Whats the cheapest way to get keg(s)?

[dskadberg]

Howdy, I'm trying to partially break away from bottling and start kegging. Where are good places to look for kegs and what tyoe is best/overall cheapest? Ive done google shopping searches, CL, and of course homebrew stores...but are there any places I'm not thinking of? Also I guess 5 gallon cornys are the most common type? I dont mind if theyre used. I also am looking for tips for how to get carbonation systems cheap. Open to any advice.

Thanks in advance!

 

[LuiInIdaho]

There are a lot of places to buy kegs, but prices and availability have been greatly impacted the last few years.

There are two types of corny kegs that brewers use. There are ball lock which were used by the likes a Pepsi and there are pin locks, which were used by the likes of Coca Cola. The main differences between these two are:
Ball locks - use a ball lock type system on the Corny Quick Disconnects. These are slightly taller (23") and slightly smaller diameter (9") than pin locks.

Also, generally speaking, ball locks have been preferred by brewers because they have a pressure relief valve. Aside from these differences, they function pretty much the same. Ball locks currently run in the $60.00 per keg range while the pin locks are a bit cheaper. The problem is that the soft drink makers are not using these as much now, and both pin locks and ball locks are become more scarce, and therefore more expensive.

If you are not committed to either style of connection, you might pick some up from Adventures in Home Brewing. I purchased mine there a few years ago because they had some pretty good prices. Sometimes they will offer specials on four-packs of kegs.

There are other places to buy, but that is where I got mine.

Finally, if you are absolutely set on ball locks, there are after market kits that you can use to change out the pin lock posts for ball lock posts.

I hope that this helps.

Mark

 

[dskadberg]

The reason I said ball locks is because I responded to an ad on craigslist for 3 that were missing bits and pieces so they were selling them for $15 a piece. Only problem is I emailed the seller and he hasnt responded yet. So I figure it would be worth it to get those if I can. Any other styles of kegs you would recommend? Austin Homebrew supply is where I mainly get my supplies from because I live in Austin, ha, so as far as other new stuff thats where I would go. The parts they carry are corny ball lock "replicas" so all their parts are for ball lock.

 

[dskadberg]

And thanks. Forgot to say that

 

[duboman]

The reason I said ball locks is because I responded to an ad on craigslist for 3 that were missing bits and pieces so they were selling them for $15 a piece. Only problem is I emailed the seller and he hasnt responded yet. So I figure it would be worth it to get those if I can. Any other styles of kegs you would recommend? Austin Homebrew supply is where I mainly get my supplies from because I live in Austin, ha, so as far as other new stuff thats where I would go. The parts they carry are corny ball lock "replicas" so all their parts are for ball lock.

The concern I will raise with this scenario is that if the kegs are missing parts then you cannot be certain they have been pressure tested meaning that once you get the missing parts and assemble properly they may not hold pressure and then you're screwed!

I just got into kegging and in my shopping I have found that most pricing is pretty competitive and if you can't find things locally then shipping can kill you! Keep your eye out for sales and try and piece meal it over time or look for a basic one or two keg kit to start and invest in more components as money allows

 

[n240sxguy]

I got my setup from kegconnection.

 

[dskadberg]

I got my setup from kegconnection.

Sir I think you have given me the best advice since keg connection is just down the road from ATX.

 

[dskadberg]

Again I appreciate everyone's advice so far. I had a feeling it could be risky getting them off craigslist. Are there adapters so I could use a ball lock and pin lock on the same system?

 

[Crito]

Join a homebrew club and see if anyone selling them. Cornies are good for fermenting and kegging

 

[dgr]

Likely the reason he didn't email you back is because they are long gone. $45 is a cheap bet for three kegs. I wouldn't think twice about throwing those dice.

Keep looking and talk to people. Cash in hand, being able to do the deal in the time it takes you to hang up and drive to their location and buying all of what someone is selling to get what you want is helpful. You resell the stuff you didn't actually need to someone else and the original seller doesn't have to deal with selling to ten different people. Usually you can get a discount for buying it all and pay for your gas and demurrage on your money.

You can get ball lock and pin lock connectors with MFL adapters. Then on your gas and liquid lines you put a swivel nut, barb and gasket. If you want to switch from a ball lock keg to a pin lock keg, you unscrew the ball lock connector and screw in the pin lock connector. It means you'll need enough pin lock AND ball lock connectors for however many taps you are planning to run on each keg type at once. But long term, it isn't much money.

You can also get a pressure relieve valve, drill a hole in a pinlock lid and install the valve if it's that important to you. You can also buy a $5 tool to depress the gas in post to release pressure. I think that most people with pinlock kegs don't find the lack of a PRV valve a big deal. Then if you replace the posts with adapter ball lock posts, you have a "converted ball lock with PRV" which are sold from a lot of places. Just replacing the posts with the adapter ball locks will make it unnecessary to purchase both types of connectors.

Good luck on your hunt.