Old Pony Keg valve help!!!

[rxbandit1]

Ladies and Gents,
I have an old old AB pony keg that I am working on but I am hitting a roadblock. How do I remove the cores/valves from the top and bottom. Are they sanke style? I am quite green at "keg identification." Any help is appreciated! Thanks!

 

[broadbill]

That is a hoff-stevens keg, not Sanke. That should help you with the internet searching. I know nothing more about them...sorry.

 

[rxbandit1]

That is a hoff-stevens keg, not Sanke. That should help you with the internet searching. I know nothing more about them...sorry.

Thank you sir. I appreciate your reply greatly.

 

[rxbandit1]

I called 3 different brewing shops and a supply company and nobody knew what the hell i was talking about when I told them I had a Hoff-Stevens valve on my keg. This is going to be interesting.

 

[rxbandit1]

So I stayed after work today to polish up this ole boy. I was losing a little hope earlier but that slowly changed as I applied more and more polishing compound and the hone of a grinder. Should i just seal up the old valves and proceed with my own? Id like some opinions. Thanks!

 

[rxbandit1]

I got her polished up nice. Now I need to figure these friggin valves out. The internet doesn't like to work on these old gems. Bump!

 

[rxbandit1]

The more and more I read up on this keg, it seems to be a golden gate style keg rather than a hoff-stevens. Can anyone confirm this?

 

[day_trippr]

Is there a third port on the side of the keg near the bottom that isn't shown?

The descriptions of Golden Gate kegs I've read say there's a centered port up top, the large bung in the side, and a third port down low on the side.

Not sure what you have there, actually...

Cheers!

 

[Newsman]

This is confusing. Google searches turned up some good pics of both Golden Gate ad Hoff-Stevens kegs. They are VERY similar in appearance.

 

[Newsman]

Check out this link which describes the differences between Hoff Stevens and Golden Gate kegs.

 

[rxbandit1]

1 Top Valve, 1 Side Bung, 1 Bottom Valve.

 

[rxbandit1]

It looks like a 55 gallon bung wrench would fit in the slots.

 

[Newsman]

It would appear you *do* have a Golden Gate with that third opening

 

[rxbandit1]

It would appear you *do* have a Golden Gate with that third opening

That's what I was guessing. Any clue how I go about removing the valves?

 

[Newsman]

That's what I was guessing. Any clue how I go about removing the valves?

I just spent a few minutes on Google. It appears that you can buy a special tool that will take the valve out. Or you can use a hammer and a screwdriver to force it out counter-clockwise. But apparently it's a PITA to work with since it's so archaic. Are you planning on using it as a keg or a keggle or what?

 

[Newsman]

BTW, you can buy new bungs. But you have to depressurize it first, and that's going to be the fun part. The bungs are apparently wood and will swell and lock in place when you put beer in there

 

[rxbandit1]

BTW, you can buy new bungs. But you have to depressurize it first, and that's going to be the fun part. The bungs are apparently wood and will swell and lock in place when you put beer in there

This was depressurized before I received it. Lucky me. I removed the bung awhile back and replaced it with a rubber one laying around from a previous project. The keg is very cool and retro but extremely well built and difficult to modify hahaha. Thanks for your time and assistance. I couldn't find anything that told me how to remove the valves. I guess I gotta swing harder at the screwdriver. I will update with pix when I accomplish this stage of the game.

 

[Newsman]

From what I read, if you want to reuse this keg, you're going to need a wooden bung. Rubber won't stay sealed. At least that's what I read.

 

[rxbandit1]

I will probably weld a 2" flanged ferrule and clamp it. I understand why they used the wood/cork. They rely on it swelling into place.

 

[Blazebag]

Definitely a golden gate. What are you planning on doing with this? That will really determine how you go forward.

 

[rxbandit1]

The valves are officially removed. A little WD40 and a fabbed up wrench did the job. As for the future of this keg, my buddy wants to purchase it from me and use it for distilling oils. He makes and sells homemade perfumes and fragrances. I might just keep it around until I make up my mind.