Hands On Review: Brand New, 5 Gallon Keg from Adventures in Homebrewing
A while back Adventures in Homebrewing introduced brand new 5 gallon ball lock keg made to their specifications. It’s marked down to… $75. That’s a stellar deal for a brand new ball lock, I purchased one to give it a try.
Ball Lock, Stainless Steel, Double Rubber Handles. Specs say these are 25″ tall and 8.5″ in diameter. NSF and ISO 9001 Certified.
A look at the top of the keg. This is a double handle rubber top and rubber bottom keg. This designed is generally preferred to single handle strap designs as it’s easier to carry, stackable and the two handles mean the keg can be inverted for draining after cleaning or sanitizing.
Stamp on the side of the side of the keg reads… Max WP 130 PSI [900 kpa], Cap 5 US GAL [19]. Guessing WP = working pressure,
My keg came from the first batch that was in the process of being NSF certified. Since then that process has been completed. This photo (stock image from AIH) shows NSF and ISO 9001 certification stamps.
Bottom of the keg
There was a little bit of what I would call rubber residue. Not a lot, but some. Guessing this will wear or scrub off. Maybe this is common for brand new kegs, I’ve never owned one before this.
Inside of the keg. Looks great.
Parts and pieces. Left side is liquid, right side is gas. The lid oring is white. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s a white silicone. It doesn’t feel like Buna-N.
Liquid dip tube
Close up on the gas side
The keg uses universal style poppets.
Close up of the lid.
Kegging a Pale Ale
Pressurized, sealed up and sprayed down with Star San to check for leaks. No leaks in sight.
In my kegerator
I’ve had this keg since January of 2015. This is the nicest 5 gallon keg I’ve owned. It’s high quality, looks great and works great. Their quality rivals my Cornelius-type brand kegs and (since all my other 5 gallon kegs are used) the condition of this keg is superior. I’m also glad AIH went to the time and expense to get it NSF certified.
Depending on retail price (it can sometimes by had for $75) I’d call it a stellar value. Shipping is additional. Play around with different quantities as minimum shipping charges make those costs a bit odd. It usually doesn’t cost much more to ship a second, third or fourth keg.
From Facebook Friend Michael… “Have one from their Black Friday sale and am very happy with it. It’s a Steal!”
AIH New 5 Gallon Corny Keg Ball Lock
These are also available in a 2.5 gallon version. Although 2.5 gallon kegs are smaller, they generally sell for more than their 5 gallon counterparts. In contrast AIH typically sells the 5 gallon and 2.5 gallon sizes for about the same price. The smaller size is good for splitting 5 gallon batches, small batch or small space brewing/kegging and easily taking your homebrew on the go…
AIH New Double Rubber Handle 2.5 Gal Keg
Also: Kegerator Tips & Gear | Keg Repair Part #s | Recent Keg Finds
Our Top Draft Resources More: Recent AIH Finds review:aih5gallonkeg
I have 5 of these kegs. I’ve had them for a few years with no issues. They’re very looking and built very solid.
I picked up a few of the 2.5 gallon. They have been really great kegs. They take a bit of cleaning when you get them to clean off all the oil from manufacturing, but nothing terrible. My local shop sells refurb ball lock for $50, so $75 for brand new is a great deal!
I just got two in last week and love ’em! Nice find, thanks!
These are probably the best deal that you will find on ball-lock, or new, corny kegs anywhere right now.