Cheap corny kegs, or, "I've made a huge mistake"

[Horseflesh]

Recently I got a pile of gear dirt cheap from a guy's moving sale, including 7 corny kegs. "Dirt" cheap is definitely the word here, because these kegs had apparently been kept outside for years, maybe in an actual garbage dump... or maybe it was just a garbage hobbyist's dump. Once I got them home and took a closer look I wondered if I had made a huge mistake...

One of the kegs (not shown) had a warped mouth and lid. I could actually not remove the lid without bending the metal. It looked like the mouth had actually distorted from overpressure, which I didn't think would be possible. I had to scrap that one since I was unable to remove the lid without inflicting fatal damage to the mouth. I have never seen anything like it. Did they make corny kegs with curved lids? Even if they did, that keg suffered some kind of calamity to warp the mouth to the point where the lid could not be removed.

The rest of the kegs were in much better shape, but each post was tightened as if the owner had been attaching props to the drive shaft of a cruise ship. I had to SIT on the kegs to get enough leverage to remove the posts. And inside...? Oh boy.

Inside a couple of these kegs was twelve year old dregs. It was like a crime scene. Compared to the odor of TWELVE YEAR OLD DREGS, "just" the dirt, bird crap, bugs, pine needles, and mouse crap on the other kegs was like a $&#* vacation.

As I set about cleaning these beasts, I was swearing like the father in A Christmas Story... while trying not to puke.

"GOD ^&#@& it, you MONSTER, WHO WOULD DO --" uurrrgghhh "--WHO WOULD LEAVE KEGS LIKE--" urrrgggghhhuuuaaaaahhhhh "--LIKE THIS OH LORDY, GOD AND BABY JESUS--" unnnggghghhhh "--SAVE MEEE--" uk uk uk urrrgghhhh "--SMITE THAT DIRTY S.O.B.--" runs away to breathe

I probably sounded like a cat dispensing a hairball onto your bed at 2 in the morning. uk uk uk urrrgghhhh...

If I can ever get the insides clean enough to use then I can worry about the exterior, covered in stickers, spraypaint stencils, and paint overspray. Who gets rattle can overspray all over your keg posts?!

Right now I am not convinced that any of these kegs will ever be clean enough for toilet wine or chemical weapons, much less beer. The PBW I just added is fizzing like holy water on a vampire... I'm scared to see what's going to shake loose.

 

[smurfjuice]

Hope you didn't pay much ...

 

[triethylborane]

Im sure pruno has been made with worse and fermented in worse conditions. Not much worse.

 

[kh54s10]

They are stainless steel. They should clean up. Even in that condition they would go for at least $45 ea. Probably $50 here in RI.

 

[Horseflesh]

I ended up getting them for free, basically. They came with a pile of stuff and I re-sold what I didn't want for as much as I paid for the whole lot. My final cost for these will be in elbow grease, PBW, and o-rings. I may need new poppets and a few posts, not sure yet.

 

[Inkleg]

I ran across some like that though the exterior weren't that bad.
I filled them with about 4 gallons of water (so there is enough to slosh around) and two scoops of PBW each and strapped them in the bed of my truck. I drove to work for 3 days, emptied, rinsed and repeated for another 3 days. This was in August so the water temperature was probably around 100+. By the end the insides were sparkly clean. I imagine a tub filled with water large enough to hold a keg would clean the outside the same way.

 

[jekeane]

Free certainly makes them worth the work. I bought a few that had been sitting outside for who knows how long for around $25 each. It took a pretty significant amount of work to get those clean but they are all still in commission at this point. With new keg is coming down to the $75 range I probably won't work too hard on these types of kegs unless I'm getting them for $25 or less.

 

[applescrap]

Recently I got a pile of gear dirt cheap from a guy's moving sale, including 7 corny kegs. "Dirt" cheap is definitely the word here, because these kegs had apparently been kept outside for years, maybe in an actual garbage dump... or maybe it was just a garbage hobbyist's dump. Once I got them home and took a closer look I wondered if I had made a huge mistake...

One of the kegs (not shown) had a warped mouth and lid. I could actually not remove the lid without bending the metal. It looked like the mouth had actually distorted from overpressure, which I didn't think would be possible. I had to scrap that one since I was unable to remove the lid without inflicting fatal damage to the mouth. I have never seen anything like it. Did they make corny kegs with curved lids? Even if they did, that keg suffered some kind of calamity to warp the mouth to the point where the lid could not be removed.

The rest of the kegs were in much better shape, but each post was tightened as if the owner had been attaching props to the drive shaft of a cruise ship. I had to SIT on the kegs to get enough leverage to remove the posts. And inside...? Oh boy.

