# 18 Gallon Keg.



## yardy (27/9/08)

Gday All,

recently come into possession of an 18 gal keg in very good nic, thinking now of converting my brewery into a 3 keg brewery by changing the kettle (50lt) to a tun & the 18 gal into the kettle.

couple of qs, the tuns from kegs that i've seen here seem to be smaller/squat than the 50 i have, has anyone here a tun made from a 50 the same as mine ? (see sig below)

also, has anyone here at ahb converted an 18 into a kettle ?

Cheers
Yard


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## schooey (27/9/08)

Done both. 50 lt kegs make a really good tun if you cut the bottom out, and weld a tube in the side of the neck for the drain and blank it off if you know what I mean. Then you can whack a bolt up through the blank and use a wing nut to secure your false bottom.


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## Tony (27/9/08)

Pictures of mine in here.

I have been using mine like this for many years now and its great!

If you want closeups of anything in particular of either mash tum or kettle juat holler

cheers

Edit: Forgot the link

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde..._key=*&st=0


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## yardy (27/9/08)

shit, that is a bloody nice system B) 

it's a pity my tun to be is already cut, that is an excellent way of building one.
it's given me some ideas now, looks like I'll be buying that TIG :lol: 

Cheers
Yard


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## yardy (27/9/08)

btw Tony, wouldn't mind a pic of the in & out connections on the 18 gal kettle for the chiller, how are they fitted ?

Cheers


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## Doc (27/9/08)

I'm using one as a kettle also.
Put the tap at the lowest point I could, but still have a 5 litre dead space under it.
With the shape of the bottom of the keg though it works well for the trub to fill at the end of the boil.
I love its size. 82 litres for a kettle is great.
Been getting tripple cubes out of it, and only one boilover so far (and that was minimal).

Doc


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## Tony (27/9/08)

Chiller inlets are brass hose fittings with the didgy thread sawed off and silver soldered onto 1/2 inch BSP reducers. The 1/2 inch thread goes through the hols in the side and a 1/2 inch barrel union tightend and seals with washers and fiber washers. The rest is self explanitary in the pic.

The ball valve on the chiller is on the inlet and laows me to easily regulate flow through the chiller to maxamise water efficiency

I have seperate inlets and outlet for the wort. The bent looking one delivers wort from the mash tun and feeds back to the pump to drain when cleaning out.

The strait one to the center is gravity feed to the fermenter once cooled.

hope this helps

cheers


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## yardy (27/9/08)

Doc said:


> *I'm using one as a kettle also.
> Put the tap at the lowest point I could, but still have a 5 litre dead space under it.
> With the shape of the bottom of the keg though it works well for the trub to fill at the end of the boil.
> I love its size. 82 litres for a kettle is great.
> ...




Hey Doc,

thanks for that, never thought the deadspace would be that much  , not a big deal figuring it into the recipe i suppose, like you say though, makes for a good trub collector.

Cheers
Yard


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## schooey (27/9/08)

I decreased the amount of deadspace to abot 2.5L by bending a pickup tube inside a beerbelly hopscreen, and locating it right in the bottom of the outside trough of the keg, as below;




This is a picture of the pick up tube and hopscreen disassembled, the bend in the tube enables the suction point to be as low as possible.


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## yardy (27/9/08)

Tony said:


> *Chiller inlets are brass hose fittings with the didgy thread sawed off and silver soldered onto 1/2 inch BSP reducers. The 1/2 inch thread goes through the hols in the side and a 1/2 inch barrel union tightend and seals with washers and fiber washers. The rest is self explanitary in the pic.
> 
> The ball valve on the chiller is on the inlet and laows me to easily regulate flow through the chiller to maxamise water efficiency
> 
> ...



thanks mate, have you had any probs with the chiller pipes leaking etc ?

if possible, i would like there to be no joins internally (some 1/4 ss pipe at work h34r: now that i think about it) good idea putting a valve on the inlet to reg the flow.

