Keg charger

Hey guys I just want to ask if any one of you has used this charger? I've read good and bad reviews about the charger one even that he blowed his finger with one of this things, the point is that its easy and functional but it doesn't have a regulator. Any suggestions ?

I have one and it works pretty good. I also always forget to buy the "food" quality co2 carts and use the ones for a pellet gun. You just need to watch who uses it. On a brand new cart you can over pressurize the keg and blow beer out of a cup because the press is too high. And for the moron that blew a finger off there was like 3 warnings on mine to not even load a cart until it was hooked to the keg so that if something happened the co2 would go into the keg and not blow the c02 housing apart. I think they are worth the money. Chopps.

+1 toJoeychops. Just used it this weekend by the pool. Works perfectly. If it doesn't perform as indicated, it's due to user error.

In the long run I think you'd be better off with a 20oz system from Keg Connection.

A little pricier at $89, but in the long run will pay for itself not having to buy those little cylinders that are only good for one keg at best.

Awesome thank you for the suggestions everyone I think I'm gonna buy it!

Oh, and I had one of those chargers for a while. It doesn't take a "moron" to think that the disconnect is seated properly when it's not. Between drunk friends not being able to resist pulling the trigger and the risk of the top blowing off and causing serious injury, it's just not worth it.

By all means, if you feel lucky, buy it.



. . . but remember Murphy's Law. :cross:

I've got one of these and have used it several times without issue. Cheap, easy to travel with, low profile and 2 cartridges will generally dispense an entire keg. If you're careless and can't handle the responsibility of ensuring the all the connections are solid before pulling the trigger, then this option really isn't for you.

Ok, now, this is only for the dispense of beer right? can't you use this for carbonation?

peanuts004 said:

Ok, now, this is only for the dispense of beer right? can't you use this for carbonation?

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Correct. A 16g charger is supposed to be good to push 5 gallons. But the beer already needs to be carbed.

JoeyChopps said:

I've used mine around people that know nothing about corny kegs and even with little kids running around with no issues. Sounds like some crazy paranoia that's going to freak out the op and others considering this product.

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:smack: Can't argue with that logic . . .

Are you drinking all five gallons yourself? Then you probably could be careless enough to blow fingers off. I've used mine around people that know nothing about corny kegs and even with little kids running around with no issues. Sounds like some crazy paranoia that's going to freak out the op and others considering this product.

All right, so what do you recommend of I'm using this charger, artificial or natural carb?

peanuts004 said:

All right, so what do you recommend of I'm using this charger, artificial or natural carb?

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Do you mean force carbed with a larger co2 bottle vs using prime sugar? I say forced carb IMO it's easier to control and not over carb plus the way I do it is faster.

You would have to use too many of these cartridges to force carb your beer. You should naturally carbonate your beer with priming sugar first, and then use this system to dispense the beer.

or just use the system to dispense the beer in a portable system. That way you do not have to lug around a 5# or larger CO2 tank, regulator, hoses, etc and risk breaking/losing anything. Since there is no regulator I personally do not know if I would use one for day to day kegging applications and use mine more for a weekend/party application.

On the topic of safe use, OBK has this warning on their website...

WARNING: Never attach the ball or pin lock valve to the charger first. It can cause the valve to be OVER-PRESSURIZED and fail. Always attach the ball or pin lock valve to the keg first, then attach the Cornelius CO2 Keg Charger to the disconnect valve...

Maybe the wording is throwing me, but if you attach the ball lock to the keg first, wont that depressurize the keg? is that whats supposed to happen?

Here's the specific charger in question http://www.ontariobeerkegs.com/product_p/keg-charger.htm

Normally I bleed the current pressure on the keg attach the head of the charger to the white keg qd. Then attach the white qd and head of charger to the keg. Put a co2 cart in the lower part of the charger and screw the lower part to the upper part. Once done a give the trigger on the charger a quick burst. I pour beers from the keg till the flow is slow than give it another slight burst. When the co2 cart is empty screw the bottom off throw another cart in there and screw the assembly back together. It's that simple. Chopps.

glugglug said:

You would have to use too many of these cartridges to force carb your beer. You should naturally carbonate your beer with priming sugar first, and then use this system to dispense the beer.

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Ok thnks you guys have helped me a lot !

JoeyChopps said:

Normally I bleed the current pressure on the keg attach the head of the charger to the white keg qd. Then attach the white qd and head of charger to the keg. Put a co2 cart in the lower part of the charger and screw the lower part to the upper part. Once done a give the trigger on the charger a quick burst. I pour beers from the keg till the flow is slow than give it another slight burst. When the co2 cart is empty screw the bottom off throw another cart in there and screw the assembly back together. It's that simple. Chopps.

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Sorry to bring this from the dead, but I was ordering my second one of these today (broke my first) and noticed all the bad reviews on Amazon. I agree with JC, it's user error. Just like me breaking mine. I was trashed at a music festival and assumed the cartridge was out because no more beer was flowing. I disconnected from the keg and while trying to unscrew the thing (remember I was thrashed ) Got a little forceful and snapped the top part off. Beer had stopped flowing because there was no more beer to flow. A year later the cartridge (obviously still pressurized) was still stuck in the thing so I through it away. No explosions thankfully.
I think it is with good warning that this probably shouldn't be used if several people will be using it and severe amounts are being drank as their is some required caution. I am buying a second one for a temporary serving setup until we build our new dining room buffet and it's associated 2 tap setup. That and as a backup if my 5lb'er runs out. We aren't exactly in our early 20's any more. Our drinking is a little more casual these days.

Sounds like Joey has the same cheapie keg system as me. Naturally carb in keg and dispense with charger.

IrregularPulse said:

. . . I was ordering my second one of these today (broke my first) . . .

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Damn! Last time I sell you something.

Didn't know you were just going to break it.


But that was 2010, so guess you got some use out of it.

mikeoholic said:

Sounds like Joey has the same cheapie keg system as me. Naturally carb in keg and dispense with charger.

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Haha I wish it would probably be cheaper. I only use the hand charger when I take beer on the road. Currently I have a two keg kegorator in the garage and I'm building a three keg keezer.

JoeyChopps said:

Haha I wish it would probably be cheaper. I only use the hand charger when I take beer on the road. Currently I have a two keg kegorator in the garage and I'm building a three keg keezer.

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That's awesome. I will eventually convert my mini fridge to a kegorator. Hard to convince myself to invest $200 into a co2 system for a $40 keg; but I've seen the light. As for now, how much priming sugar do you add to your keg when naturally carbing. I've heard you should put in half as much as you would for bottling.

I have no idea how much corn sugar to add. I've never natural carbed a keg I always force carb with my co2 tank.