Where to find Empty Half kegs (15.5 GL)?

[Dekowski411]

I'm trying to find half Kegs (15.5 Gallon) to make brew kettles out of and use as fermentation vessels. Anyone know of a good place or cheap way to acquire a couple, legally? If there is another thread on this please paste and reply... thank you!

 

[runningweird]

Try searchtempest.com

 

[JRems]

I think you mean full keg(15.5 gal) or half barrel. A half keg is 7.75 gal.

 

[Dekowski411]

I think you mean full keg(15.5 gal) or half barrel. A half keg is 7.75 gal.

Ok... Full keg 15.5 Gal

 

[Radical_Rick]

Since they are the property of the beverage companies, I would start there to obtain one legally.
There are companies that will sell you brand new kegs...they are a bit pricey though. If you want to fork out the money, just place a deposit on one and drink the beer. When you are finished, you have the beginnings of a keggle.
You can also check metal scrap yards, people tend to steel them and cash them in. You can also find them on eBay for the same reason. Again, since they are property of the beverage companies, it is actually a crime to posses one that has been sold illegally.

 

[humblesea]

Check out chicompany.net I ordered one from them awhile ago. It was 90 bucks plus shipping but it is legit. Stainless Steel Kegs : The CHI Company, New and used beverage equipment for Homebrewing, Home winemaking, Soda systems and used Pepsi vending equipment

craigslist always has some but there's always a ton of people after them, at least in the bay area

 

[Dekowski411]

Makes sense! I actually called a local keg distributor which they are in contact with a bunch of breweries... Hopefully, they can get me a lead on one! or a couple

 

[225]

What is "illegal" about buying a full keg, paying the $50 deposit, and not returning it? Isn't the deposit the price of the keg?

I have 2 kegs that I drink out of, I bought them from 2 different places and exchanged them at 2 different places than the place i brought it from. Is that legal then?

 

[Radical_Rick]

They are the property of the brewery, it is a vessel to transport a beverage to a consumer and new they cost anywhere from $100 - $130. Why would they want to give them away for a merely little fee of $30? Do the math...

 

[Dekowski411]

I dont know the details of what is legal or illegal... apparently they are property of the brewery which makes sense, so in my case where I want to cut the top off and make a kettle... that would be destruction of property, thus illegal!!! but dont get butt-hurt with it being illegal and legal, thats not my concern...

Just curious how others obtain empty kegs... not really into buying a full keg of beer cause I dont have a way to keep it cold, plus I dont want the beer thats in it... Might have to throw a party or two

 

[Dekowski411]

They are the property of the brewery, it is a vessel to transport a beverage to a consumer and new they cost anywhere from $100 - $130. Why would they want to give them away for a merely little fee of $30? Do the math...

my thoughts exactly

 

[Radical_Rick]

Not a concern of mine either...I bought 4 kegs off of eBay between $35-$65 a piece.

 

[Firebat138]

then they should make the deposit $130.00, never had anyone tell me if I dodnt bring it back that illegal...
We used to pay a deposit on bottles... a method to transport beer...

 

[Radical_Rick]

The party idea always works...pick-up some red Solo cups and have people pitch in for the price of the keg. Kills 2 birds with 1 stone.

 

[hightechlofi]

FWIW, I decided to purchase the my kegs from a local scrap yard and kept the reciept. They are supposed to ensure that their purchases are legal, so I should be safe (again, I did keep the receipt). They sold them to me at the price of stainless, and I figured that this covers my a$$ and saves them from the melting pot.

Just my two cents.

 

[seabass07]

Paying a deposit does not equal buying a keg. The deposit does not transfer ownership of the keg. It IS illegal to keep the keg. Whether you care or not is the question.

IB4TGUIF

 

[HansF]

I get mine from work (Samuel Adams). When kegs come through with the spears missing, I get permission to take them home. We don't repair them.

I would stop in a local brewery and see if they are willing to sell damaged kegs.

 

[Smashing]

.

 

[h22lude]

I get mine from work (Samuel Adams). When kegs come through with the spears missing, I get permission to take them home. We don't repair them.

I would stop in a local brewery and see if they are willing to sell damaged kegs.

Side note, I was in the process of applying to Sam as an accountant (Boston office). It was taking too long so I went to bed. I went back to finish my application and the job was filled. I was pissed lol

Anyway, you can get them from a ton of places like craigslist, ebay, scrap yards, breweries, etc. Some times they are really hard to find for a good price. I've been looking on and off and still can't find them. I even tried a few local breweries and still nothing.

In terms of it being illegal, don't worry about it lol When is the last time you heard of cops coming after someone that didn't return a keg. The deposit is to cover the cost of the keg. New kegs to the public cost $130+. To breweries that buy them in bulk it costs a lot less. When you buy growlers, you pay a deposit. Do you feel bad keeping those?

 

[cobolstinks]

craigslist.com

 

[JRems]

Just go to your beverage distributor. I went to one today and they told me they would gladly sell me one for the price of deposit ($30). I paid and have a receipt. This has been gone over a million times. Do whatever makes you feel comfortable.

 

[3PegBrew]

craigslist.com

+1 to that

I was fortunate to find one on ebay a long time ago. My first one came into my possession by a friend who had it in his basement for about 4 years.

My current Mash Tun is a 15.5 keg. Old school big round belly style. Found that on Craigslist. Scrapper sold it to me for 20 bucks.

