Bottling was easier...

Summer is coming and I decided to compliment the smoker and grill with beer on tap. After seeing Beirmunchiers converted garbage can I thought something similar would be the ticket. I was not interested in modifying the chest freezer (I bought it to ferment in).

Purchased a stainless 2 tap kit from Keg Connection and modified a recycling can from home depot. Here's the pic:


All was going good until:
- Primed keg leaked
- Poppet went bad and shot starsan all over my basement
- Cleaning is a pain, If you want to rinse, giving it a shake under pressure just makes the liquid absorb gas and then the keg leaks....
- Check ball I didn't know was there on the manifold sticks shut and causes no gas flow.
- No one fills CO2 tanks and it is not worth the gas to make the trip to find someone that will, if your LHBS will exchange it while you're there (It's where my shiny new aluminum tank was seen last)


Last but not least, you can invite over buddies to help bottle...
How does one justify needing help kegging? (Mental image of 4 guys watching beer being siphoned...)

I'm sure I'll get it all figured out eventually. Just having a rough time getting started and decided to complain....

Well sounds like the process of kegging isn't the issue for you. The process of kegging is MUCH more simple. However, your keg is leaking. Have you tried cranking the pressure up to 20+ psi until it seals properly and then backing it down?

You need some lube, keg lube that is. I love kegging, I just got a bowie bottle adapter so I can bottle from tap. So I just bottle a sixer or so for friends, rest is for me!

yeah, I second the keg lube and if your poppet is bad you can replace it. Bottling sucks.

sh00t said:

yeah, I second the keg lube and if your poppet is bad you can replace it. Bottling sucks.

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Yep, replace all o-rings if they're old, and bring a poppit into lhbs (or find correct one online) and replace them. Keg lube is the ticket, too!

Yeah, I'll take kegging over bottling any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

I did a lot of work/maintenance on my kegs when I got them (new o-rings, poppets, one got a whole new lid). I would do it all again for the simplicity that it is now. Of course, I've learned a few lessons the hard way (actually managed to hook up the lines backwards on a keg once), but now that I have a process down I can't even imagine bottling a full batch of beer now.

I can't even imagine bottling a full batch of beer now

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it would be torture.... i might be able to do it if they were 32oz bottles...maybe

Yep yep. Keg lube. Sometimes taking the keg posts off and soaking them in some oxiclean is all it takes to fix a sticky poppet. After soaking sanitize and put a thin band of keg lube on all gaskets. That's keg posts, poppets, pressure relief, and main o-ring. That will straighten out 90% of your leak problems.

As to the trash can, that is an awesome idea for a portable kegerator, but a bit of a pain for long term as you will have to continuously replenish ice to keep the kegs cool won't you?

Keep on working the kegs. They so rock over bottling. Cheers.

I never looked back after bottling a few batches after I got kegging. SOOOO much easier. When I buy I keg I get all new o-rings first off, then whenever I use/reuse I clean it out with a hose, put some PBW, shake, take all connects off, soak in some PBW solution, sanitize everything. The only problem i've had is in my liquid picnic tap lines leaking. Sorry you had so much trouble, but give it another whirl, when it works, life is much easier than bottling! I use 4-6 diff kegs and once I did the initial o-ring replacement, haven't had any issues with my process.

Oh, on the c02, couple of avenues there are hydroponic shops and fire extinguisher refill places.

Good luck.

I don't invite people to help keg, I invite them to come enjoy the beer after it is kegged and carbed. One of use has some strange friends...

just2brew said:

- Cleaning is a pain, If you want to rinse, giving it a shake under pressure just makes the liquid absorb gas and then the keg leaks....

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I HAVE A SOLUTION FOR YOU. FORGET THAT CRAP YOU THOUGHT WAS GOOD AND GET THE GOOD STUFF. SOAK SOME OF THIS MADNESS IN YOUR KEG OVERNIGHT AND SHE'LL BE CLEANER THAN WHITE LACE! - B. Mays

timbudtwo said:

I HAVE A SOLUTION FOR YOU. FORGET THAT CRAP YOU THOUGHT WAS GOOD AND GET THE GOOD STUFF. SOAK SOME OF THIS MADNESS IN YOUR KEG OVERNIGHT AND SHE'LL BE CLEANER THAN WHITE LACE! - B. Mays

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You're gonna like the way they look. I guarantee it.

To the OP, you've actually in a way reversed the way I got into kegging.

I thought this was ammusing:

You are keeping your finished beer cold with ice, and yet your fermenting beer gets the freezer treatment. If you just reverse the two, I'd bet it be a lot simpler, at least for your kegging end. I know that wasn't your issue, but I'm having such good luck with a swamp cooler I thought it was worth mentioning.

