hey new to this forum, my name is dan ive brewed a few times...

and now want to start again but i have no equipment and ive bottled in the past but i want to start keging sense the house i just moved into has a bar... anyways i found this kit on the net and im pretty sure its just what i need! is it a good deal or not? i hope to get some feedback from you guys, ive ben reading on this site for a while now and i think i found a new hobby that might replace buying beer lol..... if you have any suggestions you can e-mail them to me at e-mail me at swellgum_isgood AT MSN dot COM Thanks! (thanks olllllo)

http://www.heartshomebrew.com/home_...h6462&xm=on&p_id=BKIT4M&xm=on&ppinc=dave2full

Welcome to the forum.

The kit looks pretty complete and includes the keg and CO2 tank. I think you're going to want a second carboy and airlock. I'd pick up a 6.5 gallon one for primary fermentation, and use the 5 gal for conditioning. Or you could go with a plastic pail type primary fermenter for a lower cost.

Check out equipment on the beer kits from More Beer and Northern Brewer and Midwest Homebrewing and Austin Homebrew Supply to get an idea of costs for similar equipment.

Note that you will need other items too, like a 20 to 24 quart kettle. A long heavy stainless steel spoon for for stirring, Maybe an auto-siphon. Look for posts on the forum from others dealing with kits, as this is something that a lot of people ask questions about. You can get more ideas from similar posts.

Whatever you do, have fun! It's almost impossible not too with this hobby.

I just racked my first batch to secondary and I have learned much from this first experience. I found the autosiphon good for taking SG readings but I definitely prefer this setup for transferring:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=2910

You can pick up the parts for this very cheap. I would also get some extra length of the 3/8" hose as I find that whenever I have an idea on how to make a gadget to help do something, I use this in some way (I used it to link a racking cane to my bottle filler so that I could better control the flow on transfer, I have also used pieced to mock up a cooler setup for testing)

That kit is a pretty good deal, IMHO.

I was looking around at just kegging set-ups a couple of weeks ago and they typically run $200. You're getting all of that plus bucket, carboy, Papazian's book, plus other small equipment.

One comment: if you buy one of their kits, do NOT use the corn sugar in the brew. Get some more malt extract instead.

You will likely have to buy a few more things here and there, but it seems like a good deal to me.

Hopfan said:

I would also get some extra length of the 3/8" hose as I find that whenever I have an idea on how to make a gadget to help do something, I use this in some way (I used it to link a racking cane to my bottle filler so that I could better control the flow on transfer, I have also used pieced to mock up a cooler setup for testing)

Click to expand...

That's good advice, but don't buy the tubing from a brew-shop. You can get the same stuff for half the price at Lowe's or HomeDepot.

-walker

Looks pretty good. Ditto on Walker's comments about the corn sugar. Save that for the times that you might want to bottle some to travel. Also, it says "glass or plastic" carboy. You might want to make sure that it is the correct type of plastic that is not oxygen permeable. I was looking at keg kits earlier this year that were as much....and that was just for the keg bits.

beer4breakfast said:

I'd pick up a 6.5 gallon one for primary fermentation, and use the 5 gal for conditioning.

Click to expand...

would it be a mistake to use a 6.5 gallon carboy as a secondary? will the extra 1.5gallon headspace cause problems?

Wheat King said:

would it be a mistake to use a 6.5 gallon carboy as a secondary? will the extra 1.5gallon headspace cause problems?

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Nope, a 6.5 works well. All I have are 6.5's and Im very happy with the results. When you rack to a secondary you are going to release enough Co2 to form a nice layer over your beer. And since CO2 is heavier than oxygen, it will stay at the bottom.

Some of the time racking to secondary will kick fermentation back up for a short while again, producing even more CO2.

Chimone said:

Nope, a 6.5 works well. All I have are 6.5's and Im very happy with the results. When you rack to a secondary you are going to release enough Co2 to form a nice layer over your beer. And since CO2 is heavier than oxygen, it will stay at the bottom.

Some of the time racking to secondary will kick fermentation back up for a short while again, producing even more CO2.

Click to expand...

thanks, i just noticed another thread asking the same question. i just recently purchased my first glass carboy, and went with a 6.5 gallon. glad to hear i didnt make a mistake. thanks again

im going to go ahead and order that kit tomrrow. then get a pot and burner next. once i move in the house im going to make a brewing corner in the shop so it can all be in one area also ive heard in the past that using a full size freezer as a fermenter "case" and a temp control device to keep the temp from getting to hot in the summer is a pretty good idea? any suggestions cause the shop is somewhat old and it gets hot here in western oregon.. and thanks for all the suggestions ill probaly get a 6.5 carboy as a 2nd fermenter.