The myth of the <$50 corny keg

Williams 728
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Likely a copying error above, as ball lock kegs are actually 8.5" in diameter. The rest of the dimensions look correct.

Don't know where the "flare fittings" bit came from though. There are no such connections made to either style keg...

Cheers!
 
LuiInIdaho said:
+ 1 on Homebrewing.org

I was able to pick up 4 kegs for $80.00 once and another 4 kegs for $100 at another time. These were all ball lock. Right now they have better prices on pin locks which seem to be have a better supply.
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I've got them for $15 each when they run a sale. They are a little beat up, but they always hold a seal. I've even got used 3 gallon pin locks for $40.
 
To OP, I am not sure where you are looking, there are 3 cornys (if not sold yet) for $30 each on craigs...
 
I'm still finding them on CL locally for $25 a pop, if you buy four, from time to time.

They are NASTY, and need rings and sometimes poppets, but they are sometimes available.

:rockin:
 
jeremydgreat said:
I mentioned all the placed I've been looking. Seemed like a pretty wide sweep to me, as I have two of the largest cities in CA under an hour away.



What type of place would that be?
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You had mentioned a bunch LHBS's, and I'm not surprised that they are lacking. Should I be surprised? You're doing the right thing by asking on here. As you can see, people (like outside92129) have already found plenty of them for you, and I'm sure it was pretty easy for them.

The type of place I went to can be easily found on CL if you look correctly and patiently. I simply went to CL, typed in "corny keg," and voila - a plethora of corny kegs.

I suggest not being picky between pin- and ball-lock kegs because, IMO, there is very little difference. Just make sure they have pressure relief valves installed.

I hope this helps. :mug:
 
day_trippr said:
Likely a copying error above, as ball lock kegs are actually 8.5" in diameter. The rest of the dimensions look correct.

Don't know where the "flare fittings" bit came from though. There are no such connections made to either style keg...

Cheers!
Click to expand...


Yea, I noticed that blatant error this morning too as I reread the post. The pinlocks are 8.5" and definitely look fatter. Not sure what they are talking about the flared fittings either. The fittings on my pinlock and ballock kegs are about the same height. I guess I posted to fast without thinking about what I copied.. maybe copied it wrong. Have to check.
 
One of the local shops around here has them all the time for $39.95. Ball locks in really good condition. I was just there yesterday and he had 12 on the shelf.
 
I get mine off of craigslist. I've never paid more than $25 for one. You could also try soda distributors in your area and see if they have any old ones they aren't using.
 
OP, you reminded me to pick up more before the price goes up even more. Thanks!
I bought a four pack from cornykeg.com in December last year shipped for 131.15. Today the same 4 pack was 149.68 shipped. An increase of 18 bucks. The kegs I received before from them were in really good shape btw.
I had bought a four pack previously off a guy on ebay really cheap, I think they were 19 each. They were nasty and two won't hold pressure. So for 37.42 delivered, converted pin to ball lock with new rings I think it's a good deal. YMMV of course.
 
For the folks in the San Diego area, gotkegs is looking to do another bulk sale around late nov or early dec for $35/ea, no shipping charges/taxes. I bought 8 of them last time, good quality stuff.
 
outside92129 said:
For the folks in the San Diego area, gotkegs is looking to do another bulk sale around late nov or early dec for $35/ea, no shipping charges/taxes. I bought 8 of them last time, good quality stuff.
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Is Gotkegs an ebay/craigslist seller?
 
I recently had a similar issue in finding appropriately priced kegs. My solution as someone else mentioned was sankey kegs. They're still used by everyone so there's a huge supply out there and they tend to be easier to come by than the corneys.

Now I have my keezer in the works to hold (6) 1/4 bbl kegs and I plan to ferment in 1/2 bbl's.

There are many ways to come across the sankey kegs (craigslist, stores, beer distributors, junk yards, etc), it's just a matter of where your ethics stand and your personal opinion on what the definition of "payment" is.
 
Mrott said:
I recently had a similar issue in finding appropriately priced kegs. My solution as someone else mentioned was sankey kegs. They're still used by everyone so there's a huge supply out there and they tend to be easier to come by than the corneys.

