Megamouth Torpedo Ball Lock Kegs

[bluelaker]

Hi! Guys,

There are newest megamouth ball lock kegs at www.morebeer.com

Megamouth Torpedo Ball Lock Kegs | MoreBeer
https://www.morebeer.com/products/megamouth-torpedo-ball-lock-kegs.html

 

[McMullan]

Looks good for pressure fermentation and conditioning naturally. What I'd really like to see, though, is a 3 or 4" TC ferrule on top. Just because it offers more options when used for fermentation mainly.

Edit: And maybe an additional ball-lock post, just in case. And one or two small (0.5" or 0.75") TC ferrules for fitting a blow-off tube, thermowell, etc. The 'Torpedo Kegmenter'. I like it

 

[Deadalus]

It will be interesting to see where these might be more optimal in terms of dispensing. Two 5 gallons stacked are about 0.3" too tall in my 7 cu ft freezer which has a 2x8 collar. I can't quite fit four ball locks on my keezer floor, only 3. I can't say whether I could fit 3 of these new ones there. I wouldn't want to be stacking five gallons though in a tall keezer as would be needed for that if a 2x10 was used. Might be a game changer for refrigerators though as two 5 gallons stacked might allow a total of four. When I had a fridge for my kegs, I could only fit 2 on the floor. It is much easier to get kegs in and out of a refrigerator. I have a square cooler that my 3 gallons won't quite sit in, so maybe the 3 gallon would fit something like that as well. The difference in height between the 3 gallon of this new style vs Torpedos 2.5 gallon is 1.35". Maybe a big rectangular cooler could possibly fit two.

 

[bluelaker]

It will be interesting to see where these might be more optimal in terms of dispensing. Two 5 gallons stacked are about 0.3" too tall in my 7 cu ft freezer which has a 2x8 collar. I can't quite fit four ball locks on my keezer floor, only 3. I can't say whether I could fit 3 of these new ones there. I wouldn't want to be stacking five gallons though in a tall keezer as would be needed for that if a 2x10 was used. Might be a game changer for refrigerators though as two 5 gallons stacked might allow a total of four. When I had a fridge for my kegs, I could only fit 2 on the floor. It is much easier to get kegs in and out of a refrigerator. I have a square cooler that my 3 gallons won't quite sit in, so maybe the 3 gallon would fit something like that as well. The difference in height between the 3 gallon of this new style vs Torpedos 2.5 gallon is 1.35". Maybe a big rectangular cooler could possibly fit two.

 

[bluelaker]

As I know,there is a style kegerator which can hold 2pcs 10 gallon megamouth Torpedo ball lock keg.
Maybe this kegerator will be sold in American market at the beginning of 2023

 

[CascadesBrewer]

Megamouth Torpedo Ball Lock Kegs | MoreBeer

For a fermenter, I would have loved to see something like that at least in the 6.5 gallon size. I wonder how much the 6 gallon one can actually hold. I have some of the 10L / 2.6 gallon Torpedo kegs, and right up to the rim is close to 2.9 gallons, with a little less than that to the bottom of the gas post. I have heard that the slim-line kegs are a bit undersized (they don't actually hold as much volume as they are labeled as).

The 7.6 gal Kegmentor is more expensive and I don't think the shape would fit into my chest freezer.

 

[bluelaker]

There are 6.5 gallon Torpedo keg and megamouth keg,but Morebeer does not sell this volume keg ,
you may tell their customer sevice you like 6.5 gallon keg,then maybe they will consider to sell
6.5 gallon keg.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

There are 6.5 gallon Torpedo keg and megamouth keg,but Morebeer does not sell this volume keg ,
you may tell their customer sevice you like 6.5 gallon keg,then maybe they will consider to sell
6.5 gallon keg.

Honestly, I am pretty happy with my 7 gallon Fermonster fermenter, but I do look at the 7 gallon Ss Brewtech Brew Bucket as a potential upgrade to stainless. The price, form factor and easier cleaning of this keg makes it a bit tempting. I do agree that some type of a port in the lid would be helpful as a fermenter.

