Anybody Using Sankey Kegs For Serving?

I am really getting tired of changing and cleaning Cornys. This batch I am gonna put 12 gallons in a Sankey. Hey why not I am ordering the ring kit to open and close the stem.

Sankeys are all I've used... still haven't bottled. The original rings are actually pretty easy to use once you get the hang of it.

Please elaborate. how do you reuse big kegs?

Sankeys have a stem/valve assembly that is held in place via a retaining ring. You depressurize the keg, remove the ring, remove the stem/valve, clean, refill, and then reinstall the stem and ring.

http://www.physics.arizona.edu/~workman/homebrew/Sanke.html

Found this a few weeks ago, may be helpful.

I saw a $30, 23L sanke @ the LHBS.
I was tempted to get it..but had no idea how to use it.
It looked in good shape from the outside - but I need to see if replacement parts
can be easliy found.

Cheers.

I just took a nice one apart, sanitized it and filled it up with my latest batch of hombrew! Trying this the first time tells me it's easier than the corny's I already had a another Sankey tap and reg set and went for it

Thirstyone said:

I just took a nice one apart, sanitized it and filled it up with my latest batch of hombrew! Trying this the first time tells me it's easier than the corny's I already had a another Sankey tap and reg set and went for it

Click to expand...

Congrats. I usually power wash mine with PBW, rinse, and then let dry. When it's time to keg I just sanitize with StarSan and fill. The only downside is that I can't take my beer anywhere... not sure if that's good or bad actually.

How do you guys get the ring back in that holds the tube?

this is an interesting idea, but i sorta like the compactness of soda kegs. in my kegerator, i can fit 6 soda kegs, or just one half barrel.

You can get sanke kegs in 5gal, 8 gal and 16 gal.

When I was taking about the 15.5g Sanke I picked up to convert to a keggle, I thought about getting a few more for serving. The valve came apart way easier than I was anticipating and I could easily see putting them back together for carbing. The keg couplers on Ebay are dirt cheap too. I think this is a good alternative to cornies under a few conditions. First, yes, you'll be limited in how many different varieties you can cool unless you have a huge fridge. Second, you'll want to be brewing at least 10 gallon batches unless you plan to brew two 5s and put them together at keg time. The one advantage I can see is you won't have to play around with the corny lids which are a pain sometimes to seal.

generally, if you get 'good' soda kegs, the lids should seal without pressure. thing is, many of us (myself included) get kegs that aren't in the best of conditions, and they are a bit of a pain to seal properly.

i forgot that sanke came in 1/4th and 1/6th barrels as well.

the main thing is i would be worried about cleaning though. i know you can do pbw washes, star san sanitizing, but honestly i wouldn't feel good about it unless i could use a caustic soak, and i would prefer not to have to deal with caustic. plus i do like variety in my kegerator. haha.

but again, if you want to do this, you should go for it, and let us know how it works for you! do be careful with cleaning and sanitation though, it would really suck to lose 10+ gallons due to improper cleaning/sanitizing regimens. also, figure out a good way to move it the least amount as when full, thos things are quite heavy.

Im thinking about getting one of these to do the cleaning.

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/ProdByID.aspx?ProdID=5673

This would give me just as much cleaning power as i have in a Corny but without all the little parts and sealing issues. Plus i have some Sanke kegs already that were given to me.
I just need to figure out a economical way to deal with the little ring that holds the tube in at the top. I think im going to mess around with one tonight and see if i can figure something out.

I think you can actually use them without reinstalling the lockring. I believe that's only a safety mechanism. I think once you rotate the valve assembly so that the tabs are nowhere near the keyways, you shouldn't have a problem. The lockring, I think, is only to keep the average joe from taking it apart under deposit.

I figured it out last night. If you just start it slowly in the keyway and spin it as much as possible, then shove it in and tap it a bit it goes in without tons of effort. If you didnt have this in the keg wouldnt seal very well and you would risk the tube blowing out the top from what i can tell.

I have two 30 litre sanke kegs and no real use for them. However due to my location a trade would be expensive.

will a half-barrel fit into a Sanyo 4912 conversion kegerator? I like the thought of 15.5 gallons of homebrew on tap vs. 10 gallons!

i don't have one, but i believe the answer is 'no'.

usually if you can fit a half barrel into a given space, you should be able to just about get 4 soda kegs in the same space. with a 4912, the most you can get is 2 soda kegs...

i have a great system that has worked for me--- when i am inbetween homebrews i will buy a keg (pony or full barrel) and drink on that! when that is gone i will take out the tube, clean it all and fill it with my own beer! and after that is consumed just simply take the keg back for your $10 deposit! no clean up at all! or if another batch is ready we will sanitize it and reuse!

turn it on its side, and use a screwdriver covered with a towel to depress the ball.

the reason why you do this is so you don't spray yourself with old swill...

also, before you cut it with a plasma cutter, i would recommend drilling a hole. i assume the plasma cutter will heat up the keg, and even though it will cut quickly, i would still make sure that pressure has a place to go.

do a search in here using Sanke, there's a thread that explains how to disassemble the actual Sanke top tube assembly, so you could avoid the drilling before plasma cutting and even can peek inside...

nice to know i'm not the only one around here who enjoys copius amounts of beer.

I'm thinking qarter barrel vs. 1/2 barrel, but that still gives more than a corny...

I'm borrowing a 19.5L sankey from work. It should be easy to ice and tap, before I get a full kegerator. I think a party is developing!