Using Sanke Kegs For Homebrew

Here's a quick video on how to remove and reasemble sanke kegs.
Alot of people shy away from using Sanke kegs for their homebrew because they are harder to clean. Yes, cornies are easier to clean and easier to open and close, but I've never had a problem with sanke's. I use both types of kegs in my kegerator. No sense in getting rid of the sanke kegs I already had plus the equipment. And it is handy to have sanke's lying around. If you want to bring your keg to a friends place, chances are unless they brew their own beer their kegerator will be set up for sanke's.

Nice work. Sanke's are a little large for many to throw around, especially when full, but they are a staple at my place, especially for my Irish Red and SNPA clone.

I fill 1/2bbls here and there. I have 7 cornies, and they all piss me off. More and more are leaking. I've tried everything except new poppets. Leaks gas from the post and lid - new o-rings all around. I'm about to sell them all and get a bunch of 1/6bbls. I've managed 2 draft systems for a couple years, never had a single problem with a sanke.

One thing that wasn't mentioned in the video - depressurize the keg before you go removing spears and the like!

I solely use sanke's for kegging my homebrew and have never had any issues. I can whip that ring and spear out in 20 seconds flat and some people claim that it is very difficult... I agree on them being heavy when full but being a young whippersnapper myself I don't mind the lifting. Sanke ftw!

Sanke kegs are all I have ever used, they work great, are heavy duty and less prone to beer and gas leaks IMO...one o-ring on a sanke...how many on a corny?

Thanks for the info. I haven't kegged much yet, and never with the sanke, and all I read is how hard these are to use. After the demo here I am a lot less intimidated by them.

interesting...

removing and repacing that "clip".... I imagine it will not last long. can you get replacements easily?

It's metal - it should last quite a while. But yes, McCaster Carr sells the ring clips and o-rings very cheap.

Some of my ring clips have been through hell and back and still seat just fine. Over 30 batches and still going strong

I'm just starting to use kegs for dispensing my home brew. But, I've been fermenting in kegs for several batches now. LOVE fermenting in them. Not sure what I'll serve in when I setup the keezer (a way's off) but I could go either route. I have four 1/6 bbl Sanke kegs that I could dispense from IF I needed to. But for the fridge I'm using 2.5 and 3 gallon corny kegs fit really well. I can get four kegs in this way, where I would only get two 1/6 bbl kegs in otherwise.

Hey guys. I am new to the sanke kegging system. can you force carbonate these kegs the same as you can a corney?

MWALSH said:

Hey guys. I am new to the sanke kegging system. can you force carbonate these kegs the same as you can a corney?

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Yes, carbing is exactly the same...just put it on the gas and the beer carbs, the higher the pressure the faster...cheers!

wilserbrewer said:

Yes, carbing is exactly the same...just put it on the gas and the beer carbs, the higher the pressure the faster...cheers!

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So are you saying that i need to just pressurize the keg and then take it off the co2 to let it carbonate with age; or do you leave it hooked up to the co2 at that pressure?

MWALSH said:

So are you saying that i need to just pressurize the keg and then take it off the co2 to let it carbonate with age; or do you leave it hooked up to the co2 at that pressure?

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You leave it on the gas feed to carbonate, just like you would a corny keg. :cross:

IME, it's easier to take apart a corny keg than a sanke keg. With the sanke, you have the retention ring holding the valve/spear in. then you can't easily take the spear apart to clean/maintain it (there's a reason why places offer that as a paid service). Each coupler you'll need for each keg on tap also costs more than the pair of QD's you use for corny kegs.

Personally, I'd rather ferment in the sanke kegs than serve out of them.

Every sanke thread that comes up, I keep asking in hopes of finding a secret resource ... where are you guys legally getting your kegs? I know Geemacher and Gopher Kegs will sell small qty. I heard some breweries will sell you kegs from their stock, but no one in my area has taken me up on that yet. Anyone else have a source?

uberg33k said:

Every sanke thread that comes up, I keep asking in hopes of finding a secret resource ... where are you guys legally getting your kegs? I know Geemacher and Gopher Kegs will sell small qty. I heard some breweries will sell you kegs from their stock, but no one in my area has taken me up on that yet. Anyone else have a source?

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Start calling/visiting scrap yards, recycle centers, etc. I know a person that gets them from the recycle center the distributors/breweries use in this area. Supply can fluctuate as can the prices, but at least I know they're legit kegs. I have another tall pony on it's way from a recycle center. I've asked that they let me know when they get more in, so that I can get first crack at them. I've given them the sizes I desire most, so we're good there.

IF you get a good size group together, you could order a pallet load from Geemacher. You just need to get delivery to a location with a loading dock. I've looked into that before, and just couldn't get enough people together, and get a delivery location, to get it to work. I'd love to at some point though.

uberg33k said:

Every sanke thread that comes up, I keep asking in hopes of finding a secret resource ... where are you guys legally getting your kegs? I know Geemacher and Gopher Kegs will sell small qty. I heard some breweries will sell you kegs from their stock, but no one in my area has taken me up on that yet. Anyone else have a source?

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I got mine from a scrap metal depot! They had bins of them.... They just sell them for the weight of the stainless! If they don't sell they get chopped up and sold as scrap.

Stout Tanks also sells them now......http://conical-fermenter.com/products/kegs/

Hello I am looking at setting up my kegerator up for sanke kegs too soon and the only thing I don't fully understand is how you forced carb the kegs. Do u transfer the beer to the keg afgter cleaning and santizing then just have the gas line hooked up to the tap then connect to the keg then turn on the tank to pressureize the keg, wouldn't beer come out of the liquid side of tap?

Sorry if it sounds dumb just don't understand everything else I do. Only thing keeping me from pullingthe trigger on going with sanke vs corny. Sanke would be better for a kegerator since there's less parts and less worry of leaks unless you don't know how to use a sanke beer tap.

Also I was thinking of using mrl fitting as well for beer and gas lines to the tap instead of normal barbed tailpieces.

I just bought a PBR pony keg at a yardsale for 10 bucks. Is there a resource where I can find out what type of connection I use for the top of the keg? I've been looking like crazy and this top just doesn't look like any I have seen. Has anyone used a 7.75 gal keg in their homebrew setting?

The PBR keg should be a standard type D sanke coupler. Yes, it should work well for serving your homebrew

Yes! You can use commercial kegs with your homebrew setup. I did a little write-up not too long ago. There should be a link in the signature below.

You should make an attempt to return the keg to the brewery owner. Stealing kegs is illegal and purchasing without knowing the providence is likely to be buying a stolen keg. The BA explains it much more thoroughly here: http://www.kegreturn.com/

They don't have to be large heavy or hard to clean.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B40MMOC/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I will try to get a picture up. It looks like my keg is missing the "guts". It has no bung and the top fitting is very basic. Should there be a tube that goes into the keg or a valve of somesort? If so, where could I get these parts? If not, I'll start looking for something else.

Yes, you might have some luck finding those parts here....lots of guys make keggle pots and basicly have no use for those parts, the spear and snap ring. What you have would also make a decent fermenter as is w/ a bung stopper.

A photo of what you have would help?

ontariobeerkegs.com is where i get all my keg supplies.

Can we get some pictures or your sanke homebrew setups?

Thread-surrection !!!!!!



I think we need an article with pics/video of the logistics of how to homebrew using sanke kegs.