Black Keg Use?

I'm new to the board and have been extract brewing for a couple years. Reading some of the things you guys have done has inspired me to start moving to AG and building an electric Brutus 20 style rig.

So to further that goal I picked up a keg tonight while supporting my local brewery. But it has a hard black coating some kind of polyethylene I think he said. I've seen pictures of on here of the thick rubber coating and I don't think this is it.

All the writing on the top is in German...and I don't read German.

Has anyone used one of these before, is there a sweet stainless keg waiting under that hard black exterior? Do I want to leave it on for insulation, or is this the whole keg? I haven't taken a saw to it or anything yet, but thought someone here might have some advice.

Thanks.

It may just be coated, or some of the keg may actually be made of plastic. My bet is on a coating, but it will be nearly impossible to remove.

If the keg was full when you got it, and you paid a deposit, keeping it is NOT supporting your local brewery. It's flat out stealing.

Nope...not a theft issue. I called them the other day and asked for retired kegs and they had this one with a bad seal. The owner was really cool, since I didn't know if I could use it he gave it to me and said if it was good to go then just swing by and give him a few bucks.

I might just take a drill to the lower section and see if I hit steel.

If you can post a pic or two and wait a few days before drilling I bet someone will come a long that can tell you what it is... Even if it was plastic I would think you could still ferment in it just fine if you wanted to.

Look at the inside, it is probably steel.

I would use it as a fermenter, or an electric hot liquor tank. You'll never get the coating off.

Kegs make great 10 gal fermenters. Just pop a carboy cap on the opening, or get the stainless steel version from www.brewershardware.com

I have one I am going to use for a mash tun in a single tier set-up. The rubber coating should be a good insulator.

I used an angle grinder in a rig to cut the top just like here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Keggle

I used a hole saw to open up a 2 inch circle of rubber on the side and drilled for a weld-less fitting.

We are still welding our sculpture together, so no report on how well it will work for a couple of weeks.

OK, I pulled the spear and took a look inside. Nice shiny silver. So I took an old chisel and chipped off some of the coating and it's nice and hard stainless.

So this means if I want to use this for a Brutus 20 electric or the countertop brewery I'll need to recess all the fittings and electrical connections and enjoy some extra insulation.

OR... someone has a good way to remove that hard candy shell and let that nice stainless shine. There is a cool factor to consider.

seanoj: I'm way behind you, this is my first part and I haven't even planned the build. I have a long way to go.

Thanks for the info so far.

On closer inspection it would appear the handles and the base are solid hard plastic with no stainless core. That leads me to believe that there is a stainless pill shaped keg contained inside this black shell.

If I somehow found a way to cut it off I would end up fabricating a way for it to stand upright, which would be fine, but I would also lose insulation. I think the best plan would be to paint it, and recess any and all attachments through the plastic.

I would use it as a fermenter but I'm hoping to move toward plastic conicals and build a fermenting chamber to regulate temps. This forum has my head swimming with so many ideas and projects I can barely sleep.

+1 for use as a mash tun

Use it as an electric BIAB rig! ;0)