DISCLAIMER: As with all of our Beer Gear columns, we mean to provide you, the reader, with an accounting of how we built gear for our homebrewing endeavors. They are in no way instructions for doing the same. The article authors and Wootown Brewers assume no responsibility for any liabilities. Don't blow yourself up.
Kegging -- one of the many joys you will eventually experience in your homebrew adventures. If you're like me, it doesn't take too many batches of bottling to understand and realize that there has to be an easier way. After you go through all of the cleaning and label removing and sanitizing all of those bottles batch after batch you start to look into other solutions.
Kegged beer has been around for a long time, and in the homebrewing hobby, it can be quite a useful tool in your arsenal. Typically, homebrewers use Cornelius soda kegs which are nothing more than old Pepsi or Coca Cola 5 gallon kegs. Why cornies you ask? Because they are exactly the right size for most homebrewers 5 gallon batches of brew. Corny kegs ("cornies") are becoming more and more sparse as the years go by because a lot of soda vendors are changing over to the soda ina box concept where they don't need to clean and return kegs. It's a lot easier for them to transport the syrup. This is not neccessarily a good thing for homebrewers as the cornies might become quite scarce in the years to come.
I've mentioned used kegs but there are always new kegs available but at quite a hefty price. I've seen them on the net for ~$100 each new. If you can get a hold of some used cornies you can really keep the costs down and most of the time you end up with kegs that will last a long time.
Used cornies can be reconditioned fairly easily for use in homebrew. There really isn't a lot of work involved or parts to change.
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First things first, you need to break down the keg. Pull on the pressure release valve on top and release all of the built up pressure. If they were used for soda, there will be a lot of pressure inside.
Next is removing the posts. The posts are the two cylindrical pegs on top of the keg. Most kegs can take a normal sized socket wrench to get the posts off but there are some that have a star pattern which requires a 12 point deep socket. Make sure you check out the keg first to see what it has if possible before you buy it so you aren't left scrounging for tools. The posts (gas in, beer out) should thread right off in a normal counter-clockwise fashion. Be careful once they are moved as the poppets will still be inside and can fall out pretty easily. Poppets are the little spring driven pieces within the posts that serve to assure that the seal with the pin lock or ball lock is air tight. Once the posts have been removed, check the poppets and make sure the gaskets look good. If not, replace them. In my experience, the poppet gaskets usually last a long time and don't need replacing.
Do yourself a favor and invest in some Keg Lube. It's just like any other lube but food grade and beer safe. Plus, it's really cheap too and a little goes a long way. Lube up the gasket around the top of the poppet.
Next item is to remove the beer "out" dip tube and the gas "in" dip tube. You'll notice that one is rather short (gas tube) and the other is almost the entire height of the keg (beer tube). Make sure to use a dip tube brush on the long beer tube as stuff can get caught up in there or be sticky. There are little gaskets on top of these tubes that need to be replaced. The refurb kit that your LHBS sells and many other retailers will have 5 gaskets in the kit. The 2 small black gaskets usually fit the tops of these tubes. Go ahead and lube them up with some keg lube as well.
The posts from the top also need gaskets replaced. I tend to use a green gasket ("g" for gas) and a blue gasket ("b" for beer) on my posts.
Once you've replaced all of of these gaskets, you are ready to replace the lid gasket. Pop the lid off and replace the large gasket. Be sure to lube this up well with keg lube also so you get a good seal.
Once all the gaskets have been replaced, all that is left is to clean the keg. There are a lot of cleaners available to get rid of the soda leftovers. I personally use Oxyclean, but many people use PBW with great results too. Fill up the keg with water and rinse a few times. I let my cleaner soak a good 20 to 30 minutes. Once this step is completed, make sure you rinse very well. The last fill should be with your favorite sanitizer.
Pressurize the keg and seal the lid with 30psi on the gas post. Use a spray bottle of star san or some other sanitizer that foams and spray around the lid and the posts to make sure you don't have any leaks. If you do, check that the gaskets aren't pinched and that they are seated properly. If done correctly, you should now have a keg that will last you quite a while under normal use.
It's a good idea to change the gaskets and break the kegs down every once in a while. Typically, I do them once every 3-4 uses.
With a properly sealed and sanitized keg, your bottling pains should be a thing of the past.
Next month: Learn how to build a "keggle" -- a brew kettle made from a keg (we promise this time we'll actually write this article).
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