So, how often do you clean the beer lines in your kegerator/keezer? Some resources say every two weeks, others say at every keg change. Either way, it can be little bit of a pain or chore to do this task. You can buy kits with hand pumps a tail pieces to attach to your draft system, and while inexpensive, they take a lot of work and babysitting to do a thorough job. Commercial systems cost big bucks, and let you do several lines at a time. Cool, but not practical for the pocketbook.
I’m not the best DIY’er, but I am willing to venture out a little in the brewery, so I did some thinking about a way to pump beer line cleaner though my keezer hoses and taps, and back into a recirculating tank. Then I came across a suggestion in a forum to use a condensate pump from a furnace or air conditioner. I ran into the furnace room to look at mine, and knew instantly that this was the solution I was looking for. I just needed a way to hook it up to my draft lines that connect to my kegs.
Next I needed a liquid corney post that I could attache a hose to from the condensate pump on one side, and a liquid connection to on the other end. I did not know what it would be called, so after googling a bit, I found something called a stainless steel carbonation cap with dip tube.
I bought the stuff I needed for less than $60 (including tubing) and have a working system that takes only 10 minutes to set up and get running every time I need to clean my lines. I just add solution, and let it run for 15 minutes or more per line. Set it and go. It takes 2 minutes to switch to the next line. When done, I use it to rinse with clean water, then run some sanitizer through the lines for the next keg connection.
Here it is in action…
Research shows that moderate beer consumption can help prevent heart disease and strokes, provide important vitamins and minerals, is low in fat and helps increase good cholesterol (HDL).