How do I keep from killing myself....

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EvilTOJ

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....when I cut into this bad boy! I posted an Items Wanted ad for kegs on craigslist, and this guy said he'd sell me one he found in his garage for $10. Instead of being a 5 gallon corny though, it's a Schlitz keg that is actually 15.5 gallon! Sweet! However, I've only seen kegs like these in history books, so I'm not sure how to vent any pressure so when I cut into it to make a HLT I don't get shrapnel to the face.

Also, is the bunghole going to give me problems using this as a boiler?

And any ideas on how to get a spigot into that bottom fitting, or should I just drill a new hole?

Here's the top part. it says JOS . SCHLITZ BREWING CO. 15.5 GAL. MILWAUKEE WIS. 8-73 Does that mean it was made in August 1973?


The bung looks like it's made of wood, and it's stamped 204V1 M21 TI IO


Here's the bottom fitting. It appears exactly like the top one.


It doesn't slosh, so its either empty, or all the goo has dried inside, waiting for me to release it's unholy stench onto the populace. So, help me make this into a workable HLT!
 
I would drill a hole to relieve any pressure, or try to disasemble the sanke fitting, don't know what to tell you about the bung situation,

Yuri ..............?
 
Take a hammer and large punch to the bung - you should be able to either knock it sideways and work it out or just disintegrate it. If it proves difficult, you can drill a hole right in the bung to avoid damaging the keg itself. Once the bung is gone, maybe you can use that hole for a thermometer.

Here's a link with some info on disassembling Sanke fittings. Those don't exactly look like Sanke fittings, but the pics could be a bit deceiving. If it's a different type of fitting, I have no idea where to start except some experimentation (potentially with a big hammer, but start with something a little less destructive).
 
How're you gonna pick the damned thing up when it's 200+ degrees and full of wort with no handles??????

Well that was my first thought too. The kegs with the handles are really what you want.
 
Well, it was $10, so the price was right. I was thinking of using it to heat sparge water and installing a spigot so I don't have to lift it while it's hot. I already have a keggle with handles which I love to death and use as my boiler.

Thanks for the helpful info, I'll try drilling the bung (with safety glasses) and see what that gets me. Supposedly Schlitz kegs are Sanke kegs, but they don't look exactly the same as my other keg did. So how would I fill the bunghole with a thermometer? The diameter is 2" across. Are there weldless fittings I could install in it? I'm not above taking it somewhere to get a patch welded on, but I'd rather do it myself. I have NO experience with welding whatsoever, so if that's the way I gotta go, I'd have to get it done somewhere.

I'll let y'all know tomorrow when I get home from work. Thanks again!

Edit: holy crap you guys are fast!
 
do like I did to relieve the pressure. get a large screwdriver and a towel. put screwdriver on "ball" and put towel around the screwdriver to keep from being sprayed and press down.

If empty it shouldn't take but a second to release the gas and then cut away.

John
 
do like I did to relieve the pressure. get a large screwdriver and a towel. put screwdriver on "ball" and put towel around the screwdriver to keep from being sprayed and press down.

I believe an old Schltiz keg (circa 1973) with a bung has a two prong tap.
 
Bernie Brewer said:
How're you gonna pick the damned thing up when it's 200+ degrees and full of wort with no handles??????
Why would you EVER do that even with handles? That just sounds plain dangerous!

eviltwinofjoni said:
So how would I fill the bunghole with a thermometer? The diameter is 2" across. Are there weldless fittings I could install in it? I'm not above taking it somewhere to get a patch welded on, but I'd rather do it myself. I have NO experience with welding whatsoever, so if that's the way I gotta go, I'd have to get it done somewhere.
I don't think a weldless fitting is the way to go in this case. Have a shop fabricate and weld a patch over it. If you want to cut the top out, bring that with you so they can use it to make the patch. Drill it for either the weldless fitting of your choice, or have them weld a coupler to it while it's at the shop. It really shouldn't cost too much ($25-$35-ish if you supply the sheet metal), especially if you go to a smaller shop...where they might even accept homebrew as a portion of the payment!
 
Could that keg be used for a cask? Its probably a bit larger than a firkin but a cask for $10 is a steal.

Wild
 
Cookiebaggs said:
Well that was my first thought too. The kegs with the handles are really what you want.

Try using a nice sturdy pair of High temp oven mitt type gloves from the hardware store.

2133-bmash-in.JPG
 
Well, I drilled out the wooden bunghole, safety glasses and earplugs in place fully expecting splinters and an aroma reminiscent of the Bog of Eternal Stench. But, it fell apart with no problems at all. The smell that came out of it though smelled like... honey? Yea it smelled like honey, and no Bog smell.



I can't see the bottom fittings through the bunghole. Yuri, you think it's best just to leave the fittings as they are and just have another hole drilled on the other side? I'd like to use what's already there, but if I can't get em out, I'm happy to just leave them there. I'll take your suggestion. I'll cut the top off and take the two pieces to a metal working shop to have the patch welded on.

Nwcw2001, the valves look almost like a diamond shape, not a ball valve. I'd have to take one apart to know for sure.


And of course, here's me and my mature sense of humor :p I present to you, the goatse keg!




 
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