Also - Sometimes distributors of kegs will sell dinged up ones or old kegs that they find aren't fitting to be used anymore for distribution.

 

[Dekowski411]

Nail on the head guys! Early this month I scored three kegs from my local distributor @ 40 bucks each... The owner called some of his contacts and they had three really used kegs sent over to his store in about a week... He said they were mine to keep which it even stated on my reciept that this was to purchase the kegs and not used as a deposit.

 

[camiller]

then they should make the deposit $130.00, never had anyone tell me if I dodnt bring it back that illegal...
We used to pay a deposit on bottles... a method to transport beer...

That would pretty much kill direct to the public keg sales, you should have seen people whine about it when it went from $25 to $30. (I work part time at a liquor store/homebrew shop) There is an implied expectation of the keg being returned by the use of the word "Deposit" which in this context is "something given as a security".

Since the advent of "one way" bottles, the states that still require a bottle/can depost do it as a litter prevention thing.

 

[chairbornrangerx]

had this discussion with local beer/spirits store, mandatory deposit is $30 on kegs there, and if you just dont' bring the keg back, you are out YOUR $30... oh no not $30!!!!

Half keg of ML I think they quoted me $89... + $30, = $119 for a keg

Super bowl is coming up, get one and invite people over, drink the beer... and half a keg to convert into a keggle.

 

[3PegBrew]

There has been discussion about that on here before. HBT is not a promoter of stealing kegs. It's one thing to buy a keg from someone, but not returning a keg after putting a deposit down is not the same.

 

[wailingguitar]

Side note, I was in the process of applying to Sam as an accountant (Boston office). It was taking too long so I went to bed. I went back to finish my application and the job was filled. I was pissed lol

Anyway, you can get them from a ton of places like craigslist, ebay, scrap yards, breweries, etc. Some times they are really hard to find for a good price. I've been looking on and off and still can't find them. I even tried a few local breweries and still nothing.

In terms of it being illegal, don't worry about it lol When is the last time you heard of cops coming after someone that didn't return a keg. The deposit is to cover the cost of the keg. New kegs to the public cost $130+. To breweries that buy them in bulk it costs a lot less. When you buy growlers, you pay a deposit. Do you feel bad keeping those?

NOT EXACTLY TRUE... while a brewery isn't likely to pay $130 a pop for a bunch of new kegs, they aren't a heck of a lot cheaper than that. For instance, PBST (a company that is considered CHEAP on kegs) recently posted on probrewer.com a price of $119/unit. While bulk prices do go down, you aren't likely to see anything less than $100/unit.

The deposit paid on a keg is NOT a sale price, it is a deposit only. Why not charge a full price deposit? 1) most of the time it is the retailer that is charging the deposit, unless you actually get the keg from the brewery the will NEVER see that money 2) if the deposit were the actual value of the keg it would seriously reduce the volume of kegged beer sold at retail.

If you keep a keg that was not obtained legally, you are in possession of stolen property. It is a simple fact. Further, if you care about beer and the society of beer you would do well to be respectful to the property of the companies out there on the front lines busting their assess trying to further the culture of beer.

 

[Xtant]

Here's this discussion, again. Look on Craigslist. Anything you purchase off CL, EBay, pawn shops, scrap yards, swap meets, etc may be stolen goods. There's always that chance. If you don't want the possibility of owning ill-gotten goods, buy new or directly from the breweries/distributors.

 

[Brew52]

I agree that if you are serious about the hobby and you plan to Homebrew for life, then save your cash and aquire your equipment the legal way one piece at a time. I planned my new build over a year ago in my mind and hear is what I have so far (see pics). I went to the SABCO website and clicked on contact us and then I emailed one of the sales people and said that I would like to buy 2-brand new 15.5 gallon kegs with a perfect 12" opening cut out of the top of each and can you quote me a price? I was quoted $180.00 each plus shipping. I ordered them both and they will last me a lifetime. These kegs are heavy-duty with beautiful welds and they are made in Germany. I plan to polish my to a mirror finish. Just my personal opinion and I am not judging anyone on how they aquire their kegs. Cheers!

 

[camiller]

NOT EXACTLY TRUE... while a brewery isn't likely to pay $130 a pop for a bunch of new kegs, they aren't a heck of a lot cheaper than that. For instance, PBST (a company that is considered CHEAP on kegs) recently posted on probrewer.com a price of $119/unit. While bulk prices do go down, you aren't likely to see anything less than $100/unit.

It also fluctuates with metal prices, back a couple of years ago when there was a metal shortage new kegs we up around $150.

The deposit paid on a keg is NOT a sale price, it is a deposit only. Why not charge a full price deposit? 1) most of the time it is the retailer that is charging the deposit, unless you actually get the keg from the brewery the will NEVER see that money

The retailer has to pay a deposit to the distributor, they just pass that along to the end customer. On the Anhauser Busch receipts the truck driver prints out it is still called "cooperage", or at least it was the last time I had to sign for 38 kegs of swill. I assume that a non-brewery owned distributor has to put a cooperage deposit down with the brewery. Possibly for internal accounting purposes a brewery owned distributor may have to as well.

If you keep a keg that was not obtained legally, you are in possession of stolen property. It is a simple fact. Further, if you care about beer and the society of beer you would do well to be respectful to the property of the companies out there on the front lines busting their assess trying to further the culture of beer.

Word