Home-cleaning a cask,

[WoofdogABC]

Have searched this forum and there is some info but it doesn't seem geared towards homebrewer-equipment and cleaners. On hand I have PBW and star-san. I need to clean and sanitize stainless steel pins. I can fill and soak the pin for 30 min with PBW and that will/should knock all the gunk inside out, and repeatedly rinse to get all residue of the cleaner out, however I am a bit confused on the mechanics of this.

I obviously have to put a keystone in to fill the cask with pbw; do I remove this one or leave it in permanently (assume it has been sanitized) or pop it and use another when I have sanitized the cask? My keystones and shives are plastic; aside from the obvious (soak in sanitizer before use), is there anything I need to do? (For that matter, how do you pop out an unopened keystone?)

For FV's I use star san, a foaming sanitizer. Can I use this for the cask as well just before filling it?

Alternately, what do I need to have and do to properly clean and sanitize a cask at home?

[Gricey]

I have a couple of new plastic casks, would love to know the answer to this one!

[Befuddler]

Hmm.. thats a good question. I'd probably use a high pressure steam cleaner and try to fashion some kind of spherical nozzle similar to a commercial cask washer. I'm not sure how well that would work but its the only idea I've got. :/

Off topic: How much did you pay for those plastic pins Mr Grice?

[Fuse]

I nicked an idea i saw when visiting a micro recently. I got a bit of copper pipe and put an end cap on it, knocked 4 holes in it and attached it to my hose pipe. I rigged up a stand to hold the cask horizontal, shive hole down and put the copper pipe in the hole and leave to wash for about 15 mins. Then the same again with some warm caustic (using a pump) and then back to 5 mins water.

The water takes away most of the gunk, so you could do that and then fill with steriliser and leave 15 mins?

id leave the keystone in and put a shive in the hole when sterilised (use biscuit shives if you can get them) and take out when you need to fill.

[Gricey]

Hmm.. thats a good question. I'd probably use a high pressure steam cleaner and try to fashion some kind of spherical nozzle similar to a commercial cask washer. I'm not sure how well that would work but its the only idea I've got. :/

Off topic: How much did you pay for those plastic pins Mr Grice?

108.90 for 2, a giant bag of shives (apparently you should buy theirs) and delivery. Etched with brewery name

[testtube]

I have a under body car lance where the end is at 90 deg, clean's them out a treat.. i have a spray ball on a pond pump, but usually just fill with bleach solution soak for a few day's then when i use them just swill with star san.. maybe a bit over the top..

[testtube]

the thing with the shives is the plastic's company, te plastic's went bust and cyherco bought the tooling, then upped the price. i get mine from Barley Bottom he has the keystone's for them as well..

[critch]

Hmm.. thats a good question. I'd probably use a high pressure steam cleaner and try to fashion some kind of spherical nozzle similar to a commercial cask washer. I'm not sure how well that would work but its the only idea I've got. :/

Off topic: How much did you pay for those plastic pins Mr Grice?

108.90 for 2, a giant bag of shives (apparently you should buy theirs) and delivery. Etched with brewery name

if theyre cyphers you can get em in bulk for 23 quid each..... but thats on a few hundred!

their shives are bollix btw......... we use rankin evo band d's as they actually fit.....DO NOT USE STEAM TO SANITISE EM!!!!!! i did this and the put a shive in(loosely) to keep the nasties out........

they imploded..........

id use vwp and leave overnight then flush em out with clean water. in most breweries they just rinse em with water hot caustic them(not too hot!! i run mine at 65.c) and thouroughly rinse em out with clean water and voila!!! clean cask. a household pressure washer could rinse em out, clean with star san and then a rinse would be the same.....

[WishboneBrewery]

DO NOT USE STEAM TO SANITISE EM!!!!!! i did this and the put a shive in(loosely) to keep the nasties out........

they imploded..........

That is why you let them cool before sealing them up

[Gricey]

Cheers guys, I went the VWP route this time on a clean one, the proof will be in the pudding when I tap it!

Still working out a clever way to keep cool while serving. I have some microbore copper, I might make some kind of crazy baffle that I run water through a water tank jacket or something when its on my home made stillage

[Aleman]

Either a cooling loop through the shive, or a pretzel shaped length of 10mm softer copper coil as a saddle over the Cask . . .And a tank insulation blanket

[testtube]

You can stand them end on in a larder fridge with an ale extractor, with a caskwidge you can get 2 in, 1 conditioning and the other drinking..

[Gricey]

Either a cooling loop through the shive, or a pretzel shaped length of 10mm softer copper coil as a saddle over the Cask . . .And a tank insulation blanket

Pretzel-shaped? I was planning on going the latter route.

[Gricey]

You can stand them end on in a larder fridge with an ale extractor, with a caskwidge you can get 2 in, 1 conditioning and the other drinking..

Plastic cypherco ones?

[testtube]

You can stand them end on in a larder fridge with an ale extractor, with a caskwidge you can get 2 in, 1 conditioning and the other drinking..

Plastic cypherco ones?

Yeah 2 just fit, you'll have to do a bit of measuring to check etc.. Should have said tall larder fridge..