if you use a keg you need to read this

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copper sweat
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if you use a keg you need to read this

Post by copper sweat »

http://forum.northernbrewer.com/viewtopic.php?t=44238" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
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Tokoroa_Shiner
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Re: if you use a keg you need to read this

Post by Tokoroa_Shiner »

Damn. Just checked mine. It has holes.
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Re: if you use a keg you need to read this

Post by Prairiepiss »

There are already three threads about this?
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Re: if you use a keg you need to read this

Post by Prairiepiss »

Hell its already a sticky? I thought there was already a sticky for this?
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Re: if you use a keg you need to read this

Post by copper sweat »

I didn't even think to check if this already had a thread sorry guys. That's some scary crap.
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Re: if you use a keg you need to read this

Post by Jerseryshiner51 »

So i have a question about the keg stills, whats the best way to clean them? I have black spots in the bottom of mine (mold probably.
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Re: if you use a keg you need to read this

Post by pfshine »

Weird place to post that question but OK. Lots of things to do. Put some soap water and a chunk of chain or rocks in it and stir/shake the hell out of it. Or if its just mold put water a mild non sudsing detergent in it and boil it. Lots of other ways, just think about it. If you use oxyclean make sure to rinse with vinegar and water.if you have more questions you can pm me.
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Re: if you use a keg you need to read this

Post by hawgwrench »

Holy Crap man....I'd have shart myself if I'd been anywhere around that. Never thought of this, gonna check now. If it aint got holes it gonna have in a minute...should the holes be .38 or .45 sized?
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Re: if you use a keg you need to read this

Post by DAD300 »

.17 or .22 will do...lol
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Re: if you use a keg you need to read this

Post by hawgwrench »

DAD300 wrote:.17 or .22 will do...lol

I'll scale back a little then :lol:
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Re: if you use a keg you need to read this

Post by engunear »

Thanks for that. It is a truly scary post. Not just the bang, but my mental picture of a pot of boiling alcohol falling over near an open flame. Yikes! Personally, I'd never use a naked flame near a flammable liquid above its boiling point. I know, heaps of guys do it, not meaning to dis them, their choice, and I guess if its outdoors its not so bad. Call me paranoid, the paranoid survive.

If your ears ring for any extended time after a loud bang, its a sign you have damaged them.
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Re: if you use a keg you need to read this

Post by T-Pee »

What?

tp
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Re: if you use a keg you need to read this

Post by pfshine »

Fire works just fine. No more unsafe than jamming a metal rod hooked up to a 240v outlet into the pot of boiling flammables. As for the hearing loss I stopped caring about that after being a combat engineer, driving and fixing tanks, and being blown up over seas. (At mines are a bitch) but all is good it gives me an excuse to ignore my wife.
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Re: if you use a keg you need to read this

Post by KYMountainMan »

I cant' read the original thread as it directs you to NorthernBrewers index page for some reason. Is the link broken?
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Re: if you use a keg you need to read this

Post by Copper Thumper »

Came here to say the same thing.
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Re: if you use a keg you need to read this

Post by rumBum2 »

Dyk.. when you hear a ringing inside your ears, It's your brain trying to repair itself and failing.. wait wat?? oh sorry wrong thread!
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Re: if you use a keg you need to read this

Post by henryk-yonza »

KYMountainMan wrote:I cant' read the original thread as it directs you to NorthernBrewers index page for some reason. Is the link broken?
Yep dead link for me also goes to home page
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Re: if you use a keg you need to read this

Post by DAD300 »

Goes like this...

"Safety notice:
While brewing in the public parking lot of Hopman's Homebrew Supply in Waterford Michigan for National Homebrew day one of the homebrewer's brew kettles (converted sankey keg) exploded with such a bang my ears are still ringing! It is my luck that I happened to be visiting his brewery when the bomb went off. The burner frame was destroyed and the keg tipped spilling 10 gallons of boiling wort onto the pavement. Luckily no one was burned by the wort. Here's what we know:
This keg was manufactured differently than every other keg we examined, the rolled steel lip at the top and bottom was welded solid with no holes drilled in it. No other keg was welded solid and all of them had 4 holes drilled in the keg rim. This is the rim that contacts the ground when the keg is in upright position.
The keg built up pressure in the rim until the rim exploded
We don't know what caused the explosion inside the enclosed rim - air expansion, moisture, maybe some unburned propane (not quite sealed in that case). It exploded after boil was well underway.
What we do know is it is dangerous and you should check your kegs! If there are no holes - drill some"
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Ethyl Carbamate Docs viewtopic.php?f=6&t=55219&p=7309262&hil ... e#p7309262
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KYMountainMan
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Re: if you use a keg you need to read this