Now I have my keezer in the works to hold (6) 1/4 bbl kegs and I plan to ferment in 1/2 bbl's.

There are many ways to come across the sankey kegs (craigslist, stores, beer distributors, junk yards, etc), it's just a matter of where your ethics stand and your personal opinion on what the definition of "payment" is.
Click to expand...

Sorry for the off topic question but..

I'd considered sankey kegs for fermenters as I do 10 gal batches but I'm curious what your method for cleaning them is. It's hard enough cleaning a glass carboy and I can see when it's clean.

Is it as simple as pumping oxyclean in and letting it sit and then rinsing?
 
I say cornykeg.com. I got the reconditioned two pack pinlocks for ~$64 shipped. Kegs were clean, in good shape, and no leaks. I ordered them on thursday and received them on tuesday.
 
zurcj20 said:
I say cornykeg.com. I got the reconditioned two pack pinlocks for ~$64 shipped. Kegs were clean, in good shape, and no leaks. I ordered them on thursday and received them on tuesday.
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This.
 
I was lucky to find 2-3gallon kegs at a swap meet for 20 bucks each. They were just about brand new with no dents or dings. Sometimes you just have to be in the right place at the right time.
 
No myth. My LHBS has them for (gasp) $40 now, but I think he still sells them for less than this if you buy in a bundle.

Not the best prices, but he's got thousands in inventory, and every now and then he gets more.
IMAG0393.jpg

Arts Brewing
 
jeremydgreat, fellow Carlsbad resident here as well. As mentioned you have to keep scanning craigslist for the deals. There out there. Just gotta keep looking for it and be ready to hop on the deal when it comes up. If you think these are hard to find try looking for a used 2.5 gallon size. I finally said screw it and bought new. Good luck.
 
Woo Hoo! Scored. Picking up 3 ball locks today for $75. A guy on ebay is selling them, 75 was his starting price and he wanted 50 bucks for shipping but lives in the town next to me so I emailed him and asked about local pickup. He said sure because it would save him the hassle. I was a little suprised to see he had no bids, auction ended yesterday morning at 9 so he's "giving" them to me for hs starting price. I was about to give in and pay 40-50 dollars for cornys through one of the online places. I'm glad I waited.
 
I recently got 2 used pinlocks for around $60, shipped from another state. They ended up needing about $30 in parts for the 2 of them (dip tubes, rubber seals, poppets, etc). For the time I spent cleaning, rebuilding, and restoring them, I'd be loosing money if I were to sell them for anything less than $50, and that's if I value my time at minumum wage!
 
Hammy71 said:
http://www.kegglebrewing.com/Non-Reconditioned-Ball-Lock-Kegs_c_19.html

Must have got some more in....just ordered 4 yesterday and shipped this morning.
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They also have "secondary fermenting" ball lock kegs for about $30 (about $40 shipped for me). I've ordered 4 after a phone call where it was established that the difference was that the lid by default doesn't have the pressure relief valve installed for "fermenting" but that an extra lid with the relief valve can be tossed in the box. That, along with some ball-lock MFL QDs were the best price i could find, by far. They are racetrack lids, but I'm happy/comfortable with that.
 
I think some of the issues with availability have to do with overall local sources of corny kegs. If you live near major sites for soda distributors/bottling companies it's probably easy to find old kegs at scrapyards, old restaurants, flea markets, etc. where they make their way to craigslist and/or LHBS. The more LHBS in your area, the less likely you are to find them available and people who don't realize that there's a market for them.

You can definitely find them online for less than $50 before shipping. If you called around local scrapyards, old restaurants, food/beverage distributors you could probably get them for free or extremely cheap (but probably in desperate need of a solid cleaning).
 
Best bet is to have one of your brother in laws got to work for a pop distributor.

FYI almost everyone is going away from these to the bag in the box and they will be phasing these out. They may be going to be getting rid of these in the near future.


Rock Chalk

Chris
 
Dirty said:
Best bet is to have one of your brother in laws got to work for a pop distributor.

FYI almost everyone is going away from these to the bag in the box and they will be phasing these out. They may be going to be getting rid of these in the near future.


Rock Chalk

Chris
Click to expand...


"Pop"? What's that? :p
 

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