Keg shortage?

[Odbrew]

I went to my lhbs and they are selling ball lock cornys for $82. To which I was told they are getting harder to find. Granted its been 6 months or so since I looked for kegs but holy cow that's double what I paid. Has something happened to the supply I missed? Lol

 

[AgentHubcap]

at $80 a pop, I've got 10 to sell!

 

[Grippe]

I blame Putin.

 

[Hello]

My LHBS claims to have a bunch at $70 a pop. Looks like I'll likely buy at least one at that price.

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

Every time my LHBS says they are running out of stock the next week they have 5-10 more...

One shop sells for 65 the other i think is still 55....

 

[AgentHubcap]

Every time my LHBS says they are running out of stock the next week they have 5-10 more...

One shop sells for 65 the other i think is still 55....

Brew brothers was out for months, and after they managed to get some in, they had a waiting list for them.

Main brew has them in stock because they're more expensive (main brew is also better at keeping stock in general)

 

[Clonefan94]

I've been hearing the shortage thing since I started brewing in August of 2012. In fact, I was told that the very day I started and bought 2 ball locks at my LHBS. Now I'll give them credit, they don't normally have a lot on hand and a lot of times are out of stock, but if I needed a keg, I wouldn't have a problem getting one in my area. There is a guy on craigslist selling them all the time for $50 for local pick up.

There is definitely a supply and demand issue though. At one time, there were more on the market than people who needed them. It seems to have kind of balanced now and the days of give-aways to get them out of the warehouse are obviously gone.

At $80 though, I'd definitely just go ahead and buy new. If you really shop around on the internet, there are places that you can get a new one (Italian made) for about $100.

 

[Odbrew]

Unfortunately I was beat to a 3 for $100 craigslist find I just couldn't believe the price. Ill have to start checking the scrap yards out here I guesd

 

[ronshosti]

I was able to find 4 kegs for $50 a pop on my local Craigslist so I snapped up all 4 even though I needed only one.

 

[Chrisl77]

If you don't care about cosmetics try these. I got some single handle ones from them a year ago and they where in decent shape, but they are not in stock right now.

 

[Early8]

It seems to me that as the price goes up the condition of the used ball locks is declining. I am starting to shift my thinking to new, but I have not tried a new ball lock keg yet. I have been looking at kegco.....


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew

 

[Scottanooga]

I don't think there's a shortage. I think there's more demand, so suppliers are charging more accordingly. I guarantee you can order as many kegs as you want, you just may not like the price.

 

[SeeMont]

As someone who is new to kegging, I was shocked to find how suddenly hard it became to get Corny kegs. The softdrink industry has moved away from this product delivery system in this country leaving the kegs as surplus. I was happy to pick up three today for $50 each off Craigs list.

 

[duboman]

I've been hearing the shortage thing since I started brewing in August of 2012. In fact, I was told that the very day I started and bought 2 ball locks at my LHBS. Now I'll give them credit, they don't normally have a lot on hand and a lot of times are out of stock, but if I needed a keg, I wouldn't have a problem getting one in my area. There is a guy on craigslist selling them all the time for $50 for local pick up.

There is definitely a supply and demand issue though. At one time, there were more on the market than people who needed them. It seems to have kind of balanced now and the days of give-aways to get them out of the warehouse are obviously gone.

At $80 though, I'd definitely just go ahead and buy new. If you really shop around on the internet, there are places that you can get a new one (Italian made) for about $100.

They're actually $55 now and doesn't have the supply he used to and is having a harder time keeping supply, limiting quantities purchased as well.

They are harder to find at affordable prices, getting closer to the price of new


Sent from the Commune

 

[iaefebs]

Having bought my first kegs in 2005, Ive seen this issue over 9 years. Kegs were pretty cheap, then the scrap price of Stainless Steel went up. Keg prices rose because scrap prices rose. China was still using soda syrup in kegs so a lot of kegs got shipped overseas. Stainless scrap dropped and prices went down a little. In the meanwhile parts for kegs were incredibly cheap because kegs were damaged so it was inexpensive to buy lids and posts. People started talking about a shortage and everyone laughed because you could still find $18.00 kegs, then it was $25, then $30. Last couple years it keeps going up. More people are kegging, less supply, higher demand. Prices rise. Hard to say where it will go as people drop out of homebrewing and sell equipment. I think it will stabilize around $50 though in the next few years. All I know is that my keg investment is outperforming my 401k....

 

[smccarter]

Glad I bought when I did. I've got 9 and can never fill them all at once.... always have 2-3 empties on hand no matter how fast I brew.

Hate to hear the price has gone up as much as it has. Any more and bottles will start looking like the better bargain.

 

[seph]

You can still get them at reasonable prices if you look around. Living in Central Maine, there isn't much out there on Craig's List, so I have started looking at online sellers. The best prices I have found are the loose handle/bottom kegs on homebrewing.org.
http://www.homebrewing.org/Home-Brew-Kegs_c_223.html

Shipping costs money though...for 1 loose top/bottom and UPS Ground, it comes out to $55. That's a decent price.

 

[JDGator]

in Ontario they are around $100-$120 for a new keg and $60 for a used with no PRV.

 

[Clonefan94]

They're actually $55 now and doesn't have the supply he used to and is having a harder time keeping supply, limiting quantities purchased as well.

They are harder to find at affordable prices, getting closer to the price of new


Sent from the Commune

Yeah, I see he raised the price. I guess I was just trying to make the point that I don't really think there is a shortage as much as the market for them is a lot larger now and those that have them know this.

Either way, at this point, I would never pay $80 for a used keg. They obviously aren't floating around anymore at the $35 - $40 range anymore, but there is far from what I would call a shortage. If you really look around there are still plenty of decent prices out there. You just have to be willing to look.

 

[IXVolt]

I regularly see them on CL in the 55 - 65 range

 

[plankbr]

2 of these brand new and the price is fantastic:
Corny Kegs

(I have no affiliation with this company) but I am sure interested in picking up 2 new ones for $144.

 

[smileyak87]

Try living in alaska. None on Craigslist. 85 or more for used ones at the lhbs and over 100 for used ones online after shipping is factored in.

 

[Quaffman]

I just bought 4 of the loose handle pin lock kegs from adventures in homebrewing and after shipping, they came out to $33 a piece. Only 1 of them actually had a loose handle and they're in good shape.