plastic 1/6bbl kegs

I was just online and found plastic 1/6 bbl kegs. Pretty cheap. $45ea brand new. They use the sanke fitting. It says on their website not ideal for home brewing. Any opinions. Ball locks getting hard to find.
www.plastickegs.com

I saw these too. I was extremely interested. I believe they are simply trying to turn off home brewers because they are trying to establish a clientele of breweries to use these for distribution. When I was in Canada, there was a brew pub that used them and they looked like a great and IMO better alternative to traditional sankes...

People are going to try and scare you with the whole scratching issue, but I just don't see how a homebrewer is really going to damage the interior of these kegs...

The language on the site is a little stronger than that even... says "... our kegs are not suitable for home brewing."

Why would they be excluding home brewers? Seems like they could have a much expanded market base (in addition to breweries) if they included us. I know I'd consider buying a couple. That seems strange to me...

emart85 said:

The language on the site is a little stronger than that even... says "... our kegs are not suitable for home brewing."

Why would they be excluding home brewers? Seems like they could have a much expanded market base (in addition to breweries) if they included us. I know I'd consider buying a couple. That seems strange to me...

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Can't remember why, but the guy behind these was on here previously, STRONGLY recommending homebrewers to NOT get these. It's probably because of equipment (Sanke) and maintenance of a plastic vessel.

My guess is that it's for liability reasons, given the incident with a plastic keg at Redhook last year. Probably they assume home brewers are less likely to use the recommended safety precautions (e.g., the gas supply is supposed to have a pressure release valve set to 45 psi.)

I read on one site something about needing special equipment to clean them. Is there any truth to that? I have no experience with sankes.

I think the explosion story has merit... Some homebrewers might prime the keg with corn sugar and overdo it, and it could potentially explode. Especially if the kegs are rated to no more than 40-50 psi, vs a Corny that's rated 120-130psi.

MC

I think that's all baloney. The company probably doesn't want to deal with small scale distribution. They want breweries to purchase 100-1000 of these. Not to mention the accident everyone always quotes was during the cleaning process.

Plastic kegs have been used in Canada and Europe for more than a decade.

Yeah, seems like a total excuse if you ask me... They could attach a relief valve that would pop open automatically at ~50 psi if they wanted to and it wouldn't add much cost. It would still be cheaper overall since the keg itself is so much cheaper than a traditional keg.

emart85 said:

Yeah, seems like a total excuse if you ask me... They could attach a relief valve that would pop open automatically at ~50 psi if they wanted to and it wouldn't add much cost. It would still be cheaper overall since the keg itself is so much cheaper than a traditional keg.

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They already have them in the bottom of the kegs, set to 90psi IIRC.

Interesting, didn't know that...

OK, so I've taken an (maybe too much of an) interest in this. I sent an email to the nice people at plastickegs.com, and they responded very quickly. Here's what they told me, FWIW:

Thank you for your interest in Plastic Kegs America.
The problem with plastic kegs and home brewing is the heat. Plastic can not be heated for more than 60 seconds at 165 degrees.
The pressurization and co2 levels need to be regulated. We have found this type of set up is not what is typical for the home brewing set up.
I hope this helps. I have attached information on our products for your review.
Thanks
Darcie

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Attached was some warranty and pricing information as well in the email...

UPDATE: The pricing sheet shows a minimum of 10 kegs, , and shows ~$70 "including steel valve" for a 1/6 bbl. Could get a used corney for less than that anyway.

I didn't know they were that expensive. Damn. But what homebrewer puts liquid at165 into a keg?

Yeah, both of those statements border on insulting... Homebrewers are too dumb to 1) not put hot beer into a keg and 2) not regulate the pressure in their kegs? What? I'd pass just based on that response alone.

stratslinger said:

Yeah, both of those statements border on insulting... Homebrewers are too dumb to 1) not put hot beer into a keg and 2) not regulate the pressure in their kegs? What? I'd pass just based on that response alone.

