Gotta love other homebrewers...

I just wanted to share a story of a recent trip to the local lhbs which also happens to be a brewery. My wife and I had gone to pick up some starsan for a 15gal epic bottling session and to have a beer. Well the owners cousins(homebrewers as well) were in town for a Bronco game and hanging out at the brewery for the evening and the started chatting up my wife. Somehow it came up that we would be bottling 3 batches to which the cousins (they call themselves the Baca Brothers) were astonished that we were not kegging.

For the next hour or so they explained to my wife why we should be kegging. They showed her the kegging options, talked costs and parts, while I sat and had my beer. Well this was not something I had neglected to talk about with my wife but she behaved as if this was completely new information.

Well she was definitely interested and began chastising me for not telling her earlier about the kegging option. When we got home she got online and began to look for kegging systems before she committed but a 10PM she called the LHBS/Brewery and told the owner she was in. Now we just need a fridge and I have a kegging system...she also agrees that we need to order kegs froms INSCO on the classified pages.

Thanks Baca Brothers for doing in 1 hour what I haven't been able to do in 12months. Now any suggestions on how to convert and what to buy for the kegging system?


thanks
todd

HERE is a good thread on kegerator builds that have been done by other members to give you ideas.

THIS thread has different freezers and how many kegs they hold (method there is good- ~9' diameter and 28' per keg).

This is a kegging 'kit' from midwest that is a pretty good starter to model after.

For your CO2, it is cheaper per pound to fill a larger tank (IE 5# fill is about $10 where I go, and a 20# is like $14). Unless you plan on keeping it in the fridge, where size constraints are an issue, it wouldn't hurt to have a big one (also less trips to refill). 5# should still last you 6+ kegs (carbing serving etc).

I recommend spending a little extra on a dual gauge regulator, unless you don't plan on having more then one or two on tap at a time (this way can do different pressures for serving/carbing).

'Y' splitters (or distribution block) with check valves and on/off switches if you need more CO2 connections (how many kegs you are going to have hooked up).

For each keg you are planning to serve, you will need a gas in connect and a gas out connect (ball or pinlock, depending on keg. The ball locks are more common, also what is shown on midwest link above).

Typically barbs for gas are 1/4 ID tubing, to any desired length. The serving lines are 3/16; it varies per your set up, but 10ft is common length for most set ups (see draft system line balancing and/or Beer Line and Length Pressure Calculator).

Other then that, picnic taps or perlick faucets (THE faucet to go for in my book), fridge, tower if you're doing taps...

I think I covered most of it?

Also pm pedalbiker for kegs; he is a vendor on here. I got my kegs from him and I highly recommend him.

I've been happy with mine for $17.99 from Adventures in Home Brewing if you can't get them privately.

MoRoToRiUm said:

I've been happy with mine for $17.99 from Adventures in Home Brewing if you can't get them privately.

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Me too ! But shipping cost to Colorado may make a difference

I've also deal with pedalbiker and was happy w/ the experience

I'd recommend not spending the money on a 2 gauge regulator IMHO the pressure gauge for the CO2 tank is a complete waste of money. In my experience it basically tells you when you're out of gas which you won't really need a gauge to figure out.

I highly recommend a spare CO2 tank if you can afford it but it's more of a luxury than a necessity if your budget is tight

I'd also recommend a 20 lb tank as in my area of the country & experience it's by far the most economical to refill. Your area may differ but check it out first and ask others where they fill up, prices vary wildly.

Most equipment is generally compairble I like the aluminum CO2 tanks but the cost and or the fact that a lot of places want to swap tanks rather than refill may make buying a used tank(s) more economic. So determine whether you will be swapping tanks or refilling them. I wasn't about to swap my brand new 5 lb aluminum tank but have no problem swapping the old steel tank that I got.

Hopefully some of this info will save you some time and money

abracadabra said:

I'd recommend not spending the money on a 2 gauge regulator IMHO the pressure gauge for the CO2 tank is a complete waste of money. In my experience it basically tells you when you're out of gas which you won't really need a gauge to figure out.

