best small ss drums?

[CrossBroMaple]

Hello,
I am looking to invest in some ss drums / kegs for our operation. 10-15 gallon in size... my question is whose is the best bang for the buck...? favorites? not favorites? thanks Matt

[wiam]

Cheapest I have found is used beer kegs. A 2" tri-clamp cap and clamp will seal them after the valve is removed. The gasket will need the part that normally goes in the groove shaved off one side. Some I have bought dented from small breweries. Others I have bought from someone who seems to deal in them on Craigslist. If you watch eBay you can get clamp reasonable with 2 weld ends and gasket. (Cheaper than just clamp) they come from China, but what doesn't. :/

[BreezyHill]

I will second the Kegs. I use a water line plug to seal. I get them from Home Depot for around $6. they set into the neck hole and you turn the know to tighten them. Some will place a sandwich bag in the hole first. Since it is to seal a water line it should be food grade.

Wash in peroxide and reuse after a hot water rinse. Ones that are three years old still look new.

Don't tighten with pliers the wings will break on the nut.

[WESTMAPLES]

i do the same as wiam, i buy 15.5 gals kegs, wash them with scorching hot water pressure washer and i buy the sanke keg sealing kits from a guy on ebay that comes with a 2 inch seal cap with gasket and clamp works great and then i can fit the whole 15.5 gals in my canner when i decide to pack it so there is no half full open kegs or multiple canning session

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Why a little more costly than kegs, the 15.7 stainless drums from CDL are fabulous. They are designed to stack, fully drain themselves, balanced well upside down draining and have nice built in hand areas to be able to pick them up and move them.

[WESTMAPLES]

WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER kinda sounds like a pumped up beer keg to me got any pics of your 15.7 gal in inventory???

[wiam]

I have seen some at CDL that looked like a beer keg but had a 2" bung instead of the valve stem. I paid $60 for beer kegs plus about $15 for clamp and cap.

[Flat Lander Sugaring]

I have 2 cdl 15's paid close to 200 each if I remember correctly but I needed them right then. I am going to ;look into beer kegs, fraction of the cost!

[maple maniac65]

remember those DR. Pepper drums for $50.00 apiece and they had trouble selling them in the beginning. Now they are the same price as a 40 gal drum.

[WESTMAPLES]

kegs are easy to find for cheap in my town ( since theres 12 package stores,26 restaurants and a university) i buy them for $30 each for the 15.5`s and a 2 pack of seal caps with clamps are $26.00 shipped from ebay. i like the size because even when the kegs are full i can still move them and stackem

[Moser's Maple]

I have a thread over on sugarbush.info for a 12.5 gallon barrel. here's the link

http://www.sugarbush.info/forums/boiling-testing-filtering-bottling/4144-stainless-steel-barrels.html#post55171

[leavralph]

I use and like the 15 gallon keg from CDL.

Sent from my SM-G900R4 using Tapatalk

[WESTMAPLES]

hey breezyhill and daveB get in contact with me if you still want kegs

[maple rich]

hey breezyhill and daveB get in contact with me if you still want kegs

Could I buy some kegs from you? I'd be interested in 3-6 of them.

[mtmike]

Any trouble using kegs when selling to a wholesaler? I was wondering because regular maple barrels have a tare weight stamped on them.

[wiam]

Any trouble using kegs when selling to a wholesaler? I was wondering because regular maple barrels have a tare weight stamped on them.

I sell to Bascom's and another guy in Mass. Both have no problems with kegs. I have written tare on them in sharpie. Maple grove wont take any container smaller than 30 gallons. :rolleyes:

[Sledheed]

The thread title references ss drums, I am assuming stainless steel drums. Are the beer kegs others are refering to in fact stainless. I have a source for beer kegs but aren't they all aluminum? Are the others using aluminum beer kegs for syrup storage? I used aluminum to boil in once and got a very metalic after-taste. Just curious.

[wiam]

Modern beer kegs are stainless.

[jetdoc]

How do most of you pump out of the kegs? I'm just starting to collect some beer kegs too store in and was wondering what you use for pumping out the syrup. Also do you filter it out of the evaporator into the keg or do you filter later. We do not have a filter press and was wondering the best way to do this. We always used a cone tank with the pre filter and orlon filter. I also picked up some corny kegs too store in also.

[wiam]

I built an adapter for my Leader air pump. Pressurized the drum and pushes the syrup out. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A GOOD REGULATOR. Some use their filter press pump. I also have put a valve 2" tri clamp, on and lift drum up with chain falls to "pour". I have a couple corny kegs. They make a mess when pouring out. I also have some 5 gallon beer kegs. I put a short tri clamp weld nipple on them when pouring. Works well.

[Atgreene]

The price of a 13? Gallon vs. A 33 gallon is about $30. Priced them at cdl in Wilton today. I was looking for the small ones, but at roughly $160 vs $190 it's not worth buying little ones.