Post by KYMountainMan »

I want to see pics. Was someone boiling inside a keg with the valve still intact or something? I'm not understanding the keg issue. I need pics.
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Re: if you use a keg you need to read this

Post by Snackson »

KYMountainMan wrote:I want to see pics. Was someone boiling inside a keg with the valve still intact or something? I'm not understanding the keg issue. I need pics.
The bottom lip of the keg that looks like a tube and goes all the way around was welded shut. By heating with propane, the gas inside expanded until it blew. See this link for pictures of a welded bottom, http://www.homebrewtalk.com/showpost.ph ... stcount=42" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
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Re: if you use a keg you need to read this

Post by Old Man Bakke »

Not sure what I am suppose to be seeing this link just takes me to the Northern Brewer Forum Home page
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Re: if you use a keg you need to read this

Post by rgreen2002 »

Old Man Bakke wrote:
Not sure what I am suppose to be seeing this link just takes me to the Northern Brewer Forum Home page
If I remember correctly... this post was about a beer brewer who used a keggle to mash and a heating source (propane...?). Either way, on the rolled outer edge of the keggle there were no holes in it. This caused the air that was inside it to become superheated during cooking and explode..sending hot wort all over the floor. No one was hurt but the implications are obvious. The moral of the story... check your keg and see if the rolled edge is perforated somehow... I cut most of the top of mine off and my bottom has holes.
The rolled edge complete with a hole
The rolled edge complete with a hole
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Re: if you use a keg you need to read this

Post by Old Man Bakke »

Thank you ! Really appreciate it
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Re: if you use a keg you need to read this

Post by Nunyo »

Very glad I read the Spoon Feed thread before starting my new hobby. That lead me to this thread. I converted a 15.5 gallon keg into a boiler pot to make mash in and as luck would have it, the rolled edge on the bottom of my keg has no holes in it. I guess I will be busting out the drill or die grinder (again) to add some holes to the bottom rolled edge. Thanks again for sharing this info and for all the other great info on this site!
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Re: if you use a keg you need to read this

Post by zapata »

Wow, lucky find! It's amazing to me how many ways I could have died already! I remember this thread from when it happened, don't know why NB's site doesn't make it easy to find anymore. I did a little sleuthing and found the original pictures figured they might as well be here for posterity. The full thread can be read here:
https://web.archive.org/web/20140210024 ... hp?t=44238" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
EXPLOSION! On National Homebrew Day - Converted Keg
Safety notice:
While brewing in the public parking lot of Hopman's Homebrew Supply in Waterford Michigan for National Homebrew day one of the homebrewer's brew kettles (converted sankey keg) expoded with such a bang my ears are still ringing! It is my luck that I happened to be visiting his brewery when the bomb went off. The burner frame was destroyed and the keg tipped spilling 10 gallons of boiling wort onto the pavement. Luckily no one was burned by the wort. Here's what we know:
This keg was manufactured differently than every other keg we examined, the rolled steel lip at the top and bottom was welded solid with no holes drilled in it. No other keg was welded solid and all of them had 4 holes drilled in the keg rim. This is the rim that contacts the ground when the keg is in upright position.
The keg built up pressure in the rim until the rim exploded
We don't know what caused the explosion inside the enclosed rim - air expansion, moisture, maybe some unburned propane (not quite sealed in that case). It exploded after boil was well underway.
What we do know is it is dangerous and you should check your kegs! If there are no holes - drill some! Here's some pictures
Time bomb in the background
1 Time bomb in background.JPG
Boom! Here's the keg that fell
2 Boom Heres the keg that fell.JPG
Distorted burner stand
Distorted burner stand.JPG
Everyone standing in wort, looking at the failed keg
4 Everyone standing in wort ooking at the failed keg.JPG
Shrapnel
5 shrapnel.JPG
Stamping on the keg if it matters
6 Stamping on the keg.JPG
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Re: if you use a keg you need to read this

Post by jake_jimmylegs »

Damn! Here's my guess, somehow the rolled portion was full of water and sealed. Atmospheric air or even propane vapour, I'd bet, would not do that if it were sealed in there.
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