Quality of New 5 Gallon kegs

[Goyagon]

http://www.cornykeg.com/catalog.asp?prodid=752393&showprevnext=1

These kegs seem like a good option for cheap new kegs. Does anyone have any experience with the quality of them? There has to be a reason there only 78.95.

 

[JJL]

I believe I've read that they are made of a thinner gauge steel than the old style ones with the rubber handles. But I don't necessarily think that makes them inferior. Think about the usage. These aren't going into commercial circulation like the old rubber handle ones. So really how much abuse are they going to take from you moving them in and out of your fridge?

 

[Golddiggie]

I've also heard less than good things about those cheap kegs. Personally, I'm only buying the Italian made kegs, with single metal handles and rubber bases. IMO, keg quality is NOT someplace you want to skimp on. I'd rather pay a bit more for a keg that I KNOW will last decades than something a little cheaper and less certain.

 

[gbx]

I have a 3gal version of that keg. It says its rated to 130psi but I don't trust it past 40psi. I tried to crank and shake at 60psi once and the top and sides visibly bulged out as soon as I attached the gas. When I disconnected the gas the rubber washer in the poppit came out and jammed it open releasing all the gas (thank god it was only the gas line and not the beer side). The dip tube is really ****ty too - it doesn't even look stainless steel and was more than 2 inches too short. Maybe good for cask conditioning but I don't do that so I attached a small length of siphon tube to get it to the bottom. The lid fits really tight and seals without CO2 so I would be good for cask conditioning but the relief valve doesn't lock open. Maybe the 5 and 6gallon kegs are different but having looked at all of them in the LHBS, they look the same. If you can get the standard used pepsi corny's, get those. They may look ugly but they seem a lot more trust worthy to me - I have 6 and only bought the small one because it fit perfectly in the tiny bit of extra space at the back of the beer fridge that was too small for a standard 5gal.