Though every time I look closer at kegs > 5 gallons, I tend to think that I would be better off just adjusting my batch size a bit and using one of the 5 gallon kegs that I already have.

 

[bluelaker]

Megamouth keg is a better choice more to homebrewers

 

[renstyle]

I wonder how much the 6 gallon one can actually hold.

I have one of the standard lid 6.1gal torpedo kegs. Fantastic fermenter, all I use.

Can fill 23L at right around gas post height.

I drop 21L wort in to ferment, have 2L-ish headspace and end up with 19L into serving keg.

These megamouth versions are also 23L so I would expect similar results.

EDIT: 21L on my keg is riiiiight up to the weld line where the top attaches to the cylinder.

 

[Yesfan]

Bump.

If anyone has one of these kegs, can I get some dimensions of the lid? The main one in particular the inside distance where the handle attaches to the lid. I like to know the largest TC ferrule or bulkhead I can put on there for the reasons @McMullan mentioned.

 

[SanPancho]

Bump.

If anyone has one of these kegs, can I get some dimensions of the lid? The main one in particular the inside distance where the handle attaches to the lid. I like to know the largest TC ferrule or bulkhead I can put on there for the reasons @McMullan mentioned.

View attachment 811184

You can get a 1.5 tc ferrule on a regular lid. No reason it won’t fit on that big ass one. Probably a qd post too.

 

[quantumguy]

Bump.

If anyone has one of these kegs, can I get some dimensions of the lid? The main one in particular the inside distance where the handle attaches to the lid. I like to know the largest TC ferrule or bulkhead I can put on there for the reasons @McMullan mentioned.

View attachment 811184

3 9/16" from the inside of the brackets. This in on the 6 gal Megamouth.

 

[Yesfan]

You can get a 1.5 tc ferrule on a regular lid. No reason it won’t fit on that big ass one. Probably a qd post too.

That's what I did for my 15 gallon corny. I had to flip the bail though to make it work. You won't have to with this one, LOL!

3 9/16" from the inside of the brackets. This in on the 6 gal Megamouth.

Thanks. A 2" bulkhead should be an easy fit, but wonder if a 3" would be feasible. What would be cool, if the megamouth has room, is be able to add a large enough port to add a chilling coil like with the Spike/Kegland fermenters.

Thanks for the info guys.

 

[Jackson Akson]

I recently bought two 6 gallon megamouth kegs. I have been trying unsuccessfully for about 3 hours to get the lid to seal. It is the second time this keg has been filled. I started at 12 psi with lightly greased orings and worked up to 60psi with half a jar of keg lube on the oring, lip and lid. For the love of God, I cannot see anything wrong with any component. The PRV and QD's look fine (do not show leakage) - just massive leakage around the lid. I have bottled for over 30 years without such annoyance.

 

[cactusgarrett]

May seem trivial, but have you tried rotating the lid to fit on the other direction (rotated 180°)? I've got a newer 6gal one and I couldn't get the lid to seal (although I didn't try too hard) until I rotated the lid. I now put a piece of tape on the keg handle to align and match up the lid lever handle so it's in the same position everytime. So far, so good.

 

[Jackson Akson]

May seem trivial, but have you tried rotating the lid to fit on the other direction (rotated 180°)? I've got a newer 6gal one and I couldn't get the lid to seal (although I didn't try too hard) until I rotated the lid. I now put a piece of tape on the keg handle to align and match up the lid lever handle so it's in the same position everytime. So far, so good.

Thanks for the feedback. I tried every combination of keg & lid orientation and pull direction I could think of. The flip over locking mechanism is useless for me. Using it, I get zero oring compression at both ends of the lid, resulting in zero pressure buildup inside the keg. Usually I can lift the keg using the locking lever as a handle, crank the CO2 and twist the lid back and forth until the oring seats, then pressure buildup does the rest. For whatever reason none of that worked for me on my last batch. After about 5 hours I threw the lid and oring in boiling water for about 30 seconds and was able to get to oring to seat on the next try. I seriously doubt my beer remained sanitary throughout the process though.

