Holes cut in keg

[Mossy]

Hey I have a keg that I'm going to use as a fermenter and I need a hole cut into the top for access and one in the side for a tap.
I tried to do this myself on another keg with an angle grinder and made a mess of it.
Are there any welders on here that could help out or anyone with the right gear? Dublin area preferably.
Cash or Homebrew can be exchanged for services.
Cheers

[darren996]

I did it with a dremmel and stainless blades, I put a corny lid on it. It was a lot of work but it worked well

[TheSumOfAllBeers]

Any reason you can't just use the keg as is? You can get adapters for the sankey ferrule that put corny posts on them.

You need to be confident about cleaning them without being able to reach in, but there's a lot of advantages if you can keep the keg intact

[Mossy]

Yeah I've looked into that, I might go down that route but I'd be stressed out about how clean I get it after a brew.

[TheSumOfAllBeers]

Yeah it takes a bit of work to get them clean.

[Tom]

Caustic soda and agitation (rolling it about). Not much survives a caustic soda wash. Rinse, then run starsan (or whatever we're using now) through it.

[TheSumOfAllBeers]

Caustic soda and agitation (rolling it about). Not much survives a caustic soda wash. Rinse, then run starsan (or whatever we're using now) through it.

Hot caustic is the absolute best way to clean stainless & brewery kit in general. But its something I dont trust myself to use (I have small kids and wont take the chance), and so my second best solutions, which are considerably inferior, are a custom keg washer (water butt pump with spray ball) and as much sodium percarbonate as will clean it. I am looking at carboy cleaning brushes too that can be drill powered.

[mac2k]

What not try the drain cleaning hose you can get for a power washer. They spray water in all directions, so should be good for cleaning inside the keg.

[TheSumOfAllBeers]

But you need the power wash capability too

[DEMPSEY]

Caustic at 40c is bang on.

[nigel_c]

Any reconditions where to get the caustic?

[Tom]

I use the bog standard Caustic Soda in the cleaning isle. €3 or 4 for 500g. Mix CAREFULLY to 1.5% for normal cleaning, or up to 3% for a good clean.

So in 1l of hot water that's 15g for 1.5% solution.

Add it to water, not water to it, and don't add it to boiling water as the reaction is exothermic, so will boil and bubble and spit.

Use PPE (gloves and glasses). It's as safe as driving a car, and as dangerous. Be sensible and you'll be fine.