Dilemma ??

[Robert Pretty]

After switch over to the Kegerator, I have run out of kegs 4x 20lt and 2x 10lt. Have bottled the last 3 brews. First time the Droid has been idle in 3 years. Obviously I'm not drinking them fast enough. I have more bottles, just a pain to fill after you are used to kegging. Thought I might give theses ago. https://www.kegking.com.au/king-keg-10l-pet-keg-with-ball-lock-posts.html

The advantage is cheaper and lighter than SS Kegs, also have floating dip tubes where you are only ever get beer from just below the surface, unlike SS kegs where the dip tubes are at the bottom. Look fairly easy to clean.

Thoughts , disadvantages to SS Kegs?

[Wazza_wantsbeer]

Hey @Robert Pretty I saw those too, certainly interesting at that price.

I did have a few thoughts about these so happy to share:

Negatives:

• Width/diameter - at 24 cm wide, they are wider than your standard SS Corny keg which are just over 21cm in size given some small variations per brand - will this impact how many you can stand inside your kegerator? I like having 4 SS kegs on the go in my Kegerator having 1x 4l, 2x 5l, 5x 9.5l, 1x 19l Stainless Steel kegs and 4 taps to keep busy
• PET, maybe harder to clean and keep as clean as SS
• PET, may over time take on smell/taste from previous brews. TBH, I'm finding my Brewzilla has taken on a "funky" fermenting beer smell after 5 or 6 brews. So much so that now I'm thinking to swap that to a similar sized SS fermenter as my second fermentation vessel

Pros

• Price - always a factor and that's an attractive price for a 10l vessel
• Weight - a fair bit lighter than the equivalent SS keg

The floating dip tube is something I considered and am moving to. I've already replaced the stainless dip tube in my 19l keg and that makes a difference. Those last pours are way less nasty. So you can easily change from a SS dip tube in your existing kegs. I added the floating dip tube filter to make it even more effective.

My $0.02 worth anyway  😉

[Robert Pretty]

2 hours ago, Wazza_wantsbeer said:

Hey @Robert Pretty I saw those too, certainly interesting at that price.

I did have a few thoughts about these so happy to share:

Negatives:

• Width/diameter - at 24 cm wide, they are wider than your standard SS Corny keg which are just over 21cm in size given some small variations per brand - will this impact how many you can stand inside your kegerator? I like having 4 SS kegs on the go in my Kegerator having 1x 4l, 2x 5l, 5x 9.5l, 1x 19l Stainless Steel kegs and 4 taps to keep busy
• PET, maybe harder to clean and keep as clean as SS
• PET, may over time take on smell/taste from previous brews. TBH, I'm finding my Brewzilla has taken on a "funky" fermenting beer smell after 5 or 6 brews. So much so that now I'm thinking to swap that to a similar sized SS fermenter as my second fermentation vessel

Pros

• Price - always a factor and that's an attractive price for a 10l vessel
• Weight - a fair bit lighter than the equivalent SS keg

The floating dip tube is something I considered and am moving to. I've already replaced the stainless dip tube in my 19l keg and that makes a difference. Those last pours are way less nasty. So you can easily change from a SS dip tube in your existing kegs. I added the floating dip tube filter to make it even more effective.

My $0.02 worth anyway  😉

Cheers @Wazza_wantsbeer. Good points you make. Will have to check my PET fermenter. Probably going to get a new one , and use the old one for ginger beer. They say once you brew ginger beer you never get it out of the PET fermenter. Floating dip tubes are the go, have one in the PET fermenter with filter. Much less stuff on the bottom of an empty keg. Before I got the PET fermenter I converted a SS Keg to a fermenter. Do like the thermowell on my PET fermenter for accurate temp readings . As that it is clear and you can see what's going on with your brew.  

[Dustin Frothman]

Thanks for sharing these @Robert Pretty . What's interesting is that these look very similar to the commercial grade PET Keykeg system but without the liner.

https://www.keykeg.com/products/keykeg-10-liter/

At half the price I can see why these might be attractive, but I tend to agree on all the negatives that @Wazza_wantsbeerhas listed above.

I get the feeling with home brew gear there are some components of a system which if treated correctly will last a lifetime. I think a quality stainless steel keg fits this bill and is why I copped the slight(?) premium from the outset.

I don't think you'd regret investing in more stainless steel kegs.

It's interesting that you both mention the dip tube and picking up sediment in the last few pours of the keg. I cold crash all of my beers and am yet to experience this. There is always the tiniest amount of sludge at the bottom of the keg when it's finished but it's never made it into the glass. Perhaps I've just been fortunate so far.

[Dustin Frothman]

4 hours ago, Wazza_wantsbeer said:

 

• PET, may over time take on smell/taste from previous brews. TBH, I'm finding my Brewzilla has taken on a "funky" fermenting beer smell after 5 or 6 brews. So much so that now I'm thinking to swap that to a similar sized SS fermenter as my second fermentation vessel  

@Wazza_wantsbeerif you can be bothered please send me a PM about your SS fermenter investigations (because it’s not really appropriate to discuss here).

I’d be keen to hear what you’re considering.

[Captain 3 Droids]

Price and weight are certainly positives for these type of kegs however there are a couple of major cons.

1) longevity, ss kegs will last a life time. The PET products do have a shelf life.

2) resale of PET is poor if you can sell them however with ss you can just about get your money back particularly if kept for some time

3) storage, PET usually requires protection from the light therefore enclosed storage. You can just sit ss on the floor.

[Wazza_wantsbeer]

15 hours ago, Dustin Frothman said:

@Wazza_wantsbeerif you can be bothered please send me a PM about your SS fermenter investigations (because it’s not really appropriate to discuss here).

I’d be keen to hear what you’re considering.

Will do. In the research phase at the moment and make a spreadsheet of the options. Happy to share that with you when I'm happy with it.

[Robert Pretty]

8 hours ago, Wazza_wantsbeer said:

Will do. In the research phase at the moment and make a spreadsheet of the options. Happy to share that with you when I'm happy with it.

@Wazza_wantsbeer, PM me to, your finding. I was looking at a couple of second options. Needs to fit in my fermentation fridge. It needs to be a conical pressure fermenter 

[Wazza_wantsbeer]

On 21/10/2022 at 8:31 PM, Robert Pretty said:

@Wazza_wantsbeer, PM me to, your finding. I was looking at a couple of second options. Needs to fit in my fermentation fridge. It needs to be a conical pressure fermenter 

Will do.

Quite the selection out there with lots more options than I thought.