Cutting Kegs

[Ciderhead]

Savage 8 Hours brew day today, with and AG Kolsch and Dry Stout interspersed with taking lids off these 2.

Depressurise the kegs with a screwdriver, pointing away from you otherwise nice 12 month old beer shower.

Process is pretty simple really, wrap marker around string in loop and with other half of loop around neck of keg
Then mark and grind.

You can see I made the first loop too close to the edge of the keg even for my small grinder to get in at it
I marked the line first with the grinder making sure I didnt go too deep with the grinder and then went for it.
Ground off all edges so no slivers of metal or sharp edges.

1 metal grinder wheel used per keg.

First one took me 30 mins, second one I got the hang of it and it only took 20.



Better job of the second one which will be for my boiler



and waste not want not used the spears for my food friendly hop spider

[Shanna]

Hi Cider head

Would you please post instructions on how n made the spider?

Shanna

[Ciderhead]

Hi Cider head

Would you please post instructions on how n made the spider?

Shanna

PVC hopper
2 surplus spears from kegs
nylon mesh food bags
stainless steel jubilee clip

thats it not rocket science

[irish_goat]

How much do the grinder wheels and the grinder cost? Are they available in hire shops or is it cheaper to buy one?

[DEMPSEY]

When you say grinder I presume you mean the tool for cutting the Stainless Steel. It's a 100mm cutting disc and you need an electric mini angle grinder to use it on. You also need a polishing wheel for the same tool for polishing the steel after as the cut left is so sharp that you could shave with it.

[Shanna]

Hi there

While I can admire Ciderheads handiwork especially while doing this free hand I would like to caution any one attempting this to take a few precautions. Eye goggles, ear defenders, heavy clothing (helps catch the burrs from the cut ting) and heavy duty work gloves.  If you have a breathing mask I would use this to. I found the grinding disks throw off a very fine black spot like dust and it's foul stuff. I did two of these freehand and one with a jig that I borrowed from Damo.  If can get a stainless steel cutting disk use it as the regular metal disks don't last and tend to disintegrate towards the end of their life. The comparison to the one with the jig went way smoother and I did not feel traumitised after it. Doing it free hand was a roller coaster ride as the angle grinder kept digging in and I found it hard to maintain a circular path.

I know I might sound a bit dramatic but would hate somebody to get hurt for lack of a few basic precautions. On a related note capital Brewers will be doing a plastic kettle build in Tog on the 14th so if you fancy doing a kettle build without the angle grinder come along and check it out.

Shanna

[DEMPSEY]

Ditto to all above and if you are looking for Stainless Steel cutting disc's,the cheapest and best are in McQuillans capel st. They are 1.0mm which is perfect for slicing through S/S and only €1.95 each. I had to run and get some the other day at B&Q, cost €3.95 each and were 1.2mm thick.
The 1.0mm is great for making slits for mash tun drainage.

[Ciderhead]

Hi there

While I can admire Ciderheads handiwork especially while doing this free hand I would like to caution any one attempting this to take a few precautions. Eye goggles, ear defenders, heavy clothing (helps catch the burrs from the futting) and heavy duty work gloves.  If you have a breathing mask I would use this to. I found the grinding disks throw off a very fine Black spot like dust and it's foul stuff. I did two of these freehand and one with a jig that I borrowed from Damo.  If can get a stainless steel cutting disk use it as the regular metal disks don't last and tend to disintegrate towards the end of their life. The comparison as the one with the jig went way smoother and I did not feel traumitised after it. Doing it free hand was a roller coaster ride as the angle grinder kept digging in and I found it hard to maintain a circular path.

I know I might sound a bit dramatic but would hate somebody to get hurt for lack of a few basic precautions. On a related note capital Brewers will be doing a plastic kettle build in Tog on the 14th so if you fancy doing a kettle build without the angle grinder come along and check it out.

Shanna

+1 on thje safety side
The freehand aspect was easy enough as long as you break the surface to start following your marked line, then only just penetrate the surface and let the grinder do the work, it naturally wants to follow the circle of the keg.

[Shanna]

Hi Dempsey

Good to know about the disks might also explain why I had trouble cutting the top off as I suspect they were to thick. By the way I hope the place on Capel's street is giving us a few quid for all the free advertising :-)

Shanna

Ditto to all above and if you are looking for Stainless Steel cutting disc's,the cheapest and best are in McQuillans capel st. They are 1.0mm which is perfect for slicing through S/S and only €1.95 each. I had to run and get some the other day at B&Q, cost €3.95 each and were 1.2mm thick.
The 1.0mm is great for making slits for mash tun drainage.

[CARA]

Are these any use? http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Hitachi-G10SR3-Mini-Grinder-100mm-230-Volt-/280860467582?pt=UK_Home_Garden_PowerTools_SM&hash=item416496a17e#ht_592wt_1163

[nigel_c]

Could be a nice little earner for someone with access to kegs and neighbors how are a bit deaf. Cutting and selling kegs for boilers and mash tuns.

[Ciderhead]

Are these any use? http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Hitachi-G10SR3-Mini-Grinder-100mm-230-Volt-/280860467582?pt=UK_Home_Garden_PowerTools_SM&hash=item416496a17e#ht_592wt_1163

Thats similar to what I used

[Hop Bomb]

B&Q have a bosch one of those for 40e now. Same as mine which Ive used to convert the kegs below. (keg on the right now has a dial thermometer too)



I cut all mine without a jig with no problems. You need a steady hand & a good eye. A jig would be better though as you could use the perfectly cut piece from the keg as your lid (just add some silicone tubing to the edge)

I bought SS lids in a catering shop for mine as the cut out pieces didnt fit well after the keg cutting was done.

[Garry]

Shanna and Hop Bomb mention a jig. Has anyone a pic of one of these?

[Hop Bomb]

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LthGdMk_avk[/media]