So i bought some pin lock kegs today. Full ones.

Found a rube selling pin lock kegs for $10/ea. He had 13 of them. I had dreams of loading up my tiny car with them and reconditioning them for fun and profit.

But it turns out they have more than a little syrup in them. They are in fact completely full, with syrup from 2008. My guess is that they were leftovers from an event that Coke ultimately didn't care to get back. The tags indicate that they were filled at a production center that is no longer in operation.

I'm a n00b but not completely ignorant. So, bear with me.

I ended up buying four of them.

All four have some hardened syrup leaking out of the liquid posts. At least one of them has some hardened syrup around the gas post as well.

These are not my first pin lock kegs. I have a modified socket to remove the posts with, and the little plastic pressure release tool, but, I am afraid.

Were these things shipped under pressure and the leaked syrup is just the result of failed poppets? Or maybe they were just stored in a hot shed and heat expansion caused this.

i bet if i leave these in a hot shower for a while i may soften the gunk in the posts enough to release pressure and open the lids. Which i probably want to do outside, while wearing clothes i don't care about, and not near the house.

I expect that the product contained within is no longer really ideal to drink.

I asked a certified hazmat manager what to do with the stuff and she suggested a landfill. Then clarified that she means decanting it into disposable vessels and putting it out with the trash. Or just digging a big hole and dumping it in. When i casually stated offhand that pouring the stuff down the toilet nearest the sewer line in my basement sounds like the sort of thing a business would get in trouble for, but a private individual might get away with, she countered that stupidity doesn't make you innocent, and that water treatment facilities frown on that sort of thing. An excess of sugar interfering with the bacteria and whatnot that eat poop, etc.

Doesn't mean i might not still pour it down the drain.

A friend recommended a solution that involved turbo yeast and a length of copper tubing, but i bet there are preservatives present that would interfere with fermentation.

Any advice? at all?

dump the gunk, replace the posts and clean the hell out of it

Find your dumbest friend, get him drunk, and then bet him a dollar he can't drink a keg of syrup.

Failing that, pour it in a pool and host a wrestling match.

jester5120 said:

dump the gunk, replace the posts and clean the hell out of it

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Why replace 'em? Or did you mean replace the poppets?

There's nothing really wrong with pin lock disconnects, and i've found that my ultrasonic cleaner will get those parts super-duper clean with just a little oxyclean and dawn in hot water.

At the moment I have 9 pin lock kegs and 2 ball lock.

I can't believe that someone certified in HAZMAT would reccomend dumping in a hole and frown on dumping down the drain. It might actually be hazardous waste due to low pH. You can use coke to strip floors. But, since it is household generated waste, it is exempt from regulation, so you can pretty much do what you want with it. I would reccommend trying to find a local municipal recycling facility that accepts household hazardous waste and ask them what to do with it. There's a place here in town where I drop off used motor oil, old paint, pesticides, stuff like that. If there isn't anyplace like that in your area, I would say the drain would be your best bet. At least that way it will be treated at the wastewater facility instead of going directly to a landfill or into the ground water if you dump it in a hole.

BBL_Brewer said:

I can't believe that someone certified in HAZMAT would reccomend dumping in a hole and frown on dumping down the drain. It might actually be hazardous waste due to low pH. You can use coke to strip floors. But, since it is household generated waste, it is exempt from regulation, so you can pretty much do what you want with it. I would reccommend trying to find a local municipal recycling facility that accepts household hazardous waste and ask them what to do with it. There's a place here in town where I drop off used motor oil, old paint, pesticides, stuff like that. If there isn't anyplace like that in your area, I would say the drain would be your best bet. At least that way it will be treated at the wastewater facility instead of going directly to a landfill or into the ground water if you dump it in a hole.

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*shrug* she's the CHMM, not me.

Granted, i don't think she's looked at cola syrup as a waste profile before. Most of her experience is industrial in nature, but she does have a current certification.

Why not call coke customer service ask them what to do with it. I remember watching a Sam Adams comercial, about Jim buying back old stale product. I wounder if somthing like this would count.

I'm really more curious about what to expect when i try to open these.

Are they likely to be under pressure? all the posts have the little green caps that i'm pretty sure indicate that they have not been used since they were filled.

I doubt they stored them under very much pressure as the syrup doesn't need to be carbonated. But, that doesn't mean that they aren't pressurized for whatever reason. Like you said before, just hit a poppet outside, away from the house and see what happens. Not much else you can do.

I bought 20 filled with syrup. I dumped them in the yard and the rain took it all away.

Right down the toilet. There's no way that 20 gallons of sugary syrup is going to throw off your local treatment plant. If it does, I'd seriously consider rounding up some concerned individuals and protesting the insufficient standards at your facility.

TimpanogosSlim said:

Why replace 'em? Or did you mean replace the poppets?

There's nothing really wrong with pin lock disconnects, and i've found that my ultrasonic cleaner will get those parts super-duper clean with just a little oxyclean and dawn in hot water.

At the moment I have 9 pin lock kegs and 2 ball lock.

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yeah I'd atleast replace the poppets. If you think you can get all the syrup out of the insides of the disconnects and dip tube then thats great. I was just picturing this stuff gunked up into every nook and cranny and eventually imparting a flavor on your beer.

I got sum a couple years ago and dumped the surup on a evergreen bush.. The next day the bush was covered with a ton of bee's.. Kids were mad because I wouldn't let them go out for a couple days

Quarter car wash. Drain to sewer through oil/water separator, big pressure and maybe hot water to get the schmutz off. And go back and buy more.

Dump 'em down the toilet, one or two per day. No way a municiple treatment plant would even notice a spike that small over the entirety of the operation. Plus, to get them beer clean will probably take some time, so it'll just be a great way to spread out the dirty work.
Doubt there is much pressure, probably just a few pounds to keep the lid sealed and whatever minor offgassing occurs while the syrup has been going bad in the keg. Just use the poppet and direct away from yourself so you don't get a squirt of coke syrup all over.

jester5120 said:

yeah I'd atleast replace the poppets. If you think you can get all the syrup out of the insides of the disconnects and dip tube then thats great. I was just picturing this stuff gunked up into every nook and cranny and eventually imparting a flavor on your beer.

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Cavitation is a wonderful scrubber. When keg posts and poppets come out of the ultrasonic bath they sparkle like new. Well, new plus countless years of dings.

As for the dip tubes, those may require more of a long soak in something.

edmanster said:

I got sum a couple years ago and dumped the surup on a evergreen bush.. The next day the bush was covered with a ton of bee's.. Kids were mad because I wouldn't let them go out for a couple days

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I have a neighbor over the back fence who is a beekeeper. Somehow i think he might be displeased by dr. Pepper flavored honey.

TimpanogosSlim said:

I have a neighbor over the back fence who is a beekeeper. Somehow i think he might be displeased by dr. Pepper flavored honey.

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Lol... Could be a trend too.. Dr Pepper mead
Edit: let me rephrase, "Drop Them Panties Sweet Sparkling Dr Pepper Mead"

Regardless of the syrup, at $10 a piece I'd buy as many as you can...

monster mash said:

regardless of the syrup, at $10 a piece i'd buy as many as you can...

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+1

Monster Mash said:

Regardless of the syrup, at $10 a piece I'd buy as many as you can...

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Well, he seems to have sold the rest of them. There were 10 when i got there, i wish i had bought 6. Just difficult to transport in my vw.