AlfA01
...it ain't sold in heaven...
Hello Fellow Brewers!
I struggled with chisels, hammers and screwdrivers to break the torque on various commercial keg couplers. One day I met my match. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get one of the kegs open. I decided to make an improvised keg tool.
I thought I'd share my DIY tool for opening commercial kegs in case anyone is interested to make one as well. I have quite a few Sanke D style kegs in 20, 30 and 50 liter versions. I use them exclusively for kegging, as I have the ability to chill and dispense beer via a Cornelius system. This eliminates my need to have a kegerator or keezer.
I used a scrap piece of SS pipe (304) and cut it to 52.5mm (approx 2") long. The pipe is thick walled at 3.8mm (0.15") and has an outside diameter (OD) of 48.5mm (1.9").
The OD was a little too large for the inside of the commercial keg connection, so I put the piece into a vise and went to work on it with my angle grinder. After measuring my desired diameter with a micrometer, I ground the piece down to fit. When my diameter was correct, I marked out two notches to fit over the tabs of the keg coupler.
After test fitting the diameter and notches, I welded up a handle. This handle allows me to torque and break torque on my kegs fairly easily. And, for those stubborn ones, you can slip a pipe or box end wrench over the end to gain a little extra leverage.
Never mind the crappy welding. I have a 20 year old cheap stick welder that I picked up used for $10. I ran across some SS welding rods and gave it a shot....little difficult to get the amps right.
Cheers,
AlfA
Dan
I struggled with chisels, hammers and screwdrivers to break the torque on various commercial keg couplers. One day I met my match. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get one of the kegs open. I decided to make an improvised keg tool.
I thought I'd share my DIY tool for opening commercial kegs in case anyone is interested to make one as well. I have quite a few Sanke D style kegs in 20, 30 and 50 liter versions. I use them exclusively for kegging, as I have the ability to chill and dispense beer via a Cornelius system. This eliminates my need to have a kegerator or keezer.
I used a scrap piece of SS pipe (304) and cut it to 52.5mm (approx 2") long. The pipe is thick walled at 3.8mm (0.15") and has an outside diameter (OD) of 48.5mm (1.9").
The OD was a little too large for the inside of the commercial keg connection, so I put the piece into a vise and went to work on it with my angle grinder. After measuring my desired diameter with a micrometer, I ground the piece down to fit. When my diameter was correct, I marked out two notches to fit over the tabs of the keg coupler.
After test fitting the diameter and notches, I welded up a handle. This handle allows me to torque and break torque on my kegs fairly easily. And, for those stubborn ones, you can slip a pipe or box end wrench over the end to gain a little extra leverage.
Never mind the crappy welding. I have a 20 year old cheap stick welder that I picked up used for $10. I ran across some SS welding rods and gave it a shot....little difficult to get the amps right.
Cheers,
AlfA
Dan
