-in (short) and liquid-out (long) dip tubes and soak in the cleaning solution.
6. Thoroughly rinse the inside of the keg with hot water and then pour in or siphon a portion of the cleaning solution. Roll the keg around and shake as necessary to allow the solution to reach all internal areas. Use a brush if needed to remove stubborn material.
7. When the lid, posts, and dip tubes are free of residue, remove them from the soaking solution and rinse with hot water.
8. If you’re replacing the O-rings, do so now. There are five total: two for the dip tubes, two for the posts, and one for the lid.
9. Return the dip tubes to their corresponding IN and OUT locations on the keg.
10. Reattach the posts, taking care not to reverse them. They look similar, but they’re not interchangeable. The gas-in post will have a small notch on the corners (ball lock) or 2 pins protruding from the sides (pin lock).
11. Apply a small amount of keg lubricant to the large O-ring to ensure a good seal on the lid.
12. Store the keg for future use, or sanitize and fill with homebrew!