Does a full keg of beer float?

[RX1Cobra]

We’ve got a pretty heated debate at work if it will float in water or not. We all get if it’s completely full to the brim it will sink but will the small amount of CO2(?) that’s in a keg be enough to keep it afloat? At first I was sure it would float but the more I think about it I’m not so sure now. What says SVT? Next time I buy one I'll be testing it for sure!:beer:

Update! It doesn't float...

[video=youtube;hPb0sHp6wTM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPb0sHp6wTM&feature=youtu.be[/video]

 

[nckissfan]

cans of beer sink, so I would say no :shrug:

 

[JaysonMFK]

Nope, a full one will sink and sink fast lol

 

[chinchilla]

A full keg? no. I believe it will at a certain fill level, maybe around 1/2 or less.

 

[dirtyd88]

No. Due to the shape of the keg, the weight of the steel keg itself, and the fact that beer is heavier than water, it doesn't produce enough bouyancy force to keep it afloat.

 

[five.slow]

How the hell did I just put a can of beer in the sink with water and it floated?

 

[nsolimini]

Im pretty sure a full can of beer floats. Few years ago a group of friends and I were tubing up in the FL panhandle and our cooler tipped. We recovered all of our beer because it was floating.

However, we were all drunk so maybe we thought they were floating...

 

[jbs$]

First, I don't know, however, given the weight of the metal keg, it is unlikely.

 

[chrisheltra]

Let me google that for you

 

[RX1Cobra]

Think the sinkers may be right. It takes about .5 cubic feet of air to float about 30 pounds (weight of empty keg) and according to google a keg is 2 cubic feet so it would need to be 1/4 empty before it floated. Unless I'm doing something wrong? Maybe a real math person can say. We got any Asians on here? :uh oh: :beer:

 

[RX1Cobra]

How the hell did I just put a can of beer in the sink with water and it floated?

Gas in the can, it's not full to very top.

Im pretty sure a full can of beer floats. Few years ago a group of friends and I were tubing up in the FL panhandle and our cooler tipped. We recovered all of our beer because it was floating.
It wasn't just you being drunk, they float.
However, we were all drunk so maybe we thought they were floating...

Let me google that for you

First thing we all tried to prove whatever side we were on. No real proof either way though.

 

[five.slow]

Ok I just got a can of natty light to float. A keg is just a bigger version if a can of beer. I say it will float. It's not gonna support any weight but it will float.

 

[five.slow]

I have a keg... Someone pay me to fill it and il video the results.

 

[JaysonMFK]

Ok I just got a can of natty light to float. A keg is just a bigger version if a can of beer. I say it will float. It's not gonna support any weight but it will float.

Your bad science is bad!

 

[RX1Cobra]

I have a keg... Someone pay me to fill it and il video the results.

I have any empty one too. Was about to tell everyone I bought one and float it in my bathtub.

 

[five.slow]

Your bad science is bad!

No really it floated, even did it in a 5gal bucket. Maybe it's because natural light is a far more superior beer than others.

 

[Blackness03]

Full cans of beer DO float. When we are on the lake, whoever is closet to the boat while we are floating around, throws everyone beers when needed. When you miss, it's not a big deal because they just float. Kills the coldness though

 

[thomas91169]

Ok I just got a can of natty light to float. A keg is just a bigger version if a can of beer. I say it will float. It's not gonna support any weight but it will float.

Your bad science is bad!

No really it floated, even did it in a 5gal bucket. Maybe it's because natural light is a far more superior beer than others.

lol your can of beer is very buoyant. The can itself is ALUMINUM which is a hell of a lot lighter than steel kegs alone. There is still air inside the can, its maybe 95% full. A keg has way less air in it. In fact, it may have no air in it, as I cannot remember a keg that sounded like it had air in it while moving one.

If you scaled up a can of beer to the size of a keg, its not even CLOSE to a scaled experiment. If you scaled down a full keg of beer to the size of a beer can it would be much heavier.

 

[RX1Cobra]

lol your can of beer is very buoyant. The can itself is ALUMINUM which is a hell of a lot lighter than steel kegs alone. There is still air inside the can, its maybe 95% full. A keg has way less air in it. In fact, it may have no air in it, as I cannot remember a keg that sounded like it had air in it while moving one.

If you scaled up a can of beer to the size of a keg, its not even CLOSE to a scaled experiment. If you scaled down a full keg of beer to the size of a beer can it would be much heavier.

Kegs are aluminum too. They have to have some type of gas in them because if you put a tapper on without pumping it beer will flow and you can hear the beer slosh around when you move it. So it's under pressure and that pressure has to be a from of gas. The question is if its enough to make it float?

 

[03cobra#694]

Send one my way and I'll put it in my pool and find out. If it does sink, I'll also keep checking to see how much you have to extract from it to make it float, one glass at a time.