Sanke kegging...help

Ok,
I did try to search for this info but it seems like the majority of people use corny kegs so the info is eluding me in a sea of corny posts...(not that I have anything against corny kegs, I just feel that they would not be the right solution for me...)

I am very interested in starting to get set for kegging but I would prefer to use sanke kegs instead of corny kegs. I know there are people here that do this.(I have seen your pics!!!) and I have a few questions...

1. can someone point me in the correct direction as far as prices (new/used) and what is good basic set up? I am currently on a MEGA tight budget and I have:

1 - rubber coated 1/4 bbl sanke keg, still needs to be cleaned but it works.

I will also have a co2 tank and regulator later today - getting it for $30.00.

I also have some cut in half plastic barrels to ice the keg down. I am waiting to get a used chest freezer to make into a kezzer but that will need to wait for now.
I know I need the lines and a picnic tap? at the very least is there any other considerations I should make?

I will be making large batches soon (25 gallon); kegging is my only hope to not have to bottle it all and 1/4 and 1/2 bbls seem like a better solution than filling a bunch of corny kegs. (I can buy a sabco sanke for the cost 3-4 cornies...so I feel it is just smarter at this point to have sanke's not to mention the space and all the cornies I would need, would take over my home... 6 or 7 1/2 bbls vs. 18+ cornies)

Not to mention should any of my BMC friends want to bring a keg over they could hook it right up with no problems or if I decide to stop home brewing (Right after hell freezes over) I can hook up a standard keg with no problems...


Any help, advice or pointers (even if it is to another thread) would be great.

Thanks!

Advice:

A full 1/2 BBL is heavy! Lifting one into a converted chest freezer and lowering it gently enough to not crack the bottom liner of the freezer would be a pain (I work part time a liquor store so I'm lifting anywhere from 10 to 40 1/2 barrels on a given Saturday into customer vehicles and I still wouldn't want to put them in a freezer). If I were you I would limit myself to 1/4 or 1/6 barrels and try to get the tall 1/4 barrels to take the most advantage of the space in the freezer.

I have 19 cornies! They don't take up that much space. Seriously though, the bigger the circle the more wasted space at the corners. My keg fridge can hold 8 cornies on each side, but if I put a 1/2 barrel on one side I can only put in 2-3 more cornies on that side basically giving up 10 gallons of space.

It's not hard to accommodate the occasional commercial keg in a cornie system. I mounted a couple 1/4" MFL tailpieces on my sanke coupler and exclusively use 1/4" MFL connections for my hoses and ball lock connectors so I can easily swap in the sanke connector anywhere in my system. See the bits in this kit.

Sabco has a minimum order of 24 1/2 BBL kegs! CHI company also sells used sanke kegs.

From what I hear, cleaning out a sanke is a PITA without a dedicated tool.

Ty for the thoughts....maybe I really do need to think harder about cornies.....

I use 1/6th and 1/4 barrel sanke's to hold my brew. They are easy to clean with an oxiclean free soak, and work like a champ! Once you learn how to take them apart the rest is all gravy!

We have used equipment in our "Specials/Limited Stock" section
and great prices on new equipment.

Hope this helps,
Matt

dont let others talk you out of sanke kegs. They are easy to clean,and have less O rings to leak. I use sanke and corny kegs..

My friend switched from cornies to sankes and will never go back. The only thing you'll need that you didn't mention is a sanke coupler. I highly reccomend replacing the spring style retaining rings with 2" snap rings. It will make removing the spear for filling/cleaning/etc way faster and easier.

Anyone have a source for the snap rings?

i just recently started kegging in 1/6 bbl kegs because there is a liquor store that sells deposit kegs for 35 bucks 10 dollars cheaper than used cornies can be found locally these days

just look for a 2 inch internal snap ring and make sure it doesn't interfere with your coupler


snap rings

buzzkill said:

dont let others talk you out of sanke kegs. They are easy to clean,and have less O rings to leak. I use sanke and corny kegs..

Click to expand...

I hope my comments were not construed as being against sanke kegs, my point was mostly that 1/2 BBL kegs are heavy and waste space compared to either cornies or 1/6 BBL sankes. I use cornies because I got 9 free (Pepsi outright refused to pick them up from a restaurant, effectively abandoning them).

jppostKW said:

i just recently started kegging in 1/6 bbl kegs because there is a liquor store that sells deposit kegs for 35 bucks 10 dollars cheaper than used cornies can be found locally these days

Click to expand...

I don't want to get into a long discussion on this but technically that is stealing. It will cost the brewery much more than the $35 to replace that keg. There are legal ways to acquire kegs, this isn't it. You might call a local brewery and see if they are decommissioning any kegs for cosmetic reasons that might still be usable but that is unlikely. I'm pretty sure sabco and CHI buy used kegs from micros that are going out of business to re-sell them.

Thanks for all the great info! I just bought off of CL for $60: a steel 5lbs? CO2 tank that should be good until the end of the year at least, a smashed regulator, a sanke coupler w/ a GG keg attachment? it also came with the lines and a fridge door faucet? It has a pretty long threaded shank/I think it is for mounting it on a fridge/freezer door and 2 tap handles.

When I add in that I already have a 1/4 bbl I think the decision has been made for me lol.

I do agree that 1/2 bbls may be a bit much to lift in and out of freezers but I think 1/4 bbls would be do-able. I would probably use only a very few 1/2 bbls for this reason. (and I could use another 1/2 bbl for a HLT and even a MLT before using one as an actual keg.)

also thanks for the link to the snap rings!

Sankes are cake - Cleaning is no sweat.
All of the cleaning horror stories are from the sanke fermenter guys - And it can be a pain to get that ring of crap out. But as a serving vessel there should be very little crap that's "Hard" to get out.

Go for it, and have fun. There are a lot of advantages to using Sankes to serve from. You can fill and transfer under pressure, carbonate in place, ferment in them (If you want)...

And if you are feeling DIYish, you can make a sump-pump keg washer. Lots of threads in here about that, too.
I've got one and it works great.