Is this worth the money?

hey guys! I just joined tonite because i beleive this is by far the the largest group of knowledgable brewers anywhere on the net! that being said im very much a newb! prob. greener then any brew you guys got bottled! Im 3 weeks in and do have one brew under my belt its currently in my secondary now! SO FAR SO GOOD! I did however experiance my first boilover! not fun times at all! So I have recently purchased a outdoor propane burner! I am in the process of buying my first keggle but before i drive a hour and a half and spend the money I wanted to get your guys opinon. I can get this 15.5 gallon keggle that has been equipped with stainless stieal ball valve and handles along with a regular 10 gallon immersion cooler for 90 bucks. Should I jump on this?

Looks good to me.

what size is the immersion chiller? 3/8" or 1/2"?

depending on keg pricing anywhere from $20-135 just for the keg. then you have to weld the coupling in. I was quoted $75 for a hours worth of time. then the valve $15 and $4 for coupling. you need to cut the top off and make it look good. chillers go for $30_$50 depending on what the price of copper is doing.

if you're a handy DIY and think you can get a better deal then hold off, but if you think its work your time and money then go for it.

I picked up 2 kegs for $50. made a 100 mile drive to get them. cut the tops myself , and just soldered couplings in tonight so for me thats to expensive, but I know my skill level.


so for $90 you get a already made keggle and IC chiller its really up to you.

-=Jason=-

that is a good deal. A good chiller will cost you around $60 alone. Go get it.

I recommend against it!
But only because I was thinking about going after it this weekend if he still had it.
Seriously though go for it looks like a pretty good deal.
I have been watching craigslist for a while for an empty keg and thas is the only thing that has come up in a while.
I kinda wanted an unaltered sanke anyway.

Flomaster are you saying i should cut the top off this one when i get it or was that just a step I should do with a keg from scratch. they guy has a lid also. AnD he said he had the metal shop use a plasma cutter to cut the top of the dome off so it actually is a little larger in volume then 15.5. Ive looked High and low and the cheapest i could scoop up just a keg was 50. its a 3/8 chiller. 45 feet in total copper tubing. the same shop that welded the stainless handles on aslo installed the ballvalve. Thanx for your quick replys! Looks like Im goin on a road trip! Lol

berniep its mine! jk! seriously though ive searched on there high and low and this seems to be the only real deal worth grabbing. unless your in the market for a kegerator! and which im not! i do hope to be one day but thats a whole nother project and learning curve!

I would jump on it.

to convert a stock sanke to a keggle you cut the top off, this is already done.

its really up to you.


-=jason=-

PoorBoyBrew said:

berniep its mine! jk! seriously though ive searched on there high and low and this seems to be the only real deal worth grabbing. unless your in the market for a kegerator! and which im not! i do hope to be one day but thats a whole nother project and learning curve!

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Yeah kegerators turn up constantly but I want a keg. Actually I want a couple or three. Maybe turn one into a fermenter so I can do 10 gallon batches and not have to split them between carboys.
I would definitely buy a 50 dollar keg locally but I cant seem to find one for sale.
On ebay they are going for 100+ with shipping and that is a little out of my price range right now.
If nothing turns up soon I might have to resort to buying on ebay.

Berniep, Im goin to buy that keggle today, but im also going to call a few of the many recycle shops around my area and track down a few extra kegs. I will be sure to pass any good deals i find on to you. Wouldnt be that bad of a drive to meet up with you with what i find. I will let you know what i come up with!

PoorBoyBrew said:

Berniep, Im goin to buy that keggle today, but im also going to call a few of the many recycle shops around my area and track down a few extra kegs. I will be sure to pass any good deals i find on to you. Wouldnt be that bad of a drive to meet up with you with what i find. I will let you know what i come up with!

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Good deal post back about the condition and such.
And definitely let me know about deals you find.
We get down to Louisville once in a while, this month is obviously busy but I might convince swmbo that there is some shopping that absolutely cant be done anywhere else.

Looks like a nice deal. Great find.

Well Its offical! Im the proud new owner of my first keggle! Was a longer drive then I wanted to make but I guess thats part of this hobby! I stopped by my local brew store and picked up a brewers best seasonal Ale brew kit! Smells Yummy in the box plus the 8% abv should be nice! I do a have a question! It has both extracts and whole grains that i have to steep. But I know its not a AG kit. What exactly do kits like this get classified as?

Most places call these "Extract kit with specialty grains"
Glad you got it now time to fill it up.

PoorBoyBrew said:

What exactly do kits like this get classified as?

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That's considered a Partial Mash. A partial mash is a brew wherein you have a part of your wort (pre-fermented beer) derived from grain and part from extract.

Congrats on jumping in to the Great Obsession!

whutever said:

That's considered a Partial Mash. A partial mash is a brew wherein you have a part of your wort (pre-fermented beer) derived from grain and part from extract.

Congrats on jumping in to the Great Obsession!

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Wow, every kit I have bought so far has had some grains in it to steep for 30 minutes. So i have been doing partial mash and didn't even know it.

Berniep said:

Wow, every kit I have bought so far has had some grains in it to steep for 30 minutes. So i have been doing partial mash and didn't even know it.

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I don't think you have. It is an extract kit with specialty grains. One says Crystal 80L and the other looks like crushed chocolate and black patent. I believe those 2 would need base grains to convert.

the way i understand the difference, and there's a lot of different definitions:

extract with specialty grains: you only use a small amount of grain, to add flavor or color, maybe a pound or so.

partial mash: you use enough grains to add to fermentables, like maybe 2+ pounds.

just my thoughts, though. might be right or wrong

So if im reading this right, Then I will just be steeping the chocolate and crystal along with the spices for flavor + color alone. Im not steeping any fermentable sugar off of them. Is is this correct?

i'd follow the directions, as the guy who wrote them knows more than i do, but that's probably right

The directions dont tell you if your getting any sugars off them. I was just asking for my own knowledge. because I wont to eventually go all grain and Im gonna have to know what malts do what along with what hop and malt combos to use! SO MUCH TO LEARN!