I've got a bucket or two full of salvaged Eurosource brand spears and valves (Sanke D, I think the valves are Microstar) from busted kegs. What in the heck can I do with them? Anyone need some?
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What to do with spare Spears?
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I just repair the spear/valve that came with the keg... these are from kegs that have been badly used and are de-com'd. These spears and valves are fine, might need gaskets and o-rings.
The best use I've found for them is for building jockey-boxes from plastic coolers--they're the perfect size to go over the stem of a beer faucet to tighten it down without just crushing the wall of the cooler. Still seems like a bit of a waste to me....Timm Turrentine
Brewerywright,
Terminal Gravity Brewing,
Enterprise. Oregon.
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But, Dave, what am I gonna do with all these firearms? I never knew a few ounces of SS was all it took!
Seriously, my previous boss had us remove the spears from every keg that was beyond hope because they were valuable--the question being: "Who to?".
Ah, well, they're still SS scrap....Timm Turrentine
Brewerywright,
Terminal Gravity Brewing,
Enterprise. Oregon.
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Originally posted by TGTimm View PostBut, Dave, what am I gonna do with all these firearms? I never knew a few ounces of SS was all it took!
Seriously, my previous boss had us remove the spears from every keg that was beyond hope because they were valuable--the question being: "Who to?".
Ah, well, they're still SS scrap....
Unless you work in a brewery where nothing ever breaks, and you have a lot of time on your hands to repair things, I'd keep them ready for when one fails.
OR buy more shells to put them in, then use or sell the complete shell.
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Originally posted by mikeyrb1 View PostUnless you work in a brewery where nothing ever breaks, and you have a lot of time on your hands to repair things, I'd keep them ready for when one fails.
If I pull a spear for any reason, I replace the rubber. Every time. It's cheap insurance.
I have, once out of many, many thousands of returned kegs, seen a spear that was sheared off below the valve. I'll keep a spare or two in case that happens again.Last edited by TGTimm; 02-02-2015, 03:50 PM.Timm Turrentine
Brewerywright,
Terminal Gravity Brewing,
Enterprise. Oregon.
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Brandjes--I get the parts from several sources, but mostly our keg supplier, Eurosource. These folks have been very good to me. There are only two rubber bits in a (Micromatic Sanke) keg valve: the main seal and the o-ring that seals it to the keg. I did DIY a tool to make taking the valve apart/reassembly easier, which I'll be happy to share--takes a couple of minutes, a hacksaw, and some scrap pipe to make.
I'm wondering if maybe there's a major liability problem with rebuilding a keg valve/spear, or is it just... what? I can see lawyers not wanting us to take the spears out--getting one in wrong could result in the spear becoming, well, a spear, but getting the valve together wrong would just waste beer.Timm Turrentine
Brewerywright,
Terminal Gravity Brewing,
Enterprise. Oregon.
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spear o-rings are designed to last about 2 years, even MicroMatic only warranty craftsmanship for 2 years not including o-rings.
I would save a few for insurance, but you are are looking to get rid of them, I can trade you a few kegs for them.
Prost!
Zhi
StandardKegs.comCheers!
Zhi Yang
Twitter @StandardKEGS
Facebook.com/standardkegs
www.standardkegs.com
info@standardkegs.com
Better Kegs, Better Service
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I took a spear and turned it into a jockey box cleaner that could hook up to my keg washer. My brewing hoses (1") are about the perfect diameter to go over the spear, and I clamped the hell out of it. The other end is 1.5" triclamp. I hook the coupler to the spear and lock it down. I am able to clean and sanitize jockey boxes quickly and efficiently without having to make kegs of cleaner and sanitizer. Also, I've heard that co2 makes caustic not as effective. I eliminate this problem because I pump the cleaner and sanitizer, as opposed to pushing with co2. I also don't waste co2 that way.
I keep it assembled and ready to go, so I don't waste time reassembling it. The section of hose and 1.5" hose barb was worth the convenience for me.
Just a thought.
David M. Smith
LyonSmith Brewing Co.
Penn Yan, NY
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Scott--PM me--I just cleaned out my inbox.
David--buy four faucet adapters and some braided hose to fit and make a real continuous jockey box/beer line cleaner. I can clean two double-faucet boxes simultaneously.Timm Turrentine
Brewerywright,
Terminal Gravity Brewing,
Enterprise. Oregon.
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