MES 15 gallon drum question

[BAP]

Has anyone bought the 15 gallon stainless steel syrup drum that MES sells? Do you like it? How does it compare to the ones CDL sells other than being cheaper? I haven’t actually seen one yet but considering buying a couple.

[maple flats]

Apparently they don't even list it on their web store. Let us know if you get some and give some info about how they compare. I only have 1 of the CDL 16's , 4@16 gal SS drums thru the NYSMPA years ago, very light gauge, then 14 of a 26.5 gal drum. I like the bigger size when filling, but like the smaller ones as I bottle. Thus I try to fill all of my 16's so packing is easier. I find packing 26.5 gal all in one grade is really too much for my sales, the 16s are ideal, especially in Golden and Amber since far fewer of those are sold. The Dark sells much faster and dark gets packed in the 26.5 SS barrels.
It was worse back when I had 40 gal SS barrels, which I've sold all now. Again, nice when filling but too much to bottle in one grade at one time.

[upsmapleman]

To bad you didn't live closer I have several 15 gallon DR Pepper barrels I would sell.

[steam maker]

I have 20 beer kegs i wanna sell. But that doesnt help u with the mes barrel quality question !!! Sorry

[TapTapTap]

I have 20 beer kegs i wanna sell. But that doesnt help u with the mes barrel quality question !!! Sorry



I own two SS 15.5 gallon cdl beer keg style barrels. I'm not sure if the wall thickness is thinner than my 40s but they seem a whole lot more robust since their shapes are generally more compact. Although I know nothing about the mes barrels, my point is that the smaller keg style are naturally a better built container than 40s.

[BAP]

I have 20 beer kegs i wanna sell. But that doesnt help u with the mes barrel quality question !!! Sorry
Why are you selling them? Do you not like using them or are you going to bigger drums?

[BAP]

Thank for all the replies. I am hoping someone knows wether the MES ones are beer keg style like the CDL’s are or not. MES quoted $125 versus the $165 that Bascoms get for the CDL 15 gallons.

[bill m]

CDL 15 gallon barrels are normally $125 at a CDL dealer. On sale for $112.50

[BAP]

Does anyone know if FW Webb is still selling CDL equipment? They were hot into it at one point but I don’t see it listed on their website or listed as a dealer on CDL’s website.

[steam maker]

Selling them because i have 45 beer kegs, and i wanna sell half and go to 40 gallon drums. If i dont sell them ill fill them for another year

[BAP]

Selling them because i have 45 beer kegs, and i wanna sell half and go to 40 gallon drums. If i dont sell them ill fill them for another year
What kind of tops do they have for the filling hole? Do they seal up good?

[steam maker]

Use a expansion plug on them , they seal fine never had a problem yet

[n8hutch]

[QUOTE=BAP;387306]Does anyone know if FW Webb is still selling CDL equipment? They were hot into it at one point but I don’t see it listed on their website or listed as a dealer on CDL’s website.[/QUOT

Webb is still selling CDL equipment, but they don't have the Full line. I think that they are not listed as a dealer because the smaller CDL dealers felt that they already had a competitive advantage being such a large company and having the Shipping advantages that they do. However it is Hard to find a customer service/salesman at webbs that is knowledgeable about the CDL line depending on which store you call.
The 15 Gallon barrels that CDL has on sale are a Refurbished Beer style keg with just one bung in the Center of the Top.

[BAP]

[QUOTE=BAP;387306]Does anyone know if FW Webb is still selling CDL equipment? They were hot into it at one point but I don’t see it listed on their website or listed as a dealer on CDL’s website.[/QUOT

Webb is still selling CDL equipment, but they don't have the Full line. I think that they are not listed as a dealer because the smaller CDL dealers felt that they already had a competitive advantage being such a large company and having the Shipping advantages that they do. However it is Hard to find a customer service/salesman at webbs that is knowledgeable about the CDL line depending on which store you call.
The 15 Gallon barrels that CDL has on sale are a Refurbished Beer style keg with just one bung in the Center of the Top.
Thanks. Apparently they aren’t on sale anymore because I was quoted the $125 from CDL Lancaster.

[GeneralStark]

Hey Bap! Where are you seeing the MES barrels? I can't find them on their website...

My local CDL store is also advertising the 15 gal. barrel for $125 which is the sale price (through some time in April). I have paid as much as $165 retail for them...

[BAP]

I remembered reading last year that they were selling them so I sent them an email. MES’s website stinks in that it is old and doesn’t list a lot of the stuff that they sell.

[bill m]

This is the sale flier my CDL dealer gave me.21662

[GeneralStark]

This is the sale flier my CDL dealer gave me.21662

Who is your CDL dealer. I'm calling them...

Looks like they're selling them at their cost.

[TapTapTap]

This is the sale flier my CDL dealer gave me.21662

That's a reasonable price for 40s too.

[BAP]

I emailed CDL store and they said that that flyer is dealer price and not a public flyer.

[BAP]

Update on this thread. I picked up 3 15 gallons kegs at MES in Henniker, NH this morning. They are new kegs, not repurposed ones. They sell them for $125 a piece. Look great.
21733

[bill m]

I just picked up 10 of the CDL 15 gallon barrels. They are new, NOT refurbished beer kegs.

[maple flats]

At such a low cost I may sell some of my 26.5 gal barrels (SS) and buy some more 15 or 16 gal CDL or MES in the future. I don't like packing even 26.5 gal of one grade syrup at one time, but that's what I do now. I only own 4 SS 16 gal barrels (originally a NYSMPA special) and 1 CDL 15 gal I bought from another producer who had to cut way back on production because of health issues. All of the 26.5's are in like new conditio, they use 2" plastic bung plugs so never any buggered threads in the bung.
I now have 10 SS 26.5's with my old sugarhouse name etched on the top (Dave & Joan's Sugarhouse) and 4 I bought later with no etching. I have no idea how many I'd sell of the ones with the etched name, but I'd sell the 4 with no etching. When I decide, I'll get a picture and list them in the classifieds on this site. Even though the etched ones are worth more to me, I realize I'd need to sell them for a little less.
My issue with packing from a 26.5 gal barrel is compounded if I need to pack 2 grade a short time span. I store all packed syrup that is in jugs in 2 freezers I have at the sugarhouse and they aren't large enough to fit 50+ gal worth. The freezers are just 2 of the little coolers mom and pop stores used to use for selling ice cream novelties. They are mini freezers and my sugarhouse is too small to fit 2 full size freezers.

[BAP]

I just picked up 10 of the CDL 15 gallon barrels. They are new, NOT refurbished beer kegs.
I bought MES barrels because the CDL company store told me that theirs were not new drums but rebuilt beer kegs.

[VT_K9]

We had one of the older CDL 15 gallon barrels at $165. Then we picked up 3 of their 40 gallon barrels at $185 or so. THe 40 gallon barrels are a little big for our size and we use them for bulk packing to Bascom. We just bought 10 of the new CDL 15 gallons barrels. The seem like they are well constructed. We should be able to fill one each boil. We'll see how it goes. If we get some darker grades we'll likely repack into the 40 gallon barrels.

Mike

[bill m]

I bought MES barrels because the CDL company store told me that theirs were not new drums but rebuilt beer kegs. Not sure why they said that but you are welcome to come down and look at mine. They are brand new, never used, not refurbished.

[BAP]

Not sure why they said that but you are welcome to come down and look at mine. They are brand new, never used, not refurbished.
I really don’t care at this point, I am just passing along what I was told by the store manager at one of the CDL company stores.