Alum Beer Barrels

[Lurker]

Three alum 15.5 gal. beer barrels avail. for pick up in S. Jersey. They have had wine in them. PM me.

 

[Wade E]

Are you suer they are Aluminum? They would have to be very old to be aluminum, most of them are stainless steel but when they are not polished they can look like aluminum. here is a picture of my SS keg befoe and then after polishing them. Wish I was closer or Id grab them up in a hear beat. If I were you Id put them on Craigslist or in a Classifieds add as there is a good demand for these with beer makers and you could probably sell them for at least $25 a pop or more depending on what they look like.

 

[Tom]

These can be "made" into a keggel for BEER. Is the post out?
What brand are they?

 

[Lurker]

They are 2 buds and a mick. They are not mine, but belong to a friend who has made wine in them. A magnet will not stick to them. He wants $10 each. And you have to pick them up in Bellmawr.

 

[Tom]

So, how did he make wine IN it? did he take the post out and cut the top?
Pictures?
Cant see how he make wine in it unless used as a fermentor having the top cut off.??

 

[Lurker]

Tom, I had to call him to answer your question. He said that he took out the post and filled it 3/4 with juice, and a cheesecloth cover over the hole. Then continued to add juice after 10 days until it was full. Then a #11 bung with a lock. He will part with the bungs. He makes wine the natural way, no additions at all. He always criticizes my, "Chemical" wine. But he is still a friend.

 

[Tom]

OK so thats what I figured. Great $. Hopefully some Homebrewer can use these for a keggel (sp). Winemakers can also use this but there would be to much headspace if aging. Good for primary.

 

[Lurker]

He aged his wine in it. No sulfite, good wine but thin.

 

[Wade E]

Wow, I havent heard of Aluminum kegs in quite a while. He must have had these for quite some time! Ill throw this up on the homebrew fourm for you if you want, it should go fast there. Just PM me if you want and a phone number or how you want them to get in touch.

 

[jeepingchick]

just PMed ya.

 

[Wade E]

3 Kegs will make a nice brewing system! Just get your self some weldless fittings and your all set, just be careful with the keggle and eityer make a guard to keep the flame away from the 0-rings on the Ball valve and any other fittings you would put low like a sight gauge. Or you could do electric like mine and not have to worry about that. Here is pic to how that would be done and a sit where you would get the stainless steel nut and silicone 0-ring on the inside.
http://www.greatbargain.net/order/shop1.html or here http://www.highgravitybrew.com/productcart/pc/Weldless-Heating-Element-Kit-306p2652.htm I have done business with both of these places and they are both great!

 

[Wade E]

Heres what the inside of mine looks like but my element has a sleeve welded in. You get the element from Home Depot pretty darn cheap. I have a 3500 watt element in mine and a 1500 watt element in my cooloer just for heating up the sparge water.

 

[Wade E]

OK, like I was saying aluminum kegs are pretty rare now a days so I checked my keg and a few various other SS parts that I know are SS and guess what, even with a rare very strong earth magnet SS is nit magnetic so Im betting these kegs are Stainless and just look the way they are because they are not polished.

 

[Tom]

Not all stainless is magnetic. My 24 gallon SS brew pot and 14 gallon SS pot is not magnetic either.
I'm 100% sure it a stainless keg.

 

[Wade E]

I think only very cheap SS might be magnetic, maybe its SS layered on the cheap stuff as I have a flex ruler from Home Depot that my magnet did stick to.

 

[Mud]

All stainless types, except the austenitic group (300 series) are strongly magnetic. I've only ever seen kegs in 304 stainless, and even that is often slightly magnetic. The best place to test is on the collars. The magnets will often stick a little better on the edges where the keg's been rolled around.

 

[wyntheef]

They are 2 buds and a mick. They are not mine, but belong to a friend who has made wine in them. A magnet will not stick to them. He wants $10 each. And you have to pick them up in Bellmawr.

there are many stainless steel alloys that are not magnetic. the magnetic properties of stainless steel are very dependent on the elements added into the alloy, and specifically the addition of nickel can change the structure from magnetic to non-magnetic.

your best bet at home is to judge whether the material is hard or soft, and light or heavy, as aluminum is a much less dense material than stainless.

If they are indeed aluminum, you should be able to scratch the surface easily with an awl or screwdriver, and when comparing with a steel pot of comparable size, it would be noticably lighter.

 

[contactme_11]

Tom, I had to call him to answer your question. He said that he took out the post and filled it 3/4 with juice, and a cheesecloth cover over the hole. Then continued to add juice after 10 days until it was full. Then a #11 bung with a lock. He will part with the bungs. He makes wine the natural way, no additions at all. He always criticizes my, "Chemical" wine. But he is still a friend.

I must ask. How could you tell if these were actually clean when you use them? Seems like it would be way to hard using just the post opening.