Going the kegging route- advice needed

Well, after diving head first into this hobby the only thing left to do is start kegging. I read up on some of the sticky's and did some searching on the forum, but still need some questions answered and/or confirmed.

Now, for the specifics in my situation and here is where I'm looking to ease into it. I have a perfectly good fridge in my basement and would like to keep it that way. 2-3 beers on tap at any given time is plenty for me. One to get started is fine as well. At some point I'd like to build a nice keezer so I could go the picnic tap route for now. On the other hand, I could just start with mounted taps if it'll be a money saver and keep them mounted to a 2x4 inside the fridge. Here's where I'd like some input to minimize unnecessary costs and eliminate most of my mistakes.

Kegs- Do I want ball or pinlock kegs? Do the same beer disconnects work for both styles of keg?

Would a system like this get me started, but still allow for multiple kegs to tie into the same co2 regulator? http://www.homebrewing.org/Homebrew-Kegging-System-BALL-LOCK_p_69.html

I see the same site sells used kegs with a bunch of additional options, nuts/bolts/adapters, etc. Would getting one of these with the adapters allow me to tie into the existing system I posted above? http://www.homebrewing.org/5-Gallon-Cornelius-Keg-Ball-Lock_p_70.html

It's a lot to take in without seeing the stuff in person so any input would be a huge help. I like to use my LBS for ingredients and small purchases, but I've used homebrewing.org for some of my bigger purchases and was pleased with them.

If anyone knows of a better price or if I'm going about this the wrong way, please let me know.

Thanks in advance

Kegs - Doesn't matter which you get really, although the ball lock are more common than the pinlock. The disconnects are NOT interchangeable, so if you buy one style keg you probably want to stick with it.

Regulator - Yeah, you can purchase a 2, 3, or 4 way gas manifold to allow multiple kegs to be used from that regulator. However, keep in mind that the pressure between all kegs in that setup will always be the exact same. This may or may not be a problem for you, but if you were planning on having, say, a Weizen (high carbonation) and an Irish Dry Stout (low carbonation) you will have issues. You may want to purchase a dual bodied regulator so you can set different PSI levels.

Additional keg - Yeah, that's a ball locking keg, so if you wanted to add that keg to that kit you'd just need to purchase a liquid disconnect, a liquid line, a picnic tap, a 2 way gas manifold, a gas line, a gas quick disconnect, and possibly a gas 3/8'' MFL barb. You may also want to purchase additional set of o-rings as the ones that come with it may have a pepsi smell that may not go away even after soaking in Oxyclean or something.

Speaking of Oxyclean (use perfume and dye free only!), you'll want to make sure you clean the hell out of those used kegs, including taking apart and soaking the poppets, posts, beer/gas dip tubes before using them.

Ball locks are taller/thinner and pin locks are shorter/fatter. Measure your space to see if going ball would allow one more keg in there.

The price on the kit is reasonable. I bought my kit a month ago from keg connection.com for about the same price. My second batch is conditioning in it right now. I may bring it up from the cool basement and stick it in my fridge since it is pretty empty at the moment. I'll be able to give it a taste tomw then. I like that I brewed this 3 weeks ago and it will be ready.

Man... tough decisions. I'm almost thinking I'd like to start off spending a little more money. Buy the dual bodied regulator, go with the faucets instead of the picnic tap, etc. I could mount a couple taps inside my fridge for the time being.

Most of my drinking will be pale ales, IPAs, porters. I'm thinking I could get away with a single regulator and manifold for multiple hookups. Down the road, I could get a separate setup for nitro which would be awesome for ESBs and stouts. A lot to think about for sure. Don't want to waste money if I'll just be upgrading in a year or two.

Anyone have experience with soda? Are the carb settings similar to beer?

Nope soda carb pressures are normally 30 to 35 psi, where beer (depending on style) will be 10 to 15 psi

Also, if you intend on boost carbing, a dual regulator is a must. If you have one hooked up at serving pressure, you can boost carb on the other side. There two common methods to carb beer, boost carb and set and forget. Boost is setting at a higher psi for a couple days, purging and lowering to serving pressure which takes about a week. Set and forget is setting to serving pressure and leaving it for 3 weeks.

Thanks. Great info as always.

Any idea on the CO2 tank? How many kegs will a 5 vs 10lb CO2 tank carb and dispense?

Update and looking for suggestions... I pretty much have it narrowed down to this.

1. Go with the two tap system, two pressure regulator, everything ready to go minus the co2 canister for 290 (shipping included). My biggest questions with this, how are the chrome taps? Will I be wishing I had stainless or brass 5 years down the road. Also, I'll likely want to go with 3 kegs down the road. I'll need a 2 gas manifold and extra keg with fittings, tap, etc which will run another 130.

http://www.beveragefactory.com/draftbeer/kits/2SHCKBALLKEG2_two_keg_dual_pressure_homebrew_kit.shtml

2. Go with a 3 tap system pieced together from different sites with 3 kegs, picnic taps, a 3 body regulator(3 different pressures), lines, hookups, etc for about $350



If I'll be happy with the chrome taps for a lifetime, I'm inclined to go with option 1 and assume 2 pressures will do for 3 brews I'll have on tap at any given time.

