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DoubleAught

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Ok, I think I'm about ready to take the step into kegging. I'm hesitant about the additional costs and am looking for the best deal I can get. I think I'd like to start out with two kegs so I have a little variety. Would you recommend using the picnic taps or upgrading? I have a spare fridge that I can easily put two kegs in and thought turning it into a kegerator while I'm at it. That part isn't necessary though. I'm mainly just looking for tips, anything to make it easier to start out.

So from those with experience, what do you recommend?

Thanks!
 
I waited for black Friday. Kegconnection.com had some great deals. On the other hand they always do. I got a 1 keg set up for about $100. Then I found the rest on Craigslist for dirt cheap. Good luck. It's well worth it
 
Just started kegging myself. I went with a single keg and the picnic tap. It has been working great for me so far. I don't plan on setting up taps anytime soon. Maybe if I get a few more kegs then I will get the taps. I say keep picnic taps for until you can go more.

Edit: Careful, cause once you start kegging you will want to brew alot more cause its so much easier then bottling.
 
I would get taps. You can find them for pretty cheap. I got mine from birdman brewing for like $20 bucks. I think you waste a lot less, it makes your beer pours easier, and you don't have to clean up after the drips from the cobra heads. Save yourself the mess and spend the money.
 
I like my picnic taps. The kegerator's on the balcony of my 580sqft condo, so bling really isn't my deal. They work great and are cheap, easy to clean, and easy to find parts for.
 
I prefer taps, but it doesn't mean you need to get them right away if you don't want to spend the extra money right now.

My suggestion would be to watch craigslist like a hawk. You can find a lot of stuff on there for cheap. Also, post an ad in the wanted section for stuff you need.
I found people selling multiple items in some cases and I was able to keep what I wanted and turn around and sell the stuff I didn't need. In doing so, I was sometimes even able to recover the initial cost, thereby making the stuff that I kept free, or even gain some cash.
 
Nothing at all wrong with starting out with picnic taps if you're looking to save some cash. I would recommend rigging up a system to keep the taps up and out of the way (could be as cheap as a bent paper clip) so that they don't accidentally get turned on somehow.

What I'd definitely suggest not doing (from my experience) is going through the door with taps but getting the cheap faucets to keep expenses down. You'll just wind up shelling out for Perlicks in a year after you get tired of your faucets sticking. I'd say start with the picnic taps and keep an eye out for deals on the rest of the stuff you'll need so you can collect it over a while and spread the cost out. I know Austin will do Perlick faucets on sale every now and then. Farmhouse has some of the cheapest shanks I've been able to find, and I think that's a regular price. And of course, craigslist!
 
I started with a 2 keg setup (still using it). One thing I would recommend is to get a CO2 splitter with 2 check valves. The dual keg kit I bought did not come with one and without it you either have to switch the gas between the kegs when you want to serve or use a splitter with no valves which means you need to leave both kegs hooked up at all times to avoid loosing CO2.
 
I think picnic taps (cobra taps) are fine to start with, and let you get into kegging cheaper without having to drill a fridge/mess with faucets yet.

I started with three kegs, planning on using two in the kegerator and having one "on deck". I bought a regulator with a "Wye" (T) fitting so I could have two kegs on tap, and a 5 pound co2 tank. I got my stuff from kegconnection.com and have been very pleased. Much later, I bought a few more kegs, bought some perlick faucets, and drilled the holes for the kegerator.

Here's what I got: http://stores.kegconnection.com/Detail.bok?no=326 plus one extra keg, and the co2 tank. It's good for having two kegs to dispense, and it was all set up for me.
 
I have picnic taps with my setup. I don't drink every night, so I like the idea of them being inside the refrigerator being kept cold. Taps on the outside might get warm causing problems. Plus, they are cheaper.
 
Thanks everyone! There are so many options! I think I need some kegging education.

