Plasma Cutter ~ Cutting Kegs

Hello, Im having a hard time getting a neighbor to cut my two keg tops off. Keeps telling me he wants to do it in a day or two when i ask him. But those days have been going for almost 6 months now. Im at the point in my (very Slow) build, where it is time to have them opened. Tried to find one to rent but the only shop I can find renting one, no longer rents it.

I put an add on craigslist to borrow one in trade of my welder, One guy responded but his cutter was 220v which I can not use in my old house. Also he was kinda far away.. So If anyone is close to central jersey and willing to make a couple bucks to help out a fellow brewer, or knows of someone who is willing to do it, Please let me know. Thanks for any leads ya come up with.

I would pick a nice day, strike up a conversation with the neighbor, offer a few beers and talk about brewing, and plasma cutting your kegs. Any guy that owns a plasma cutter should love the idea about cutting stuff up.

Angle grinder worked great for cutting my kegs. I know its not as cool as a plasma cutter, but it got the job done cleanly and quickly (15 minutes each, better than 6 months).

I used the Harbor Freight one (it was on sale for 15 bucks).

+1 on the angle grinder, I put water in mine to quench the sparks, finished with file and wet and dry smooth as a babies bottom! And as round as a flint stones tire not that I mind.

Clem

+2 on the angle grinder, it worked great for me. Do a quick search for cutting kegs/keggles and there will be plenty of info to help you out.

Yep, angle grind it yourself. You'll feel better about it in the end as well.

Straight from the OHSA website. Ive read to always use a full face shield when using a grinder as I have taken an OSHA safety class and thats what's mandated. Plasma cuts are way nicer than angle grinder as well. But angle grinders do work just be very careful always unplug when not in use.
POWERED ABRASIVE WHEEL TOOLS

Powered abrasive grinding, cutting, polishing, and wire buffing wheels create special safety problems because they may throw off flying fragments.

Before an abrasive wheel is mounted, it should be inspected closely and sound- or ring-tested to be sure that it is free from cracks or defects. To test, wheels should be tapped gently with a light non-metallic instrument. If they sound cracked or dead, they could fly apart in operation and so must not be used. A sound and undamaged wheel will give a clear metallic tone or "ring."

To prevent the wheel from cracking, the user should be sure it fits freely on the spindle. The spindle nut must be tightened enough to hold the wheel in place, without distorting the flange. Follow the manufacturer's recommendations. Care must be taken to assure that the spindle wheel will not exceed the abrasive wheel specifications.

Due to the possibility of a wheel disintegrating (exploding) during start-up, the employee should never stand directly in front of the wheel as it accelerates to full operating speed.

Portable grinding tools need to be equipped with safety guards to protect workers not only from the moving wheel surface, but also from flying fragments in case of breakage.

In addition, when using a powered grinder:

Always use eye protection.
Turn off the power when not in use.
Never clamp a hand-held grinder in a vise.

Thank you for the PSA, now back to your regularly scheduled thread.

Do you have a welding shop in the area? Ask those guys who can help you out. The other thing you could do is bring in a keg and ask to try out one of their plasma cutters. If you have a couple different welding shops in the area, bam. I like Haun in my area, but airgas or Maineoxy might be down there as well.

Make a little jig for an angle grinder, it takes all of 5 minutes per keg and you'll use up 1/2 of a cutoff wheel. Plasma cutters will throw slag in to the bottom of the keg and it's a pain to clean up.

Every post I have read of someone who used a plasma cutter instead of an angle grinder showed poor results. Plasma cutters make a mess due to all teh melted metal going everywhere and getting stuck on everything. I HIGHLY suggest an angle grinder. I didn't even make a jig. It is super easy and will take you no time at all. You could crank out all 3 kegs in like 1.5 hours.

Irrenarzt said:

Yep, angle grind it yourself. You'll feel better about it in the end as well.