Inside a couple of these kegs was twelve year old dregs. It was like a crime scene. Compared to the odor of TWELVE YEAR OLD DREGS, "just" the dirt, bird crap, bugs, pine needles, and mouse crap on the other kegs was like a $&#* vacation.

As I set about cleaning these beasts, I was swearing like the father in A Christmas Story... while trying not to puke.

"GOD ^&#@& it, you MONSTER, WHO WOULD DO --" uurrrgghhh "--WHO WOULD LEAVE KEGS LIKE--" urrrgggghhhuuuaaaaahhhhh "--LIKE THIS OH LORDY, GOD AND BABY JESUS--" unnnggghghhhh "--SAVE MEEE--" uk uk uk urrrgghhhh "--SMITE THAT DIRTY S.O.B.--" runs away to breathe

I probably sounded like a cat dispensing a hairball onto your bed at 2 in the morning. uk uk uk urrrgghhhh...

If I can ever get the insides clean enough to use then I can worry about the exterior, covered in stickers, spraypaint stencils, and paint overspray. Who gets rattle can overspray all over your keg posts?!

Right now I am not convinced that any of these kegs will ever be clean enough for toilet wine or chemical weapons, much less beer. The PBW I just added is fizzing like holy water on a vampire... I'm scared to see what's going to shake loose.

Great deal!!

 

[Gravity]

They are stainless steel. They should clean up. Even in that condition they would go for at least $45 ea. Probably $50 here in RI.

+1

I would test pressure retention then replace the in/out ports

I've bought "dirt cheap" kegs before and with a little work, I wind up saving money

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

This with PBW will do a damn good job...

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FAYT8IG/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[Horseflesh]

That keg washer looks great, I just bristle at the price. I already have a powerful pump that I use for beer line cleaner, and lots of tubs and hoses, so I may try to improvise my own base.

 

[JonW]

I ran across some like that though the exterior weren't that bad. I filled them with about 4 gallons of water (so there is enough to slosh around) and two scoops of PBW each and strapped them in the bed of my truck. I drove to work for 3 days, emptied, rinsed and repeated for another 3 days. This was in August so the water temperature was probably around 100+. By the end the insides were sparkly clean. I imagine a tub filled with water large enough to hold a keg would clean the outside the same way.

This is brilliant! Why have I never thought of this?

I sometimes have a dozen or more dirty kegs sitting around and it takes forever to rotate them through the keg cleaner (bucket/pump). Only downside is I would go through a lot more PBW.

 

[Inkleg]

This is brilliant! Why have I never thought of this?

I sometimes have a dozen or more dirty kegs sitting around and it takes forever to rotate them through the keg cleaner (bucket/pump). Only downside is I would go through a lot more PBW.

You could probably get by with less or use Oxi-Clean free if they're not too bad. I went with 2 scoops as my kegs were in about the same condition as the OPs.

Funny thing was that on day 5 of this truck bed keg washing experiment I finally decided to trade in my 2002 Dodge Ram in on a 2015 Dodge Ram. The guys at the dealership helped me move the kegs from my old truck into the bed of my new truck. I went back the folioing weekend with a case of bottled beer to share. I seem to be well received when I go in for service now.
Home brewing sure seems to make more friends than stamp collecting.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

That keg washer looks great, I just bristle at the price. I already have a powerful pump that I use for beer line cleaner, and lots of tubs and hoses, so I may try to improvise my own base.

Yeah, it's convenient, but I think when you look at cost of components, it's probably got quite a large markup. I didn't necessarily mind that because I'm too lazy to rig something up myself. Plus, I don't mind helping out someone who is trying to make a living (or spare income) making life easier for homebrewers.

But yes, if you've already got a pump, I'm sure you could rig something up that's easier.

This is brilliant! Why have I never thought of this?

I sometimes have a dozen or more dirty kegs sitting around and it takes forever to rotate them through the keg cleaner (bucket/pump). Only downside is I would go through a lot more PBW.

Just rig up a robotic arm to your BCS to rotate the kegs through, Jon!

Because I'm sure you'd hate to have dirty kegs leaking PBW into the trunk of your nice car

 

[JonW]

Just rig up a robotic arm to your BCS to rotate the kegs through, Jon!

Because I'm sure you'd hate to have dirty kegs leaking PBW into the trunk of your nice car

I have a truck also - I'd never put kegs of PBW in the trunk of my car!

 

[November]

I typically deal with sankeys so elbow grease isn't an option so I use lye. Be cautious with it but it will clean them with no scrubbing in a matter of minutes. Just in case you run into a couple that are stubborn.