Looking at Buying This, Need Help

Hey guys. I'm looking to get into kegging my beer, and came across this deal on craigslist. Can you take a look at the ad and see if there is anything wrong with the set up? The guy said that he installed valves at the bottom of two of the kegs. I've never seen that done before, is it ok? There is no co2 tank with them, and I don't really care about the rest of the equipment because I already have it all. What do you think? Is it a good deal? Please don't steal it from me!

http://knoxville.craigslist.org/for/2627414447.html

It looks like everything is there. How much is it?

It says $225, but he's negotiable. No co2 tank, and I've never seen valves installed on the bottom like that. Are they ok?

He talks a lot about "wart" in that ad. might wanna get some of that freeze spray to get rid of them if you buy all that stuff.

Btw, I am guessing he is using the two cornies with the valves for fermenting/transferring. Not kegging. I'm not sure how those valves would hold up to pressure, maybe someone else would know. The other two look unmolested and would probably be fine.

Good eye. I didn't see the valves. Weird. It's still a hell of a deal though.

You think so? For 2 kegs with all the connections at $200? I wouldn't want to risk it with the two modified kegs, and don't need the rest of the stuff.

Cornies are $40 for ball locks at my LHBS, a regulator is $50 ish depending what you get. Sets of disconnects are $10-13 bucks each. So $200 is a bit much for not caring about the rest of the stuff. You might end up with a decent deal if you could sell the rest but the rest looks like little stuff you could get a couple bucks for here or there. They are also pinlocks it looks like which are usually cheaper to buy than Ball Locks.

zeekage said:

Cornies are $40 for ball locks at my LHBS, a regulator is $50 ish depending what you get. Sets of disconnects are $10-13 bucks each. So $200 is a bit much for not caring about the rest of the stuff. You might end up with a decent deal if you could sell the rest but the rest looks like little stuff you could get a couple bucks for here or there. They are also pinlocks it looks like which are usually cheaper to buy than Ball Locks.

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Exactly what I was thinking. I just needed to hear someone else say it. Its not often you see brewing stuff of any kind on craigslist.

The guy just responded to one of my emails. He said that he had a welder at the Oak Ridge National Lab weld on those valves on the bottom. He said he had them up to 60 psi to force carb water. So it sounds like they should be good for force carbing beer easily.

Sound like a good deal now??

I think I may do it. I don't care if they have that extra valve on there as long as they hold pressure. At least it will be a good story, and could be used to name a few brews. Radioactive IPA sounds pretty cool to me!

It's a better deal if all 4 cornies are usable and there are QDs / hoses for most of the kegs. You'll still need a Co2 tank and depending how you want to configure it, a splitter/manifold. It's kinda hard to see exactly what's included there. You can check kegcowboy or kegconnection for price comparisons to get the same stuff from them.

If you could get it for $150 would you do it?

If I was looking, and everything was in good condition, and I was OK with pin locks, then probably. It could be cool to see if those valves could be used to do closed system transfers from one keg to another. but I don't understand why he wouldn't just use a keg jumper and transfer between the kegs that way. I suppose with those valves you don't need pressure to transfer and can save on CO2. I've just never seen valves on kegs before, still kind of a mystery.

looks like a 4 pack of pinlocks is $86 at cornykeg.com and they have dispensing kits for $17.50 each with QDs/hose/picnic tap. Then you'd just need a splitter/reg/co2 tank. So you'll save money if you got it for $150. But you still gotta get a co2 tank and probably some hoses/splitters/manifold to get a full system.