Cornelius kegs for storage
 

I was thinking that cornelius kegs (those 5 gallon stainless steel cylinders that soda used to come in) would make great food storage containers. It seems to me that evacuating the air with co2 or nitrogen thru the out tube would be an effective way to insure longevity of stored foodstuffs.

I have a few of them that I use for my beer making so I'd have to get more. The drawback is that they are kind of pricey at $25 for a reconditioned keg. If I could find a cheaper source for them I'd certainly buy quite a few and put them into service.

I have a co2 cylinder so that part is taken care of. Does anyone know if co2 is a good way to keep food sterile and fresh?

Re: Cornelius kegs for storage
 

I have played with this idea, but finally gave up on it. In the first place, you can't evacuate a Corny keg, as their lids are designed to hold pressure in rather than out. While they are easy to flush out with C02 (which will kill all the bugs), I was never able to get them to maintain a charge of it for long periods -- and if they lose their charge then atmospheric pressure changes will probably cause some respiration to occur: pumping moist oxygen-laden air back in. If they had a better sealing system and could be evacuated then they would be ideal for long-term food storage.

Re: Cornelius kegs for storage
 

Are you able to store non-liquids in them?

Re: Cornelius kegs for storage
 

I agree that they probably won't hold vacuum. They're meant to hold pressure, which is very different.

Re: Cornelius kegs for storage
 

I get them from the metal recyclers around here (for scrap price) and buy the new seal kit off the beer making sites.

Re: Cornelius kegs for storage
 

I would love to find them at a scrap yard. I make beer and they are invaluable. I despise bottling. Too much work.

As mentioned above, if they will not hold pressure long term then they are useless for storage. I wonder if better grade seals are available that will not deteriorate? This seems to be the issue I guess.

Re: Cornelius kegs for storage
 

I should have said I use them for bottling, not storing anything like you mentioned.