But stick with it though, I lucked out and had no issues thus far, and even with that kind of luck I have still learned a lot. I remember when I had poppets, post and other random sh*t in my hands and thinking "ain't no f*cking way this is LESS cleaning/sanitizing then bottling" and then all it took for me to realize it was worth it was when I was done racking into the keg, and sealed the lid. You'll work out the problems eventually.

Finally got back on the internet. I have replaced all the o-rings and have put a coating of keg lube on all of them. We'll just have to wait and see what happens.

duckmanco said:

You are keeping your finished beer cold with ice, and yet your fermenting beer gets the freezer treatment. If you just reverse the two, I'd bet it be a lot simpler, at least for your kegging end. I know that wasn't your issue, but I'm having such good luck with a swamp cooler I thought it was worth mentioning.

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Trust me, I considered using the chest freezer, but their was a voice in the back of my head that just said "NO". Having beer on tap all the time would make it to easy. I have to admit I have little self control when it comes to beer.

I'm only interested in kegging for gatherings. So far I've found the ice to last from a friday evening through to sunday. However the weather has not been that warm. I insulated it using this pink foam I found at home depot.

Are you going to bottle prime in the kegs? They need to be cold to get the proper co2 concentration.

E: I also have 1 chest freezer that I use for fermentation. When I get my kit, i plan to ferment 4 batches, and then keg them and use the freezer as a keezer (without modifying). I may even simultaneously keg and brew lager.

Kegging is frustrating me because I haven't had a good batch since I started with the keg. It keeps getting infected with lacto. I take the whole keg down and soak it for hours with pbw then rinse and sanitize. In the last three batches that plasticy sour off taste creeps back in over time. Tasting the beer on racking it's just fine but after a week or two the infection shows up. Really driving me crazy.

When I got the keg (used) it smelled like someone had left mt dew in it and there was some liquid in the bottom. I scrubbed it down and did the multiple hour pbw soak.

Any "nuke the site from orbit" cleaning solutions?

RevFry:
Almost all used kegs you buy will have that liquid in the bottom and a sweet smell. The liquid is usually the remnents from the cleaning, often with PBW, and the sweet smell is a combination of PBW and residual odor from the gaskets which have likely been exposed to soda syrup for many years. It's usually a good idea to buy a new gasket set when you get a used keg. They are pretty cheap.

Are you only getting an infection when you keg? To completely clean and sanitize your kegs, take all the posts off and soak in PBW, then starsan. Do the same with the lid and gaskets. It is also quite possible your infection is coming from elsewhere. Look at the hoses, funnels, siphons you use to transfer to keg. Look at your beer lines and beer faucets. You can run cleaner and sanitizer through them. Also watch out for valves in pots or buckets that do not get boiled. Gunk and nasties often live behind the ball valve and can be very hard to get out if your valve can not be disassembled.

tesilential said:

Are you going to bottle prime in the kegs? They need to be cold to get the proper co2 concentration.

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It's actually the opposite...the keg will behave just like a bottle when you prime it with sugar, dme, etc. The yeast need the warmer temps to produce the co2, condition for about 3 weeks, then you cool the keg to get the co2 into solution.

Only difference between keg and bottle conditioning is the amount of primer you use...haven't keg-primed yet, but i know it takes less than the 5 gallons leads you to believe.

Co2 should also be used to purge the head space, and to seat the lid, before you stow it away.

heferly said:

It's actually the opposite...the keg will behave just like a bottle when you prime it with sugar, dme, etc. The yeast need the warmer temps to produce the co2, condition for about 3 weeks, then you cool the keg to get the co2 into solution.

Only difference between keg and bottle conditioning is the amount of primer you use...haven't keg-primed yet, but i know it takes less than the 5 gallons leads you to believe.

Co2 should also be used to purge the head space, and to seat the lid, before you stow it away.

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I meant if he doesn't batch prime he will have to keep the kegs cold to force carb.

tesilential said:

I meant if he doesn't batch prime he will have to keep the kegs cold to force carb.

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Yeah, I need to try to prime the next keg full. I don't have a fridge yet to store my keg in. When I pull a flip top bottle and fill it up to chill it's, of course, pretty flat.

I force carb my kegs warm all the time. No problem. I set the dial at 20 and leave it for a week

milldoggy said:

I force carb my kegs warm all the time. No problem. I set the dial at 20 and leave it for a week

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Well, when I pour from the keg it's carbonated fine. But when I chill it it gets pretty flat.