3 gallon kegs?

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Cpt_Kirks

Cpt_Kirks

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3 gallon keg owners:

How do you fill your kegs?

Do you just fill them from a 5 gallon, or do you brew a smaller batch just for the 3 gallon keg?
 
I love my 3 gallon kegs, I've got three of them. Typically I'll brew my usual 5.25 gallon batch, fill a keg and bottle the remainder. That way I can take the keg to a party and show everybody what a great brewer I am :D, and still have several bottles to savor at home.
 
That could be a good use for my new 5 gallon Better Bottle.

4 gallon batch = full 3 gallon keg + 12 pack in bottles.

:)
 
I have a 6 gallon Better Bottle for Apfelwein. 3 gallons makes a good party.

With a KEGLove and a little CO2 charger, it's very portable and stays cold till empty.

3GallonKegLove2.jpg
 
EdWort said:
I have a 6 gallon Better Bottle for Apfelwein. 3 gallons makes a good party.

With a KEGLove and a little CO2 charger, it's very portable and stays cold till empty.

3GallonKegLove2.jpg
Click to expand...

How well does the little attached faucet work? Any foaming issues?
 
Cpt_Kirks said:
How well does the little attached faucet work? Any foaming issues?
Click to expand...

I've got a similar setup, although I use a stout faucet. (My only spare faucet!) To avoid foaming, you just have to keep the pressure low and pour slowly. Probably not as big an issue with apfelwein.

Another great thing about these kegs is that they'll fit on the compressor hump in a chest freezer.
 
The little faucet works great. I'm going to add it to my Koolerator though and pick up a spring loaded auto shutoff one from Williams Brewing. If there was ever a need for one, this is it. Like Lars says, keep the pressure low and you will be fine.
 
AnOldUR said:
The trick is to keep wandering fingers off that CO2 trigger.:D
Click to expand...

I found that removing it after giving it a short blast works well. Keep it in your pocket and check on the keg occasionally. It actually makes the beer/cider last longer...:D They have to wait for you to come back and gas it up.

I hate it when someone says "Ooh, what's this?" and pulls the trigger and dumps the entire cartridge of CO2 in the keg.
 
BlindLemonLars said:
I love my 3 gallon kegs, I've got three of them. Typically I'll brew my usual 5.25 gallon batch, fill a keg and bottle the remainder. That way I can take the keg to a party and show everybody what a great brewer I am :D, and still have several bottles to savor at home.
Click to expand...
I'll do the same or push the beer into the 3-gallon corny once a couple of gallons have been enjoyed so I can fill the 5'er with another beer.
 
I bought one from KegConnection. To fill the 3g from the 5 g, Set both corny's to the same pressure, then set up 2 lines with quick disconnects. 1 line with 2 grey IN disconnects and 1 with 2 black Out disconnnects. Then connect the lines between both kegs, in to in, out to out. Place the 5g corny on a table top and the 3g on floor. Now just pull on the pressure release valve on 3g corny until beer flows from 5g corny to 3g corny, let go of pressure relief valve and the siphon will continue. If the beer is cold you can tell on the 3g corny what level the beer is at by the condensation on side. When it gets close to top just disconnect the beer line.

I sure wish they were cheaper, they are perfect for small gatherings and small ice chest, boats, etc. I've also never had an issue with transporting. Alway poor after arriving somewhere, no foam, just use small pressure .
 
Thanks! Yea, I am seeing that they are pretty expensive. I just don't want to have to talk my wife into letting me buy another big fridge and find a place for it. I already have a small fridge that one of these will fit in.
 
Keep your eye on ebay for the 3 gallon cornies. Thats where i got my 2. They are still expensive, but slightly cheaper than buying them new.
 
Liteweight said:
Where can I get one of those 3 gallon bad boys?
Click to expand...

My first two were from a garage sale I found on craig's list...I'm embarrassed to say how cheap they were! (I got the kegs, a stout faucet, 6.5 gallon carboy, CO2 tank, regulator, copper IC and a tap handle for $100.) The third came from my LHBS, which sells them for $45 minus my 10% club discount.
 
The only thing you have to be careful with is overfilling them (just me not paying close attention) because you can back beer into your CO2 lines if the beer is above the gas-in tube. Handy for taking places though. Caused me to buy that Lowes (Kobalt) mini regulator with the paintball CO2 so 2 of them and the CO2 fit in one cooler. Impress your friends, it does.
 

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