Ball Lock Kegs vs Pin Lock Kegs – What’s the Difference?
The containers we call Ball Lock and Pin Lock Kegs come from the soda industry. Also called Cornelius Kegs, Corny Kegs and Corney Kegs, they were originally intended to store and distribute soda pre-mix. The big soda companies decided on different style containers for their pre-mix. Pepsi landed on the Ball Lock style while Coke uses the Pin Lock style.
Homebrewers have since re-purposed these as homebrew beer kegs.
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Shipping is a flat rate no matter how much you order to many US addresses.
1 keg would be $57.44 shipped (a $42.01 savings vs Northern Brewer), 2 would be $52.44 shipped, 3 would be $50.78 shipped and 4 would be $49.45 shipped.
Pin Lock “Coke Style” Cornelius Keg – or Firestone, 5 Gallon, for Homebrew/Soda, Used | CLEANED
Good used pin locks have been hard to find… When I started brewing pin locks were cheaper than ball locks, but that has changed. There’s been a real reversal in used keg pricing. Used pin locks have been tough to find in stock, especially at anything close to what I would call a good price. For example, see MoreBeer’s Pin Lock Offering. This is supply related. New pin lock kegs are not coming into the homebrewing market and we’ve finally hit an availability wall.
Compare: Used 5 Gal. Pin Lock Kegs KEG432– currently $84.99!
Announcing: NEW Pin Lock Kegs Now Available!
The availability of of used kegs has recently become an issue. See: Are Used Kegs Running Out?
This has been especially true of pin lock kegs, because new pin locks have not been coming on the market. To my knowledge no new pin lock offering was generally available to homebrewers. This has caused the price and availability of pin locks to be a serious issue. For example, MoreBeer’s Pin Lock offering has sky-rocketed to $85 per keg.
Well, today is a happy day… Announcing NEW Pin Lock Kegs from cornyieg.com
First, It’s important to understand both do the same thing with slightly different and dimensions and features. Note: All measurements in this post should be considered approximate. There are different models and manufacturers of kegs. Their sizes are generally about the same, but some kegs and manufacturers vary slightly. There are several sizes of kegs available including 2.5, 3, 5, 10 and 15 gallons. This post focuses on the commonly used 5 gallon size.
The first thing you’ll notice is dimensions – Pin Lock Kegs wider than Ball Lock kegs. Ball Lock on Left, Pin Lock on Right.
Left [Brand New 5 Gallon Ball Lock from AIH – Review] | Right [Used 5 Gallon Pin Lock] – Pin Locks are also shorter than Ball Lock Kegs. Ball Lock on Left, Pin Lock on Right. Both of these kegs have a ~5 gallon capacity.
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