5 Gallon Sanke keg - worthwhile?

[llenrocs]

I have an opportunity to pick up a 5 gallon sankey keg (1/6 barrel?) cheap and was wondering if it would be worthwhile? How hard would it be to clean & sanitize? Any maintenance issues to deal with over time? I believe this size would be too small to be useful for a brewpot or MLT. Any other uses?

I currently have a ball-lock cornie setup with two kegs.

Any advice appreciated, thanks.

 

[SeamusMac]

Do you brew lagers? If so they make great lagering vessels if your fridge can hold more than 2 cornies. Alternatively you could use it like I use mine... They're fantastic to bring to parties if you know you'll drink all of it and you don't want to haul all of your CO2 gear with you.

If it's truly cheap-cheap then I think you should buy it and worry about the particulars later before someone else snatches it up. YAY for impulsive buying!

 

[WortMonger]

I have a bunch of them and they are great. I actually prefer them over the Corny style kegs. Once you get it down it doesn't take but a second to open them and to clean them. Sealing them back up is a cinch too after some practice. There are a lot of threads dealing with this, and too much info to post as just a response. So, I would do a search on this forum and they should all pop up. The reason I like them is they seal all by themselves with not having to set the seal with CO2 pressure. They also have fewer parts to clean. A simple oxyclean or PBW soak removes everything from inside them, followed by a rinse and Star-San sanitizing. They also are ready to go with commercial taps and easily interchangable with a commercial keg, since that is what they are. PM me if you want more info, but you should be able to find more than enough information with a quick search on here. Cheers, and welcome to the wonderful world of Sanke kegs. I can't praise them enough.

 

[SowegaBrews]

I'm not sure what WortMonger is on, but I've never even tasted it...

I have 3 cornies, and 4 sankes. I will go out of my way not to have to use the Sankes. The valve setup is MUCH cheaper with cornies. I got all of my sankes free, and still would have done almost as well just going ahead and buying more cornies instead after having to buy taps and gas lines for the Sankes.

Not to mention how much harder they are to clean since you can't get your arm down in there to scrub and be sure everythings clean before you sanitize.

As always, to each his own. WortMonger I'll happily trade you all of my sankes for a couple cornies!

 

[SeamusMac]

Not to mention how much harder they are to clean since you can't get your arm down in there to scrub and be sure everythings clean before you sanitize.

Wise words... If you don't stay on top of cleaning your Sankey kegs shortly after using them they it's very difficult to get out the most stubborn crud that Oxyclean and PBW cannot dissolve. I've never encountered such an animal but I clean it immediately after each use and use a little dental mirror to inspect the underside of the lid to be sure I haven't left anything behind to harden.

 

[ajwillys]

I say +1 to WortMonger. I use only sanke kegs and love them. They are incredibly simple to take apart and put back together. If you don't fully disassemble the spear (no reason to really, in less its really bad), there are three parts. The keg, the spear, and the ring that holds the two together.

I can pop the spear out in 30 seconds, rinse, fill it with oxyclean, drop the spear back in and let it soak overnight. The next day, I have a clean keg.

It's true that you can't really scrub the inside, but this only necessary if you go a long time without cleaning.

 

[IrregularPulse]

I had a bunch and sold them for ball locks. But kept one. Never know when you'll be going to a buddies house that has a kegerator. Just transfer your beer to the sanke keg and you can hookup to his setup. It's worth just having one around. They're not bad to take a apart and clean.

 

[WortMonger]

I don't know why people have such a hard time with Sankes. They are easy to clean and I never have to scrub. An overnight oxy soak and Viola! Taps being more expensive is true, but after the initial purchase of a few (a few more free if you know a cool beer salesman) they are far less work (not considering your arm can't reach in them, but you can't with a carboy either). Sanke taps go on one way and have way way way fewer parts to worry about sanitizing.

Kegs are a "to each their own" type of deal, but how many friends with kegerators that don't brew can you easily take a keg of your stuff to and instantly put it on tap? If you don't fear the smaller hole, or the more expensive tap connections (I have 3 now, and only need 2. True they get more expensive if you have more kegs on tap), then they are superior in my mind. If those are your only two worries... then remember all the o-rings (5), posts (2), poppet valves (2), smaller diameter dip tube (1 and hard to clean since you can't get your "arm" in there or even a brush), and the biggest for me... don't seal and set without a shot of pressure 9/10 times.

I ferment in a Sanke under pressure and never have to do anything to have a sealed and set keg. This is with low pressure build up, not so when I was using Cornies. Some people have no problem with good seals, but all the extra places they can leak other than just the 1 o-ring + the fact that they are the commericial standard makes them more attractive to me. Just my other $.02.

 

[springer]

+1 to Wortmongers statements. I have 3 converted cornies that use Sanke connects. I also have two 1/2 barrels and three 1/4 slims that I use them as fermenters and serving vessels..They are very simple to clean hot water oxyclean and an overnight soak. They really don't get cruddy at all. I also have 20+ push lock and a few pin locks . Also have four 3 gallon cornies they all have their place in my brewery.

