Hands on Review: AMCYL Ball Lock Kegs!
Updated: November 24, 2024
AMCYL manufacturers compressed gas cylinders, kegs and brewing equipment.
According to AMCYL, as of this posting, their kegs are made of food grade 304 stainless and are NSF approved. They produce both sanke and ball lock style kegs. Their ball lock kegs are available in 2.5, 3 and 5 gallon sizes and come in single and double handle versions. This is a hands on look at the double rubber handle 5 gallon keg.
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Reconditioned kegs start out at just $42.95 while brand new kegs start at just $69.95.
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Hands on Review AMCYL Ball Lock Kegs
Here’s the box. This particular keg is showing as part # CK-N5-DRH-INX. Capacity 5 Gallons. Made in India.
A look at the seam side of the keg. Generally speaking the body of a keg is cut from a sheet of stainless steel. A rectangle is bent into a cylinder and then welded. This vertical line is that weld.
Close up of the T, where the vortical weld meets the top most weld.
Top down view
Single Handle vs Double Handle: There are two main styles of keg handles – double rubber handles and single strap handles. I prefer double handles because… you’ve got two handles 🙂 and, more importantly, the even top means you can invert a keg to drain or dry and potentially stack kegs. Single strap handle kegs are tougher to invert, but they’re also generally a little less expensive.
Check Current Prices, Models and Availability, Review Continues Below:
- AMCYL Kegs at Beverage Elements
- 5 Gallon Ball Lock Keg – Dual Handle – New – AMCYL << The specific model reviewed in this post
- 3 Gallon Ball Lock Keg – Dual Handle – New – AMCYL
- 2.5 Gallon Ball Lock Keg – Dual Handle – New – AMCYL << also included in this review
- 5 Gallon Ball Lock Keg – Single Handle – New – AMCYL
- 3 Gallon Ball Lock Keg – Single Handle – New – AMCYL
- 2.5 Gallon Ball Lock Keg – Single Handle – New – AMCYL
- AMCYL Kegs at cornykeg.com
- 5 GAL AMCYL PEPSI STYLE BALL LOCK KEGÂ << The specific model reviewed in this post
- 3 Gal AMCYL Keg – Ball Lock
- NEW 2.5 GALLON AMCYL PEPSI STYLE KEG
- 5 Gal AMCYL Ball Lock Keg – Strap
- New 3 Gallon AMCYL Keg – Strap
- New 2.5 Gallon AMCYL Keg << also included in this review
- AMCYL Kegs at Keg Outlet
- AMCYL – 5 Gallon Ball Lock Keg w/ Rubber Top Dual Handle (New) << The specific model reviewed in this post
- AMCYL – 2.5 Gallon Ball Lock Keg w/ Rubber Top Dual Handle (New)
- AMCYL Kegs at MoreBeer
- KOMOS® Homebrew Keg – 5 Gallon Ball Lock Keg KEG685 << made by AMCYL
- AMCYL Kegs at Keg Connection
- Search Amazon for “AMCYL Keg” – offerings vary
- New 5 Gallon Ball Lock AMCYL Keg with Dual Rubber Handle << The specific model reviewed in this post
- New 3 Gallon Ball Lock AMCYL Keg with Dual Handle
- AMCYL New 2.5 Gallon Ball Lock Keg with Dual Rubber Handle
- AMCYL New 5 Gallon Ball Lock Keg with Single Handle
- Home Brew Ohio CKN3-SH Varies – AMCYL 3 gal Keg New Ball Lock Beer, Soda or Tea, Silver
- 2.5 Gallon Amcyl Keg New Ball Lock Single Handle << also include in this review
A.E.B. Made in Italy. AEB leans heavily on their Italian identity. That makes sense to me as I generally think Italian made = high quality. That’s a broad stroke, but my espresso machine was made in Italy and it’s amazing. So, fair or unfair, that’s where I’m at.
Close up of the keg imprint. NSF P/N 29744PS, Max Capacity 5 GAL, Year 2020, A.E.B. Made in Italy, N 004420, Warning, Never Exceed Maximum Working Pressure of 130 PSI.
A closer look at the handle and lid. This lid (like most ball lock style lids) is equipped with a manual PRV. Generally speaking… Both Ball Lock and Pin Lock style lids are the same dimension and are interchangeable.  You can use a Ball Lock Lid on a Pin Lock Keg and vice versa.  A big difference are the PRV (pressure relief valve) functions between the two styles.  Both have automatic safety PRV valves.  That is, if the pressure gets too high, both will automatically vent for safety reasons.  The difference is in manual PRV functionality.  Ball Lock Keg lids have a pull ring that allows you to manually vent the keg as you’d like.  You may want to do that for the purpose of removing the keg lid or to vent excess pressure in an attempt to get down to a lower pressure. See: 