 

[cactusgarrett]

I've seen the suggestion, with normal cornys, to put a shim of some sort (like a coin) under the feet of the lid to make the levering interface tighter. Maybe try that, too? How tough is it to engage the lid lever?

 

[Jackson Akson]

I've seen the suggestion, with normal cornys, to put a shim of some sort (like a coin) under the feet of the lid to make the levering interface tighter. Maybe try that, too? How tough is it to engage the lid lever?

I have seen that recommendation, but I have not tried it. My kegs are new, undamaged (for the moment) and the feet are in good shape. It takes a fair amount of effort to engage the locking lever, but it is difficult to keep the lid in a centered position while activating the lever. I have seen videos (normal cornys) where the lid could be manually shifted/massaged with the lever engaged to find a 'sweet spot' for sealing, but I'm unable to move my lids with the lever engaged. They are quite tight but still don't seal on the ends 90 degrees away from the lever feet. 12 psi internal pressure should provide about 300 pounds force to compress the oring. I have no issues with CO2 leakage once I obtain some pressure build up, but the initial oring seating has proven to be annoying. I feel like I am trying to seat the bead on a truck tire with a bicycle hand pump. Will attempt again in a few days....

 

[day_trippr]

Assuming your keg lid has a pull-ring style PRV, you can apply lifting pressure on the lid via the PRV ring and center the lid before latching the bail with your other hand. And it totally helps if you've applied a thin layer of silicone grease to the lid O-ring...

Cheers!

 

[Jackson Akson]

Assuming your keg lid has a pull-ring style PRV, you can apply lifting pressure on the lid via the PRV ring and center the lid before latching the bail with your other hand. And it totally helps if you've applied a thin layer of silicone grease to the lid O-ring...

Cheers!

I have that style PRV and will give it a try, perhaps tomorrow. My Irish Ale spit foam at me today so I now have an empty keg. Thanks for the suggestion.... and thanks to everyone that tries to help!

 

[IslandLizard]

The flip over locking mechanism is useless for me. Using it, I get zero oring compression at both ends of the lid,

Have you contacted MoreBeer yet? Could well be a manufacturing (or perhaps a design) issue.

For kicks, lie the lid on top of a mirror and see if it lies flat, making contact all around. Maybe it's deformed.
Same should hold for the opening flange, but harder to test and see. Any dents or burrs on the keg's flange or lid rim?

 

[Jackson Akson]

Have you contacted MoreBeer yet? Could well be a manufacturing (or perhaps a design) issue.

For kicks, lie the lid on top of a mirror and see if it lies flat, making contact all around. Maybe it's deformed.
Same should hold for the opening flange, but harder to test and see. Any dents or burrs on the keg's flange or lid rim?

I did a quick flatness check on the lid by laying it on the keezer lid. It looked reasonable. I could not find any defects on the lid or keg flange. Both of my kegs arrived fully charged with CO2? and I had used this keg once before, so I knew it was at least capable of sealing. It will be about 8 days before I try the problem keg again, but at the moment it is providing me beer. On a positive note, I filled keg number 2 today and had it fully sealed in about 15 seconds (lifting up on the lid using the locking lever as a handle and applying 12 psi CO2). I used a McMaster-Carr o-ring in place of the OEM o-ring. Fit was perfect. Part number is 9452K419. Cost was $9.69 for a pack of 5. Thanks for the assistance!

 

[Jackson Akson]

I was able to resolve all my issues getting the Megamouth lids to seal. I was getting insufficient gas flow to seat/seal the lid and compress the O-ring. I was using a single regulator on the CO2 tank plumbed to a manifold block with a pair of valves and gas lines supplying 2 kegs. I have one keg serving beer and a backup keg conditioning at all times. I opted to buy a dual regulator setup for the tank so I could condition at higher pressure than I was serving at. Now that I have the conditioning keg gas line coming off straight off the regulator, there is plenty of CO2 flow and the lids seal instantly. Thanks to all those who offered advice and helped. Kegging days is so much better now. Cheers!