Locating Boiler Kegs

[shandy]

So I was all set for a nice brewery upgrade with the promise of a 50litre keg from a mate who has managed to liberate 4 of them from sources unknown. Bought an arm and a legs worth of pumps, hoses and other parts, secured the services of a bloke with a plasma torch who was happy to take the top off it and put holes in it where required and the aforementioned mate decided to withdraw the offer for reasons intangible. Not happy.

Does anyone know where I might start looking in the Melbourne area for a replacement keg either legally or as was the case I'm sure with the ones my rubbish mate has, not so legally? I'm burstin to get the new plans underway so I'm open to all kinds of suggestions.

Shandy

 

[Adamt]

If (as I hope) you're looking to get a 50L keg legally - illegal acquisition of brewery owned kegs is not allowed to be discussed here - you'd be silly to cut the top off of it. Buy a stainless pot instead; it'll be about the same price if not cheaper.

 

[Carbonator]

If you got time, you get lucky scouring all the scrap metal yards, the non-ferrous ones and the general ones with a non-ferrous section. On the phone is no good, and you will need shoes and high-vis vest and they usually point you towards the SS bins and let you have a look for yourself if you can talk on a level that suits the "junks yard dogs" "on the day"!

They can be very touchy and emotional swings are the norm and often think of themselves as pompous Gods one day, then other days, are willing to assist to no end. Just telling it how it is from my experiences! If it goes nasty, just say "thanks", go away come back in a week. If they assist, work it for all it's worth. Old 18g kegs are my favorite find, but since they have been redundant for over 10 years, I'm not sure if it's OK to discuss them here!

 

[browndog]

There are a couple of scrap metal yards where I live, one of them will in no way sell a keg of any kind, be it one of the newer ones or one of the real old barrel types. The other yard will sell anything. I guess it comes down to the morality of the scrap dealer. Be warned though, if a scrap dealer sells you a keg that belongs to a brewery, ignorance is no defence in court.

cheers

Browndog

 

[Carbonator]

The other yard will sell anything. I guess it comes down to the morality of the scrap dealer. Be warned though, if a scrap dealer sells you a keg that belongs to a brewery, ignorance is no defence in court.

Only in Ipswich would I expect a scrap metal dealer to sell "stolen goods", don't bother going there!

It is a well known fact that some legitimate "branded" kegs were sold to scrap yards because they went to "bag in box" for their syrup products. Their is no law or legislation that prohibits selling SS to anyone, except the fact that the big breweries have sent threatening emails and correspondence to all scrap yards, Aus wide telling them they will burn in hell in the Australian Courts if they buy kegs of any type, no matter who owns them. Many will say they will not buy in kegs unless they are cut in half, you work it out!

This is one of those "scare tactic" things that has ruined it for the population, because of the actions of a few 6 finger deadbeats stealing Carlton and Tooheys kegs from the back of pubs.

 

[browndog]

Only in Ipswich would I expect a scrap metal dealer to sell "stolen goods", don't bother going there!

That is pretty grand coming from someone who just advised a poster to "go and steal a fire extinguisher". Carbonator I reckon you should GFYS.

CHEERS

Browndog

 

[buttersd70]

That is pretty grand coming from someone who just advised a poster to "go and steal a fire extinguisher". Carbonator I reckon you should GFYS.

CHEERS

Browndog

I might be a complete thieving *******! wiv a bunch a' pikey reletives, but even I have limits. :lol:

 

[shandy]

I'm under no illusions about the legality of misappropriated kegs and it's not my desire to come down on the wrong side of any laws but I expect there are legitimate ways to obtain kegs although I don't know how or at what cost. As for scrap metal yards, I think that's probably worth a go. I know that the one I was previously promised had a previous life on a tip somewhere so I'm happy to try and obtain one that way since a 50l pot is an expense I can't afford at the moment.

 

[Screwtop]

That is pretty grand coming from someone who just advised a poster to "go and steal a fire extinguisher". Carbonator I reckon you should GFYS.

CHEERS

Browndog

Don't hold back now Browndog :lol: :lol:

 

[Carbonator]

Ipswich PRIDE! (Sir Jo Bjelke-Pederson is still alive and kicking in Ipswich)


Seriously, scrap metal is scrap metal, like scrap gold! Like fonts disposed of by beer plumbers who haven't discovered eBay yet!


Hey guys, you can avoid paying tax, use cash!
You can go rob a bank to pay for your brew gear!
I know, I'm just asking for it now!
Come get me Sir Jo Bjelke-Pederson!

