Worth the risk?

Hey all,

I'm committed to having kegged and naturally carbed my current batch of Bavarian Wheat in time for my birthday in 1 month. Summer classes have my budget stretched pretty thin but today I was thrown a bone, a refurbished corny-shaped bone that is.

I can rely on friends for a cold fridge, 6 or more feet of serving line, a couple ball-lock connections and a cornelius keg CO2 charger like the one below:



I was doing some research on HBT and I happened upon a thread with a picture of a gauge fitted into the lid of the corny keg to read internal pressure. I thought that it would be handy to have since there isn't really any way to tell for sure what the serving pressure is while using a CO2 cartridge charger and I'd hate to have foamy Hefe on and off all night... The question - if there a significant risk of infection from this gauge a couple batches down the road can it be negated? I can't sterilize a cheap gauge in the oven and I don't think that I can flood its insides with sanitizing solution... I'd sooner maintain serving pressure through guess work than ruin a corny lid; replacements aren't easily had here.

http://picasaweb.google.com/monaghan.melissa/Keith#5290973128733586434

Personally, I wouldn't try it -- I'd hate to risk the lid if replacements are hard to come by. Having said that, if you do try it -- I would pour your sanitizing solution into a shallow, flat container, just deep enough to cover the lid, but not so deep as to get into the gauge. Alternatively, when I sanitize my kegs, I also suspend the lid inside the keg by placing it through the opening, then rotating it so that it hangs by the clamp. That should immerse it the right amount.

Thanks for the input hercher, tips of sanitization are invaluable when charting new territory ha ha. I'm looking into the different mechanisms used in pressure reading gauges. Bourdon tube gauges are the simplest and most common, they consist of a curved yet flexible hollow tube fixed into the nipple of the gauge. A small plastic syringe could be used to force sanitizer in and out of the tube, which in my case is a chlorine solution.

I'd love to splurge on a proper CO2 tank and regulator but it's out of the question for now...

No replacement lids at any of the LHBS's, called all of them just to be sure... A replacement lid would have probably cost me $20 anyways!

SeamusMac said:

No replacement lids at any of the LHBS's, called all of them just to be sure... A replacement lid would have probably cost me $20 anyways!

Click to expand...

replacement lids..
*Homebrew Kegsarts for Kegs

another way of doing it without perm attaching to the lid is T it from the gas line. QD-T-gauge-co2

Go with a Tee like JohnnyKim suggested and leave the lid alone.

JohnnyKim said:

replacement lids..
*Homebrew Kegsarts for Kegs

another way of doing it without perm attaching to the lid is T it from the gas line. QD-T-gauge-co2

Click to expand...

That is an excellent idea, the thought had never even occurred to me that I could get an extra barb for the CO2 cartridge charger to hook onto!

The QD on the charger should have a MFL fitting so you need a tee with 1/4" MFL and whatever the thread on the gauge is, probably 1/4" NPT. That will be fun finding the fittings but would be nice when you're done. Check out what was used for this spunding valve, which has some of the same parts you'd need.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/diy-spunding-valve-130237/
or this thing which seems like they used too many pieces.
Bleeder Valve