Party Star Tap vs Edge Star Tap

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scottab

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does anyone have any experience with these taps for the 5L mini kegs?
are they interchangeable? which is better?

The party star is more expensive and i can get the kegs pretty cheap at my lhbs. picked up 2 to try out with the 2 piece bungs, just didn't realize that i should buy the vented bung (which the lhbs did not have) and now have the 2 filled with brew and ordered the vented bungs. the ones i purchased have the tap built in but obviously its gravity feed.

because it would be nice to have the co2 i may try to build the tap but just going over the costs on some of the sites that show how to do the build it works out almost the same as buying one premade.
 
My own experiences with using those kegs and the PST is not good. While it seems like a good idea, in reality they suck donkey parts. :eek: I used them for part of my first two batches (bottled the rest in flip-top bottles) and then they sat unused for a long time. You couldn't pay me to use them, even if you could guarantee they'll be 100% issue free (which they are not). IMO, save your money and get actual corny kegs. I did and haven't looked back.
 
I'd personally go for the DIY tap route for these. The Party Star isn't really good for long-term use (say, a week in the fridge) due to leaks. The Edge Star tap is meant to be used with their mini-keg sized kegerator, so there's additional cost there.

But with the DIY route, you have the option of migrating to a fully regulated setup down the road, or even integrating a few mini-kegs into a kegerator with larger kegs.

The TAD is another option, but the regulator/tap can be fragile, and the pour rate is glacial if you drink in pints.

My setup is going to be somewhat unique, but I went with 2.5g kegs as well. Mostly because I want to get back into carbonated juices and sodas in addition to the beer, and the mini-kegs aren't really meant for soda pressures. The size of keg in my case is kinda important, as I want to have space left for a shelf for bottles and assorted drinks in my mini-fridge kegerator that I'll be building over the next month or so.
 
I'd personally go for the DIY tap route for these. The Party Star isn't really good for long-term use (say, a week in the fridge) due to leaks. The Edge Star tap is meant to be used with their mini-keg sized kegerator, so there's additional cost there.

But with the DIY route, you have the option of migrating to a fully regulated setup down the road, or even integrating a few mini-kegs into a kegerator with larger kegs.

The TAD is another option, but the regulator/tap can be fragile, and the pour rate is glacial if you drink in pints.

My setup is going to be somewhat unique, but I went with 2.5g kegs as well. Mostly because I want to get back into carbonated juices and sodas in addition to the beer, and the mini-kegs aren't really meant for soda pressures. The size of keg in my case is kinda important, as I want to have space left for a shelf for bottles and assorted drinks in my mini-fridge kegerator that I'll be building over the next month or so.

I'm planning on getting the 2.5gallon keg sometime in the near future but saw these and thought i'd give it a try.
 
I'm planning on getting the 2.5gallon keg sometime in the near future but saw these and thought i'd give it a try.

IMO/IME, there's at least a 75% chance you'll hate these pretty quickly. The first one I used was good. It was all downhill after that.

I really wished I hadn't spent the money on the mini kegs and the gas system. It sounded great, it sounded cool. I should have know it was too good to be true. :eek:

Also keep in mind, these things are not designed to handle all that much pressure. I believe the sugar equivalent to hit 2.3 CO2 volumes (if memory serves) was the maximum recommended level. So, if you do plan to carbonate on gas, I'd put them within something sturdy, that's sealed as much as possible, to contain any 'accidents' that happen.

Personally, I'm glad I don't have them around anymore. I have two 2.5 gallon kegs, many 3 gallon kegs, and even a few 5 gallon kegs now. I'm actually carbonating in the 5 gallon kegs (and some of the 2.5 and 3 gallon kegs too) in the basement at basement temps (under 55F). I can't justify getting a freezer and making it 10-15 degrees cooler for those kegs, so I just increase the pressure a bit to get the job done. Some styles will actually be much better at the warmer temps. Plus, I could move them to the unfinished side of the basement to cool down even more (it's about 4F cooler than the finished side currently). :D
Just my $0.10 worth.
 
I've been researching a smaller set up for my Dad and brother. They help me brew (great way to get the famn damly together) but only drink it when they come over as I only keg the homebrew. I thought a small system like the 5L or 2.5 gallon kegs would work well for them. I've read too many horror stories about maintaining pressure in the 5L mini kegs and the 2.5 gallon setups are costly. I'm leaning towards bottling at this point. Not a fan of cleaning a bunch of bottles but may be best in the long run. I wish the 5L's in a mini kegerator (Edgestar, Krups etc.) worked better. Would love to hear if someone has cracked the code.
 
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