 

[Doogiechap]

OK, back on topic.
Scotty, (known as /// or \\\ ??) from NNL brewing supplies had secondhand 50 l kegs for sale at one point. I know hew gets them in periodically so it's worth giving him a buzz.
Cheers
Doug

 

[Carbonator]

Carbonator I reckon you should GFYS.

You had to "go there".

I was just wondering how many toddlers and old ladies that POS dog in your avatar has mauled and sent to hospital?

An illegal bread like that is nothing to be proud of, considering their history, no matter how many alleged FEs I have in possession!

 

[shandy]

Cheers for the link Doug. I'll check that out.

 

[Adamt]

Can't you just feel the love.

Cool your jets, fellers. It's not worth it.

 

[shandy]

It has gotten a bit warm here hasn't it.

 

[browndog]

You had to "go there".

I was just wondering how many toddlers and old ladies that POS dog in your avatar has mauled and sent to hospital?

An illegal bread like that is nothing to be proud of, considering their history, no matter how many alleged FEs I have in possession!

Learn to spell wanker...it is breed not bread. Get you facts right in regard to legal and illegal breeds. Staffordshire Terriers are not illegal breeds. As far as my staffie goes,I would trust her with my and my kids lives. It is not about the breed, it is how they are brought up. I am ashamed that we have a wanker like you up here in QLD bringing us down. Come to the swap son.


cheers

Browndog

 

[katzke]

Does anyone know where I might start looking in the Melbourne area for a replacement keg.

Shandy

Do what I do and go to a brewery and ask. Worse they can do is look at you like youre a nutter. I just ended up with 7 of them last trip. Kegs wear out or get dented. Some smaller brewerys will try and fix them. The big guys may send them out to get reconditioned. Others will just scrap them out. Least that is what happens over here. Not sure what values would be there but to give you an idea I paid $35US for 50L kegs last time. That is 5 bucks more then the deposit.

 

[Batz]

Just buy a nice big aluminum pot 60-80 lt is quite cheap.
Comes with lid,it's a better shape and no legal hassles.

Batz

 

[growler]

My supplier of 50l SS vessels said that he had contacted the "owners" of said vessels about returning them. They were not prepared to pay anything....not even a couple of cartons of their "finest" !!!!

"Mate, they're yours for the scrap value..."

"Thanks, ..." I said and handed over the $$

My advice is to keep looking...mine were surprisingly easy to find in a relatively "small" place..FNQ

growler. :icon_cheers:

 

[bigfridge]

It has gotten a bit warm here hasn't it.

Hi everyone,

Let's see if I can bring the temperature down a bit.

Firstly, I am a Director of NNL and yes we do deal in new and 2nd hand kegs. These are usually imported from Europe in container loads sent direcly to breweries. But at the moment we do have some old local ones that we sell in batches of 50 or so to the breweries and we just need to finalise the last few sales to work out how many 'left-overs' we will have. It doesn't help anyone if we sell off the kegs in small batches so that the breweries don't have enough to take a full brew length. I should have final numbers available in a week or so and can let everyone know what we have available then.

The other point is about the legality of used kegs. You need to realise that the breweries do not, and never will sell old kegs. If they did it would make it very hard to disprove a claim that the guy with a keg in his possession 'bought it legally'. By not selling the used kegs it is never possible to own them legally.

If you look at a keg you will see the words 'this keg always remains the property of ...' stamped into the top. This means regardless if you pick it up from the back of a pub or from the top of a scrap heap then it is still owned by the brewery and anyone with it in their possession has taken it from the brewery and hence it is stolen. There was a case in the US concerning pallets where a re-cycler was arrested for stealing Chep pallets. While he was eventually freed from gaol it was a very messy business. Locally I know of one instance where a brewery salesman on the road saw a keg hanging under a truck as a water tank and he called the Police. The driver was arrested on the spot for being in possession of stolen property.

The most common way that kegs get into scrap yards is from them not being returned to the pub after a party. They kick around the yard until there is a cleanup and off they go with the other rubbish. What the scrap yards should do is refuse to pay for the kegs and contact the brewery to await their instructions - but they don't care.

Regardless if the breweries pursue their rights or not every Australian keg that you see being used outside the pub-brewery supply chain is stolen. It doesn't matter if the brewery exists anymore or not as the kegs were part of the assests purchased just before the brewery was closed. Only this week I saw some Swan and Powers kegs being unloaded outside a pub.

This is why we have to import the used kegs from Europe. Over there a lot of breweries are converting to 30 litre kegs due to the OH&S concerns about the weight of a full keg.

Anyway, I will get back when I have more details.

Thanks
Dave