Also, looking for opinions on this 3 body regulator. Seems like this could be a little clumsy sticking out of a 5 or 10 lb CO2 canister. http://www.homebrewing.org/Regulator-3-body_p_2706.html

Another new brewer, needing some advice with my kegging setup.

Right now I'm looking at midwest's kit:
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/master-brewers-kit-with-kegging-setup.html

Since it's pin lock, I decided to pick up a second pin lock keg:
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/pin-lock-5-gallon-reconditioned-keg.html

These will both be going into a mini fridge that I will eventually turn into a tower mounted kegerator,
Here's some things I figured I'd need to have them both in the fridge, under the same CO2 tank:

A second beer line: http://www.midwestsupplies.com/3-16-beer-line-assembly-pin-lock.html
A second keg to splitter C02 line: http://www.midwestsupplies.com/5-16-gas-line-assembly-pin-lock.html
A 2 Way CO2 distributer: http://www.midwestsupplies.com/2-way-co2-distributor-5-16.html

Other than that, another section of gas tube for the connection between the tank itself and the splitter. Note that the kit comes with all of this stuff and a tank, so all this is for the second.

Any thoughts? Additions, subtractions, "you're wasting time/money"s?

Thanks!

I thought the same thing about the triple regulator. I bought the one from them and am very happy with it. It is really nice to be able to control pressures for three different kegs especially if you force carb. It is connected to a 5lb tank sitting on the hump in my keezer and stands up fine. For some reason it is more balanced than my single regualtor I had. The krome faucets from them are not bad but not as nice as perlick. They will last you a long time if you take care of them and clean them after replacing kegs. You can always change the faucets out down the road if you don't like them.

Bamsdealer said:

Update and looking for suggestions... I pretty much have it narrowed down to this.

1. Go with the two tap system, two pressure regulator, everything ready to go minus the co2 canister for 290 (shipping included). My biggest questions with this, how are the chrome taps? Will I be wishing I had stainless or brass 5 years down the road. Also, I'll likely want to go with 3 kegs down the road. I'll need a 2 gas manifold and extra keg with fittings, tap, etc which will run another 130.

http://www.beveragefactory.com/draftbeer/kits/2SHCKBALLKEG2_two_keg_dual_pressure_homebrew_kit.shtml

2. Go with a 3 tap system pieced together from different sites with 3 kegs, picnic taps, a 3 body regulator(3 different pressures), lines, hookups, etc for about $350

If I'll be happy with the chrome taps for a lifetime, I'm inclined to go with option 1 and assume 2 pressures will do for 3 brews I'll have on tap at any given time.

Also, looking for opinions on this 3 body regulator. Seems like this could be a little clumsy sticking out of a 5 or 10 lb CO2 canister. http://www.homebrewing.org/Regulator-3-body_p_2706.html

Click to expand...

Go ahead and get stainless it is a worthwhile investment. Dual regulator will cover you for three kegs.

Good for you!
Have fun!

I, like you just jumped into kegging. For me, it completely enhances the homebrew experience. Wait and see!


A previous poster put up a nice idea to measure the fridge, though small, their are dimensional differences in the types of kegs.
Though ball/pin are not compatible. They easily could be adjusted. Spending a couple of bucks down the line on an extra set of fittings and hose (of either style) can easily be done. the hooked into the rig. If you are going to the trouble of brewing beer, then a few minutes moving a spare line is not a big deal.

Have fun.

Well, I did it. Placed an order from midwest supplies for a 2 keg system with upgraded heavy duty dual regulator and picnic tap system. Down the road when I build a keezer, I figure I'll get a manifold for another keg or two and some nice stainless faucets. This will certainly satisfy me for a couple years anyway!

Thanks for the encouragement and opinions.

Couldn't be happier with the setup. Thanks HBT.

So, I got everything put together, built a shelf in my fridge and kegged my first batch tonight... which tasted great by the way. I'm going with the advice on the directions. Set to 30 psi in the fridge and leave it for 24 hours, kick it back to 10 for a few hours then try a sample. If it needs more carb, set it to 20 psi for another day then kick it back to 10 for a few hours and serve.

Thoughts?

I went ball lock because of the pressure relief valve is re-usable, just pull up on it. haven't filled em yet though.

Bamsdealer said:

Couldn't be happier with the setup. Thanks HBT.

So, I got everything put together, built a shelf in my fridge and kegged my first batch tonight... which tasted great by the way. I'm going with the advice on the directions. Set to 30 psi in the fridge and leave it for 24 hours, kick it back to 10 for a few hours then try a sample. If it needs more carb, set it to 20 psi for another day then kick it back to 10 for a few hours and serve.

Thoughts?

Click to expand...

Make sure when you kick it down to 10 that you release the extra pressure from the keg first.