question on a keg for a keggle conversion

I finally found a guy who has a couple kegs he's willing to sell me for my AG setup. However, I'm a little concerned about the keg on the left as I've never seen one like it. Will it work? I'm definitely going to use the one on the right for my mash tun but I'm wondering if the one on the left could/should be used for my boil kettle?

nothing wrong with using it just a different shape. if you search through this https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/show-us-your-sculpture-brew-rig-46578/ thread you'll see plenty of setups using those kegs

ok, thanks! i should have looked around a little more before asking but the guys waiting for me to see if i want them. i'll go ahead and get both!

I've got one just like the one on the left for my HLT. The only thing to be aware of with those is that, if you choose to install a sight glass on it, that sight glass will have to be bent around the hump of the keg. If I'm not mistaken, BobbyM over at brewhardware.com might have a sightglass setup that's somehow specialized for those exact keg types.

stratslinger said:

I've got one just like the one on the left for my HLT. The only thing to be aware of with those is that, if you choose to install a sight glass on it, that sight glass will have to be bent around the hump of the keg. If I'm not mistaken, BobbyM over at brewhardware.com might have a sightglass setup that's somehow specialized for those exact keg types.

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Good post, you beat me to it.

Actually, I'd use the bulged one for the MLT and the one on the right for either the BK or HLT.

Reason being that an HLT or a BK could use a sight glass, whereas an MLT does not need one, and putting a sight glass onto a bulged keg is a bit trickier.

I used my coors keg (the one with the bulge) for my boil pot. Polycarbonate sight glass bends right around it with a little heat. I think it helps with boil overs on smaller (6gal) batches.

zlarson said:

I finally found a guy who has a couple kegs he's willing to sell me for my AG setup.

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Gotta love how people are "willing" to sell stolen items. Not that using commercial kegs in home brewing is new or uncommon. Just ironically funny. Good luck with the build, I am jealous. I don't have any place for a brew sculpture, unless I want to permanently park outside. Which isn't wise in the climate I live in.

i asked the guy where he got them and he said he was a scrapper and had found them a while ago.

I use one of the coors kegs for a fermenter.
A #11 stopper and a airlock.

Dr_Jeff said:

I use one of the coors kegs for a fermenter.
A #11 stopper and a airlock.

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for what size batches?

kallen said:

Gotta love how people are "willing" to sell stolen items. Not that using commercial kegs in home brewing is new or uncommon. Just ironically funny. Good luck with the build, I am jealous. I don't have any place for a brew sculpture, unless I want to permanently park outside. Which isn't wise in the climate I live in.

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You can't just assume that someone that has kegs got them by "shady" means. I use a keg in my setup, but received it from a buddy who owns a bar and was going to toss it out after the distributor said they didn't want it back.

zlarson said:

for what size batches?

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10-11 gallon so that there is enough head space, that none is lost to blow off and to have enough to hopefully completely fill 2 kegs

Ramarok said:

You can't just assume that someone that has kegs got them by "shady" means. I use a keg in my setup, but received it from a buddy who owns a bar and was going to toss it out after the distributor said they didn't want it back.

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Sorry man, I work in the brewing industry. Kegs are the property of the brewery, not the distributor. The distributor has no right to give the kegs away. The brewery charges the distributor a deposit, that deposit gets passed down to the retail customer. Aluminum is expensive, and lost/stolen kegs are a huge expense to a brewery. If a keg is no longer serviceable, the brewery scraps it to help recover the cost of buying a new keg to keep the pipeline full of serviceable kegs.

My original comment wasn't to chastise or turn anyone in. Using kegs for home brew brewing equipment is a well established process, which I do not condemn (I even said I was jealous of the OP's setup). I was merely commenting on the irony of the technicality of selling stolen property. Your buddies distributor was merely willing to eat the cost/risk of giving away kegs. Doesn't make it "right", it just is what it is.

What resource does a consumer have if the retail outlet/ distributor refuses to take keg back?
Aluminum or stainless?

Old_mil_guy said:

What resource does a consumer have if the retail outlet/ distributor refuses to take keg back?
Aluminum or stainless?

