I just got a free 10 gallon keg

[phyllobeddo]

A guy at work that recently transferred into my department brought me a 10 gallon Challenger VI pin lock keg this morning. It's scratched up on the outside and has some gunk in the bottom on the inside, but I'm going to do my best to clean it up. All the parts are intact except the rubber O-ring for the lid. I will order a conversion kit to convert it to ball lock and an O-ring kit I should be good to go! After that, I will have to brew 10 gallon batches, lol. And he wouldn't take any money for it and said he had no use for it.

 

[Onkel_Udo]

A guy at work that recently transferred into my department brought me a 10 gallon Challenger VI pin lock keg this morning. It's scratched up on the outside and has some gunk in the bottom on the inside, but I'm going to do my best to clean it up. All the parts are intact except the rubber O-ring for the lid. I will order a conversion kit to convert it to ball lock and an O-ring kit I should be good to go! After that, I will have to brew 10 gallon batches, lol. And he wouldn't take any money for it and said he had no use for it.

Obviously the move to 10 gallon batches is going to add to much stress to your life. As a result, I am graciously offer to take this burden off your hands.

 

[phyllobeddo]

It should fit nicely in the the Kenmore chest freezer that's in my basement. It's been sitting in the basement since we moved in almost eight years ago. I never plugged it up all these years until this past Sunday when the wife and I did some re-arranging. It came right on and dropped to 0 degrees a couple of hours later and has been running since. Maybe it'll hold up and become my keezer.

 

[phyllobeddo]

I never could get the bottom of the keg cleaned out. There was a black speck at the bottom that never would go away with scrubbing and with oxi clean soaks. The guy that gave it to me said he would take it home and clean it out with a pressure washer. He brought it back to me after pressure washing it and I noticed a pin hole in the bottom of the keg. Seems there was a weak spot/rusted spot that he blew through with the pressure washer. He took it back home and is planning to weld it somehow to get the hole fixed. Nice guy, huh? Maybe he can get it fixed up and I can use it one day. I will have to buy some new parts to convert it to ball lock if it ever gets fixed.

 

[Gavin C]

If you get it back you could use it as a fermentor, save you the stress of going to 10g batches.

That's dissapointing about the hole in the bottom. This guy sounds like a great pal. Hopefully his weld will fix it.

 

[dmcman73]

Lucky you found the weakness now and not when there was 10 gallons of brew in there under pressure....

 

[Stealthcruiser]

If you get tired of messing with it, send it over here...........

 

[phyllobeddo]

If you get it back you could use it as a fermentor, save you the stress of going to 10g batches.

That's dissapointing about the hole in the bottom. This guy sounds like a great pal. Hopefully his weld will fix it.

Excellent idea! It might serve me better as a fermenter for five gallon batches vs a 10 gallon keg since I usually brew 2.5 gallon batches.

I've got a couple of recipes that I would like to have 10 gallons of, but I don't see my brewing 10 gallon batches any time soon (no desire and not enough equipment). Well, I guess I could do back to back five gallon batches, though.

 

[phyllobeddo]

Lucky you found the weakness now and not when there was 10 gallons of brew in there under pressure....

Yes, the sun was shining just right. When he brought the keg back I was holding it in the air and looked down into it and I was able to see light coming in through the pinhole!

 

[DrunkleJon]

Just know that welding stainless is a PITA and if done wrong can cause rust. Maybe melting some silver solder there and let it pool around the hole like floor leveling compound would work. Regardless with heat added you want to passivize the stainless again before use. Otherwise rust happens.

 

[phyllobeddo]

Last I heard on this was that the welder was having problems with the bottom of the keg. The pinhole had grown much larger. So, the keg may be toast. I should find out tomorrow.

 

[phyllobeddo]

The keg is toast. The welder borked it up. My buddy's a bit bummed about it, so he's on the lookout for another keg.

 

[Stealthcruiser]

Show us the "bork", Por Favor.

 

[phyllobeddo]

Show us the "bork", Por Favor.

I'm hoping to have a pic tomorrow. Dude's gonna give me the lid and fittings as a consolation prize. They are pin lock and I have ball lock fittings, but I reckon the lid will work.

 

[Onkel_Udo]

No matter the damage, a skilled welder should be able to drill out the damage and put in a patch...it could be a starsan/line cleaner keg if nothing else.

 

[mbobhat]

Just a thought, you can solder a triclamp fitting to the bottom after you cut the hole a bit bigger. I did that to a keg with a hole in it, and currently ferment in it. Works great for cleaning when I'm done. Although I did a sankey keg so there was room for the fitting not to hit the ground when it is standing up.

 

[phyllobeddo]

Still no pics. Still leaks.

I'd really like to use it as a fermenter, but I don't know what the best way to fill the leaks in the bottom of the keg is!?!?! It would need to be food safe and cost effective. I would be fine using it as a Star San keg as well if there isn't anything food safe that would work. Silver solder looks to be too expensive and there's a lot more holes than when it started. I wonder about some type of epoxy? The damage now spans several inches across, so I doubt soldering a tri clamp on will help.

 

[Stealthcruiser]

Pics yet?



How 'bout now?.............

 

[phyllobeddo]

Pics yet?



How 'bout now?.............

Dude never brought the keg back. I changed jobs as well. I'll never see that one again.