Keg question

[Precious_Paul]

I have access go a half barrel sanke keg but only brewing a five gallon batch, can I still use it to Carb and serve?
Keg was from my father in law they used to keep stone ruination on tap, but he passed away around 4 years ago, life happened and they still have the empty

 

[eluterio]

yup, but one would say why not fill it up!

 

[JoshuaW]

Send the empty back to the brewery! Email them, they will take it. Dont steal that keg!

 

[Precious_Paul]

Thought about it, but then part of me remembers getting the stone law passed here then they decided to build in Virginia but it is theirs.

 

[Precious_Paul]

yup, but one would say why not fill it up!

I'm not brewing 15 gallons on my second batch

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

You "could" use it but not recommended.The problem is the head space.You would have to purge out so much air youd be wasting mad Co2.You NEED to purge the keg or the beer gets oxidized and taste like crap.Bring it to your local beer distributor and ask if they'll swap it for a sixtel..that's the keg you want

 

[JoshuaW]

You "could" use it but not recommended.The problem is the head space.You would have to purge out so much air youd be wasting mad Co2.You NEED to purge the keg or the beer gets oxidized and taste like crap.Bring it to your local beer distributor and ask if they'll swap it for a sixtel..that's the keg you want

Im sure they will if you pay for it. Otherwise, what do they want with a stolen keg?

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

Im sure they will if you pay for it. Otherwise, what do they want with a stolen keg?

I didn't see where it said it was stolen..and still don't
The guy died,I would say that's worthy of cutting some slack

 

[Precious_Paul]

Head space thing is what I was thinking. Will let the brother in law know about the keg going back to the brewery

 

[Precious_Paul]

Well back to where they got it if its still open

 

[JoshuaW]

I didn't see where it said it was stolen..and still don't
The guy died,I would say that's worthy of cutting some slack

If the keg was never decommissioned or properly purchased, and you arent returning it, you are stealing it.

Well back to where they got it if its still open

If the distributor or liquor store wont take it, Kegreturn.com would be a good resource to get it back to the brewery.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

If the keg was never decommissioned or properly purchased, and you arent returning it, you are stealing it.



If the distributor or liquor store wont take it, Kegreturn.com would be a good resource to get it back to the brewery.

Where does he say it was never decommissioned or properly purchased before you immediately assumed it was stolen??

 

[Precious_Paul]

Lord forget it.

 

[arnobg]

They do have a point...you just came in here accusing someone of stealing something with incomplete information and no useful help to the OP.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

They do have a point...you just came in here accusing someone of stealing something with incomplete information and no useful help to the OP.

Agreed I'm done with this..Way to roll out the welcome wagon to a one month old member

 

[Precious_Paul]

It's OK really it's just sat in a garage for a long time. Was going to use it to save cost, joshuaw does have a point though it wasn't theft

 

[TheGoatman]

On the other side of the law, could sell it on Craig's List, or crack it open and use as a keggle... kegs are good for everything!

 

[Precious_Paul]

Lol nah I'll pass the word on trying to get it back

 

[JoshuaW]

Where does he say it was never decommissioned or properly purchased before you immediately assumed it was stolen??

"Keg was from my father in law they used to keep stone ruination on tap, but he passed away around 4 years ago, life happened and they still have the empty"

Pretty clear that it wasnt decommissioned, if it was being used.

I do apologize, I was probably a little harsh with my phrasing. OP, you are right, I did a crappy job introducing my point. Obviously "stealing" it is not your intent, as you seem interested in returning it. I shouldnt have assumed. With that said, kegs are $100 or so. So many homebrewers are quick to cut them open or keep them for themselves, its disturbing. Kegs are a HUGE cost for breweries, that is why the Brewers Association has a website dedicated to getting them returned.

As a peace offering, I imported a bunch of kegs from China for a group buy a couple years ago. I still have a couple kicking around that are dirty and dented. If you would like one of those, I will send it to you for the cost of shipping. It should be about $15. Your pick, 3 gallon or 5 gallon. Shoot me a PM if you are interested and we will work out the details. Again, I apologize for jumping down your throat.

 

[Precious_Paul]

I wasn't mad you had a valid point. The keg in question has just sat in a garage for the last four years. Did pass the word along however. Peace offering is appreciated but not necessary, but very kind. Ty

 

[Morrey]

Wow...you took a licking and kept on ticking! Good job!

If you look around you can find some used ball lock corny kegs that are cheap and quite easy to fill and maintain. I am not so crazy about the sanke keg valves which are geared more for the commercial boys and not us home brew sorts. OKAY...I'll catch flack over that comment, but cornies are real user friendly in comparison at least to ME!

The biggest issue I see and agree with is the huge amount of headspace you'll deal with having 5 gal in a 15 gal container with a huge diameter. Also, look at the displacement or surface area on top of your beer compared to a small diameter corny keg. The corny keg may be worth your while to investigate.

