Any use for a Sanke?

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hubbs

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Other than the obvious Keggle/MLT/etc is there any way to use a 15.5gal Sanke for dispensing beer?

I just bought a setup from a guy on Craigslist, and I am thinking of exchanging and dispensing commercial beer, but I would love to find a way to fill it with homebrew.

Thanks
 
i'm going to offer advice that was passed to me from a former neighbor who had an old sanke full of buttwiper.

he was gonna just throw it out, the beer was several years old and he didn't know anything about it. i convinced him to save it after he picked up the homebrew bug from yours truly.

he later told me how he was able to use a small screwdriver and remove a spring clip /circlip which held in a ball and spring unit. from what i remember it all sorta came out together. he plans on filling it, keg conditioning and using the sanke tap i traded him for a regulator.

i think it can be done i'm sure he wouldn't pull my leg and besides that's why he wanted my sanke tap for trade.

wishing you luck

GD:mug:
 
Search around a bit, lots of people use Sanke kegs for homebrew. The spiral ring can be removed with a small sharp screwdriver...and can be installed with a pair of pliers or a crescent wrench works even better. Search clutchdude for the spiral ring installation tutorial.
 
Yes, lots of homebrewers use sankey kegs for fermenting or serving in, and IMO they're a better system than corny kegs. You'll need a sankey coupler to serve from a sankey keg. The spear is easy to remove/replace once you get the hang of it (on most kegs). Typically you need to pry out the end of the spiral retaining ring, pull the rest of the ring out with pliers, and then the spear simply twists slightly to align with the notches in the neck, and then pulls right out. If you're going to be using sankey kegs a lot, it helps to have a spare coupler with the check valves removed. That allows easy transfers to or from a sankey without removing the spear.

Here's a quick video showing how the spear comes out on a standard type D sankey. There are some that have a tamper resistant feature that are a PITA (some miller kegs most notably), but they're not very common.

 
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You absolutely can use it for dispensing beer, did it last month! But, that is a lot of headspace to fill with C02 if all your putting in it is 5 gallons. Worked great though.
 
I am seriuoslly thinking of going the sanke route - a 50 litre keg is cheaper than a 5 gallon corny over here! Biggest thing would be cleaning and sanitising. My eperience with my corny kegs is that cleaning only takes a spray with the hose to get 99.9% of the sediment out. I will be looking at breaking down each keg every 4 batches or so to inspect and ensure they are thoruoghly clean. Between batches I was thinking to rig up a spare sanke tap (with check valve removed) to flush/clean the keg while it is tipped upside down. Then run sanitiser through aswell. Then flip back over and fill with homebrew.
Going to take a while to get sorted as I got to get one more for an HLT, and then another for fermenting in, then finally get a couple for serving!
 
aside from my cornies, I have a sixtel, and a quarter barrel that I fill, and dispense from, they are very easy to get apart, they are alot easier than cornies to clean and san (less parts). Only very slightly more of a pain to get back together (spiral spring is alittle tricky) although not bad.
 
Rather than using pliers to reinstall the spiral ring, try a crescent wrench, adjusting it snug on the snap ring and rocking the wrench outward works great to "chase" the spiral ring back into the groove...I used pliers or channel locks for a few years and just recently grabbed a nearby adjustable "crescent" wrench...bingo works even better!
 
Rather than using pliers to reinstall the spiral ring, try a crescent wrench, adjusting it snug on the snap ring and rocking the wrench outward works great to "chase" the spiral ring back into the groove...I used pliers or channel locks for a few years and just recently grabbed a nearby adjustable "crescent" wrench...bingo works even better!

Great idea! I'll have to try it!:D
 
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