Hello all,, this is my first request for advice. I have been brewing for
over 25 years now, started in the dark days. I have made do with a few
sizes of brew pots over the years, a 24ltr one for the past 8 years. I now
want to scale up my all grain brewing to double batch sizes, largly because
at my age I seem to be getting lazy.

Occasionaly I see 15 gallon SS kegs on ebay, but shipping to Halifax, Canada
would be prohibitive. Sonething along this size or larger would make the
ideal brew pot for oudoors boil. I called the local major and craft
breweries, and they were either not supportive, or really had no idea where
to get one locally. Is there anyone out there hwo knows wehere I migh get
one in Halifax, Nova Scotia, or perhaps a Brew club in the area who I could
speak to?

Any suggestions would be appreciated

Regards
Gerald

Check to see if there are local scrap metal dealers or junk yards that
buy/sell metal in your area or local communities. You may also look for
beer distribution warehouses which often times have damaged or retired kegs
awaiting return to the company. We have a local Coors distributor nearby &
they sell kegs for $10 either Pony size or 1/2 BL size, they have stacks of
them outside the building & the ones I bought (for both kegging & kettles)
were in superb shape, a little buffing with some emery & they looked like
chrome inside & out. These are the only truly legal ways of acquiring a
keg, buying from ebay you never know. I was even lucky to find one tossed
in the ditch along side the road, it had holes drilled in it & looked like
it had been in a building fire, but a little elbow grease payed off...you
wouldn't even recognize it. You may have to drive a bit of a distance, but
it would be much cheaper than paying insane shipping rates.

I did however buy most of the necessities to convert my kegs from ebay.

I found 1/2" 304 Stainless Steel nipples for $0.75 each & wicked cheap
shipping here
[url]http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7500332284[/url]

And brass bodied 1/2" ball valves for $5.50 for a set of 3!! Our local
home improvement stores sell them for $5.50 each!!
[url]http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7520336727[/url]

Of course my plan is to do a full HERMS system with a HLT/Heat Exchanger,
Mash Tun & Boil Kettle all mounted on a steel 1" square tube frame similar
to the Brew Magic from Sabco ([url]http://www.kegs.com[/url]) Sabco also sells kegs for
a decent price, both barebones & fully converted. But again you may run
into the shipping $$ issue.

The local military base welding shop did an AWESOME job of plasma cutting
holes in the top, let me drill holes for the nipples & the shop welder use a
Stainless Steel MIG to weld the nipples in place for me. He even patched
the holes that had been drilled in the keg...all for $20. I in turn brewed
a batch of beer for them...always a good incentive & you may get a reduced
price if they like your beer.

This is just from my personal experience. Best of luck!!

Kent



"Pyreneesmountain" <glatham@ns.sympatico.ca> wrote in message
news:bKbve.52418$Ph4.1468817@ursa-nb00s0.nbnet.nb.ca...[color=blue]
> Hello all,, this is my first request for advice. I have been brewing for
> over 25 years now, started in the dark days. I have made do with a few
> sizes of brew pots over the years, a 24ltr one for the past 8 years. I
> now want to scale up my all grain brewing to double batch sizes, largly
> because at my age I seem to be getting lazy.
>
> Occasionaly I see 15 gallon SS kegs on ebay, but shipping to Halifax,
> Canada would be prohibitive. Sonething along this size or larger would
> make the ideal brew pot for oudoors boil. I called the local major and
> craft breweries, and they were either not supportive, or really had no
> idea where to get one locally. Is there anyone out there hwo knows wehere
> I migh get one in Halifax, Nova Scotia, or perhaps a Brew club in the area
> who I could speak to?
>
> Any suggestions would be appreciated
>
> Regards
> Gerald
>[/color]