Do you guys disassemble your cobra taps for cleaning/sanitizing, or just loosen them and let them soak?
Clean? Soak? Not in a long time… But it’s a good idea.
Absolutely! The silicone plunger of the cobra tap will become contaminated with a variety of organisms. You do need to unscrew the unit and make sure that any accumulations are removed and the plunger is disinfected to the degree possible.
I find that the silicone will become so embedded with ‘stuff’ that I have to abandon the thumb tap and replace it with another. Since they are only a few dollars, its not a big deal to toss and replace it.
Do take them apart after each keg’s worth and give them a good cleaning. That will extend their replacement interval.
Wished I could buy parts for them.
You need to open them up to let out the big chunks of slime that grow in there. :o
I also wish that were the case. But in consolation, the price for a new plastic picnic faucet is already pretty low depending who you’re buying it from. I see that I can get them for $4 each. Consider that the cost of just the silicone end piece and just set the extra faucet housing aside.
Every time the keg kicks, I disassemble and clean both the cobra tap and the QD. It’s too easy to do to let it slide.
If I recall it right Foxx Equipment has an replacement parts.
Nope, unless I looked in the wrong place.
Yeah, I meant the quick disconnect of the line. The reason I ask is that I tried to get extra parts for the quick disconnect having lost them somewhere during the disassembling/cleaning process. When I asked the guy at Brewers Discount for parts, and told him how I had lost them, he couldn’t believe that anyone would take them apart for cleaning. So, I thought maybe there is some other way to clean them other than disassembling. Hence, I thought maybe just loosening and soaking the quick disconnect would be sufficient.
It might be. Try it and let us know.
I disassemble and give all the parts a quick soak after each use. I don’t use the cobra tap very often and would rather spend a few minutes each time than find something really nasty 4 months later.
Paul
*** My normal edit to fix a typo.
so does all this mean I am flirting with disaster by simply running a keg of hot PBW then cool idophor through the cobra taps after each use? Guess it’s time to break everything down for a proper cleaning!
I broke my taps and QDs down the first time after using them for maybe 3 years. They were very grungy inside!
Well that’s not very encouraging. I run oxiclean through the lines after a keg kicks, let it sit for a bit, then rinse with water. Then run Starsan through. So my lines are probably gunked up then…
I don’t always clean them as often as I should, but when I do, I pull the inner silicone bung off just to make sure to get into all of the nooks and crevices. They get ugly looking.
That’s the part I wished I could buy.
Maybe…that’s more than I used to do. You might want to go ahead and break them down to see what they look like.
I run boiling water with oxyclean through mine. While the tubing remains stained the the crud is dissolved away. Sigh. Will have to open up the taps again. See what’s in there…
If I do then why not get some new tubing while I’m at it? Mine is over 4 years old. 