Corny Keg prices

[zoebisch01]

Ok, so what is the bottom line if I want to buy a used keg from the get-go. I have no components now and would like to slowly get into kegging (basically I want a nitro system for stout). What is the best direction in terms of longevity. I see the posts about problems finding replacement parts...what is the best way to proceed?

 

[sirsloop]

its like buying a used car... cheap purchase price but who knows when stuff will start to fail. New cars are a lot more expensive, but at least you know where you are at with them.

As far as nitrogen/beer gas for stouts... any particular reason other than fancy looking bubbles and a creamier head? Has anyone ever tried one of those aeration faucets? Supposedly if you push back on them they mix air in w/ the beer and make a smooth foam come out to give a nice controllable head.

 

[Pedro-]

Ok, so what is the bottom line if I want to buy a used keg from the get-go. I have no components now and would like to slowly get into kegging (basically I want a nitro system for stout). What is the best direction in terms of longevity. I see the posts about problems finding replacement parts...what is the best way to proceed?

I've never had problems finding replacement parts. I have typ A in that picture for a pressure relief valce, and ball lock.

I would say whoever and wherever you buy call ahead of time so you know what your buying. If they have more than one just request what you feel comfortable with.

 

[Brewpastor]

As far as nitrogen/beer gas for stouts... any particular reason other than fancy looking bubbles and a creamier head? Has anyone ever tried one of those aeration faucets? Supposedly if you push back on them they mix air in w/ the beer and make a smooth foam come out to give a nice controllable head.

I have an old style stout faucet that has an adjustable flow. It has a valve the resricts the flow. You can get a nice creamy head on any beer with this faucet. I found it on ebay after a lot of searching. I cleaned it up and love it.

 

[zoebisch01]

I have an old style stout faucet that has an adjustable flow. It has a valve the resricts the flow. You can get a nice creamy head on any beer with this faucet. I found it on ebay after a lot of searching. I cleaned it up and love it.

Do you use that with CO2 or Nitro?

Sorry don't mean to hijack the thread! Just that it all ties into cornies anyways....well sort of lol.

 

[Brewpastor]

No nitro required.

 

[Pedro-]

No nitro required.

i need one of those!

I fashioned an adaptor with some High density (refridgerator) water line, a hose barb to 1/2 in adaptor, a restrictor plate made from a pop can, and a 1/2 in extension. fits right inside my picnic faucet.

ghetto rigged, but it does a decent job on my first stout! and for $1.75 in parts I wasn't worried if it failed! :rockin:

 

[Flyin' Lion]

always keep an eye out on craigslist. i've found the majority of my kegs through craigslist.

also, a little bit of calling around may be able to get you some kegs. try calling the local pepsi and coke distributors and see if you can buy some kegs from them.

also, on ebay, a seller i know of who sells 4 kegs for 80 shipped every now and then is: dianah5331, they don't have any kegs listed right now, but they go up every now and then. recently they've only been pin lock though.

also, i believe you are referring to seller 'superlarry' for the kegs that went up in price. i think prices will only continue to rise, so if you can find cheap sources for decent kegs, get enough to hold you over... (i now have over 30 kegs)

I initially got my kegs from Dainah5331 and was itching to by more but, like you said, they have only been selling pinlock lately. I called today but never heard back from them, so I'm waiting to see if they have any more ball lock kegs left. I may have to suck it up and pay a bit extra just for the piece of mind.

 

[gnef]

what's nice about buying used kegs though, is that for the most part, the lids are all the same (except for the really old 'racetrack' style lids), so if you don't like the lid, just get a new oval one, and it should mate right up.

posts are a different story though. i think the different manufacturers have a different threading for the posts, so if you ever need to replace the post, make sure you know the manufacturer and series. same with poppets.

 

[Ize]

This whole thread has gotten me thinking that I might need to pull the trigger on some cornies. I'm not even remotely close to kegging now (shooting for this summer) but in my search of the local recycling depots (zilch) and the local pepsi distributor (they must have sensed I prefer Coca Cola, no go) I struck out. So I'm going to have to buy from Ebay. pedalbiker (who is famous for his keggles) has some good deals so I'll probably end up with some cornies sitting in my garage just to beat the price increases that are sure to come.

