Question about buying a used keg for a keggle.

Saw a local listing in the paper about 15 gallon kegs for sale. Price is very reasonable but I am not how of the best way to determine if these kegs were retired properly or perhaps stolen. Any advice on what I should look for or ask about to make sure I am not buying stolen kegs? I would like to make a keggle.

More than likely its "stolen" the keg is probably on Craigslist and it's one that someone didn't return.

I called the guy and he said he had several of them that came in an auction lot. he wanted the other items but not the kegs themselves. He said the kegs had been used in a strongman competition. The top connectors had been damaged and removed.

How much?

He is looking for around $20-25 per keg depending on condition.

Cheaper than scrap, I'd grab 3.

I am thinking the guys story might be true but that does not mean that the previous seller didn't aquire them by less than honest means.

He also mentioned that they didn't smell that great on the inside so I am wondering how I would clean this properly.

I don't think I would worry too much about how the previous previous owner acquired them. Just get the kegs and keep moving forward.

As for cleaning them out; you'll just have to do some good scrubbing and maybe boil them out once or twice before brewing with them. Either way they will be fine; stainless steel is tough stuff.

msa8967 said:

He also mentioned that they didn't smell that great on the inside so I am wondering how I would clean this properly.

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Old beer rarely smells good. Add some water, cut tops off, drain & rinse, put them on the burner, fill them with water, heat, add PBW, let sit, drain and rinse.

msa8967 said:

I am thinking the guys story might be true but that does not mean that the previous seller didn't aquire them by less than honest means.

He also mentioned that they didn't smell that great on the inside so I am wondering how I would clean this properly.

Click to expand...

You did your due dilligence and you either accept that you are buying from someone who acquired them honestly or you don't. Doesn't matter the kegs history before that point unless you know absolutely that it was stolen, then you have a decision to make.

Kegs stink, especially sith old dried beer in them for more than 3 days.

Pull the stem and cut the top for your Keggle.
Fill with water and cleaner of choice to soak for a day.
Dump water and cleaner and scrub insides with cleaner and a scrubby.
Rinse and sanitize.
Fill with water and boil for an hour or so.
Dump water and use your new keggle.

If you buy used kegs from any other source than distributors or breweries, they may be ill gotten ... don't sweat it.

I picked up mine off CL for$50 a piece. The guy had bought them off CL planning to convert to keggles, himself.

Until retired kegs are permanently marked, you'll never really know what you are buying.

Get them and clean them up. Enjoy your brew day...

So I went over to the guys house to buy one or two of these kegs for our group. Turns out all of the kegs (except one) were full of dry concrete mix and weighed well over 150 lbs. I bought the one empty one for $25and will try to convert it.

Wow; talk about leaving out a detail. There are always kegs on Craigslist; just keep an eye out for a good deal.