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Overview
I tried to find info on using Sanke kegs (like those used by most American breweries)
for homebrew kegging, but this apparently isn't very common. I am presenting here everything
I have found about these ubiquitous, but mysterious, kegs. They are very cheap if you
can find them at a metal recycling yard. I got mine for<$10 each, based solely on
the weight of the steel.
What's inside?
Taking a Sanke keg apart isn't as hard as it may seem. I have only taken
apart a Bud and a Miller keg, but I hope this info will be universal.
To remove the tube, you first must remove the retaining "spring". I did this by
pushing it around with a flat screwdriver until the end was visible through one of the holes
in the fitting built onto the keg. With a small flat blade screwdriver I pried the
end of the retainer up through the hole and grabbed it with some pliers. It was easily
removed by pulling on the end with the pliers and using a flat screwdriver to help
it rotate out. I've read on the homebrew digest (www.hbd.org)
that this "slinky" style spring can be conveniently replaced by a 2" internal snap ring (called by
one poster a "2 inch housing ring"). This would be more convenient, but probably not worth the
~$20 or so for snap ring pliers (unless you were just waiting for a good excuse to buy some).
The next part can be removed by tapping the inner piece around with a flat screwdriver and a hammer
until the tabs line up with the holes in the keg top. Then just pull it out.
I made a simple tool to make this task easier on stubborn kegs, but the screwdriver method works.
Taking apart the tube thingy
The spring retainer is easier to remove than it seems. It isn't hard to put back
together either, so don't be afraid. Press on the spring retainer to compress
the spring slightly then rotate counterclockwise to free it from the end.
That's all there is to it, now you can clean the muck out from all the parts.
The ball and rubber seal are the only things left that are hard to clean, but you can
pour some cleaner into the tube and soak the ball end for a while. The ball
can be pressed in with hard finger pressure to let your cleaning solution get
all around.
What's inside the ball valve?
I cut open the ball valve to see if there was further disassembly possible. There isn't. Anyway, the
pictures show you what's inside the SS tube.
Unnecessary tools
I made some simple tools out of aluminum to remove the spear (instead of tapping it around with a
screwdriver), and to compress the spring retainer on the outside of the spear. I made the second one
before I even tried pressing it by hand, which turned out not to be very difficult. Anyway, I had fun
making the tools. It seems that the tools could also be functional made out of wood, given the \
moderate forces necessary to take the keg apart.
A complete set of high resolution images can be downloaded from this
directory
I have a partially complete drawing I made of the unnecessary keg tools in case anyone cares.
SankeKegTool.pdf
I hope to put up a description of how to cut the top off a 1/2 BBL Sanke keg with a Dremel to make a
nice boiling pot. I also hope to get pics up of my homemade temperature controlled fermenter
(better than 0.1 C control).
Contact info:
Rick Workman
rworkman@email.arizona.edu
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The retaining ring can be tapped around with a flat blade screwdriver until
the end is visible in the notch.
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The end of the retaining ring can now be pried out with a small screwdriver.
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The retaining ring can now be "unwound" from the keg, freeing the stem
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Now the tabs on the spear can be tapped around with a screwdriver and hammer
to align the spear tabs with the slots on the keg
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With the tabs aligned with the slots, the spear can be removed
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The spear pulls right out
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The spear can be easily disassembled into these parts
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This a cut away view of the ball valve. The black rubber piece
has metal inside and seems to have been pressed in. The spring is held in the tube by those 3 dents
in the tube wall near the ball (not shown)
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This a cut away view of the ball valve with spring where it appears in the stem.
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All the parts laid out in the assembly order. Bottom half of my homemade
unnecessary tool at the right. The spear shown has been cut short for instructional purposes only.
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Cut off spear inside my unnecessary spear disassembly tool. The sacrificial
spear shown was the one I used to show the ball valve cut away above.
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View of the spear removal tool being made. The notches fit the tabs
on the spear. This shot is of making the 3/8" drive ratchet hole. NOTE: YOU DON'T NEED TO
DO THIS! IT WAS JUST A FUN EXERCISE!
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Completed spear removal tool with 3/8" drive ratchet
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Testing the tool on the disassembled spear piece
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