Dude, you're gonna love it either way ya go. I also started with a cobra tap, came with the setup at my LHBS. Put it in an old fridge with zero mods and went to town. Picnic taps don't give to the best pour, but you know that, it's just like the tap on a commercial keg at a kegger party. Once I got my second keg, I have 5 now, four for beer and one for root beer for my sons (they use the cobra now), I got two Perlick 575 faucets, shanks and hardware. Midwest threw in the hole saw and I got the fridge drilled in a matter of minutes. Super simple, kinda fun, and now we always have two home-brews on tap and one or two waiting on deck.

My one suggestion, when you decide to do the kegerator (I say when cuz you will :D ), go for as much as you can. I'm not saying break the bank or anything, but get yourself enough faucets and kegs, etc. to keep you happy. I love my kegerator, but I'm already planning a 4 (maybe 6) tap keezer for the barroom and plan to move the two tapper to the garage (where I brew, scratch myself, grunt and do other manly things).

Enjoy!! :tank:
 
I currently have a single keg with a picnic tap in an old fridge. I'm about to add another keg. I agree with folks who advise finding some way to store the picnic tap so it doesn't inadvertently open. I have my serving line coiled and hanging off the the keg handle. I just hook the tap over part of the coiled line. Haven't had any problems yet. Of course, one never has problems until they do.
 
I recently switched to kegging a couple months ago and its so much easier. I started with two taps and then I just added a third. I recommend that if you go with a kegerator conversion that you spend a little extra and get a manifold for your gas. The manifold will allow you to force carb one keg and you can shut the gas off to the others. You wont regret the purchase of a kegging set up. Its soooooooo much easier than bottling!
 
Bradzukie said:
I recently switched to kegging a couple months ago and its so much easier. I started with two taps and then I just added a third. I recommend that if you go with a kegerator conversion that you spend a little extra and get a manifold for your gas. The manifold will allow you to force carb one keg and you can shut the gas off to the others. You wont regret the purchase of a kegging set up. Its soooooooo much easier than bottling!

I'm going to briefly hijack this thread for a quick question. I'm going with a manifold when I add my second keg. If I force carb one beer (say blasting for 24 hours at 30psi) with gas shut off to the other keg, do I need to purge the already carbed keg before turning the gas back on if I'm going to set the regulator to the same serving pressure as before (say 13psi)? And I lied. I have one more question. How are folks attaching their manifolds to their refrigerator?
 
I'm going to briefly hijack this thread for a quick question. I'm going with a manifold when I add my second keg. If I force carb one beer (say blasting for 24 hours at 30psi) with gas shut off to the other keg, do I need to purge the already carbed keg before turning the gas back on if I'm going to set the regulator to the same serving pressure as before (say 13psi)? And I lied. I have one more question. How are folks attaching their manifolds to their refrigerator?

Question one, I do to make sure nothing comes back through the line. Never tried not doing that, so I can't say if it's just a precaution or if ya really 'need' to.

Question two, someone else will answer this better. I have my co2 in the fridge with the kegs, so my manifold is doubtfully attached 'properly'. Check out the kegging forum, or the thread 'Show us your kegerator' for some good ideas on this and all sorts of other ideas. :mug:

Liar! :ban: :mug: :ban:
 
I thought it looked like a good deal too. It was $200 after shipping, still not bad. It'll be a few weeks before I can use it, but that'll give me time to get educated.
 
I thought it looked like a good deal too. It was $200 after shipping, still not bad. It'll be a few weeks before I can use it, but that'll give me time to get educated.

Here is where I started, there are 4 videos in all and Chris does a great job in my opinion.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
DoubleAught said:
Is the ball lock better than the pin lock? Like I said I know nothing.

Ones wider then the other. One is coke the other is Pepsi. They both dispense home brew!!!
 
downtown3641 said:
I'm going to briefly hijack this thread for a quick question. I'm going with a manifold when I add my second keg. If I force carb one beer (say blasting for 24 hours at 30psi) with gas shut off to the other keg, do I need to purge the already carbed keg before turning the gas back on if I'm going to set the regulator to the same serving pressure as before (say 13psi)? And I lied. I have one more question. How are folks attaching their manifolds to their refrigerator?

