keg to boiler/HLT/mash tun conversion

[sam c]

i have got myself a few kegs from a friend of mine who is a plumber and has been working at a pub and i am planning on turning them into my new AG gear.i know it sounds a little suspect but these have not been stolen but given to him for me. i think the pub has been taken over and the previous owners left them behind.

i have been looking on the web and doing a little research on how to go about this and have a pretty good idea on what i want to do. the thing is that im not sure how to get the pressure out of the keg before i cut the top off. i have seen quite a few videos on how to do this but the kegs i have seem to be a bit different to the ones i have seen. on the web they have like a rounded metal ball inside the neck and this is pushed down on with a spanner to release the pressure however mine looks the same but without the rounded bit.any ideas on how to go about doing this? one of the kegs has had fosters in it if that helps.i will take a few pics tomorrow when i have time so people can have a look to see what it is like.

[OldSpeckledBadger]

i think the pub has been taken over and the previous owners left them behind.

As I understand it, the kegs are owned by the brewery not the landlord so unless he was brewing his own beer they're probably hookey.

[sam c]

true. but im thinking that the previous owner must have had some kind of a depposit for them which he or she has now obviously lost so therfore it is there loss for leaving them there not the breweries.

[Scooby]

A little while ago I was told "Take what ever you want" by the owner of a building that was pub, he was turning it into flats. There was a cellar full of kegs, some of them full. I left them for the reason OSB said and the fact that the fines for stealing them are steep. They are the property of the brewery and always remains so.

KEGWATCH

[sam c]

surely the deposit ( if there is one) is there to cover the cost if a keg is not returned. i would find it hard to take these back as i know they are hard to come buy without physically stealing them yourself and i am not a theif.

[Scooby]

surely the deposit ( if there is one) is there to cover the cost if a keg is not returned. i would find it hard to take these back as i know they are hard to come buy without physically stealing them yourself and i am not a theif.

Have read of the kegwatch link in my post regarding ownership of the kegs and handling of stolen goods.

[sam c]

yer i have read that and i can see you both have valid points. however im not gonna take them back to the brewery and if i take them back to the pub they will probably just end up in a skip or someone else will take them. not sure what i will do. any way in reference to my actual question i dont think it really matters now.

[garwatts]

There was a cellar full of kegs, some of them full. I left them

Nerves of steel

[Bionicmunky]

There is no deposit on kegs, administrative nightmare, as such the breweries mark them for ownership purposes.

Bear in mind the kegs cost the brewery upwards of £65 a pop and the going rate for a keg of beer full of beer is £65 (to the pub), now do the math and see if you as a brewer would be p*ssed off if somebody decided to cut up one of your kegs rather than return it.

/rant

[OldSpeckledBadger]

math

maths!!!!!!