Help with "Vintage" keg usage.....

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Hunlock

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Hi


I recently picked up a few kegs for an upcoming AG project, and came across an old Genesee keg, with the side wooden plug.

An idea what I can/should use this keg for? I am unsure about about the side bung, unless I can plumb something into it????


Thanks for any help!

Tim
 
I wouldn't bother with it unless you know it was properly stored and taken care of. Wooden barrels need to be stored wet. You could always chop it in half and use it for garden pots for hops. Or make a bar table out of it.
 
I wouldn't bother with it unless you know it was properly stored and taken care of. Wooden barrels need to be stored wet. You could always chop it in half and use it for garden pots for hops. Or make a bar table out of it.

Actually, the keg is aluminum, and in good shape. It's just the side bung that is wooden.....
 
Search HBT, I recall it being talked about recently. Someone was having plugs made for those kind of kegs.
 
Search HBT, I recall it being talked about recently. Someone was having plugs made for those kind of kegs.

Thanks. I'll give it another shot.

It was just another keg that my local distributer was getting rid of. If I do nothing with it, it won't bother me!
 
Good Ole Genny Cream Ale...lol...I know the exact keg you speak of...lol...Wash it well as there was probably some rotgut Golden Aniversary beer in it at one time...lol...
 
I have a golden gate keg I use for a mash tun, I shove a rubber bung in the hole from the inside. works great. one day I will get it to a welder.
 
I have a golden gate keg I use for a mash tun, I shove a rubber bung in the hole from the inside. works great. one day I will get it to a welder.



That's not a bad idea. I was thinking about using it for my HLT, but not sure how the rubber would hold up to the heating element....MLT sounds like a better idea!
 
Search for Golden Gate kegs or Hoff Stevens kegs, that's what style yours is. I have a 5 gallon one, I'm going to use it for aging something in. Just what exactly, I have no clue yet.

$75 for that beat up POS keg? Inconceivable!
 
The only limitation of the aluminum kegs is that I believe they are internally coated, I would not direct fire an alum. keg for this reason. Probably make a fine Electric hlt, mash tun, fermenter.
 
my old golden gate keg is S.S. not aluminum. they also make cool serving coolers. put a shank/tap in the center hole. put a cornie in with ice. everyone will think you are the sh t.
 
That's not a bad idea. I was thinking about using it for my HLT, but not sure how the rubber would hold up to the heating element....MLT sounds like a better idea!

I have a couple of old Carling Hoff-Stevens kegs (a.k.a. two prong taps). I cut the top off of one of them and turned it into a keggle for my boil pot. I actually like the shape of this better than a Sankey keggle because of the curve at the top helps prevent boilovers and the dish shape in the bottom makes it easy to whirlpool the trub into the center.

I made a pickup ring for the bottom out of 3/8 copper to fit the outer ring and it does a great job of picking up clean wort after stiring up a good whirlpool and letting it settle. A little stainless scrubby stuffed in the pickup tube groove keeps all the trub in the center dish. A couple cheap gate handles pop riveted near the top and you've got handles too!

To plug the side bung hole just get a large wine barrel bung from your local HBSH in either rubber or silicone to fill the hole. I got one with a airlock hole, inserted it from the inside, and used 5/16 SS bolt and wingnut with a piece of plate on the outside to make a leak free plug. Don't worry about heat as your burner can't get the SS keg that hot that high and the rest will never be hotter than boiling. I've used mine many time with no problems with the plug.

BTW, if you're upgrading from an old AL turkey fryer pot like I was, the outside of the bottom ring make the perfect place to cut and have the AL pot lid fit just perfectly into the keggle.

Oh, and as luck would have it the same outside ring on the bottom perfectly mates with the ring on my burner base making it almost impossble to tip over when full, or at least with 10gal in it. It's a hole lot more stable than a Sankey on the same burner.

I wish I could take credit for planning all this out very carefully ahead of time, but it's just not the case. Anyway, I'll settle for luck. My homebrew club buddies think I'm lucky as s**t that it worked out so well given the stabiilty issues and wort clearing issues with Sankey keggles.
 
In the Alaskan Bootlegger's Bible the dude had a keg similar to that and used a plumbing expansion plug to fill the thing iirc. I was looking for what they were called and found this:
http://www.newmantools.com/cob/pipeplugs.htm
That second listing down looks like it would be a great match if it is an Al keg, and aces if you wanted to ferment in it, depending on how that center vent hole works.
 
I have a couple of old Carling Hoff-Stevens kegs (a.k.a. two prong taps). I cut the top off of one of them and turned it into a keggle for my boil pot. I actually like the shape of this better than a Sankey keggle because of the curve at the top helps prevent boilovers and the dish shape in the bottom makes it easy to whirlpool the trub into the center.

I made a pickup ring for the bottom out of 3/8 copper to fit the outer ring and it does a great job of picking up clean wort after stiring up a good whirlpool and letting it settle. A little stainless scrubby stuffed in the pickup tube groove keeps all the trub in the center dish. A couple cheap gate handles pop riveted near the top and you've got handles too!

To plug the side bung hole just get a large wine barrel bung from your local HBSH in either rubber or silicone to fill the hole. I got one with a airlock hole, inserted it from the inside, and used 5/16 SS bolt and wingnut with a piece of plate on the outside to make a leak free plug. Don't worry about heat as your burner can't get the SS keg that hot that high and the rest will never be hotter than boiling. I've used mine many time with no problems with the plug.

BTW, if you're upgrading from an old AL turkey fryer pot like I was, the outside of the bottom ring make the perfect place to cut and have the AL pot lid fit just perfectly into the keggle.

Oh, and as luck would have it the same outside ring on the bottom perfectly mates with the ring on my burner base making it almost impossble to tip over when full, or at least with 10gal in it. It's a hole lot more stable than a Sankey on the same burner.

I wish I could take credit for planning all this out very carefully ahead of time, but it's just not the case. Anyway, I'll settle for luck. My homebrew club buddies think I'm lucky as s**t that it worked out so well given the stabiilty issues and wort clearing issues with Sankey keggles.



That's great it worked out for you!

I got my hands on a few sanke's, so I might think of another use for this bad boy...
 

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