Whats the highest proof you get??

punkin

Yep, you're missing the 4" ferrule upgrade, the sightglass upgrade, the lack of an 8" access and the second element port.

CothermanDistilling

but if the folks who made the keg in the first place did those upgrades... and did not have to put on the top ring or the spear fitting..... I just see more and more of them..

punkin

Might work for Larry, but the market is too small here for me to get them in the numbers it would need. You are pretty much describing the process to build a milk can though.

CothermanDistilling

you can't blame me for trying ;-)

Here is a company that has made a bundle on catering to the homebrew industry... I don't want them to make the uni-keggle, I want StillDragon to make it... Beer Brewing Equipment @ Northern Brewer

jacksonbrown

Is there an easy way to get 2x 2" ferrules mounted parallel down nice and low?
This is what I did so I can have either two elements or one element and a probe and the minimum fill level is only 10 liters.
That with a 4" port on top to facilitate easy cleaning. There's a few changes I'd like but the way it is has served me very well for quite a while.

Mickiboi

@jacksonbrown said: Is there an easy way to get 2x 2" ferrules mounted parallel down nice and low?

Buy a couple of ferrules from punkin and find a tig welder. I would charge you $15 for each ferrule to cut out, tig weld and clean, repassivate.

jacksonbrown

And you'd have no trouble getting them parallel?
Would you use a proper branch puller?
Got a cup to purge from the inside?

Mickiboi

@jacksonbrown said: And you'd have no trouble getting them parallel?
Would you use a proper branch puller?
Got a cup to purge from the inside?

Parallel is easy

I have a pneumatic punch and die. Perfect holes everytime.

Purge inside no problem. It would be double welded inside and out. But im in Adelaide and you're in Brisbane. I was just telling you what i would charge you.

When i have finished my universal keggle, boiler, fermenter, masher i will post it..

I got some old CUB kegs for 40 each.

jacksonbrown

Far enough. I don't need one now :)
I just remember how much the guy I got to do mine complained about how hard it all was.
Keen to see what you come up with.
One thing I have been considering is a keg cip system. Maybe a perforated spear with one of those spinning spray balls on the end and all that is on the outlet of a submersible pump in a bucket.
Turn the keg upside down on the spear. It drains straight into the bucket and recirculate you cleaning solution. That way I can use unmodified kegs as fermenters. All I would need is 2" blanks that have the temp probe and air lock on them.

Mickiboi

Just took the top of it.......its had diesel inside it. This one wont be used.

punkin

You can bend the elements slightly, so parallel isn't that important when using an EGK.

punkin

Wish you lived closer to me Micki, you'd be my welder of choice.

Of the four different ones i've used i've had the age old dillema of price, timelyness or quality pick any two.

Unfortunately on time and quality are the two most important to me. I can't get good welding done for less than twice what you are saying and they are certainly not including purging at that price or double welding.

jacksonbrown

@punkin said: You can bend the elements slightly, so parallel isn't that important when using an EGK.

Unfortunately mine don't bend too good.
If I want two down low I had to go parallel.

Mickiboi

@punkin said: Wish you lived closer to me Micki, you'd be my welder of choice.

Of the four different ones i've used i've had the age old dillema of price, timelyness or quality pick any two.

Unfortunately on time and quality are the two most important to me. I can't get good welding done for less than twice what you are saying and they are certainly not including purging at that price or double welding.

Mates rates

Mickiboi

Anybody have idea how i can get the diesel out of this keg? Steam, scour, anything?

jacksonbrown

Petrol?

jacksonbrown

I got told by the boss one time to wash it in petrol and dry it with a match.
He was referring to the outside of the building though.

Johnboy

diesel taste will be there forever just try syphoning it some time petrol taste leaves after a while diesel you can taste all day

jacksonbrown

I think a solvent to 'wash' it out will work. The more volatile, the better. Petrol in a pinch but something like shellite is the ticket.

Mickiboi

Anybody want to buy a 50 litre keg? Its clean and had nothing in it. Honest I wouldn't lie to you.

Johnboy

Try sugar soap

FloridaCracker

I was going to recommend sloshing some fores in there and then burning but not sure that is a good idea.

Thomasedwin

Those milk cans look good and probably last a long time if you use those electric water heater elements but I don't think they would last as long heated on a open gas or wood fire. I haven't had a chance to inspect a new manufactured milk can up close but they seem not to be as sturdy built and solid as a US made SS beer keg or at least one not made in china. I believe the one I have in the photo is made in Germany as it has markings (BLEFA GmbH & Co.KG D-57223 Kreuztal) I even think there is more stainless steel by weight in a 15 gallon beer keg than there is in a equal sized milk can. Another thing I noticed is that most of those milk cans are made in china and they are supposed to be 304 food grade stainless steel but the standards of metal manufacturing in china are subpar and inferior to the standards of the US, Germany and perhaps Italy. I was told by a long time metallurgist that most everything that comes out of china is made from recycled scrap material from all over the world and they use the cheapest material they can get and many things from china called 304 SS are in fact a cheaper grade 300 series SS because Nickel is expensive so the Chinese put in as little as possible. 304 food grade stainless steel is supposed to have at least 18% chromium and from 8% to 10% Nickel but metals from china tested to have 2% or less nickel in the alloy making it less durable, less corrosion resistant and more prone to heat stress. It just doesn't hold up as well as quality 18/8 SS and when it's welded the heat causes stress and destroys the chromium nickel crystal matrix so that six months down the road all the weld joints start corroding and will even rust like regular carbon steel. I looked at a lot of stock pots, milk cans and beer kegs and even some copper boilers, in the end I went with the beer keg. I had a Chinese made stock pot they called commercial grade stainless steel and it warped, cracked and started leaking after only 20 months of use. On the other hand I read that a beer keg boiler is thick enough to last a lifetime and one guy that uses one to brew beer said he had his for 6 years, brewed hundreds of batches of beer and has had no problems. I don't know if this makes any difference but when I was using the stock pot for a boiler when it heated up I could hear the metal pinging and popping the whole time it was boiling and it made even more noise when it cooled down. The beer keg made no noise at all. I think a milk can is the same or very close to using a stock pot only they last longer because they are heated internally with electric heating elements. The real test is multiple heating's with an open flame and I just don't think a milk can would hold up to that.

punkin

Well you are entitled to your opinion, no matter how much i think it's solid crap.

CothermanDistilling

@Thomasedwin do you own any stainless items from StillDragon?

FloridaCracker

@CothermanDistilling said: Thomasedwin do you own any stainless items from StillDragon?

That was going to be my question. The stuff I got was sturdy enough you could kill a man with it..

jacksonbrown

So what gauge was the cheap pot you bought?

punkin

jacksonbrown

A proper stock pot is designed to be heated on an open flame. It will be spun into shape (not punched) and have a thick base fixed to it (preferably copper).
A keg is designed to be a pressure vessel an cope with being kicked around back alleys so of cause it's going to be thicker than the $2 shop pot you bought.
A milk can was designed to hold milk once upon a time. Using them with an electric element they just sit at typical sterilization temps. No big deal.
Again, use the right tool for the job and you'll be fine. It might be a bit hard to make those decisions for yourself when your a few sandwiches short though.

CothermanDistilling

@punkin - they sell those around here as 'pickle forks'