And yeah, they have gone up over the past couple of months.

Ize

 

[Flyin' Lion]

Ize, it's a great way to "store" your beers. Without a kegerator you are removing temptation to drink them and can age them longer. Just rack into the keg with half of your normal amount of priming sugar, then purge the O2 after some Co2 has built up from carbonation.


Here's to another kegging convert.

 

[Ize]

Ize, it's a great way to "store" your beers. Without a kegerator you are removing temptation to drink them and can age them longer. Just rack into the keg with half of your normal amount of priming sugar, then purge the O2 after some Co2 has built up from carbonation.


Here's to another kegging convert.

And for some ridiculous reason I didn't think about that. Thanks man!!



Ize

 

[gnef]

you will still want to get a co2 tank. many used kegs won't seal without a blast of high pressure. the refermentation process for carbonating usually doesn't provide enough pressure at one time to properly seat these lids. in this case, all that carbonation will just exit through the leak. plus this way you can purge the keg before you rack. and how would you serve without a co2 tank, when you eventually would want to get the beer out of the keg?

if you don't want to purchase a co2 tank right off the bat, you can go with co2 catridges and a little trigger with a FFL fitting to fit on the MFL of a QD. this will be cheaper for the short term, but the cost of those cartridges add up pretty quickly.

 

[Ize]

Excellent to know gnef. :rockin: I've actually found that getting a tank around here is a helluva lot easier to find than the cornies. Go figure.

Ize

 

[gnef]

haha. craigslist? that's where i buy all that i can.

just to reiterate, always check for leaks BEFORE you put your beer in. check everything for leaks: regulator, valves, fittings, gaskets, tubing, etc. it only takes one leak to drain your tank.

keep us updated on your progress!

 

[Ize]

LOL, craigslist in my area sux unless your looking for Princess Diana plates...

It's Ebay or nothing.

But thanks for the advice on the kegs. :rockin: I'll keep you posted.

Ize

 

[Flyin' Lion]

LOL, craigslist in my area sux Ize

Here too.

I found what would have been a sweet deal in our local trading post, CO2 bottle kegs and cornies for $100. Called the guy like three times, no answer and won't return my calls. He either sold it, changed his mind or is scared to answer the phone.

 

[TRNDRVR]

What if a certain noob was to say he has a somewhat endless (it'll end eventually) supply of "pepsi" style soda kegs, and this certain noob was willing to make them available to HBT.com for a reasonable price, would there be any interest?

What would be the "reasonable price" everyone would be willing to pay for say 4 at a time shipped?

Just curious at this time.

I just brokered a 100 of them and was thinking about selling some via the internet.

Thanks, and sorry for hijacking this thread.

 

[gnef]

i guess i'm really lucky then. in the austin area, co2 tanks come up fairly regularly (often enough for me to get 6+ tanks within a year and half). and kegs come up with almost the same regularity (now over 30 kegs). plus an assortment of other things. i've only seen a beergas tank on craigslist once, and i snapped it up very quickly. i scour craigslist every day though, i've let some good deals slip through because i was too slow.

edit - a fair price is around 80 dollars if they are clean for four. last year i bought some from another member of a different board who sold 4 for 75 shipped. there are ebay sellers who sell four for 80 shipped as well. if they aren't clean and not guaranteed to hold pressure, the price i'd be willing to pay goes down significantly.

 

[Flyin' Lion]

What if a certain noob was to say he has a somewhat endless (it'll end eventually) supply of "pepsi" style soda kegs, and this certain noob was willing to make them available to HBT.com for a reasonable price, would there be any interest?

What would be the "reasonable price" everyone would be willing to pay for say 4 at a time shipped?

Just curious at this time.

I just brokered a 100 of them and was thinking about selling some via the internet.

Thanks, and sorry for hijacking this thread.

Definitely post this in the Classifieds as well where people are going to be looking if they are in the market. The "other" brew board has a couple of members selling their kegs for 75-80 dollars for 4 shipped, but prices do seem to be on the rise. We certainly need a thread in the classified section from an industrious individual willing to sell kegs 2 or 4 at a time.

 

[Ize]

The ones I was looking at were 4 for $90, but only $18 for shipping. (which is a deal compared to some I've seen) I'm willing to bite the bullet and pay lower tho.

