Just bought some 3 Gal kegs New I have no kegging experience need some feedback

[Timber]

So, I just ordered some new 3 gallon Pin lock kegs. Let me preface I have no other equipment at this point in time. My primary reason behind the 3 gal is purely space at this price I don't mind the fact I am paying extra, my thought is to purchase a smaller dorm fridge smaller than the typical sanyo conversion.. the smallest I can get them to fit in and have about 2-3 beers on tap and then bottle the other 2 or just do smaller batches or just split one batch between 2 kegs. So I know I could do a 5 gal setup cheaper but A) I want the smaller fridge setup, due to the small footprint, I could put the kegerator right in the kitchen under the cabinets o something and B) at the price these were, if I choose to upgrade it shouldn't be hard to resell them at minimal loss. I'm not a huge drinker to begin with so it should be perfect.


https://www.homebrewing.org/Brand-NEW-3-Gallon-Cornelius-Keg-40Pin-Lock41-_p_1591.html

Some other people have purchased this deal and talk about it in this thread

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f16/wtb-3-gallon-corny-keg-ball-lock-188777/

and someone mentions this

just a heads up, I bought 2 of the 3 gallon pin locks mentioned earlier in this thread (I use them to lager in a dorm fridge). Got them last week. They are identical to the 3 gallon ball locks I have, size and everything. You could change out the posts to make them ball locks, the spartan/cornelius posts are the same, or at least they seem to be on mine. Although the lids have a pressure relief valve, they're not the kind with the ring you can pull to relieve pressure, you still have to hit the gas post to relieve pressure on these.
Be prepared to clean them, nasty is an understatement. I almost wish I had gotten the new ones, not sure if it's worth saving the $20.

So, is this pressure relief thing something I should be concerned with how am I going to relieve the pressure on them, I don't know what a gas post is and what benefit would I have to converting the things to a ball lock? The order wouldn't ship till Monday so I have a few days to cancel the order so I'm asking the board their thoughts. Dont forget my reasons for doing the 3 gallons is that I have no interest in the 5gal even though it would be cheaper I think this setup will be decent priced what I m getting them for. In fact I cant do the 5gal with the space I have.

Thank you to everyone for your assistance

 

[buzzkill]

pin locks are fine, just go all pin lock so everything will work together.

you can just let the pressure out of the keg from the gas in post,easy to do.

them things are sweet, one day I will have some extra money to get some 3 gal. kegs.

 

[Timber]

what are the o-rings they are talking about I held off on buying the mfl and barb for later (same price)any pros or cons to getting the 1/4 over the 3/8 or other way around? I have read ball lock is ore prevalent so I could get the parts easier, but then I also read the "pepsi" kegs are becoming used up and pin locks will soon be the rage?

 

[Gremlyn]

Timber, each keg has two posts. Pin lock posts look like this:

Ball lock posts can look like these:

One post you connect the gas line to and the other post you connect the beer line to.

Inside the keg there are two dip tubes coming off of each post. The dip tube going to the beer out post is long and goes all the way down to the bottom of the keg so it can suck every last drop of delicious beer out. The dip tube connected to the gas post is much shorter and does not stick into the beer. There are many places o-rings go in this set up, this exploded view of a ball lock keg should shed some light on all this:
A - Lid o-ring
B - Lid (with pressure relief valve, not present on pin locks)
C - Lid lock arm
D - Gas/Liquid post connector o-rings
E - Diptube o-rings
F - Gas diptube
G - Liquid diptube

 

[Timber]

Thanks Gremlyn

So aside form the "relief valve" there is not much difference? Can I put these on their side would I need to worry about leakage aside from the tube not getting every last bit? maybe a couple on their side and then when they are low have one sticking up

With all the answers so far I think I will definitely stick with them. I bought 5 so I should be able to keep 2-3 in my mini fridge with 2 in holding.

As explained in the Chat room SWMBO's primary rule was I could do this as long as one of the beers on tap are hers, so I need to figure out how to transfer from a sanke to these but that will hold off. I can buy the 5gal of them and transfer to these so she has her brew on tap as well.