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wyzazz said:

Make a little jig for an angle grinder, it takes all of 5 minutes per keg and you'll use up 1/2 of a cutoff wheel. Plasma cutters will throw slag in to the bottom of the keg and it's a pain to clean up.

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Thanks for all the quick informative replies... Had no choice but to build a small jig and use the angle grinder... Tired of Waiting!!!

I cut the tube from the sanke insert and ground off the locking nubs so I could use that as the center for my jig.

I attached that to a piece of 1"x2" that I had laying around
The bolt attaches to the handle location on my grinder (4" Ryobi) My grinder handles are at an angle so I could not attach to both sides like this jig from dutchoven
But this worked just fine.



Quick Grind around the edges to clean the burrs and it is perfect. Actually came out better then one I had my neighbor plasma cut a year ago. No Slag and even with a steady hand on the plasma cutter, a straighter cut. I saw a few posts about using the fatter grinding disks instead of the thin cutting disk. I Haven't used the thick one to cut a keg, but I feel the thin disk is the better option. the cord on the grinder was more of a hassle then cutting a groove 4-5 times.. Any kegs I cut in the future will see this jig for sure!!

As for the OSHA reply: Nice to see people care. I know that info but some may not. Definitely use eye protection because the jig does make it a little hard to see your cut line. Also with any empty metal can getting hit with the grinder it's loud. Glad I have my ear plugs


PS I must be getting old. In the past I would have never heeded those warnings...LOL Thanks everyone

Nice job. I don't have a plasma cutter, but the shops that have done work for me wouldn't have done any better.

No problem Id rather about you brewing up good beer rather than sitting in the ER wondering if they will be able to reattach your now missing digits. Looks like it went well nice cuts. Brew on brother!

Saws-all worked great for me!! short metal cutting bit, clean smooth line, happy happy boil kettle. I did it this way because everyone I talked to wanted to charge $70+. Had it done in a half an hour, definitely thankful for back-up battery packs though.

kpr121 said:

Angle grinder worked great for cutting my kegs. I know its not as cool as a plasma cutter, but it got the job done cleanly and quickly (15 minutes each, better than 6 months).

I used the Harbor Freight one (it was on sale for 15 bucks).

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A friend and I just did that literally a few hours ago. Worked great! The cut wasnt as neat as we would have liked, but we just used a file to smooth it down. Now all we gotta do is wait for the burner to get here!

SoxFan33 said:

A friend and I just did that literally a few hours ago. Worked great! The cut wasnt as neat as we would have liked, but we just used a file to smooth it down. Now all we gotta do is wait for the burner to get here!

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What burner are ya'll gonna use. I went with the KAB4 and had to make a modification for my pocket and sanity... im saving half the fuel and half the time.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/kab4-stand-modificaation-251497/

i thought about making a jig then i realized that the guard on the grinder up against the edge of the keg was enough to make a nice round cut. took me 10 min or so to cut the top off.

thought about it but, Wasn't sure if it would stay straight. Jig was quick and easy + free

Brewchef33 said:

Saws-all worked great for me!! short metal cutting bit, clean smooth line, happy happy boil kettle. I did it this way because everyone I talked to wanted to charge $70+. Had it done in a half an hour, definitely thankful for back-up battery packs though.

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This worked great for me too. Not sure why more people don't do it.

eastoak said:

i thought about making a jig then i realized that the guard on the grinder up against the edge of the keg was enough to make a nice round cut. Took me 10 min or so to cut the top off.

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+1

twanger1994 said:

What burner are ya'll gonna use. I went with the KAB4 and had to make a modification for my pocket and sanity... im saving half the fuel and half the time.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/kab4-stand-modificaation-251497/

Click to expand...

My buddy ordered a 16inch bayou classic. Its sold as a burner for a turkey fryer but itll work for us. Just hook up a propane tank and fire it up! Were going to move the process outside, a boilover made a mess of my kitchen recently and are looking to avoid that from now on . Not to mention we wont have to deal with multiple pots, were thinking itll simplify things a bit.