I just started kegging a short while ago. I had understood that flushing the lines with pbw was the way to head off beer stone and clean the lines. Now I’m seeing a cloudy residue that I can only think is beer stone. I have made the solution nice and strong, I have let it set for awhile before flushing it, to no avail. I started looking around and am confused about the best practice to use with what type cleaner for this issue.
The haze might be residue from the PBW. Technically it’s not residue, but minerals from your water. Rinsing with water hotter than the cleaner is supposed to help. Try running some starsan through and see if it persist.
I use BLC, it was made for cleaning lines. Not that PBW won’t work, but I don’t clean my counters with windex either.
I found this image that is similar, except my line isn’t discolored.
It also looks like they have instructions on cleaning it out, though I don’t know about running the brush through it. Would have to be a skinny skinny brush.
I have run starsan through it, and let it set, and flushed it, but it doesn’t do anything for this.
you need an acid cleaner to clean lines, especially in the case of beer stone.
Does anyone use a draft line cleaning brush after the BLC soak? Or do people just soak and flush with water?
Draft Beer Line Hose Cleaning Brush: 3/16" diameter Amazon.com
Soak and flush for me. Never seen that brush before. Not a bad idea a time or two a year.
When I first put together my kegging setup, I bought one of those online. When it came in and I saw how stiff those metal brushes were, I figured it would rip my lines to shreds, so it sits unused to this day.
Flush with PBW, then water, then BKF, then water again works well.
I used to use PBW to clean and then Star San to sanitize right before I tapped a new keg. I recently started using BLC to clean instead and it really is an amazing product. If you have clear beer lines you can actually watch the gunk dissolve as BLC flows through the lines!
I have a keg dedicated with unscented oxiclean that I flush/fill the beer lines with after each keg blows. I let it sit in the line until the next keg is ready to tap. I have another keg dedicated with star-san that I fill/flush the line with just prior to tapping the next beer. The star-san sits in the line no more than 5 minutes before I run beer thru it. It has served me well over the years… Cheers!!!
I flush with StarSan between beers and replace the lines every year.
I left a keg filled with a weak Oxyclean solution for a few days, the stone that formed was a mess. It took a few baths in vinegar, and eventually Star San, to remove it.
You leave that solution in the keg all the time? What does the inside of the keg look like?
I use BLC, followed by a Star-San rinse, to clean my beer lines. I use a pond-pump setup, which is pretty hands-off.
If interested, I will post pics of my setup at work.