Cheers


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## schooey (27/9/08)

and heres my chiller coil in situ;



and the quick disconnects on the outside;


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## yardy (27/9/08)

schooey said:


> and heres my chiller coil in situ;
> View attachment 21447
> 
> 
> ...



nice bloody job, that's sweet..

same q though, you have any probs with leaking fittings schooey ?

cheers


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## schooey (27/9/08)

Not thus far, Yardy. I just used brass kinco nuts with the nylon olives, do them up firm and Bob's yer Auntie's live in lover old son..


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## yardy (27/9/08)

OK, that's pretty much got the 18 gal kettle sorted B) 

Onto the Tun,
what insulation to use ?
anyone use a copper mani or is it all FBs ?
lid, fixed with latches ?

Cheers


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## schooey (27/9/08)

I use a bog standard FB, only way to go IMO. My lid is a disc cut from 2" thick styrofoam cut from a broccoli box on roids with the edges taped up in hundred mile an hour tape... For insulation, I forked out some dollars on the advice of MHB and bought a sheet of Aeroflex and the glue to match, glued it on and wrapped it over with the same tape as aforementioned. I cut little bits of styrofoam to fit around the bottom drain tube. I did a 90 minute mash today on my mild and it only dropped half a degree, so it was money well invested.


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## Tony (27/9/08)

My chiller only leaked when i used compression fittings to connect it in the kettle. After being un done and dome up over 2 or 3 years to remove and clean, they didnt do up properly and leaked. Problem was not that they leaked, as if you using clean tap water its not a real big deal, but i was using pool water from a sunmersable pump.

not good

The barrel unions have fixed this.

Pictures of my FB on the link i gave you. ITs just a ring i cut from a bit of 316 plate and spot welded some SS mesh onto it.

Schooey.......... where did you get the Aeroflex insulation from. I hate my insulation.

cheers

Edit: The ball valve helps with leak checking. I hook up the hose on the outlet side and crack the tap to let water in and push the air out. Then just close the ball valce and you can check the chiller for leaks in the dry kettle under full pressure. And drips stick out like a sore thumb


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## schooey (27/9/08)

I got it from good ol' Davis & Spence. You have to buy a full sheet, but it's enough to do your tun and HLT and costs about $55. The glue to match is about $25, but I have nearly a full tin of it if you want some...


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## Frank (27/9/08)

How much could you expect to pay for an 18G keg if you find one?


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## pokolbinguy (27/9/08)

Boston said:


> How much could you expect to pay for an 18G keg if you find one?



I have a strange feeling most people don't actually pay for theirs  .....but ofcourse I don't condone this sort of arrangement


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## Doc (27/9/08)

pokolbinguy said:


> I have a strange feeling most people don't actually pay for theirs  .....but ofcourse I don't condone this sort of arrangement



18Gal kegs aren't in circulation anymore and you can buy them (when they turn up).

Doc


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## pokolbinguy (27/9/08)

Doc said:


> 18Gal kegs aren't in circulation anymore and you can buy them (when they turn up).
> 
> Doc



Well there you go, you learn something new every day. Are these the ones with the hole in what seems to be the side?? at the middle??


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## Tony (27/9/08)

They are the much older ones and can be a bit of a pain to convert as you have to seal the hole.

THe last of the old 18 gallon kegs were similar to the new 50 liter kegs ans were speared from the top. They are the ones you want. Mine actuallh has "NEWCASTLE" pressed into the top handle rim 

I also have one of the old ones....... it is date stamped 14 April 1946. Aparently it would have been one of the first of the SS kegs as before this they were wood. Not sure of this fact, just what i was told.

cheers


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## yardy (28/9/08)

schooey said:


> *I use a bog standard FB, only way to go IMO. My lid is a disc cut from 2" thick styrofoam cut from a broccoli box on roids with the edges taped up in hundred mile an hour tape... For insulation, I forked out some dollars on the advice of MHB and bought a sheet of Aeroflex and the glue to match, glued it on and wrapped it over with the same tape as aforementioned. I cut little bits of styrofoam to fit around the bottom drain tube. I did a 90 minute mash today on my mild and it only dropped half a degree, so it was money well invested.*




Thanks again Schooey, all the info I need.

