No matter whether you work in a bar or a restaurant, or have a home bar fitted in your house, if you have kegs of beer then you will need to clean your lines from time to time.
As you use the beer in the kegs, it will run through the lines to the pump, and over time this will cause the lines to become dirty. As the lines become dirty, the quality of your beer will deteriorate.
In order to ensure that the beer you pour from your taps is as delicious as possible, you will need to regularly clean your kegerator lines. While this might be a job that you put off doing, it generally isn’t as difficult as you might expect.
So, if you need to clean your kegerator line, you are in the right place. In this guide, we’re taking a look at everything you need to know about cleaning your kegerator lines. Read on to find out more!
What Is A Kegerator Line?
First things first, let’s take a look at exactly what a kegerator line is. Essentially, the kegerator line is an essential part of a bar system as it carries precious cargo from the keg all the way to the faucet.
So, the beer that you are drinking will only come out of the tap if the tap is connected to the keg via the lines.
Generally, the kegerator lines will be permanently connected to the pump and tap. Then the other end of the kegerator line is disconnected and reconnected to different kegs (see also: How Long Does A Keg Last?)of beer.
You can use the same lines for multiple different types of alcohol including beers, ciders, and stouts. You simply disconnect the kegs and switch the lines to the different kegs.
So, essentially, the kegerator line is an essential part of any bar system. It is simply the tubing that connects the keg to the tap and pump, carrying the alcohol from the keg through to your glass when you pull on the tap.
How Do You Clean A Kegerator Line?
As the kegerator line is responsible for carrying alcohol from the keg to the tap every single time you want to pour some beer, the kegerator line will be used frequently.
This means that the kegerator line can easily become dirty. To avoid this from damaging the quality of your beer, it is important to clean the kegerator lines. But how do you do this?
Cleaning the kegerator lines is actually surprisingly easy. The first thing that you will need to do is disconnect the CO2 tank and then remove the coupler from the keg.
Place the check ball lifter in the coupler, engage the coupler, and put it in the bucket to collect water. Then remove the draft faucet using the spanner wrench.
Next, you need to fill the jar with a mixture of kegerator cleaner and warm water. Once you have done this, connect the line to the faucet on your kegerator and flush about half of the mixture through your lines.
Then disconnect the coupler and leave the mixture to sit for around 10 minutes. After this time passes, reconnect the coupler and flush the remaining mixture through the lines.
Finally, open the jar and fill it with fresh clean water. Then use the pump to flush this clean water through the lines to rinse them out. Repeat this step until the soapy mixture has been flushed from your lines.
Then all that is left to do is disconnect the cleaning jar and reconnect your keg. Your lines will be clean, and the beer will be ready to drink!
How Often Do You Need to Clean a Kegerator Line?
How often you need to clean your kegerator lines will ultimately depend on how frequently the lines are used. Generally, it is recommended that you clean the kegerator lines once every two weeks if you use the system regularly.
As you use the system, it is very easy for the kegerator line to become dirty with deposits. These deposits will impact the quality of your beer, and can often make it taste disgusting.
So, if you want to ensure that all the beer you pump through your lines is as delicious as possible, you will need to clean the lines regularly.
No matter whether you use a fancy kegerator line cleaner or simply soap and water, cleaning your lines frequently is essential.
Summary
In short, cleaning your kegerator line isn’t as big a job as you might expect. It simply consists of running a cleaner through the lines and then flushing the beer line with a considerable amount of water.
This will remove any dirt from the lines and ensure that the beer you pump through them is of the utmost quality.
In this guide, we have taken a look at how to clean your kegerator lines in a lot more detail. We’ve also taken a look at how often you need to clean the lines to ensure that your beer is as tasty as possible.
We hope this information has been helpful – thank you for reading!
Frequently Asked Questions
If you haven’t got keg line cleaning supplies on hand, then you can utilize dish soap to clean your kegerator lines.
While fancy keg line cleaning supplies are brilliant for cleaning your kegerator lines, dish soap will do the job just fine if you don’t have anything else to use.
Simply make sure that the dish soap is highly diluted, and that you do a very good job at cleaning out the lines.
Surprisingly, yes, it is possible to clean your beer lines too much. If you clean your beer lines too much it will cause issues in the dispense system. This can make pouring a pint difficult.
So, it is very important that you only clean your beer lines when they really need it.
Inspired by my love for brewing, I started this site with my friend Derek. We travel, discover unique beers, and share our experiences and recommendations. Join us in exploring our favorite beers and breweries. Enjoy our site as we share our passion with you!
- StockHouseBrewing.com is being acquired by MomentumBrewHouse.com - October 24, 2023
- MomentumBrewHouse.com Acquires EmpiricalBrewery.com - August 31, 2023
- How Many Calories Are In A Bottle Of Beer? - May 24, 2023