Keggle Aluminum Vs Stainless Steel

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Donasay

Donasay

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I have a quick question about aluminum vs stainless steel kegs. I have a keg that I want to convert to a keggle, but my friend who I asked to help me weld on the spigot said it was aluminum and that it requires special stuff to weld.

Do you think it is better to get my hands on another keg, one made of stainless steel, or buy a weldless bulkhead and use that. I thought all kegs were stainless steel, is it possible that my friend is wrong, and that they keg is actually steel? Additionally, if I go pick up another keg from a scrap dealer how can I tell if it is made of stainless steel and not aluminum?
 
What makes him say that it's AL? If it's just because a magnet won't stick to it, he's wrong, most SS (including that used for kegs) is non-ferrous (that's the right term, ain't it?)

In any case, even if it WERE Al, Al is fine to brew with (just ask John Palmer, a bit of an expert in both metals and homebrewing ;)), and my weldless bulkhead works perfectly great.

Strike that - the keg absolutely IS aluminum, it'll make you and your entire family brain damaged if you heat it above 95°, so you better ship it out to MA for proper disposal ;)
 
the_bird said:
I've seen some that have like a plastic coating on it. Go steal it and send it to me ;)
Click to expand...
Well, it’s not really stealing right? Aren’t those things free? I mean…who’s it really hurting? ;)

***BM ducks behind the wall***
 
the_bird said:
What makes him say that it's AL? If it's just because a magnet won't stick to it, he's wrong, most SS (including that used for kegs) is non-ferrous (that's the right term, ain't it?)
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For the most part that is correct. I have seen a powerful rare earth magnet stick to cheap stainless.
 
Ok, so we have established that the keg could in fact be stainless, despite what my friend with 20+ years of welding experience says. How do I test to find out for sure if it is stainless or aluminum, if a magnet test won't work.?
 
BierMuncher said:
Slightly :off:

I could swear I drove by a bar the other day and saw a black plastic 1/2 barrel keg sitting out back.

Is that possible?
Click to expand...

They're rubber insulated. I had possession of one and was looking into converting it into a MLT, but I direct-fire my MLT, and that rubber stuff catches fire really easy. :(
 
Donasay said:
Ok, so we have established that the keg could in fact be stainless, despite what my friend with 20+ years of welding experience says. How do I test to find out for sure if it is stainless or aluminum, if a magnet test won't work.?
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How much does it weigh? I believe a stainless 1/2 barrel weighs about 50lbs, an aluminum one, somewhat less.

Try putting a slight dimple in it with a screwdriver? If it dimples, it's probably aluminum, if not stainless?


Some stainless will slightly magnetize with work hardening.
 
Lil' Sparky said:
They're rubber insulated. I had possession of one and was looking into converting it into a MLT, but I direct-fire my MLT, and that rubber stuff catches fire really easy. :(
Click to expand...

It'll only catch on fire ONCE :rolleyes:
 
http://www.alabev.com/draught.htm

Keg Facts and Conversion Tables
(Currently this includes the U.S. standard kegs.)

(Typical Kegs used in the U.S.)
Using a 12 ounce glass with 20% head, one 1/2bbl will pour an average 206 12 ounce glasses.

1/2 Barrel Keg...............................1/4 Barrel Keg

23 1/4 inches.........Height.................14 3/4 inches

17.0 inches............Diameter.............17.0 inches

1984 ounces..........Contents..............992 ounces

160.5 pounds.........Full Weight........ 82.2 pounds

29.7 pounds...........Empty Weight.....17.3 pounds

130.8 pounds.........Beer Weight........64.9 pounds

29°F.......................Freezing Point....29°F



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Conversion Tables
Keg Size..............# of Gallons.............# of Ounces............Metric Equiv.

One Full bbl...........31 gallons................3968 ounces.............107.348 liters

One Half bbl..........15.5 gallons..............1984 ounces.............58.674 liters

One Quarter bbl.....7.75 gallons...............992 ounces..............29.337 liters

So, as you see, 10hl = 8 1/2bbls



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cases per 1/2 BBL by Package Size
12 oz. Package (24-12oz.)..........6.888 Cases per 1/2 bbl

16 oz. Package (24-16oz.)..........5.166 Cases per 1/2 bbl

32 oz. Package (12-32oz.)..........5.166 Cases per 1/2 bbl



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Weight of Draught Beer
One Ounce of Draught Beer by Volume = One Ounce by Weight



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Foam
Foam is approximately 25% beer, 75% Carbon Dioxide
Click to expand...
 