Cheers




Tony said:


> *My chiller only leaked when i used compression fittings to connect it in the kettle. After being un done and dome up over 2 or 3 years to remove and clean, they didnt do up properly and leaked. Problem was not that they leaked, as if you using clean tap water its not a real big deal, but i was using pool water from a sunmersable pump.
> 
> not good
> 
> ...



Thanks Tony, more helpful info  




Boston said:


> *How much could you expect to pay for an 18G keg if you find one?*




I paid nothing for mine, it's been in the old mans shed since JC played halfback for Jerusalem.





Tony said:


> *They are the much older ones and can be a bit of a pain to convert as you have to seal the hole.*



Thats the type i have, no problem though.

Cheers
Yard


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## Offline (30/9/08)

Doc said:


> I'm using one as a kettle also.
> Put the tap at the lowest point I could, but still have a 5 litre dead space under it.
> With the shape of the bottom of the keg though it works well for the trub to fill at the end of the boil.
> I love its size. 82 litres for a kettle is great.
> ...



When you say "tripple cubes" what volume are you talking? standard 17 litre cubes (51 litre total)? or 60ish litres total?
just out of interest what size is your mash tun?

offline


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## yardy (2/10/08)

I'd say the tun would have to be 45lt minimum

Cheers


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## Carbonator (2/10/08)

The only thing I could think of to make an old 18 Gal better was to convert it to a Keg-on-legs (4)!


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## Offline (3/10/08)

yardy said:


> I'd say the tun would have to be 45lt minimum
> 
> Cheers



The reason i ask is that i'm in the process of building one of these 18 gallon kettles, with the aim of being able to do double or triple batches (depending who's here to help brew/drink).
But i have 2 options for a mash tun, either a 50 litre (my current kettle) or another 18 gallon. From my calcs with a 50 litre mash tun i would need to fly sparge for a triple batch (using my standard grain bill). Where as the 80 litre job i could batch sparge any size batch. Plus i will still have my 36 litre cooler mash tun for single/double batches as well. You can never have too many options, unless you’re prone to procrastination.


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## sav (3/10/08)

I am setting up a 18g for the weekend 50lt weizen 50lt mash tun the only thing I can be a worry is false bottom in a 18g,but give it a go, I am happy with doubles it has cut my brewing in half.


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## yardy (10/12/08)

schooey said:


> I use a bog standard FB, only way to go IMO. My lid is a disc cut from 2" thick styrofoam cut from a broccoli box on roids with the edges taped up in hundred mile an hour tape... For insulation, I forked out some dollars on the advice of MHB and bought a sheet of* Aeroflex* and the glue to match, glued it on and wrapped it over with the same tape as aforementioned. I cut little bits of styrofoam to fit around the bottom drain tube. I did a 90 minute mash today on my mild and it only dropped half a degree, so it was money well invested.



as mentioned here by schooey, where can i get some Aeroflex and the glue to suit ?

cheers
Yard


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## schooey (10/12/08)

I bought it from Davis & Spence in Newcastle, Yardy, they are an electrical wholesaler/Air conditioning type company. Try places like that or refrigeration type companies, I've seen it at places like that too. It cost me $55 for a 1200x900 sheet, which was enough to wrap two vessels not too unsimilar to toohey's kegs


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## GDMorry (28/2/10)

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum//ind...showtopic=42530 I've come accross one (with fittings) I was hoping to re-kit and use?

Might be happy to swap for a 50Lt if some one wants to put it to a different use. (Adelaide Sth. Aust.)


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