I will keep you all informed of my fridge progression. I'm still up to some negatives you all might have (aside from not being 5gallons )

 

[Moonpile]

Thanks for those pix, Gremlyn! I didn't know about the groove in the hex corners. Checked the keg I bought for spacing my bar build and sure enough, there it was.

What would happen if you put the posts on backwards, so that the gas in post was on the dip tube? Is it even possible?

 

[samc]

Reverse the posts and you would get a faster carb most likely. You would also not be able to draw the beer out as the tube sits above the liquid. Some people reverse them until the beer is carbed and then switch back.

 

[Gremlyn]

Thanks Gremlyn

So aside form the "relief valve" there is not much difference? Can I put these on their side would I need to worry about leakage aside from the tube not getting every last bit? maybe a couple on their side and then when they are low have one sticking up

You can put them on their side as long as they are pressurised. If they aren't leaking gas, they aren't going to leak beer. Serving out of them on their side could be an issue, the tubes are usually sticking in to the kegs are at least 1/3 the way into the middle of the keg, so it'll quickly get to the point where you have beer blow the dip tube.

Thanks for those pix, Gremlyn! I didn't know about the groove in the hex corners. Checked the keg I bought for spacing my bar build and sure enough, there it was.

What would happen if you put the posts on backwards, so that the gas in post was on the dip tube? Is it even possible?

It can be very difficult to get them off if you put them on backwards.

 

[SankePankey]

What would happen if you put the posts on backwards, so that the gas in post was on the dip tube? Is it even possible?

Yes but only on Cornelius/Spartan/Challenger brand kegs that have the same threading (19/32-18") for both posts. The Firestone/Super Champion brand kegs have a different post threading for each and wouldn't be switchable (9/16"-18 for gas and 5/8"-18 for liquid). They are equally prevalent for both ball lock and pin lock kegs as far as I know.

That's why every keg I own I've stipulated to the vendor to send me the former only. I also have custom welded fittings for Cornelius brand, too, so thats another reason.

 

[SankePankey]

Doing this for carbing would likely ruin your head retention though, right folks.

Once you foam your beer up, the proteins denature and it won't foam up the same again.

(I believe I have that right).

 

[Yooper]

Doing this for carbing would likely ruin your head retention though, right folks.

Once you foam your beer up, the proteins denature and it won't foam up the same again.

(I believe I have that right).

I've heard that is the case. However, in my experience foam retention hasn't been a problem.

I don't carb through the "out" post anymore though. Not because of foam retention, but just because it really didn't work better than doing it the traditional way.

 

[TheDudeLebowski]

Hey TImber,

I bought the same kegs you did. I don't see any big issues with not having the release valve. I do use the release valve alot on my 5 gallons. I like to pump CO2 into my primaries and into the keg before I do the final transfer of beer into the keg. I do it to push out any O2 that might oxidize the wort or beer. I don't know if you really need to do this but I've never had issues with flavors due to oxidation. Just something I do. You could still pump CO2 after you fill and clamp the beer in with using the output to force the CO2 in and use the input to easily pump any O2 out. The kegs do come pressurized to prove they are airtight. So the O-rings and posts are all air tight. You can just use a pen to push the poppet down and release the pressure inside pushing out the O2. I'd also make sure you buy the food grade lube for use after cleaning the O-rings and poppets after a couple of usess.

Laying them on the side you may have more surface area since they're not standing up plus the smaller number of gallons. Again I don't think it would be an issue but its the oxidation I worry about. You'll leave some beer behind like you said but you could probably bend the dip tube to the side to suck up more. A lot of people modify the dip tubes using kegs as primaries. I'm sure you could modify it to lay on its side. I might use something to tilt up the keg just a little bit more (packing foam) and bend the tube to suck up a little bit more on that side.

I'm happy with my kegs. Got my first use out of them tailgating at the Pat's game. Lobster, steak and sausage soaked in homebrew/onions mmmmmm. I had no oxidation problems since the keg was killed before kickoff It never had a chance.

Since the 3 gallon is so portable I bought something similar to this at my LHBS (pin lock version of course) for the tailgating:
http://www.kegworks.com/product.php?productid=172328

Enjoy your new toys, congratulations on winning a good battle with SWMBO and share any tips you find along the way.