Ok. I force carb at 20 psi and roll the keg across the floor for 5 minutes. I then adjust the regulator down to about 10 psi and purge slightly. Once the regulator reads 10 psi your good to drink. No need to wait a day. You can be drinking carbonated beer in 5 minutes. I put my manifold inside the fridge with the co2 tank. Im going to move my tank outside the fridge when I figure out a way to mount it to my fridge.

ForumRunner_20120601_203214.jpg

This pic is from before I added the 3rd tap. Also, don't trust the tank pressure gauge because it doesn't read correctly.
 
It takes a little longer than the 5 minutes to carb..if you have patients, set it at 12 psi and leave for two weeks and your good to go.. if not set at 30 psi for 3 days and then lower to 10 or 12 and wait. Then you should be ready
 
I used to have a mix of pin lock and ball lock (mostly pin lock) then I found that my LHBS would let me trade in the pins for ball and did so. I still have all the pin lock connectors in MFL (threaded to use with the swivel nut barb adapter) if you want a couple send me a pm and I'll send you a few
 
The thing I learned when I bought my kegging gear is that you're going to get the best overall deal if you buy all at the same time. Places like Keg Connection will bundle stuff together at a bit of a discount and you only pay shipping once. That said, it's a big cash outlay. What I learned from my experience is spend the time to plan out what you want in the end and then figure out how to get there. You may think you want a tower system or a shank system, but if you think about it, you might only be able to accommodate a picnic tap system. It saves you from buying stuff twice.
 
What I'd definitely suggest not doing (from my experience) is going through the door with taps but getting the cheap faucets to keep expenses down. You'll just wind up shelling out for Perlicks in a year after you get tired of your faucets sticking.

This +1000. Get Perlick up front! You will absolutely, positively, NOT regret it. I regret having built up my kegerator to 3 taps with standard faucets, which are now sitting in a box, and having to buy new Perlicks later.

Also, check out Ritebrew.com. I recently bought a BUNCH of stuff for a 5-tap keezer build, and found their prices to be pretty much the best around. Shipped quickly and in good shape, too.
 
The thing I learned when I bought my kegging gear is that you're going to get the best overall deal if you buy all at the same time. Places like Keg Connection will bundle stuff together at a bit of a discount and you only pay shipping once. That said, it's a big cash outlay. What I learned from my experience is spend the time to plan out what you want in the end and then figure out how to get there. You may think you want a tower system or a shank system, but if you think about it, you might only be able to accommodate a picnic tap system. It saves you from buying stuff twice.

Totally agree with this. Other things to consider include maybe buying extra beer line, an extra co2 tank, some keg lube and spare parts to have on hand. It definitely makes things more expensive but it feels good knowing you have a spare co2 tank and parts just in case.

For example, I recently kegged a batch of amber ale and my keg decided not to hold pressure. I was able switch out some parts and fix the issue quickly as opposed to having to order parts online and pay more in shipping. Obviously this is a luxury and isn't crital. Just something to consider.
 
Is the ball lock better than the pin lock? Like I said I know nothing.

I don't think it matters, just a different connection. Like another said, one's Coke, the other Pepsico. I think you can even swap out the poppets and convert one into the other. I have a couple older kegs that are ball lock now, but they're the single handle, shorter ones, and other's I've seen that are that style are pin lock.
 
I am lucky enough to work with a pepsi employee and got a keg, full CO2 tank, and a regulater for $35. Works great and couldn't be happier.
 
I would buy as many kegs as you can afford. The price has been steadily rising for both ball and pin lock. Apparently they used to be $5 a keg!
 
I went a little crazy when I jumped in. Got a 2 keg ball lock kit from KegCowboy and upgraded to perlick 575's and a double regulator and a 5lb co2 tank. That part was $441 shipped and a refrigerator off Craigslist for $150. I went through the side with taps cause it seemed more logical. There's nothing better than getting a fresh pint of homebrew after a long day at work. And, it is so much more convenient than bottling.
 
I went crazy too. Got a single tap kegerator for my birthday and then ordered a tri tap with Perlicks. Got 2 corny's and 2 mini's and now I have to brew my ass off to fill them all.
It's an obsession.
 
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