Cracked corny keg

[aleguy]

I recently purchased a 3-gallon Challenger VI keg that has a hairline crack near the lid. It has created a small leak. I talked to a friend who welds stainless and he said the metal was too thin to weld by hand. I suspect he simply doesn't have the skill since he mostly worked on heavy stainless for the oilfields. Would I be best off using lead-free solder to try to fix the leak or does it really need to be welded? I wouldn't worry about it for a 5-gallon, but the 3-gallons cost a fortune and I am really pissed about the crap deal I got on ebay. No returns!
I'd like to save this keg if I can.

[Mylo]

You should have it welded by a professional with a TIG welder, if you really want to save it.


Mylo

[aleguy]

That was my first thought. Finding someone I can trust to do it right is another story altogether. So far, I haven't been able to find anyone locally who has experience with thin stainless. Everyone around here seems to either be from the oilfields or learned to weld on a farm. I'll keep looking though. Maybe the guy who fills my CO2 tank knows someone.

[Henning1966]

Might be worth looking up a guy on the more beer forum that goes by the name usmcruz. He lives in jacksonvile florida shipping might not be to bad. I know he has some experience with the thin stainless.

[aleguy]

If I can't find anyone locally, I just might try that. Thanks.

[BadRock]

I'd buy 10lbs of cockroaches and fill it full and send it back! Sounds like the seller is a douche bag and needs to own up to his defective products!

[San_Diego_Matt]

If the keg was listed as being usable, and claimed to hold pressure, and you just got it, you can file a claim with them against the seller regardless of whether they offer refunds or not.

I did this about 7 years ago with a set of Weber DCNF carbs I bought off ebay and when they showed up, the things had been sandblasted top to bottom, inside and out while completely assembled. They were toast and unusable according to the guys at Gene Berg.

I filed the claim, ebay agreed with me and refunded me part of the claim.

If the keg was misrepresented, file a claim.

[Brandon]

Might be worth looking up a guy on the more beer forum that goes by the name usmcruz. He lives in jacksonvile florida shipping might not be to bad. I know he has some experience with the thin stainless.

+1. Joe (Cruz) knows his shit. I have seen pics of conicals and other brewing equipment he has fixed. He will do it right the first time