• Ice Defrosted – this was the majority of the time.  There was also ice behind the back metal panel that I made the mistake of removing.  It’s held on by four screws and it looks like so much ice had accumulated behind it that it popped one of the rubber washers.  Note to self: don’t let the ice build up so much!  I’ll need to monitor this and possibly defrost on intervals closer to 4 months.
• Co2 Replaced – coincidentally, there was a very small shot of co2 left in the old tank, so this timing was great.  It looks like the last recorded co2 switch was in July of 2009, nearly a year and a half ago… or 1,300 beers.  My brother generously fills up the co2 since he works in the city in exchange for all he can drink.
• Beer Lines Cleaned – They were surprisingly clear, even though it’s been probably close to a year.  The biggest hassle was taking off the couplers and spouts to clean, which were the problem areas.  I’ll probably save time next round by doing these more frequently than the full lines.
• Co2 Lines Replaced – years ago some beer got in one of the c02 lines.  There was a little gross areas inside the line (size of a quarter maybe).  I doubt it impacted any flavor but bothered me enough to replace both of the lines with brand new ones.

I think that’s it.  It was a lot of work but it’s back up and running for another few months in the least.

http://www.micromatic.com/beer-questions/how-often-clean-equipment-aid-61.html

I also have clear beer lines for the sole reason of being able to visually inspect them.  I’ll probably change them out this summer since it’s a cheap fix and I may get a set of soda lines (soda+beer don’t mix) to I could have some root beer on tap.