 

[Precious_Paul]

Yeah that's the rub, all my fittings are for sanke (commercial) kegs. I've got their old kegarater

 

[Precious_Paul]

Likely go for a corny though

 

[MeanLowerLow]

Yeah that's the rub, all my fittings are for sanke (commercial) kegs. I've got their old kegarater

I'd covert the kegerator to Ball Lock(s) with something like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Ball-Lock-Home-Brew-Coupler/dp/B005SLT0G6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1460585212&sr=8-2&keywords=ball+lock+fitting

And then, at least some point down the road, get a kit like this to use your ball lock quick disconnects on a sanke keg

http://www.amazon.com/Sankey-Ball-Quick-Disconnect-Conversion/dp/B00C30F75I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1460585276&sr=8-1&keywords=sanke+ball+lock+conversion

Just make sure you have enough height in your kegerator for the ball lock post on top of the Sanke. I have the quick disconnect for when I need to put in a commercial keg and couldn't be happier as far as ease of use.

 

[Precious_Paul]

Thanks @ mean had been looking good to know on the right path

 

[Morrey]

I'd covert the kegerator to Ball Lock(s) with something like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Ball-Lock-Home-Brew-Coupler/dp/B005SLT0G6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1460585212&sr=8-2&keywords=ball+lock+fitting

And then, at least some point down the road, get a kit like this to use your ball lock quick disconnects on a sanke keg

http://www.amazon.com/Sankey-Ball-Quick-Disconnect-Conversion/dp/B00C30F75I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1460585276&sr=8-1&keywords=sanke+ball+lock+conversion

Just make sure you have enough height in your kegerator for the ball lock post on top of the Sanke. I have the quick disconnect for when I need to put in a commercial keg and couldn't be happier as far as ease of use.

I sure agree with the above, and made the switch to ball lock on my beer and gas lines inside the kegerator. Then I added a conversion kit that screws onto my sanke coupler's gas and liquid lines that allow me to use the ball lock connects with a sanke. While I don't use a sanke coupler for my beers, I have an expensive pressurized beer line cleaning tank that uses sanke fittings. So with this system, I can use any sanke coupler and ball lock connects....even a sanke beer keg if I wanted.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

Instead of changing this and converting that why don't you just get a sixtel and your done.No orings to worry about leaking or keg lube or two different connections.My cornys are collecting dust in the basement.To each there own

 

[madscientist451]

I'll jump on the harsh bandwagon and say anyone that is using a keg (for homebrewing) that rightly belongs to a brewery is a thief. Sorry, that's the way it is. If you have something that belongs to someone else, you should return it, not keep it. This is especially true if you KNOW who the rightful owner is. There's lots of places to legitimately purchase used kegs.
Corny kegs are popular because with the lid off, they are easy to clean. If you want to use Sanke kegs, that's fine, but go out and purchase them like you would anything else. Rant over.

 

[Precious_Paul]

I'll jump on the harsh bandwagon and say anyone that is using a keg (for homebrewing) that rightly belongs to a brewery is a thief. Sorry, that's the way it is. If you have something that belongs to someone else, you should return it, not keep it. This is especially true if you KNOW who the rightful owner is. There's lots of places to legitimately purchase used kegs.
Corny kegs are popular because with the lid off, they are easy to clean. If you want to use Sanke kegs, that's fine, but go out and purchase them like you would anything else. Rant over.

Noted. However I don't have the damn thing. My father in law before he passed in 2012 used it. It's still in that garage. So don't call me a thief. I've passed the word on it should likely be returned, if it doesn't then it isn't my problem. I'm not using it because it isn't mine and frankly I'm only on my second batch and I don't brew that large.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

I know I said I was going to back out of this but I'm feelin bad for ya brother. Finding a 4 year old keg in a garage that belonged to someone else that died is laughable that your even getting any slack.....Brew on brewer

 

[Precious_Paul]

I know I said I was going to back out of this but I'm feelin bad for ya brother. Finding a 4 year old keg in a garage that belonged to someone else that died is laughable that your even getting any slack.....Brew on brewer

Keg police I reckon

 

[madscientist451]

don't call me a thief.

Well for the record, I didn't call you that. But going back to kegging in general, since you already have a kegerator (and the regulator, Co2 Bottle and tap?) you ought to just skip the bottling routine and get a corny keg, some new beer lines and new fittings ASAP. If you decide brewing isn't your thing, you can always sell it.

 

[Precious_Paul]

Well for the record, I didn't call you that. But going back to kegging in general, since you already have a kegerator (and the regulator, Co2 Bottle and tap?) you ought to just skip the bottling routine and get a corny keg, some new beer lines and new fittings ASAP. If you decide brewing isn't your thing, you can always sell it.

Yeah did bottling first time but yeah I've got all the rest likely will go corny with this next batch. Naught like ten feet of line a few weeks ago just to have will need to get the ball lock ones but that doesn't too bad