Full Refurbishing Cornys

Found a pallet of non-working Cornys at $5/keg. I'm awaiting details from the owner, but from what I can gather, they're all ball lock style, and they're all missing lids (assuming that means dried out or missing o-rings).

Assuming every part is bad on these and that they can be made to seal, how much can I expect to spend to fully refurb per keg? We're talking poppets, relief valves, etc.

Cornykeg.com has the best prices I have seen for new lids and the rest

http://www.cornykeg.com/catalog.asp?prodid=700187&showprevnext=1

http://www.cornykeg.com/catalog.asp?prodid=682504&showprevnext=1

If you just need new o-rings check our McMaster-Carr for the best bulk pricing.

Wow, that's not bad. Even at $25/keg to refurb worst-case-scenario, that's still very reasonable.

Now just to get a response from the guy and get him to confirm they're definitely ball locks before I make the drive.

Any interest in shipping two of them?

milesvdustin said:

Any interest in shipping two of them?

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Shipping? Mmmm, perhaps. Not sure yet.

The price has me considering keeping a solid dozen (6 that can hold pressure for serving, 6 that can or can't hold pressure for fermenting).

My mind keeps spinning out of control with all of the cool things I could do with a pallet of kegs, by my budget will probably keep that from happening.

I'll let you know, if they're not already gone.

Thanks!

thadius856 said:

Wow, that's not bad. Even at $25/keg to refurb worst-case-scenario, that's still very reasonable.

Now just to get a response from the guy and get him to confirm they're definitely ball locks before I make the drive.

Click to expand...

If they're missing most or all parts, it will run substantially more than $25/keg to refurb. If they're missing the dip-tubes that would add another ~$13. You need to know the manufacturer and model of the kegs (or the post threading) to be able to accurately price out the post fittings. If they are indeed ball lock kegs, that $11 conversion kit linked above won't work. Well, I suppose if the kegs are newer firestones then the gas side fitting would work, but the liquid side fitting won't connect to any ball lock model keg.

If the kegs are newer firestones, the post and poppet set will run ~$20-24. If they're cornelius or AEB, they'll run ~$16-20. If they're older firestone or John Wood, they'll run ~$35.

Seller listed that the posts are included, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're functional. Obviously can't test without lids.

JuanMoore said:

If they're missing most or all parts, it will run substantially more than $25/keg to refurb. If they're missing the dip-tubes that would add another ~$13. You need to know the manufacturer and model of the kegs (or the post threading) to be able to accurately price out the post fittings. If they are indeed ball lock kegs, that $11 conversion kit linked above won't work. Well, I suppose if the kegs are newer firestones then the gas side fitting would work, but the liquid side fitting won't connect to any ball lock model keg.

If the kegs are newer firestones, the post and poppet set will run ~$20-24. If they're cornelius or AEB, they'll run ~$16-20. If they're older firestone or John Wood, they'll run ~$35.

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Are you sure this is accurate? I have some firestone cornelius kegs and I can switch out ball lock or pin lock posts without any problem. If I can do that I don't know why those post wouldn't work on regular ball lock kegs. If he doesn't need the posts he can buy universal poppets and o-rings for cheaper anyway.

I do agree that the total refurb cost depends on what else may be missing.

thadius856 said:

Seller listed that the posts are included, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're functional. Obviously can't test without lids.

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It's pretty rare that posts get damaged enough to need replacement, so you likely won't need to replace any of them. It's more of a concern if they're missing. Same with the diptubes.

suorangeguy said:

Are you sure this is accurate? I have some firestone cornelius kegs and I can switch out ball lock or pin lock posts without any problem. If I can do that I don't know why those post wouldn't work on regular ball lock kegs. If he doesn't need the posts he can buy universal poppets and o-rings for cheaper anyway.

I do agree that the total refurb cost depends on what else may be missing.

Click to expand...

As I said, different keg manufacturers and models have different post thread sizes. The fittings in the kit you linked are both threaded for 9/16"x18, which only fit pin lock kegs made by Firestone and John Wood, or the gas side of newer Firestone ball locks. If you have pin lock and ball lock kegs that you can interchange all of the post fittings on, then they're Cornelius R pin locks and Cornelius spartan or super champion ball locks, which all have 19/32"x18 threads. The kit you linked wouldn't fit those.

FWIW here's the thread sizing for various keg models-

Firestone V Challenger, Firestone VI Challenger, Firestone Super Challenger
Gas 9/16"-18
Liquid 5/8" -18

Cornelius Spartan & Super Champion
Gas 19/32" - 18
Liquid 19/32" - 18

Cornelius R (pin lock)
Gas 19/32" - 18 (2-pin)
Liquid 19/32" - 18 (3-pin)

John Wood 85, Firestone Challenger
Gas 11/16" - 18
Liquid 3/4" - 18

Firestone A, Firestone R, John Wood RA, John Wood RC (pin lock)
Gas 9/16" - 18 (2-pin)
Liquid 9/16" - 18 (3-pin)

You, sir, are full of great info.

If these are still available, I have to drive right past the Chi Company to pick them up. Funny, they're located in my hometown, and I never knew they existed. Even driven through their business park several times. The place is full of vending machine companies, trailer fabrication companies, etc.

Anyhow. I'll assume the poppets are bad but the posts are good then. He did specify that the posts were on them. ChiCo sells the poppets at $2.50/ea.

If all of the dip tubes are gone, I'd probably just buy lids with missing or discontinued valve styles ($6-10 ea at ChiCo) and turn them into fermentors. You don't need dip tubes for fermentor kegs unless you want to keg-to-keg transfer or serve off the trub, right? Even then, I'd only need one of each.

Thanks Juan. They are the super champion.

They do sell a conversion for those thread sizes too. It looks like you won't need either.

http://www.cornykeg.com/catalog.asp?prodid=745051&showprevnext=1

Well, send 3 emails over the span of a week. No responses.

Guess that means I won't be getting the lot of them. Sorry, miles.