Ize

 

[Spyk'd]

I just purchased 4 kegs from Keg Connection last night and it came to about $25 per keg.


I like to think of my purchases in the greater scheme of things....


I paid $22 for two six packs of Dead Guy Ale the other night (yeah MS sucks for alot of things)



I got a great deal on the kegs. I'll let you know how they look when they get here!

:cross:

 

[abracadabra]

you will still want to get a co2 tank. many used kegs won't seal without a blast of high pressure. the refermentation process for carbonating usually doesn't provide enough pressure at one time to properly seat these lids. in this case, all that carbonation will just exit through the leak. plus this way you can purge the keg before you rack. and how would you serve without a co2 tank, when you eventually would want to get the beer out of the keg?

if you don't want to purchase a co2 tank right off the bat, you can go with co2 catridges and a little trigger with a FFL fitting to fit on the MFL of a QD. this will be cheaper for the short term, but the cost of those cartridges add up pretty quickly.

I know this seem to be the consensus. But in my experience it is not correct. If your o-rings are new or in good condition, lubricated and the $0.98 plastic feet on you lid swing arms are in good shape the corny should seal with no problem or added pressure. Mine do.

 

[gnef]

i agree that it shouldn't be this way, but most of us buy used kegs, and many times, there may be small imperfections in the lid itself, or on the keg side which mates to the lid.

not all my kegs are like this, just some. once the lid seats, it's fine, but i definitely need to put pressure on some of the kegs before they seal.

 

[olllllo]

Once I get a keg to seal, I mark the orientation with a marker and I always keep the keg parts with the original keg. I never swap lids, etc.

 

[uuurang]

I did a thread search for leeners.com but didnt find anything. Sorry if this has been covered already.

They have a four pack special for pin lock kegs $60 plus shipping. there out of ohio so shipping to me was $16 and change which = $19 bucks a keg shipped.

Be warned they are pin-lock not the prefered ball-lock kegs that most people seem, imo, to prefer, and they are sold as-is, which means no guarantees.

I can only say from my experience that my kegs are clean inside and out and the parts/mechanicals are all intact and look to be in good shape. Unfortunetly I have not had a chance to see if they hold pressure, yet.

http://www.leeners.com/kegging.html

I've already replaced the lids at this point, so it's kind of a moot point.

2 of the lids were style c and the remaining had no PRV. FYI. Thanks Buford.

 

[roryspa]

Hi, guys! I was reading the last post about used kegs being $25 and I have seen that price before. I have also seen the reconditioned ones anywhere from $45-$60. How much are the o-rings? How easy is it to clean them up yourself? and is it worth the hassle? Because if it is easy and the rings are cheap it might be a could idea for me.
as always thanks for any advice!

 

[knipknup]

Hi, guys! I was reading the last post about used kegs being $25 and I have seen that price before. I have also seen the reconditioned ones anywhere from $45-$60. How much are the o-rings? How easy is it to clean them up yourself? and is it worth the hassle? Because if it is easy and the rings are cheap it might be a could idea for me.
as always thanks for any advice!

I received new o-rings when I bought mine. However, they are typically around $5 to purchase alone for a set.

The cleanup work is so very easy. All you can work a wrench and a sponge, you can do it. The hardest part is getting the little o-rings off the QD ports, and that still fairly easy. I just use an awl, others cut them off, which is ok because they are replaced with the new ones.

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

If you order the o-rings in bulk from McMaster-Carr it's like $2/keg. But you have to buy the post rings in lots of 100 and the big o-ring in lots of 10. ~$20 for all of them, I think.

 

[uuurang]

I'll second what Baron von BeeGee said, I ordered from www.mcmaster.com on tue. this past week. I plugged in the o-ring product number at the mcmaster web site from the list at the bottom of this link to northern brewer, http://forum.northernbrewer.com/viewtopic.php?t=6854.

The o-rings arrived Thur. Total cost was $21.51 with shipping.

I compared o-rings with what was on the used cornys, the big lid oring was the same, the interior dip tube orings same, but the exterior post orings were a little smaller than what was on the corny. Maybe pin lock(coke) kegs use a bigger post oring than the ball lock (pepsi) posts???