Makin' me a new pot

[Cash]

where? scrap yard. the guys there said they get a couple kegs each week.

why a lid? after cooling while the whirl pool settles.

[Thirsty Boy]

where? scrap yard. the guys there said they get a couple kegs each week

Not saying it definately isn't, but just 'cause it came from a scrap yard doesn't mean its legal. To the brewery, thats a good $100.00 worth of keg, why would they be letting it go for less than that? How badly damaged is it?

We don't scrap any kegs that aren't fairly badly damaged, and the scrap dealers are required to actually "scrap" the kegs and not on-sell them. That way we know for sure that if you have one of our kegs, one way or another, it's not legit. Something on brewery letterhead saying you are entitled to it aside of course. We actually spend a bit of time and money tracking down scrap yards that sell "legal" kegs to people who genuinely think they are doing the right thing.

Yours might actually be legal. I hope it is. But it probably isn't

Having said that. My kettle is a keg as well. And I haven't got any damn letter

[mexican]

Hey Cash,

Nice keg ! And keep the handles.

I've kep the handles on mine. They can get bloody heavy if you have to move them around. The handles are really useful when it comes time to cleaning the kettle out. My kettle gets banged around a bit when I'm cleaning it out. I reckon that the rim would be totally buggered if I hadn't kept the handles. It might even be a little safer as you are less likely to grab a potentially sharp edge.

And Thirsty, I don't have any damn letter either ! Though there are some letters spelling something about 'united' and 'carlton'. Does that count ?

mexican

[shamusonme]

You would probably cut 15-20% of your "cold-to-boil" time with a lid on your kettle. So for 10 Gallons that's probably a good 20 minutes, then when your chilling (if you use an imersion chiller) you won't have to worry about the dog sticking his nose into your beer.

[BrewBum]

Let's be realistic, there is are very few ways to obtain kegs legally 100% without any doubt. So my rule is, don't buy craft brew kegs from scrap yards only "buy" BMC kegs.

[Homegrown Hops]

Call me paranoid, but I use a lid when chilling so nothing unwanted drops in.

I heard (perhaps on TBN?) that the steam and what not coming off during cooling has DMS or DMS pre-cursors in it, so I never cover mine.

This is true but as long as the condensate is no returning to the kettle a lid is fine. I use a lid while chilling and sometimes during the boil in cold months to keep from getting drips from the greenhouse roof. I need to install a vent or hood. Also, Bub is right to some degree about the boilover facilitation.

HH

[skipper]

Call me paranoid, but I use a lid when chilling so nothing unwanted drops in.

Try a sanitised towel. Achieves the same thing, without the risk of condensed DMS drip back.

[Cash]

Well, I finally got around to cutting up the keg and installing the spigot.



After I finished the install I figured I would give it one more cleaning and run a full boil to burn off any nasties. Turns out my home builder was a pretty smart guy. He installed a Come See What I Did alarm directly above where I was going to do the boil. You might call it a smoke detector. The good news is it does a fantastic job of detecting a propane fire, and my neighbors can hear it if I'm not around. The bad news is its midnight, and my neighbors can hear it. At least I got to show off my new pot.

It took me a little while to get to the cutting because I was looking for a way to support the keg over my burner. The burner I have isn't wide enough to support the keg. After about a week of not finding anything that would work I had resigned myself to building something. As I walked into the garage to go to The Depot I noticed the water heater stand. 18" high, plenty wide enough, perfect if I could find the same one. After a few stops I found it at a plumbing and electrical supply store for $20. Actually it was $25 but when I told the guy what I was going to use it for he took $5 off just because he likes beer. Ahhh, the power of beer!