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Dual regulator actually has three gauges; two for your out pressures, third is your tank level. This allows you to have one (or more with manifold/splitters) for serving PSI, and the second (or more) for force carbing. Also, if you would happen to have a beer that needs 8 PSI for balancing, and another that needed 12PSI, you can run different pressures.

As abracadabra stated, a spare tank is great to have if you can get a good deal (I got 2 tanks free .

Welcome to kegging my friend. Welcome.

MoRoToRiUm said:

Dual regulator actually has three gauges; two for your out pressures, third is your tank level. This allows you to have one (or more with manifold/splitters) for serving PSI, and the second (or more) for force carbing. Also, if you would happen to have a beer that needs 8 PSI for balancing, and another that needed 12PSI, you can run different pressures.

As abracadabra stated, a spare tank is great to have if you can get a good deal (I got 2 tanks free .

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You apparently miss read or misunderstood my post I said a 2 gauge regulator meaning 2 gauges

I did not say a Dual regulator

You can get a single regulator w/ only 1 gauge for the regulated pressure or a single regulator w/ gauges for both the regulated pressure and the CO2 tank pressure

The CO2 tank pressure gauge is a waste of money IMHO I'm sure there are others that will disagree

Nobody mentioned it but your wife rocks!

kegging soon, and just want to find this link for reference

Shonuff said:

Nobody mentioned it but your wife rocks!

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If his wife rocked she would have listened to him in the first place and not have to be convinced by others, but that's just my opinion of a rockin wife

You apparently have lower standards

abracadabra said:

If his wife rocked she would have listened to him in the first place and not have to be convinced by others, but that's just my opinion of a rockin wife

You apparently have lower standards

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+1 :rockin:

abracadabra said:

If his wife rocked she would have listened to him in the first place and not have to be convinced by others, but that's just my opinion of a rockin wife

You apparently have lower standards

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ha ha ha ha

Have fun building your setup! I had planned on building a keezer but ended up finding an Oster for $60 on craigslist and I finally just picked up the last piece I need for my setup, a dual tower for $50 shipped off of craigslist. Time to join the happiness of the kegging ranks!

look in your area yellow pages for a fire extinguisher refill service. the one here in my area actually does the refills for AIRGAS. so rather than swapping tanks out i cut the middleman out and save 30-50%. i also was able to purchase a second tank from them for about 1/3 the cost of a new tank.

i ordered my basic set-up from here Home Bar Kegerator Draft Beer Taps and Equipment | BeverageFactory.com

running paintball cylinders ATM.
Shop down the street fill them. Go Go small paintball store entreprenuer.

Local welding supply wanted a small fortune. screw 'em.
I use Praxair at work... they wanted a king's ransom for homebrew CO2.

bleh.
thread hijack complete.

abracadabra said:

If his wife rocked she would have listened to him in the first place and not have to be convinced by others, but that's just my opinion of a rockin wife

You apparently have lower standards

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No...My wife in fact does rock! Abracadabra, you must have missed the part where I mentioned she is my wife. I believe that not listening to a husband is the esprit d'corp for all the wives I've met, even those that rock. And I repeat...My wife rocks. I am a student and she takes care of the bills, I do the beer. This means she will be buying the kegging set up with my direction. Thanks for all the responses.

Real quick... would buying the Midwest set up be disloyal to my LHBS that helped convince my wife that it was time to keg?

thanks
Todd

Ravenhead said:

Real quick... would buying the Midwest set up be disloyal to my LHBS that helped convince my wife that it was time to keg?

thanks
Todd

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No, it means more money to spend on ingredients at the LHBS!

I just bought the kegging equipment and let my wife learn when it showed up on the front porch 2 weeks before christmas.

I purchased from Midwest and got excellent service and the system works extremely well right from the box. For an extra $100 over the LHBS price, I got a 3 keg system with manifold and gauge cage. Keep your other purchases going to local shop, but big items that hit the wallet, don't feel bad keeping more money to spend on ingredients.