Pros and Cons of different keg types?

What are the Pros and Cons of the different keg types, e.g.:

  • Plastic barrel keg, such as a King Keg
  • Cornelius/Corny Keg?

Edit - following the comment from PJ can I clarify that this question is not limited to the 2 keg types above. Please do bring other types and/or variations of keg into the answer.

Topic plastic keg corny-keg homebrew

Category Mac


6 months later and having used both king keg and corny keg there is one major point to add: Force carbonation

with a corny keg comes the additional expense of a CO2 regulator but with this comes the capability to accurately control the pressure of CO2 on your beer and get the level of carbonation you want (something I struggled with previously).

It was this capability that made me upgrade and it's definitely worth the additional cost. I'll be getting rid of my king kegs in time but for now I'm using them to do a secondary fermentation before the corny. If I had it to do again I would not have gone the king keg route - but don't let that stop you buying mine off ebay ;)


I think it comes down mostly to materials. You don't want to store your beer in a plastic "keg" for any length of time. Stainless steel is a better option because its easier to clean, it can get banged around, and it lasts longer. The rest just comes down to size issues and what suits your needs. You can get 3 gallon kegs up to full on half barrels (15.5 gallons). The larger sizes often have different connections. In the homebrew world you are talking ball lock and pin lock. The commercial get world is sanke taps and a whole list of other European style taps too.

About

Geeks Mental is a community that publishes articles and tutorials about Web, Android, Data Science, new techniques and Linux security.