New Electric Keggle, barrel style

[SirJoshuaIV]

I recently built myself an electric control box powered by a BCS-460 to replace my gas fired system. I got my hands on some brand new kegs and decided to use those as my kettles.

Punched the holes for the temp probe, thermometer, ball valve and element. Then I wrapped the kettle with some foil insulation. Then came the fun part of lining the keg with wooden slats to make it look like an old barrel. Barring some minor problems, I think it came out looking pretty well.

One down, two to go. Once I am done, I will put a few coats of a heavy duty high temp poly

 

[iijakii]

That is fantastic!

 

[Ramitt]

Beautiful work.

 

[ChocolateMaltyBalls]

That's awesome! If I can ever get my hands on a keg it's going to be a bottom drain MLT and I'm gonna do something very similar.

BTW do mind going into a little more detail on how you fit the slats?

 

[runningweird]

That's really neat! What kind of wood? Did you treat it with anything? Do you forsee issues cleaning the keg?

Cost for one keg assembly?

 

[benbradford]

I enjoy the odor of my wood warming as I begin to boil

 

[SirJoshuaIV]

Benbradford, I love what you have done! I plan to stain a similar color, and then seal it.

I used cedar lath strips, they are 1/4" x 1.5". How I fit the slats was simply cutting them to the height of the keg. I wrapped the keg with insulation, and added an extra layer in the middle to add more R-value, as well as give the traditional barrel look by bowing it out in the middle. I used a diamond tipped bit (any hardened metal bit should work) and drilled holes for each slat, top and bottom, one at a time working my way around the keg. After each slat was pre-drilled I screwed it in, moving to the next. This was extremely time consuming but allowed for a better fitting. All in all it took 38 slats to go around, and I luckily ended up with the last one fitting perfectly snug, what are the chances!!!

Each slat has a small gap in between them that you cannot see in this picture. The biggest measuring just over 1/8". In order to make this as sterile as possible I will be putting on a rustic color stain, and then several hefty layers of a high grade poly. This will seal the cracks and resolve any cleaning issues. On some of the larger seems I will put a thin twine inbetween and poly over that.

Since the system is electric, I am not too concerned with heat, especially with insulation between the poly and the heat.

 

[SirJoshuaIV]

The cost to make this was rather negligible. I was lucky and I got my hands on a pallet of 6 new kegs for free. I also had a bunch of extra blicheman boilmaker parts laying around from a larger system, so all components are blicheman.

But here is a breakdown of what I would expect it to cost with those included. Sorry for the lack of too much detail in this breakdown, as I did not save receipts and I am going off memory here.

Keg and hardware
Keg Used - 75?? (craigslist or bad sealed one from local brewery)
Weldless ball valve - 25
Thermometer - 25
Camco Heating Element - 20
Shrink seal for element - 10
temp probe - 20

Barrel making supplies (enough to make 3 kegs)
Cedar slats 25
Metal tap screws 20
Insulation foil wrap 40
poly and stain 30

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

Delhi???? I went to collage there about a lifetime ago!! Got arrested(only time in my life) for trespassing at the off campus housing.Got to spend a night in jail...For trespassing at a collage I went to! The good ol days. Beautiful area!!