Possible to make a keg out of PCV?

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alpo

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I don't mean something you'd keep in the kegerator permanently, but maybe something smaller so you could put a couple in an ice chest or whatever. Seems to me you could build one maybe 12" long and 6" in diameter with an end cap and a cleanout plug set for less than $15 and it would hold around a gallon and a half.

Drill a couple holes in the plug, install 1/4" or 1/8" NPT bulkheads, maybe with some epoxy to help seal it up. I guess you could install valves if you wanted, but it might not necessary. Not sure about the dip tube, I guess you could just use vinyl.

The pipe itself is dirt cheap, so you could have as much or as little capacity as you wanted by changing the length and width without affecting the price very much.

I wouldn't necessarily force carb in it, but it should easily be able to hold serving pressure, right? I wouldn't use it without a regulator since it has no safety valve. MAybe you could install one of those too.

Anyone ever do this? Or do you envision any problems with it?
 
This one comes up at least once a year. The pipe isn't all that cheap unless you find scraps. An end cap, female adapter and cleanout plug in 6" is going to blow out the budget to at least $30 and that doesn't include any gas/liquid connection methods. You'd be better off starting with a 3 liter soda bottle. There's physically no reason it wouldn't work but the cost + build time makes it highly impractical when you'd end up with a plastic keg that can scratch and become unusable.
 
I agree with Bobby on this. You might find it difficult to purchase less than a 10 ft section of 6" dia PVC. You could possibly go around this if you can scrounge up some scrap pipe somewhere. The end caps are very pricey. I have not checked recently, but IIRC they might be $15 or more each.

I guess we're talking schedule 40 PVC which is rated for water line pressures, probably upwards of 125 psi and maybe more. The problem is that you are using a gas (CO2) for carbonation whether forced or natural. Should the PVC rupture for whatever reason, it could become a bomb throwing sharp, heavy plastic shards in all direction. A compressed gas behaves much differently than water under pressure. Water does not undergo a huge volume change when the pressure is released as gasses do. This is why it is not a good idea to use pvc for compressed air lines. You want a material that won't shatter when or if it bursts. Even what we think of as low pressures can be dangerous. The PET bottles are a much wiser and probably more economical way to go. I don't know why some manufacturer hasn't come up with a keg designed specifically for home brewers. The smaller 2, 2-1/2 & 3 gallon corny kegs are great, but way too costly and that's too bad as these are ideal.
 
Why not just buy an actual stainless keg? The cost isn't THAT far apart... and you're working with something that was intended to hold liquid under pressure.
 
+1000 for what Bobby_M said too!

I too wish there was a cheap miracle, but... you really can't beat what is already out there, and 3 liter soda bottles are about the largest/cheapest thing you are going to find for "free .99" or for cheap. I like the soda bottles better than growlers, less glass shards when you drop them.
 
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