Corny keg ?

Could somebody explain the pro's and cons of the pin lock system vs the ball lock system? I am looking to invest in a few corny's and am not sure what to look for.

mostly depends on what you can get. if you have a pepsi plant that you can get them free or cheap from go ball lock and same deal coke to pin. never heard of any other real reasons to go either way...also prices depending on where you are may vary

p.s. i searched for you... the other threads about the same topic basically agree with me except for one thing... one is typically taller and skinnier then the other by a very small amount...may be a factor if you have your fridge or freezer already chosen

On plus to the ball locks is the lids normally have a relief valve in them and the pin locks normally do not.

But generally, people pick one style based on availability.

Thanks everyone. My main concern was if there was a functional advantage for one over the other. Appears there isn't.

Functional advantage is that ball locks have a relief valve after kegging two batches I can tell you it makes a huge difference. You need to bleed/purge the Co2 when you first hook up the gas, I needed to carb my kegs fast so I had them at 30psi for two days then I have to bleed them down to 12 psi. When I stored a partial keg I had to pressurize it to 30 then a couple weeks later bleed it to serving pressure. This week I need to transfer from one keg to another thru a jumper this involves using the pressure relief valve to make the beer flow.

With a ball lock this just involves using the valve. To do all this on a pin lock I would have to push on the poppit in the post. At the very least that's annoying and inconvenient at the worst as many will tell you beer sprays out.

IMHO its just worth it to get ball locks, unless you score pin locks for just about free then you replace the lid with a ball lock lid with a relief valve for like $15 which would be a good deal.

A+ Ball locks

Pricing on these pin locks are really good compared to balls:
http://www.cornykeg.com/catalog.asp?prodid=674089&showprevnext=1

Also going to depend on how much vertical and horizontal space you have. Pin locks are a little wider so maybe not as good if you want to use it in a mini-fridge based kegerator.

I have pin lock kegs and they are fine - however....

Ball locks have a couple of advantages. One is the pressure relief that has been mentioned before. The other is that you can remove the gas and beer posts with a regular socket wrench. The pin lock post require a special socket (or a homemade modified one). I have removed my posts with a wrench but it is a PITA.

So, if I had a choice and the kegs were the same price and condition, I would go with ball lock.