Cleaning/sterilising cornies

[Aleman]

Dilute bleach is fine in cornii . . . If you listen tot he US Brewers you will hear a lot of tales of pin holes developing in SS vessels . . . I've left chlorinated caustic solutions (Bleach) in my cornies for months with no problems whatsoever. The issue comes when you leave it in a vessel that is open . . . The water evaporates and leaves a highly concentrated crystals of bleach at the air water interface . . . it is this that can and will pit the stainless steel . . . but as long as you use the correct dilution with a short contact time or leave it sealed you will not have an issue.

Personally I only use the Chlorinated caustic for cleaning really grotty cornii . . . normally they get a rinse/wash with hot washing soda, then a rinse with hot water, and a final disinfection with iodophor . . . when I fill the keg with a solution and blow it out the dip tube with CO2. . . .

Another alternative for cleaned cornii (And this is what I do, do it yourself at your own peril!!!) is to use an immersion heater of the appropriate length (To reach to the bottom of the Cornii) fill it with water, add the Immersion heater and boil it for 5-10 minutes . . . turn off the electric, remove the heater and blow the water out with CO2.

[WishboneBrewery]

Another alternative for cleaned cornii (And this is what I do, do it yourself at your own peril!!!) is to use an immersion heater of the appropriate length

eek!!!!

[Aleman]

According to the guy I learned the trick from . . . if you forget about it while waiting for the boil . . . the lights in the house dim before the heater blows . . . . . . you might get as much as 30 seconds . . . . Suffice to say when I do this I sit and watch the corny from start to finish

[WishboneBrewery]

I'll go with the Iodophor or Starsan then, after a good clean with Soda Crystals

[tubthumper]

why has no one ever suggested using steam to sterilise here I would think a cheap wallpaper steamer with attchments could be used , at least a brand new one
It would be good for the tubes at the very least

[mbt22]

Steam is more a sterilising thing than sanitising, so I'm not about what sort of regime would result in a reduction of bacterial load sufficient to count as sanitising.

I don't think could sanitise with a wallpaper stripper steam. It wouldn't get the surface uniformly hot enough for long enough to effectively kill things, but rather condense quickly and run down. You'd effectively get a hot sterile water rinse. Combined with good cleaning, it might well be enough to avoid infection, but it's not sanitising.

Steam sterilisation is typically done at pressure to raise the temperature, but that requires something more sophisticated (and potentially extremely dangerous!). Pressure cooking is probably the only safe way to steam sterilise at home.

Matt

[Totem]

Ive just pulled out my keg after about a year of sitting with what must be some dried beer in the bottom. Thick black deposit thats hard to wash off - ive tried boiling water and washing up liquid. Is there anything that i can use to easily get it off? My arm just about fits to the bottom but i dont have much movement to scrub. I was thinking about an overnight soak but i really need to get my beer in there asap. Im going to get some soda crystals tonight and try soaking it with them, any other ideas?

Cheers.

[maxashton]

I use soda crystals for cleaning (Usually a couple of litres filtered so it doesn't fur up in my hard water), then pass Iodophor through everything to sanitize.

I have never had an infection, anywhere.

[SMASH3R]

You could try soaking with some water and washing powder (preferably biological).
I have never had any really stubborn stains with the beer equipment recently because I now always clean immediately following use. Past kit has been chucked out with year-old stains welded on.
However, the washing powder in the kitchen sink with hot water does wonders for the most grotty of cooking pans (e.g. roasting pan). I leave baked-on skanky pans soaking over-night, and they clean very easily in the morning. You might want to give it a try. I's obviously ok to use with stainless - just look at the drum in the washing machine.