BierMuncher said:
Slightly :off:

I could swear I drove by a bar the other day and saw a black plastic 1/2 barrel keg sitting out back.

Is that possible?
Click to expand...

I was recently at the Lightning Brewery and he had palates of them with "könig Brauerei" on them. When I asked, he said that they recently went under and he picked them up really cheap. I'm wondering if they closed one facility or the whole operation went under as König was one one of the larger breweries in Germany.
 
i am trying to find out if my keg is aluminum or ss as well . i used a plasma cutter to cut the top off and it weighs 24 pounds now. and the top was 2 Lbs 10 oz

is that 29.7 pounds for aluminum or ss keg?

the ss one should be much heavier

mine is about 26.5 lbs does this mean it is aluminum?
 
BierMuncher said:
Slightly :off:

I could swear I drove by a bar the other day and saw a black plastic 1/2 barrel keg sitting out back.

Is that possible?
Click to expand...


It is a black rubber coating on a SS keg. I'll bet a box of doughnuts that it was Miller Lite or possibly another Miller product. Miller is the only brewer that I have ever seen use these. When full they are much harder to handle due to less gripping area on the bottom, plus the extra weight of the rubber. They are a PITA when we have them in the keg house at work.
 
Take a clean white rag and rub the inside of the keg (or some place where the keg is clean), really hard for a minute or two, if it is aluminum, there will be black oxidation on the rag. If the rag comes clean, it is stainless.
 
Just do the "file hard" test. Take a standard file (bastard or square files work best, rat tails not too much), (usually 60 HRc or so) and scrape it on the bottom rim.

It there is a large gouge left, it is most likely Al since Al would be soft. If there is only a little mark, then it is SS since it is harder.

We do this "file hard" test when we don't know if something is heat treated at work. It gives a rough estimate of material hardness relative to the file.
 
Hi- I found a couple of kegs for sale online, but cannot tell if they are Aluminum of SS. Can one of you experts have a gander? Any help is appreciated! They are a bit of a drive away, so before I head out there I wanted to get an idea of my odds for them.....any help is appreciated. TIA!
2919998674
http://www.flickr.com/photos/31170399@N07/2919998674/
 
punkybrewster said:
Hi- I found a couple of kegs for sale online, but cannot tell if they are Aluminum of SS. Can one of you experts have a gander? Any help is appreciated! They are a bit of a drive away, so before I head out there I wanted to get an idea of my odds for them.....any help is appreciated. TIA!
2919998674
kegs on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Click to expand...
\

SS those are Anheuser-Busch kegs
 
I dont know how helpful this is, but SS will glow red when heated Al wont it glows white very slightly then goes splat.
 
I have an actual aluminum (yes, a Sanke) keg, and several SS Sanke kegs. I really should take the time to photograph and weigh them, just to end this once and for all.
 
I haven't read the rest of this thread yet, but Al is soft and SS is quit hard. To tell the difference should be quit easy. Another test if we are unsure, is the spark test. Al does not spark when ground with a grinder. My next question is why wouldn't they have made a Al Sanke keg? It would only make sense, since all of the past versions of kegs built out of metal have been done in Al, as well, at one point or another. S
 
Try engraving on it with a dremel, AL will be very easy to carv on. Hell you should be able to do it with a pocket knife versus not so much on ST, +1 on the grinder!
 
schweaty said:
so anheuser bush kegs are SS?
Click to expand...

The chance of a keg being aluminum is very very small, at this point the cost of aluminum is so high that nobody makes 15.5 gallon sankey kegs out of aluminum any more all new kegs are stainless steel. If you find an aluminum keg it will be more than a decade old.

If you find a keg just assume it is SS and start trying to weld stuff on to it. If you go to weld stuff on to it and it turns into a puddle it is aluminum. If it is made of aluminum and you just ruined it, bring it to the scrap yard and sell it and use the money to buy a brewpot.
 
If a keg were aluminum, wouldn't the metal be thicker? could one caliper the skirt, or are they exactly the same measurements. Also, I thought the AL ones were the old barrel sided ones that have or had a bung on the side with a Hoff Stevens tap, though I've been known to think more than I know...
 

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