Moving CO2 Outside - Decisions

So I currently have a 10# tank inside of my keezer hooked directly to a dual-body regulator, one of the bodies has red gas line that goes to a 3 way distributor and the other has line that goes to a corny (via swivel nut -> QD).

I want to move the tank and regulators outside of the keezer for various reasons but here are the two most important

#1 My keezer can hold 6 kegs with the tank in there but probably 7 without it.
#2 Any psi adjustments can be done without opening the lid (which involves removing all 12 glasses from the shelves, the drip tray and whatever else has been piled onto it)

So I had a few ideas on how to go about this. You can see my keezer here -

What I am sure of:

#A Looking at the keezer, put the tank in the back on the right (there is some space on the wheeled base between where the freezer ends and the base ends - about 5" and the tank is 7" diameter so I can easily extend it and secure it using a strap or wood of some kind)
#B Two regulator bodies, somehow mounted to right side of the coffin box, then run the two gas lines (run to the 3 way and the other to a keg as described above) into the back of the coffin box and down the same hole in the coffin that the beer lines already run down.

Known parts list:
10' of gas line ~ $5.90
8 17.0 Oetiker Clamps ~ $2.50
2 Swivel Nut, 1/4 FFL to 5/16 Barb @$2.95 ~ $6

I have a dual body primary regulator, something like this -



and a normal primary (dual gauge, not body) like this -



I figure I could either

#1 Run high pressure hose from the tank to current dual body primary mounted as described in #B
#2 Attach normal primary reg to tank, run (much cheaper) gas line to two secondary bodies (something like http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003UCEJEI/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 but hopefully much cheaper) mounted as described in #B

Thoughts on either approach?

Jeebas said:

#2 Any psi adjustments can be done without opening the lid (which involves removing all 12 glasses from the shelves, the drip tray and whatever else has been piled onto it)

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You would be able to increase the PSI easy enough, but decreasing the PSI also involves either releasing pressure from the kegs via the pressure release valves on the kegs or by draining beer from the kegs. That's the only way that the needle will move down.

LandoLincoln said:

You would be able to increase the PSI easy enough, but decreasing the PSI also involves either releasing pressure from the kegs via the pressure release valves on the kegs or by draining beer from the kegs. That's the only way that the needle will move down.

Click to expand...

You have a good point. I am normally pretty careful about increasing pressure to where I want, and I carb and serve most beers at 12 PSI anyways. If I really need to dial something down, I will probably be opening the lid anyways.

My concern is that if I did #2 (Attach normal primary reg to tank, run (much cheaper) gas line to two secondary bodies) wouldn't the PSI on the secondary regs be limited to what the PSI is set to on the primary, or is there something that I am failing to understand here?

I feel for ya...

my 2 tanks are inside right now but I'll be moving them outside & sitting them on a small lip in the base on the back. reasons:

1. want to adjust air up easily
2. want the room for 2 more kegs!

my understanding of the regulators is that air flows freely through the left... but is only limited coming down via the knob.

Not sure if I am following 100% (I blame the beer) but do you have a manifold? I have my tank outside my keezer. The line comes to some gauges similar to the link you sent. Then to a 4 port manifold. But you could probably hook that dual body reg to one keg directly. then have the back end hooked up to a manifold. That way, your kegs on the manifold could be at serving pressure and the single keg on its own line can be at different pressures for force carbing etc.

BullGator said:

Not sure if I am following 100% (I blame the beer) but do you have a manifold? I have my tank outside my keezer. The line comes to some gauges similar to the link you sent. Then to a 4 port manifold.

But you could probably hook that dual body reg to one keg directly. then have the back end hooked up to a manifold. That way, your kegs on the manifold could be at serving pressure and the single keg on its own line can be at different pressures for force carbing etc.

Click to expand...

This is what I do currently, just inside the keg.

Looking at https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/5-tap-all-white-keezer-build-300675/#post3737474 it looks like you do what I was proposing in #2 with the regulator on the tank set to 30 psi (I assume because that's the highest pressure you are going to need?) and then normal gas line run to the secondaries.

I guess what makes me leery of #1 (high pressure hose from tank) is that I would have a gas line (albeit a strong one) that is containing multiple thousand PSI, a leak would be bad news and possibly destructive, no?

Jeebas said:

I guess what makes me leery of #1 (high pressure hose from tank) is that I would have a gas line (albeit a strong one) that is containing multiple thousand PSI, a leak would be bad news and possibly destructive, no?

Click to expand...

Yes I would not do this - you're talking very high pressure (IIRC over 1000psi). You need to go from a primary regulator, set at the highest PSI you'd need to a secondary regulator either mounted internally or externally. Of course if it's mounted internally you've accomplished almost nothing according to your original goal of outside adjustments without opening the keezer lid. So you can run several lines into the keezer from the externally mounted secondary regulator. That is how I do it.

Is it necessary to mount the regulators to the side of the coffin?

I have a two body primary regulator like you, and I leave mine attached to my 20# tank outside my keezer. The two gas lines each penetrate the collar, and each feeds its own manifold mounted on the inside (in my case, I have a 5x and a 2x, with 5 kegs capacity). You wouldn't have to buy any expensive gear this way (neither high pressure line nor a new secondary reg), and you would still have control over pressures from the outside.

In terms of option #1, as long as you purchase the correct hose, you aren't really at much more risk of catastrophic failure than the brass lines of your existing regs are already experiencing.

My big question is, if your keezer can currently hold 6 kegs (and possibly 7 after you move the tank out), why do you only have 4 gas lines and 4 taps?

RensBerserker said:

Is it necessary to mount the regulators to the side of the coffin?

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No, but it would look nicer I think. And if I left the dual body attached to the tank I would maybe need to pull the keezer out from the wall to see the settings. Sure its easier than opening the lid, but not as easy as just looking at the side of the coffin. Your suggestion would save me the most money though, worth considering.

My big question is, if your keezer can currently hold 6 kegs (and possibly 7 after you move the tank out), why do you only have 4 gas lines and 4 taps?

Click to expand...

Because I only had 4 kegs when I built it I don't really drink all that often either, but I like be able to switch to a carbed keg when one runs out.

Gotta say, that is a mighty nice looking keezer. I moved my tank outside last spring and I'm glad I did. I use the room I save for cold conditioning lagers.

Like RensBerserker, I have two hoses penetrating the collar. One goes to a manifold, and the other ends with a quick connect in order to change between liquid and gas connectors to suit my needs (I can dispense at higher pressure than the manifold with the gas, but most frequently use the liquid connector for force carbonating). Another advantage of keeping the regulator outside is not having to open the keezer to purge the air from a keg before filling it. A "Y" connector on the one of the regulator bodies helps with this.

I'm lucky enough to be close to a closet where I keep my tank handy but out of view, but it sounds like you've got a way to keep the whole package as a single unit.

Jeebas said:

This is what I do currently, just inside the keg.

Looking at https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/5-tap-all-white-keezer-build-300675/#post3737474 it looks like you do what I was proposing in #2 with the regulator on the tank set to 30 psi (I assume because that's the highest pressure you are going to need?) and then normal gas line run to the secondaries.

Click to expand...

I have 1 or 2 gauges set to 30 or 40 psi so I can force carb and also to serve the wife's sparkling water (which was a big part of me not hearing about all the time and $ spent on the kegorator over and over again).

The last gauge, however, is always set to 10psi.