While procrastinating and not working what I should have been working on... I came across this post from 2013 Keystone brewing supply. It talks about using a corny keg as a secondary fermenter. Has anyone done this or tried doing this? What were your results?
http://www.keystonehomebrew.com/2013/03/corny-kegs-vs-carboys/#.VYx5b_lVhBc
TIA,
Bill
You can absolutely use a corny as a secondary. Make sure you ferment fully or until around 3 Plato. If you do this, just keep an eye on it. Crash the beer first, for like a day or so, as cold as possible. Get all the flocculation possible before the rack. FIll the secondary (corni) with co2, and purge all the air out of it. Do this three or four times, and fill using an auto-siphon. Keep it closed, if you have fermented it out all the way, there should be more more co2 created at this time. Also, purge it again with co2 and bleed off more air (just for safety) Now after, you can rack it again, to keg it, or just take away the first few pints as they will have yeast and stuff. You can also dry hop there if you want.
I do pretty much the exact same thing as Reed. After fermentation is complete, do a closed transfer to keg. I don't really think of it as a secondary, though...more just as kegging my beer. I don't think I've racked a beer to a true "secondary" in about 7 years.
Kyle, have you had issues with any hop particulate getting stuck in the dip tube? (Either on its way into the keg or out? This would save me lots of time.
Only on that last DIPA I brewed. I generally don't rack any hop particulate into the fermentor to begin with (recirculate through the chiller back into the kettle). If I dry hop, I do it in the keg in 1-gallon paint strainer bags. If you're still super worried, you can suspend the bag with a piece of fishing line or unflavored dental floss so it doesn't get close to the pick-up tube.
I use my corny's to lager. It's just easier for me to put them in the keg, and then in the fridge and let them sit 3 weeks. I leave them longer in the primary, to settle, so there is no sediment to clog anything.