When I know we will drink all the beer its nice to just have a pump party tap and not lug around the tank.

 

[llenrocs]

Thanks for all the advice guys. I didn't really mean to spark a debate over Sanke vs Corny. I will likely pick this keg up this weekend if it is convenient to do so.... I am not going to go out of my way to get it. Cleaning it was my biggest concern, but my worries have been dispelled here.

 

[wilserbrewer]

I don't know why people have such a hard time with Sankes. ..... they are superior in my mind.

You're not alone brother.

 

[RonRock]

I'm not sure what WortMonger is on, but I've never even tasted it...

I have 3 cornies, and 4 sankes. I will go out of my way not to have to use the Sankes. The valve setup is MUCH cheaper with cornies. I got all of my sankes free, and still would have done almost as well just going ahead and buying more cornies instead after having to buy taps and gas lines for the Sankes.

Not to mention how much harder they are to clean since you can't get your arm down in there to scrub and be sure everythings clean before you sanitize.

As always, to each his own. WortMonger I'll happily trade you all of my sankes for a couple cornies!

I'll take that trade. If you are serious LMK, we can work it out.

 

[springer]

I am still at a loss with people saying you can get a heavy crud buildup in a Sanke. Mine are pretty clean after sitting a week or two with beer in them when I get around to cleaning them . if you are talking beerstone then with either its a bitch to clean. I just use a caustic cleaner and it works well on both types

 

[WortMonger]

Thanks for all the advice guys. I didn't really mean to spark a debate over Sanke vs Corny. I will likely pick this keg up this weekend if it is convenient to do so.... I am not going to go out of my way to get it. Cleaning it was my biggest concern, but my worries have been dispelled here.

Not a debate, a preference. We are all allowed to have those . Most people that don't like Sankes either don't use them enough to be comfortable with them, or are already set up to use cornies almost specifically. I prefer Sanke, others prefer Corny, but the whole cleaning myth has to be debunked. If you are crappy with any keg it is a bieoootch to clean, regardless if you can get your hand in there or not. As for beerstone... people with beerstone need to step up their cleaning regiment. If you clean your kegs good everytime you use them, they will all be easy to clean the next time.

Oh, and most peoples hang up with Sankes are the snap ring vs. easy to open pail lid (if they aren't hung up on the opening size [and then if they have never brewed in a carboy before, which has an even smaller opening than a Sanke... not to mention highly breakable]). It takes me longer to situate a pail lid and set it with pressure than it ever would to drop in a spear assembly, key it in the neck of the Sanke, and then slide in the snap ring with no-teeth plyers (teethed plyers will scar your snap rings and shorten their life). The later takes me all of 30 seconds. Opening a Sanke, takes all of 2 seconds.:rockin:A little help? Gotta situate the end of your snap ring to line up with the keyway to get a screwdriver under it easily for the next time, this is the only way to make a Sanke easy to open!!! When I acquire a new keg, 9 out of 10 times the brewery has made the ring not line up. Hence, hard to open. That indention on the ends of snap rings is easy to get under with a small screwdriver and then just a turn of your wrist pops it off. Easy pleasy

 

[ajwillys]

Good tip wortmonger. The other thing that makes it really easy to get the snap rings off is a sanke knife.

https://morebeer.com/view_product/7544

This will make it easy to remove the snap ring whether it is lined up with the keyway or not. That funny shape slips in there and pulls them out perfectly. I made my own with a butter knife and a dremel tool.

 

[WortMonger]

Oh man, those bring back memories. I used those religiously at the brewpub. They work great for those stubborn kegs. Make sure you keep steel cold if you are making it out of something like a butterknife. That's a great idea BTW ajwilly. Everyone has a old thin blade knife somewhere to scrap

 

[Sacdan]

I just picked up a 5 gallon sanke and plan to use it for lagering. Couldn't pass it up for $20.

 

[mmmooretx]

If I had ~$2200 + $250 for shipping I would buy a pallet of 25 from the Beverage Factory, and I currently have ~15 ball lock cornis. Oh yeah and the two tools to take them apart for cleaning.

 

[bpmpg]

I haven't started kegging, but plan to soon (yay tax refund from deployment). After looking at the forums, and the price of kegs (~70 for used corny, ~120 for new corny, and <90 for 1/6 slim), I will be going with sanke 1/6s. In other news, I just casked my tavern ale into my shiny new Geemacher pin (ordered direct from their website).

 

[bgrungeman]

What about yeast sediment being picked up by the spear when dispensing? Does everyone filter before filling Sankes?

 

[wilserbrewer]

What about yeast sediment being picked up by the spear when dispensing? Does everyone filter before filling Sankes?

The sanke spear end is about a 1/2" above the bottom of the keg. I get clear beer, yeast remains in the keg and is removed when empty / cleaning.