Modified Kegs

I purchased old kegs from the scrap yard. I also kept the receipts to show that I purchased them and that they weren't stolen. The next stp was to cut the kegs. You can search the web for some good articles on converting kegs. A few are: (http://www.schoville.com/brewing.php/kegconversion, http://www.texanbrew.com/article.php?story=20021110200202146, http://www.thegatesofdawn.ca/wordpress/homebrewing/keg_conversion/).

First you need to vent the keg or release the pressure out of the keg. This is fairly simple. All you do is take a large screwdriver and push down on the ball on the keg. Make sure you have a rag or something over the hole or you will get smelly old beer squirted all over you.

Once the pressure has been release you can mark the keg for cutting. On my kegs I cut the hole at 12 inches. I took a string and looped it around the keg tap and used a sharpie to mark the circle. I remeasured to mark sure the hole would be 12 inches. (Being paranoid that I would cut the hole too big.) The first time I cut the hole I used an angle grinder with a 4 inch wheel (found everything at Harbor Freight for about $20). The first hole I cut was about 10 inches then later I decided to cut the hole to 12" so that I could fit the false bottom that I wanted. The first hole I cut wasn't very circular. I think it was a combination of rushing and not used to cutting. The second time when I cut the hole to 12 inches I used a RotoZip which has a 3 inch cutting wheel. This hole came out better but again I think it is because I took my time. Once the hole was cut ithe edges were very sharp. I used a barrel sander attachment to my hand drill to clean up the holes (I also bought this at Harbor Freight for about $5). It took about 2 hours to cut 3 kegs and do the necessary cleanup of the hole. Oh, important point, I also used ear and eye protection while cutting the holes. It is really loud. If you are lucky enough to have access to a plasma cutter then take a look at this from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_reRMz7YHic. I believe it took him 3 minutes to cut 1 hole.

Here is how mine turned out:

Next I cut the holes for the fittings. I used a drill to start the hole and then a step bit (also from Harbor Frieght). BTW, I use Harbor Frieght because they are inexpesive for the tools I am using. Good for tools that you will rarely use (like an angle grinder, step bits...). Here is the Keg with the hole cut out:

Then I added the weldless fittings and the false bottom and here is the final product: