Is it just me...

[tmurph6]

Is it just me or do any of y'all think keg design is stupid. Why do they need to be shaped like barrels or cylinders?? Why not make them rectangular so they're easier to "stack". This would also make them shorter and more would fit in a given space. I think I may have my million dollar idea. This thread is to document it.

 

[jgourd]

That's why the soda companies pawned them off to us and now use thick bags in cardboard boxes. They stack on shelves.

 

[nebben]

If it was just holding liquid, a cube might work better when considering storage of many cubes. Beer, however, is carbonated. Cubes need to be beefier to hold up to pressures that they will see, and therefore more expensive. Cylinders are cheaper and easier to produce, and can withstand pressures with less material.

That's my take on the whole thing. Its the same reason why airliners are tube shaped instead of square shaped, and why wine is also sold in boxes (non carbonated wine).

 

[cox8611]

Is it just me or do any of y'all think keg design is stupid. Why do they need to be shaped like barrels or cylinders?? Why not make them rectangular so they're easier to "stack". This would also make them shorter and more would fit in a given space. I think I may have my million dollar idea. This thread is to document it.

Square and Rectangle design presents cleaning and sanitation problems due to the welds needs to make the edges. If the keg were still cylinder shaped but wider and shorter, it would stack very easily. The real issue is that they don't make normal fridges high enough to stack kegs. THERE is where we need of focus ;-)

 

[cino101]

same style conversation on the comment thread on this page:
http://designfabulous.blogspot.com/2010/03/eco-coke-bottle-design.html

really cool design but concerns about pressure

 

[tmurph6]

Its the same reason why airliners are tube shaped instead of square shaped, and why wine is also sold in boxes (non carbonated wine).

Well airlines are tube shaped due to aerodynamics and wine is actually in a bag because it's cheaper than bottles. The box is just there for packaging.

I really don't think the pressure or welds is too much of an issue. You can simply extrude stainless steel to make a cavity for the beer, and the pressure isn't as much of a concern as the force generated by that pressure. I haven't done any calcs, but i'm sure a steel box can hold 30 or so PSI of CO2 pretty easily in a 5 gallon container.

 

[malkore]

probably way way way cheaper to roll the keg shape and weld it once, than welding 4 corners to make a box.

 

[rawlus]

i find cylinders easier to handle and easier to work with and clean... they can be designed efficiently to hold high pressures with less mass.

 

[nebben]

Well airlines are tube shaped due to aerodynamics and wine is actually in a bag because it's cheaper than bottles. The box is just there for packaging.

I really don't think the pressure or welds is too much of an issue. You can simply extrude stainless steel to make a cavity for the beer, and the pressure isn't as much of a concern as the force generated by that pressure. I haven't done any calcs, but i'm sure a steel box can hold 30 or so PSI of CO2 pretty easily in a 5 gallon container.

Ok, I'm not an engineer. This is true. Extruded stainless steel keg cubes would be cool, yes. They would also be extremely expensive. A 5 gallon welded metal cube container holding beer at 30PSI though...(to be fair, lets compare a welded thin gauge metal cube made of the same material that a corny keg is made of)... One of these will look a lot more like a ball if/when it ever gets to 30PSI+, yes?

Wine is also sold in boxes because it can be protected from light and oxygen very cheaply, especially when it is served since no air ever touches the un-served wine. Since wine is not under pressure, there aren't really any reasons to not have it in a square shape which incidentally is perfect for more efficient storage and shipping. Champagne is in bottles and not boxes for a reason, and looking pretty isn't it.

Sorry to hijack the thread, but airliners and kegs are round for roughly the same reasons: cylinders can more easily withstand the forces of pressurization with less metal than squares can. Square fuselage cross section shapes are less aerodynamic in a sense that there is more wetted area compared to a similar sized round fuselage.