Ive been looking around for used corny kegs because I'm cheap and broke and don't want to spend $60+ on a keg so i asked a bunch of people if they knew anyone who might have soda kegs that they aren't using, turns out my girlfriends dad knows the owner of a small Homebrew store and asked him if he had any. His friend said he had some, that he would sell for $20 each. It seems like too good of a deal, so when I get the 2 I asked him to get I would like to check the pressure on the kegs and make sure they are usable. How do I check the pressure?
Put CO2 in them and see if it stays there (and/or test with a pressure gauge)...$60 right now would be an excellent price for a used ball-lock corny
What he said ^^^. If you pass, I guarantee there will be someone here who will take them for that price. Even if you replace all the posts and lid it would still be a great price.
Good deal jump on it and borrow some cash to take as many as he'll sell you. You can never have enough kegs. Don't bother checking for leaks. Buy new gaskets all around then check. Also buy the gasket lube. So you don;t waste gas fill the kegs with water then blast them with a little gas to check for leaks.
for $20 each, buy every one of them now. go into debt if you have to. worry about leak tests later. new O-rings will fix 99% of any leak issue. new kegs are around $100. used are up around $60 each, rarely a bit lower. $20 per keg is just absurd and you will easily unload them for twice that (where in NY?) a set of O-rings is about $5 I think. so all around this is a good deal. Cheers.
He's making 10 bucks a keg because it's only a 10 dollar deposit for any bar or restaurant owner. He just reports them stolen. Not that I would know personally lol
I think the OP was talking corny kegs, which no bar or restaurant owner in this century still uses even for soda. I've seen smaller commercial kegs for low turnover beer, but those usually don't have the right fittings for the average homebrewer.
I remember a time when used kegs were $20 regular price . Circa 2004 and they were stacked high as the ceiling at my lhbs.
Those were the days...don't expect crashing prices now, though...the Saudis have not cornered the used ball-lock keg market...yet
they are still used extensively in our area of NY. I tried to get a few of these from the warehouse manager, but they have since been relocated. to where I do not know. that pile is three deep btw.
Looks like they are only being used for fences/windbreaks though Around here they've all gone to cardboard boxes and plastic liners.
The bulk of used cornys for sale in Illinois come from Wisconsin root beer makers with a little root beer left inside.
