I lucked out getting this....and can I use this as a keg??

[jrk4295]

Ok...im not sure if making a new thread for this was right or not, but im brand new...so here it goes.

Im trying to gather up equipment to start brewing, and i want to go strait into all grain. I have a couple of things already that I lucked out with. My dad had bought a couple of liquid oxygen tanks from a scrap yard years ago, and i cut one apart thinking..."awesome...a nice 20gal heavy stainless kettle" and as if that wasnt enough, when i cut it open there was a nice little 10gal? stainless tank inside.....my question is can i use the smaller tank as a keg? It held liquid oxygen, so i dont think pressure and sealing will be a problem....and i can attach fittings for a bottle and tap...and the manifold on top actually has a pickup tube similiar to that of a keg that runs down to the bottom of the tank...ill get pictures of that later.

 

[TopherM]

If it is airtight and accepts fittings, then you can probably use it as a keg. The only issue I would figure out would be filling it, though again, if it accepts fittings, I guess you could use CO2 to force fill it.

I looked at the pic before I read your description, and my first thought was actually "FERMENTOR."

 

[Jamminjoenapo]

Sell it and buy a keg. If its in good condition it is a decently expensive piece. But then again you found it at a junk yard.

 

[jrk4295]

well it was only at the scrap metal yard, because our friend that owns the place buys out businesses for cheap and scraps out everything...these came from a rest home i believe, and they're medical grade oxygen tanks...so the stainless looks immaculate. Dont get me wrong....i would love to buy a keg instead....but we got two of those oxygen tank assemblies for i think $35 each....my father is a blacksmith, and i work for him...and we have ALOT of different fittings and accumulated stuff...plus we're poor haha....so put those two together, and that's why im trying to scavenge as much as i can.

As far as filling it goes....that top unbolts and its got like a 2.5" opening....and about using it as a fermentor, that was my first thought too haha....but i got another one, so...maybe 2 fermentors? 1 keg/fermentor?...2 kegs?...who knows haha...playin it by ear as of right now

 

[chrissomebody]

yeah, i think i would make a nifty fermentor out of that thing. rigging it up to use it as a keg will probably be more headache than it's worth.

 

[djfriesen]

Wish I knew more about kegs. In my mind, if it can hold pressure, and has the pickup tube, it could be used as a keg. I would think medical grade SS would be fine for a keg. My inexperience would lead me to believe that rigging it up as a keg wouldn't be a significant headache.

Run the pics over to the DIY forum or the Kegging/Bottling Forum and see what those guys said. Some pretty resourceful people over there, and it sounds like you have access to tools and knowledge of your own. I have to think you can make this thing work.

 

[Elweydoloco]

OH yeah that can be a Keg no problem! You're in Paint Rock I'm in San Antonio if you feel like make the 3 or 4 hour drive and buying a stainless steel spool of wire, and you getting some fittings from AHS or maybe we can see what my Dad can get his hands on from his work Swagelok wise I'll weld it up for you. I've also got access to a horizontal band saw and we can cut and do whatever we need to do.

I'm fairly certain staring at it, the dip tube is on the middle fitting? If so, I say you cut it off and put a fitting you can run to your tap. Also all the other fittings would need to be closed off but one for the CO2 in line and it appears that you can take off the manifold bolts already to fill it.

 

[DaleP]

That looks like the raw material for the original Penrose Kettle! There are quite a few kettles floating around St Louis that were cut down base units. We never did anything with the inners, that looks like a 40 liter. The outer makes a dang good Kettle.

 

[jrk4295]

OH yeah that can be a Keg no problem! You're in Paint Rock I'm in San Antonio if you feel like make the 3 or 4 hour drive and buying a stainless steel spool of wire, and you getting some fittings from AHS or maybe we can see what my Dad can get his hands on from his work Swagelok wise I'll weld it up for you. I've also got access to a horizontal band saw and we can cut and do whatever we need to do.

I'm fairly certain staring at it, the dip tube is on the middle fitting? If so, I say you cut it off and put a fitting you can run to your tap. Also all the other fittings would need to be closed off but one for the CO2 in line and it appears that you can take off the manifold bolts already to fill it.

Awesome...a fellow Texan! I really appreciate the offer, but we got the stuff in our shop to weld stainless, as well as a band saw and a buttload of other tools...but thanks for the offer. I'll try to get some pictures of what the tank looked like originally, and take that upper assembly off and post some pictures of it taken apart

 

[jrk4295]

OH yeah that can be a Keg no problem! You're in Paint Rock I'm in San Antonio if you feel like make the 3 or 4 hour drive and buying a stainless steel spool of wire, and you getting some fittings from AHS or maybe we can see what my Dad can get his hands on from his work Swagelok wise I'll weld it up for you. I've also got access to a horizontal band saw and we can cut and do whatever we need to do.

I'm fairly certain staring at it, the dip tube is on the middle fitting? If so, I say you cut it off and put a fitting you can run to your tap. Also all the other fittings would need to be closed off but one for the CO2 in line and it appears that you can take off the manifold bolts already to fill it.

Awesome...a fellow Texan! I really appreciate the offer, but we got the stuff in our shop to weld stainless, as well as a band saw and a buttload of other tools...but i really appreciate the offer. I'll try to get some pictures of what the tank looked like originally, and take that upper assembly off and post some pictures of it taken apart

 

[Elweydoloco]

Cool man happy welding. I just broke 7 bottles of homebrew falling out of my truck on route to the hunting property for bow season opening.

 

[Jayman931]

Ouch....spilling beer is bad....spilling your homebrew (which I haven't done yet...knock on wood) has to be gut wrenching...sorry for your loss...

 

[itsme6582]

I'm sure I'm the first to say this after this thread has leaked over to 2 pages.

That looks like a fermentor. Not a keg. By the time you make that think work as a keg you could by at least one cornie.

 

[Elweydoloco]

Yeah it sucked hard. Adding insult to injury all I'm seeing are javelina. Someone cut off the water valve to our land so all our troughs are dry. It sucks. Had to get two 50 gallon drums of water for the weekend filled.

Plus note the double chocolate stout is good but needs more aging. The apocalypse was great.