corny keg rebuild info

[Peter Smith]

Great webpage with corny keg rebuild info

http://www.dresselbrew.com/Keg_Info.htm

seems to be a shortage of kegs at the moment...

[Patrick]

Anyone tried bringing them in from oz? They are $70 AUD from craftbrewer (if you buy 2 or more) but I wonder if the shipping would kill it. I have been quoted $149 for a reconditioned one from my LHBS. Seems a bit steep when you can get a brand new 23L ball-lock keg for $160 odd.

[Peter Smith]

I have been hearing there is a global shortage of used ones due to increase in home brew activity....  importing used ones site unseen involves some risks unless you have a good agent working for you in china....

http://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/19L-5-Gallon-Ball-Lock-Corny_...    

usd $50 each fob for 1000  thats 75k kiwi plus freight and gst maybe land them for about 75 plus gst...

[Patrick]

That link is for new ones, I have a contact in Brisbane who I would get to check any used ones out for me and sort shipping etc,might give him a bell tomorrow. Anyone using the new ones from allgrain.co.nz?

[Peter Smith]

Yes I have a 9.8 ish one from Karl , love this size bottle 1/2 keg other half. Good quality keg seals are awesome. Brewerscoop have some small ones as well , fixing a keg is expensive get in nz from someone you can trust....

[Richard Jack]

Yeah. For what it's worth here are my thoughts.

They're about what a reasonable person would expect. they're clearly made to a price point for the home market. Materials seem much lighter (thinner walls?), disconnects require more force to work, purge valve is agonisingly slow, no rubber boots, handles are a pretty roughly deburred metal, lid is a bit more difficult to work. All small things but it adds up to a product that feels cheap.

On the plus side, they didn't require seals or lid replacements, which the ones from brewers coop at the time did (that made them in the range of $130 I think). I love that they're 23l capacity, suits my system better. They just fit in my chest freezer. I feel confident buying off Karl, he's a good dude.

On the balance, I would rather have the second hand ones.

I just brought in a 9l keg from china, second hand, and it's really nice. filled it full of goodies to keep the shipping down, things like disconnects, airlocks, blah blah. No second hand taint, all the hardware seems to be new, keg itself is mint, must have been freshly polished. I wish all my kegs had arrived in a state like this. got it from here: http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Beer-keg-for-ball-lock-2-5-Gallon-9L... price after shipping was comparable to getting a new one from allgrain, but the quality of this one is leagues ahead.

Your mileage may vary, of course.

[Patrick]

Thanks for the feedback, good to get an unbiased opinion. Cheers!

[Peter Smith]

purge valve is agonisingly slow , i dont have this issue, and for me I wanted to make it fit in a boat fridge so the rubber boots where a hindrance.    Thats a nice looking keg , damn this internet is levelling the world...   for home use that would be better.

[Kevin Sharp]

> http://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/19L-5-Gallon-Ball-Lock-Corny_...   

Those kegs are produced for Keg King in Australia, so the risk isn't quite as bad as working with a Chinese company.  Keg Resources (Auckland) are the distributor for Keg King, but strangely they haven't had kegs in stock for a long time.

I have an algrain keg. I don't think I'd buy another one. It works, but they are quite roughly finished. They appear to be the same as were sold as the Kegco brand in the US. They had allsorts of problems with weld and steel quality.

[Patrick]

I have bought 4 cornies off my workmate in Aus, he is going to bring them over as a luggage item on his next trip to NZ. Great price too, stoked :)

[Samuel Loader]

jealous