Nostalgia Kegorator

[Rob51988]

I was having a problem with my Nostalgia KRS2000 series kegorator getting cold until I found a very useful thread on this forum. I had the kegorator for about 14 months before it suddenly got warm on me and would only cool to about 55-60 degrees. I'm not exactly sure when it happened because I was away and then didn't use the tap for a week or 2.

Stupid frustrated me never turned off the CO2 tank or cleared out the beer lines. The keg and the beer in the line had been sitting in there for a few months. Now that I have it working again I went to go clean out the line but after running hot water through it for about 10 minutes its a little brownish.

[djc]

You should be cleaning with beer line cleaner, not hot water.

[Rob51988]

Would it even be alright for me to use that same beer line? Warm beer had been sitting in there for a few months like I said. The only thing with getting a new beer line is that it looks like the whole tower, PVC line and nut that goes on the keg coupler is all one piece.

I saw that there was some powder that you can use for cleaner but how would I get it through the line? Or if I had to get a new line I wouldn't even know how to replace it. I'm just thinking of calling nostalgia and seeing if I can buy a whole new tower/line/nut to coupler assembly.

[djc]

Yikes, you need to get into a proper cleaning routine. So in 14 months you've never cleaned the lines or taken apart the coupler or faucet? Your beer probably isn't tasting as good as it should. You need to buy the cleaning kit that comes with the quart bottle to mix the solution in, and has a threaded tube to screw onto the shank (where the faucet is attached) and that will allow you to pump the cleaner through the lines. I'd get new beer line too. The line and tower are not one piece, if you pop the top cap off the tower you will see how it is attached. Depending on the types of connections in the tower and for the line by the coupler you may also need a tail piece and possibly a shank. Post pictures of the connections and we can get you the right pieces.

[Rob51988]

I have cleaned the lines at least 4 times. Instructions say to clean once before first use with hot water which I did, and I've changed 3 kegs out of there while it was operating correctly. I ran hot water through the line and coupler each time I changed the keg. But when it stopped working I just let the warm beer sit in the line for quite some time so it isn't clear like I first got it.

I called Nostalgia and they said I could get a whole new tower assembly for $79.99 but I'd much rather just change out the line and then keep up with regular maintenance (obviously the much cheaper route). When I get home I'll take pictures of the connections and see what you think.

[KillianBoy]

Rob51988,
Hot water is fine before first use, once beer is through, BLC is recommended.
If you are going to change the beer line, you have to take the Nostalgia faucet off, if you take it off, you might as well as replace it with a better one of your choice, no sense in putting back a crappy faucet.
If it were me, I'd buy a SS faucet and shank, 7+ feet of beer line, after removing old faucet, replace with new faucet, shank and beer line, just cut old line of coupler connector and I think you should be good.
KB

[Rob51988]

So I ended up taking the whole tower apart. The kegerator came with some tools that were useful. I had to duck tape a wrench on to a long screw driver to get the nut off the faucet from inside the tower because the top silver cover to the tower didn't come off that easily. I ended up having to stick a maglite into the empty tower after I got the beer line off the faucet part and pop it off.

Now can I just go to Home Depot or Lowe's and get a PVC tube or should I go to a specialty beer store or something for that? After I get that I know I can just clamp the new line onto both ends. Also I'm not too sure what part is the shank exactly.

I'm pretty confident the kegerator is working correctly now so I can go get a new keg as soon as I get the tower back together. Inside temperature is right around 20 degrees on a pretty low setting on the thermostat. I have a cup of water sitting inside there showing 35ish but its a little frozen. Is that a good setting?

[djc]

No PVC! Yuck. You need tubing that is specifically for beer.
The shank is what the nut was holding on. One side goes into the tower, the other side is what the faucet is attached to with the knurled ring. A cup of water won't really tell you what is going to happen with a keg, all it tells you is that you can get cold from the unit. You don't want to freeze the beer, so you may want to back that down a little.

[KillianBoy]

Rob51988,
I don't know what post you found useful but if you can't understand terms and what to use and how to do things we can't help you if we have to ask which part you are talking about and wait for response, time wasted, OK here is a fairly useful thread to start you off:

http://www.micromatic.com/forum/us-en/trouble-shooting-beer-quality-home/9458-newbie-owners-1st-steps.html

Also if you are going to take things apart and replace, might be a good idea to understand the parts, look through store and be able to identify the parts.
OK, normally the faucet is attached to the shank, shank is attached to tower through hole, from what I have seen of NE, there is a 90 degree toward bottom. Beer line is usually attached to the bottom of this 90 degree turn with a crimp or clamp.
When you mentioned PVC I thought you wanted to replace the tower, but as djc says "yuck", you need food grade beer line to replace your old line, not some off the shelf plastic hose you get from a DIY store. So use beer line to replace, I don't think you can replace line without taking shank off at least tower cap off.
Sometimes the cap is stubborn, when you have tower off, get a stick (or equal) longer than tower, insert from bottom (some have used the end of a broomstick) and slowly tap cap off, BE GENTLE, if forced it might break. Just tap and the cap should come off. When you get top off you might be able to slide new beer line over shank nipple, after on you have to get some sort of clamp to replace crimp you yanked off.
Again if it were me I would just replace everything on tower, use the wrench and take shank off instead of duct taping to screwdriver. Order new beer line, faucet, shank, cleaning kit (w/ Beer Line Cleaner) and any other parts you need to rehab unit from MM (or local home brew store) and get it right, instead of trying to run beer through gear that has been sitting dirty for several months, which in the end may not work right.
KB