Keg Line/fitting Questions

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adamshifflett

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Hey guys, let me just lay out the situation first, then give my plan, and then... the experts can reply!

I have a full size upright fridge (freezer on top) that my wife let me get (CL deal) for my cornies. I have 3 at the moment but plan on getting one more. 4 plus a 10 lb co2 will fit in the footprint of the fridge. Right now I have a dual gauge regulator and that's it. It's at 12 psi with my first kegged brew and doing great.

I'm tying to keep the wife happy and not blow a ton of cash at once so my next kegged brew is almost ready to go in the fridge. My plan is to get a 2 way distributor now, and later get a set of secondary regulators. Don't have the money to throw at the secondaries right now else I'd just go that route.

First big question. My wife loves the keezer bar builds and wants one after we move so I think well end up with abou 5-8 cornies on tap. Should I get a 4 port distributor now since its only like 5 dollars more to be useful later?

Also is there a good link showing how all the fittings work best for different pressures?
 
I have 3 faucets in my tower kegerator and I use this to connect all 3 kegs to my CO2 bottle.

Air-Line-Cross-web.jpg


It costs $5.99 from Austin Home Brew Supply and works great.. I carb my beers at 12 psi and dispense them at the same pressure.

This will be your most cost effective (and easiest) way to get three faucets going right now.
 
I use both Oetker stepless and the worm clamps. The both work find, just check the worm clamps one a year to make sure they are tight.
 
Just as a different perspective - I've actually been shifting my fittings to John Guest fittings (push-to-connect).

I use 3/16'' ID x 3/8'' OD for all my line (both beer and gas) now, and use these fittings so that I don't have to worry about clamps except for my check valves on the gas line.

The fittings make it easy to change out the disconnect, or change out the line if needed. I have only recently started transitioning since I have over 30 sets of disconnects (expensive!).
 
Just as a different perspective - I've actually been shifting my fittings to John Guest fittings (push-to-connect).

I use 3/16'' ID x 3/8'' OD for all my line (both beer and gas) now, and use these fittings so that I don't have to worry about clamps except for my check valves on the gas line.

The fittings make it easy to change out the disconnect, or change out the line if needed. I have only recently started transitioning since I have over 30 sets of disconnects (expensive!).

Would you please provide a link to the fittings used in a beer distribution system? I looked at their website and they have a ton of options.

Thanks
 
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=74538&catid=832

these are the ones I use on the QD's, they also have one with pipe threads for use with manifolds/valves, and you can also use the Tees easily with these fittings.

I wish I had known about these fittings years ago so I wouldn't have wasted so much time and money on all the flare nut fittings, clamps, and tubing. Better late than never though.
 
John Guest ® Flare Female Acetal Connectors | U.S. Plastic Corp.

these are the ones I use on the QD's, they also have one with pipe threads for use with manifolds/valves, and you can also use the Tees easily with these fittings.

I wish I had known about these fittings years ago so I wouldn't have wasted so much time and money on all the flare nut fittings, clamps, and tubing. Better late than never though.
I think I use something like this on my outside hose and also my power washer. But I still don't have a good idea of what specific parts I would need to go from a QD connected to a corny to either a gas distributor or beverage line shank. Thanks.
 
These fittings attach to your quick disconnects that have the flared connectors, not the barbed connectors. As long as you use tubing with the correct OD, it will seal with the fittings. When you want to change the connector, all you have to do is push on the collar, pull out the tubing, and then put on your new connector that has the same John Guest fitting.
 
These fittings attach to your quick disconnects that have the flared connectors, not the barbed connectors. As long as you use tubing with the correct OD, it will seal with the fittings. When you want to change the connector, all you have to do is push on the collar, pull out the tubing, and then put on your new connector that has the same John Guest fitting.

Now I get it. Yes, that makes it a sexy quick way to switch.

I just bought a freezer to do a keezer build, looks like this is the way to setup the gas and bev line connections!
 
John Guest ® Flare Female Acetal Connectors | U.S. Plastic Corp.

these are the ones I use on the QD's, they also have one with pipe threads for use with manifolds/valves, and you can also use the Tees easily with these fittings.

I wish I had known about these fittings years ago so I wouldn't have wasted so much time and money on all the flare nut fittings, clamps, and tubing. Better late than never though.

Yes, push-to-connect fittings are awesome. We use them a lot at work in our products so needless to say I use them a lot in the brewery as well. A cheap source is: www.poweraire.com however they don't have the female flare fittings - only John Guest makes them AFAIK.
 
Now I get it. Yes, that makes it a sexy quick way to switch.

I just bought a freezer to do a keezer build, looks like this is the way to setup the gas and bev line connections!

Yes, please learn from the mistakes I've made! If you start out with these, I think you will have a very enjoyable time with kegging.

It doesn't seem like small things like this matter that much, until you start to really work with them, and begin to realize how small things can change your attitude about things very quickly. Same thing happened when I went to camlock disconnects on my brewery equipment.

I am going to slowly replace all my fittings with these, and the pieces that I have already, I've been very happy with.

Once you start using the fittings, let me know what you think!
 
So correct me if I have this wrong. I would connect a length of gas of line with the 'John Guest ® Flare Female Acetal Connectors' to a 'Ball Lock Gas Disconnect with 1/4" flare (threaded) Fitting'. And the same type of connector would connect a liquid line to a 'Ball Lock Liquid Disconnect with 1/4" flare (threaded) Fitting'. Does that sound correct? After installation of the connectors onto the line, are they removable/reusable?
I was planning my keggerator plumbing when I came across this post. It sound interesting, if I have it right.
 
Yes, all of that should be correct. You just need to make sure you use the correct tubing. I use 3/16'' ID x 3/8'' OD, which is not a typical tubing size for homebrewers. Sorry for the delay in getting back to you!
 
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