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Yeah that's pretty far out there. That's like saying the sky's blue because I drove 10 miles an hour down the street yesterday.

Huh?!?!?!? What the....

None of it even makes half a bit of sense.

Just as an FYI in regards to plastic kegs, here are a few articles relating to recent deaths when pressures in excess of 60 psi (by commercial brewers) were used to help clean out the kegs.

http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121024/GJNEWS_01/121029610

Redhook owner facing fines after fatal keg explosion in Portsmouth
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
PORTSMOUTH — The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued citations to the owner of Redhook Ale Brewery in Portsmouth after a six-month investigation into the accidental death of an employee.

A 26-year-old brewery worker was fatally injured in April when a plastic beer keg he was cleaning with pressurized air exploded, striking him in the head and chest......



http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121021/GJNEWS_01/121029899/0/FOSNEWS

Beer brewers taking action after more plastic kegs explode
Sunday, October 21, 2012

PORTSMOUTH — Even before a fatal accident occurred at the Redhook Ale Brewery earlier this year, Tennessee brewer Chuck Skypeck began taking a close look at his supply of plastic beer kegs.

Skypeck's company, Ghost River Brewing, expanded its distribution quickly in the last three years, and it purchased plastic kegs to help meet the demand.

But after buying the kegs, the brewery owners decided to install a new safety feature at their facility in Memphis: a plexiglass shield............

The honest truth is they are simply trying to make a customer base of breweries. Which is fine, but I want to get a better answer.

just thinking out loud but one reason they may not be suitable for home brewers is simply around the cleaning process. Unless these have spears that are intentionall made to be pulled every time they are to be cleaned, it'll be a royal PITA to get these cleaned, sanitized, and put back together, whereas commercial breweries have the equipment to clean and sanitize on automated machinery with the keg all in one peice... and not requiring any break down.

another consideration;

They claim their kegs will hold wine for "up to 6 months". Maybe they're worried about oxygen issues?

I read online that the spears screw out without much effort...

stratslinger said:

Yeah, both of those statements border on insulting... Homebrewers are too dumb to 1) not put hot beer into a keg and 2) not regulate the pressure in their kegs? What? I'd pass just based on that response alone.

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Seconded. It's insulting that he thinks we're that stupid.

emart85, respond back and ask him why he thinks a homebrewer would be moving 165 degree liquid into a keg, how on earth someone could use a keg without regulating the CO2 pressure, and also ask him what he thinks a "typical homebrewing setup" is.

Cape Brewing, you should work for them! I would have at least accepted that as a response as somewhat acceptable. The response I got was clearly just an attempt to circumvent the question.

I'm giving this one a day or so... I started a reply almost immediately, but should take some time to calm down a bit before responding too harshly... I don't know that there's anything I can say to change their mind.

Maybe this is all because they want to go after big business, maybe it's a liability issue... Either way, if they want to think (or pretend) we're all idiots to keep their business plan going, so be it. If anything, I kinda just want to let them know they're missing out on a good market comprised of "surprisingly intelligent" people.

I'll let you all know what I hear back.

I don't blame them for not wanting to sell to homebrewers, I wouldn't. Think about some of the threads on this forum detailing the massively dangerous and dumb things people do with kegs, and then think of the liability. Many many homebrewers love to crank the pressure up on their kegs for burst carbing, and do other things that create much higher pressures than the kegs would see in a commercial setting. For commercial use the beer is already cold and carbonated before it goes into the kegs, and the highest pressure they see is when they get purged during the cleaning process. The burst discs aren't foolproof, and even if they were, a keg pressurized to 90 psi is a dangerous situation, period. I agree that the average homebrewer could utilize these kegs just as safely as (or even safer than) a commercial brewery, but that's not who they're worried about.

As for acquiring these kegs, it's easy enough if you make friends with a local microbrewery. If you do this, please be aware that they're more dangerous to work with than SS kegs, and handle them accordingly.