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First, lets clarify that I am talking about the literal direct interpretation of ownership of said keg. Kegs are OWNED by the brewery. The distributors/retailers/customers pay deposits, so that the brewery gets the kegs back.

The ONLY entity that has legal right to dispose/sell of the kegs are the breweries that own them. Who ever paid the last deposit(less return refund) is responsible to return that keg back upstream through the US's three-tier system. Any person/business down stream from the brewery who does not return the keg, has effectively stolen it. If the distributor/retailer refuses to take back the keg, the responsibility falls on them. The entity trying to return said keg has done due diligence in trying to return it. However, it remains, since the keg has not been returned to its owner, said keg is considered stolen by legal definition. Paying a deposit is not considered an exchange of ownership.

In short, if the entity you picked up the keg from does not accept it, the only resource you have is to directly return the keg to the brewery. But this is typically logistically impossible.

I give up!!! I am going to quit home brewing altogether. I am tired of hearing some self-rightous jackass accusing or at least implying that everyone that has a keg is a thief. I work 10-12 hrs a day, come home to relax and catch up on the latest HOMEBREWING news and get chastized for owning a keg. If this is all you have to do with your spare time....accuse others of stealing...then maybe you need to work TWO shifts at the brewery where you are employed and leave the HOMEBREWERS alone!!!

I have two kegs! One was stolen from a bar a number of years ago... The other one wasnt returned to the beer store. Both are stolen... Neither are making there way back to the brewery and have found there way into my brewery

ron said:

I give up!!! I am going to quit home brewing altogether. I am tired of hearing some self-rightous jackass accusing or at least implying that everyone that has a keg is a thief. I work 10-12 hrs a day, come home to relax and catch up on the latest HOMEBREWING news and get chastized for owning a keg. If this is all you have to do with your spare time....accuse others of stealing...then maybe you need to work TWO shifts at the brewery where you are employed and leave the HOMEBREWERS alone!!!

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Don't give up!
I'm with ya... sometimes I fight back when the keg police show up, and sometimes I run away to fight another day, but I'll never give up.
If the breweries want their damn kegs back, maybe they should make it a little easier to return them for the deposit.
If you don't have a receipt, you don't get the deposit back.
Personally, I figure if they don't want to give the deposit back, then they don't get the keg back... it works both ways.

To the OP, sorry, these keg questions always create turmoil. It's not your fault.

kallen said:

Sorry man, I work in the brewing industry. Kegs are the property of the brewery, not the distributor. The distributor has no right to give the kegs away. The brewery charges the distributor a deposit, that deposit gets passed down to the retail customer. Aluminum is expensive, and lost/stolen kegs are a huge expense to a brewery. If a keg is no longer serviceable, the brewery scraps it to help recover the cost of buying a new keg to keep the pipeline full of serviceable kegs.

My original comment wasn't to chastise or turn anyone in. Using kegs for home brew brewing equipment is a well established process, which I do not condemn (I even said I was jealous of the OP's setup). I was merely commenting on the irony of the technicality of selling stolen property. Your buddies distributor was merely willing to eat the cost/risk of giving away kegs. Doesn't make it "right", it just is what it is.

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U work in the brewing industry but dont even know what kegs are made of?.. heaviest aluminum ive ever picked up.. ha

ron said:

I give up!!! I am going to quit home brewing altogether. I am tired of hearing some self-rightous jackass accusing or at least implying that everyone that has a keg is a thief. I work 10-12 hrs a day, come home to relax and catch up on the latest HOMEBREWING news and get chastized for owning a keg. If this is all you have to do with your spare time....accuse others of stealing...then maybe you need to work TWO shifts at the brewery where you are employed and leave the HOMEBREWERS alone!!!

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Oh, come on. You should pay penance to AB InBev. They've been looking for that keg of yours for months now. Didn't you see all of the missing posters they placed on the telephone poles?

I got the kegs back from the welder last week. I need to clean up the edge where the tops were cut off so I don't cut my arms up when reaching inside. I've used a file to clean up the top edge but is there some sort of wheel grinder i could get that could be attached to my cordless drill? I used a grinding stone attachment but the stainless steel tore that up. any suggestions?