Got two free sixtels. I've never kegged before. Need advice.

[MrHalfStash]

So I got two sixtels from my manager that had been sitting in the basement of the restaurant for who knows how long. Needless to say they are pretty dirty. I've been seeing a lot more information about kegging with corny kegs. Is it a pain in the ass getting beer into the sixtel? How do you? Is it worth the effort to clean them and get all the necessary equipment to use it?

 

[KegconnectionLLC]

Just an FYI on this. If these kegs have the name of a brewery on them they are the property of that brewery and would be considered stolen property if they are used by you. If they are not the property of the brewery be VERY CAREFUL not to hurt yourself when taking them apart. They do not have pressure relief valves and people have been hurt in the past taking them apart and finding out they have pressure in them when the ball shoots out into your head. As far as filling them and cleaning them it is not near as easy as a soda tank that many people use, but one way I hear about people doing this is leaving the valve on and using a sanke tap with the check valve (usually a little ball inside the top of the tap) to bring in cleaning solution and later beer. In my opinion (and I sell both types of kegs) the ball lock or pin lock homebrew kegs are much easier to use for a homebrewer and you don't have to worry about the "ownership" issues in possibly using a breweries keg. Breweries typically pay over $100 to replace a keg that does not come back to them.

 

[DrunkleJon]

Agreed. Sankeys are more difficult to open/close. There is also always the issue of stolen kegs. The best bet is to depress the ball before atempting anything to relieve all the nasty mankey stuff that is inside with a wooden dowel or screwdriver wrapped in a towel before trying to remove the spear. There are a couple posts in the DIY section which explain how to get into the types of Sankey kegs.