Cleaning burned sanke kegs - any advice?

So, I came across a really good deal on 18 half barrel sanke kegs that I plan on converting to a few brewing kettles to myself and then likely converting the others and maybe giving to friends or selling them.

Anyhow, the "how" I came by them is that they were all in a large brushfire here in San Diego, and apparently had wine in them at the time. The dip tubes have blown off the tops of them from the heat, but the kegs themselves seem structurally sound. There is a lot of carbon buildup and some surface rust, I'm sure to do with the heat they were exposed to.

I'm looking for a way to get these cleaned up to where they're presentable and usable as brewing vessels. I haven't really put a lot of elbow grease into it yet (just picked them up tonight), but I did try some barkeeper's friend on it as a test. The carbon seems to come off, but the rust obviously does not with just a towel and BKF.

Before I go at these with a wire brush on the drill or something drastic like the, I figured I'd ask here to see if anyone had similar experience. I've heard that using non-stainless things on stainless steel can damage the stainless. I don't know though.

I'm sure someone on here is an expert in this and has some advice.

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide!

Josh

check the thread of keg polishing.

+1 on that. Here's the thread pen25 is talking about. I'm sure it will help out getting those cleaned up. And nice job on the score!

18 kegs! you're gonna need a bit more than an attachment for a hand grinder. Find someone that does industrial blast cleaning who has an interest in some of the kegs. They will look pretty.

as in media/sand blasting? Is that ok to do on the kegs? I would assume that would work harden them a bit, no? I guess perhaps it doesn't matter if all that's being done is burning the tops off with a plasma torch and welding in some couplings. If media blasting is ok, I'll probably take 'em to a local place I use. Otherwise, how about the chemical stripping they do to clean engine blocks on cars? I've had that done before and the results are fantastic, but I know nothing about stainless, so I'm leery of wrecking them.

Thanks for the advice, folks!

Also, check the bottom rim for weep holes. If they do not have them, make them. It will at least give some peace of mind that you may avert a call about an exploding keg and hospitals.

Of course, given the heat they have been exposed to they'd have most likely blown but, then again they may have just not had the right conditions.

"Birra Kucing Gila - Minum dan jangan muntah"... I just noticed your sig...

Anda bisa bicara bahasa Indonesia? Aku juga, tetapi sedikit saja. Anda dari Indonesia?

I'm worried that the extreme heat will have caused damage to the composition of the stainless (Like when you weld it without backgassing). It may be very difficult to get all that rust off and re-passivate

To get the rust off you could go to the hardware store and buy a couple of gallons of muriatic acid (high strength hydrochloric acid). That will eat the rust off them very quickly. Just be VERY careful with that stuff it is VERY acidic and will eat through everything (your hands, your clothes, your car apolstry, anything it touches).

sdsurf said:

"Birra Kucing Gila - Minum dan jangan muntah"... I just noticed your sig...

Anda bisa bicara bahasa Indonesia? Aku juga, tetapi sedikit saja. Anda dari Indonesia?

Click to expand...

Saya beristeri orang Melayu. Simpan sebelas tahu. Tetapi, saya sahaja buku balajar bahasa dan sikit saja. Isteri tak kesar ajar saya bahasa tapi saya nak chakap bila diduk Melaka. Fahamke?

Ini sangat main-main tapi bukan senonoh letak. Boleh chakap lagi dalam PM. Okay, lah?

Jumpa lagi.

conpewter said:

I'm worried that the extreme heat will have caused damage to the composition of the stainless (Like when you weld it without backgassing). It may be very difficult to get all that rust off and re-passivate

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+1

Something had to change them metallurgically for them to rust I would think. If you go the wire wheel route, make sure you use a SS wheel. I used a steel wheel on a small part of my SS stand and it did in fact rust in that area. Apparently it's true that the mild steel will embed itself in the SS and rust. Dammit. Also get a full face shield if you're doing that. I always wear safety glasses, but ask me how much it hurts pulling a SS wire out of your upper lip!!!

For the burned on wine, try EZ-Off oven cleaner. I've used it to clean a pot I thought was a loss before.

Derrin said:

+1

Something had to change them metallurgically for them to rust I would think. If you go the wire wheel route, make sure you use a SS wheel. I used a steel wheel on a small part of my SS stand and it did in fact rust in that area. Apparently it's true that the mild steel will embed itself in the SS and rust. Dammit. Also get a full face shield if you're doing that. I always wear safety glasses, but ask me how much it hurts pulling a SS wire out of your upper lip!!!

For the burned on wine, try EZ-Off oven cleaner. I've used it to clean a pot I thought was a loss before.

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Yes, the heat and composition change is something I'm worred about as well. I knew nothing of the properties of stainless when I bought these (they were almost free, so if they're ruined, it's not a big deal), so I didn't know what I was getting into. I don't know how I'd be able to tell if they were ruined. I guess maybe take them to a shop that does stainless welding? I assume maybe they can tell somehow?

I figure I have so many of these, I'll just do some tests on one and see what happens. Maybe take 'em to the media blaster and have one blasted and see what happens with it?

I think I'd go that route, just blast one of them with the media blaster, clean out the inside with oven cleaner etc. then re-passivate them. Which is either leaving them sitting in the open air for 2 weeks, or nitric acid (maybe other acids?) you may want to look that part up.

send one to get blasted and go get some fresh sanding and polishing pads for your angle grinder and make friends with one of them yourself.

So, I burned the tops off of a couple of these things and it's looking like the ones that have visible burning and rust on the outside got too hot and they're just as messed up on the inside as on the outside. The guy at the media blasting place said that they're no good for food service applications. I think in this big lot I probably have at least 4 that I'll be able to use, so all is not lost.

I bevieve I would take them all to the scrap yard an with the cash you get look for some good kegs

hammer one said:

I bevieve I would take them all to the scrap yard an with the cash you get look for some good kegs

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I agree. With the rust on them, that would tell me that they are ruined. Dump them for whatever and go buy some undamaged ones. If you have some that didn't see the intense heat you may have some keepers. Any pictures?