[Not a] Bike Pump Keg [Evolution] - Page 8

**Schlenkerla** · 03-05-2009, 12:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhlyanPan

If I hadn't decided to check back up on this thread you'd have blown up that regulator and possibly caused serious harm to yourself or others. Take a step back, what is it that you don't like about the corny keg system? What are you trying to do better?

PhlyanPan - You can't take all the credit. I was warning him too.

Pizzaman. I bought 3 kegs for $15 each and a regulator for about $50 and the hoses, gas & beer for about $30. If you shop around you can get the stuff for a corny set-up for not too much dough.

Gas bottles can be found pretty cheap at a local gas places like Praxair or whatever is common in your neighborhood.

PhlyanPan · 03-05-2009, 01:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Schlenkerla

PhlyanPan - You can't take all the credit. I was warning him too.

You're right Schlenk! It was a team effort

The point remains, things are being played with that aren't fully understood.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Schlenkerla

Pizzaman. I bought 3 kegs for $15 each and a regulator for about $50 and the hoses, gas & beer for about $30. If you shop around you can get the stuff for a corny set-up for not too much dough.

Gas bottles can be found pretty cheap at a local gas places like Praxair or whatever is common in your neighborhood.

+1...if you're patient this setup doesn't have to cost that much.

I got my tank, regulator, a faucet, and a shank for a case of Labatt Blue. A guy I worked with had one that was 20 years old and he never used anymore plus the tank needed to be re certified.

I've gotten 2 pin lock kegs for free and paid $85 for 3 more ball lock kegs with hoses, disconnects and a secondary regulator that I won on ebay. Seriously dude, you can find these things fairly cheaply.

pizzaman · 03-05-2009, 04:20 AM

I've been looking on craigslist and ebay constantly for over a month now and haven't found anything in my price range yet. I wish I knew someone that is currently or used to be into brewing to get these things. I got most of my current brew setup from my father in law who used to brew occasionally, but unfortunately he never got into kegging. As of right now I have a co2 tank and adapter, I'm gonna keep looking for a used co2 regulator that is meant for kegging, maybe I'll just get lucky.

pizzaman · 03-05-2009, 05:03 AM

Does anyone see any fundamental problems with this design(other than the fact that I'm back to trying epoxy putty to make a seal)? The tap-line is split off before entering each bottle, and could presumably be split a number of times to add multiple bottles to the setup, so long as each bottle contains the same beer in it. The CO2 line "daisy chains" from one bottle to the next, the lines wouldn't have to tee off as it is just gas moving from one container to the next until the set psi is reached.

I'm no physics expert, but I can't see any flaws with this design; but as we have seen with my previous design ideas, this doesn't mean there aren't any flaws. Please comment away on this idea. Thanks.

pizzaman · 03-05-2009, 01:39 PM

Just found an article at BYO talking about using pump spray bottles as revvy suggested. Here's the link if anyone's interested:

Brew Your Own: The How-To Homebrew Beer Magazine - Projects and Equipment - Building Plastic Mini-Kegs: Projects

PhlyanPan · 03-05-2009, 01:51 PM

No one is.

Do yourself a favor and find a friend or someone you know who's got some sort of design/build background to help you. I don't care if they're an engineer or a machinist or a car builder or anything in between. It's the only thing that's going to keep you from blowing yourself up.
I'm not even going to look at this thread again. It's quite obvious you're determined to do something different just for the sake of doing it differently, and normally that's ok, but you obviously don't know enough about what you're playing with to do it safely. And for some reason you seem to think it's going to be less expensive. Doing things differently from everyone else almost never is.

pizzaman · 03-05-2009, 02:20 PM

sorry if I offended you with my crazy ideas phlyanpan, thanks for your input so far.

I have said numerous times the main reason for this build is just for the sake of building something. I may never get a working model, though I hope I will, and I hope I get lots of use out of it, and I hope I can make a DIY thread with instructions on how to build it and others build it and use it also; but I understand none of this may happen. I also understand it is dangerous to "play" with a gas that is so tightly compressed that it is in liquid form.

On that note, I've seen "static psi regulators" for numerous other uses such as in vehicles, sprinkler/plumbing equipment; I also know that the heinekin mini-keg uses what is basically a static psi regulator built into the keg to keep a pressure level of 2 atmospheres. Has anyone ever seen or heard of a static co2 regulator set to around 15 psi for use in kegging? I know it can be done, and it would be much cheaper to manufacture than an adjustable regulator, and it could be simply slipped inline between the co2 tank and the keg, but I don't know that anyone would sell it as most keggers claim to need multiple levels of psi for different beers/sodas...even though it would be so cheap that you could have a number of these static regulators for the same price as a typical dynamic regulator.

JesseRC · 03-05-2009, 02:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pizzaman

I've been looking on craigslist and ebay constantly for over a month now and haven't found anything in my price range yet. I wish I knew someone that is currently or used to be into brewing to get these things. I got most of my current brew setup from my father in law who used to brew occasionally, but unfortunately he never got into kegging. As of right now I have a co2 tank and adapter, I'm gonna keep looking for a used co2 regulator that is meant for kegging, maybe I'll just get lucky.

So you already have a co2 tank, then you're halfway there. What is a adapter? Even if you had to go cheap you could go to Harbor Freight on Fredericksburg road (SA,TX) and buy their $34 regulator (it wont be the best). Now you just need a corny keg. KegConnection has some great deals on kegs with broken handles. Or just keep checking on Craigslist. You could also buy a carbonator cap and picnic faucet. Carb in a 2 liter bottle for a few days. Then attach picnic tap, release pressure slightly , then turn 2 liter bottle upside down and pour beer with picnic tap. You'd have to use a gas Quick Disonnect on the end of the picnic tap hose, but it should work for portability.

pizzaman · 03-05-2009, 02:45 PM

The adapter is a "universal fill adapter" which allows you to connect a regulator to a standard paintball co2 tank. It's basically just a screw on adapter with an on/off valve. Here's a page that shows using the paintball co2 tank with the adapter(the adapter is the black tube with the silver thumb screw on top): http://brewing.lustreking.com/gear/paintballco2.html

I have seen and made my own carbonator caps with a schrader valve, this idea works fine for carrying one or two bottles and dispensing upside down, but ideally I would like to be able to have multiple 2 liter bottles, all hooked up to one system that can be left right-side up in a cooler, and easily be used without my supervision.

**Bobby_M** · 03-05-2009, 04:08 PM

I'm thoroughly convinced that you either A. Have a horrible case of stainless steel phobia/allergy or B. Want to come up with a DIY solution no matter what, even if it's inferior or more costly than a corny.

You're talking about having multiple small containers that you have to sanitize vs. one large one.