Proud owner of an older model Perlick kegerator, questions!

I just bought my very first kegerator; an older model Perlick kegerator off of Craigslist. It's 5' long with 3 taps but doesn't have a CO2 tank, or regulators and I'm looking to replace the hoses too. I don't currently have my new baby home yet so I don't have specifics on model # etc but I'll definitely post pics when I get it home!

I've just got some questions about what I need to get.

It's got 3 taps and ultimately I'd like to use probably 1 tap for some craft beer and the other 2 for homebrew with other variations probably at some point I'm sure. I was looking at expanding it since the beast is 5' long and has plenty of room for a bigger tower but I didn't realize how CRAZY expensive they are to replace or expand!

Will a corny keg of homebrew require a different pressure/hookup than something like a 1/3 keg from a brewery?
How big of a CO2 tank should I get?
What regulators should I snag so I can have all 3 hooked up?

Thanks in advance, I'm in the process of reading through the FAQ on the top of the forum but frankly I feel overwhelmed and I'm hoping to get parts ordered this week!

Auspice said:

Will a corny keg of homebrew require a different pressure/hookup than something like a 1/3 keg from a brewery?
How big of a CO2 tank should I get?
What regulators should I snag so I can have all 3 hooked up?

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Corney kegs need different connections than sanke (commercial) kegs.

Tank size is up to you. 5,10,20 lb are common size. Exchanges/fills are typically cheaper with the larger tanks. It seems like a lot of people advocate two tanks in case one runs out, or a small one for portability and a big one for home.

You only need one regulator to hook them all up, provided you want to use the same serving pressure for all of them. Two regulators will allow two serving pressures, or serving and force carbing. You can split one gas line to many kegs with a manifold or tee fittings.

Finish the primer, read various threads and I'm sure most of your questions will be answered. It might be overwhelming at first, but it's not all that tough to get running. (working kinks out may be another thing)

Congrats on your new monster! I think some pics are in order.

I'm also looking to use this kegerator to lager beers. Is this going to ruin my kegged beer if I'm increasing the temperature to 50F-60F depending on the yeast or will I be able to get away with keeping the temp at a steady 40F or so to keep everything(lagering beer, kegs currently connected, and kegs stored) happy?

Also, the brewery I want to get kegs from are 1/3 kegs and for the most part I'll be the only one drinking it; how long will it stay fresh? I imagine it will take me quite some time to kill a 1/3 keg of beer!

EDIT: As I'm looking, I'm going to assume this is what I'm going to want to get: http://morebeer.com/view_product/6914/102237/CO2_Regulator_-_Three_Body_-_Four_Gauge
What's the difference between that and a secondary regulator? Adding it all up in my head I'll need the following pieces to get set up since I've already got taps installed(duh!):

A CO2 tank(still not sure of size; seems cheapest to buy the big daddy 20lb one but would it be overkill?)
A CO2 regulator(would I be future proofing myself to go ahead and buy the 3 body one now?)
Hoses for CO2 and to draft
Couplers for kegs(one for brewery keg and one for each corny keg)

Auspice said:

I'm also looking to use this kegerator to lager beers. Is this going to ruin my kegged beer if I'm increasing the temperature to 50F-60F depending on the yeast or will I be able to get away with keeping the temp at a steady 40F or so to keep everything(lagering beer, kegs currently connected, and kegs stored) happy?

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Most lager yeast has a lower threshold above 40F, you are going to have to warm it up a bit to lager in there without any partition between the kegs and the fermenter.

Also, the brewery I want to get kegs from are 1/3 kegs and for the most part I'll be the only one drinking it; how long will it stay fresh? I imagine it will take me quite some time to kill a 1/3 keg of beer!

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Longer than it will take you to drink it. It depends on the gravity of the beer, but you have at least a year.

EDIT: As I'm looking, I'm going to assume this is what I'm going to want to get: http://morebeer.com/view_product/6914/102237/CO2_Regulator_-_Three_Body_-_Four_Gauge
What's the difference between that and a secondary regulator? Adding it all up in my head I'll need the following pieces to get set up since I've already got taps installed(duh!):

Click to expand...

Primary regulators hook to a CO2 tank, secondary ones hook inline, behind a primary regulator.

A CO2 tank(still not sure of size; seems cheapest to buy the big daddy 20lb one but would it be overkill?)
A CO2 regulator(would I be future proofing myself to go ahead and buy the 3 body one now?)
Hoses for CO2 and to draft
Couplers for kegs(one for brewery keg and one for each corny keg)

Click to expand...

You don't necessarily need a separate regulator per keg, only if you want to customize the pressure to each one. You can just use a +-shaped coupler, or a manifold to distribute the gas.
http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/kegging/gas-hardware/stainless-tees
http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/kegging/gas-hardware/gas-distributors

Other people can help you more on how many kegs each size of tank lasts, but I think its like 7 for the 5lb, 14 for the 10, and 28 for the 20... Around here the fill price for the 5 is $17, and the 20 is $28.

Will it affect my beer currently on tap if I raise the temperature to lager stuff? I'm really trying to avoid having several freezers for all this stuff if I don't have to; I doubt the SWMBO is going to let me anyway, ya know?

Maybe I'll just get a double regulator then so I can have a bit of flexibility to change up my pressure(IE I'm assuming my Belgian blonde is going to need different carbonation from a "standard" ale, right?). I'll be alright hooking 2 homebrew and a commercial keg up with 2 regulators and a coupler though, right?

I might just spring for the 10lb CO2 tank since 20 just seems ridiculously huge and would take a while to use up. Another question about the CO2 tanks; I've seen CO2 filters that plug inline to filter the CO2, should I even bother?

Thanks for all the help, you guys are the best! I can't wait until Sunday to get this baby home and start ordering stuff for it!

Shameless bump hoping to get my questions answered. My 2 hour round trip to pick up my new baby starts in about 20 minutes; I'll have pictures up tonight!

Auspice said:

Will it affect my beer currently on tap if I raise the temperature to lager stuff? I'm really trying to avoid having several freezers for all this stuff if I don't have to; I doubt the SWMBO is going to let me anyway, ya know?

Maybe I'll just get a double regulator then so I can have a bit of flexibility to change up my pressure(IE I'm assuming my Belgian blonde is going to need different carbonation from a "standard" ale, right?). I'll be alright hooking 2 homebrew and a commercial keg up with 2 regulators and a coupler though, right?

I might just spring for the 10lb CO2 tank since 20 just seems ridiculously huge and would take a while to use up. Another question about the CO2 tanks; I've seen CO2 filters that plug inline to filter the CO2, should I even bother?

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Still unsure of these if anyone could answer them for me it'd be great.

Finally home and in my basement. The taps look pretty bad; do you guys think I can clean them up with Oxyclean or should I replace them entirely? I'm also not sure what this Perlick thing the CO2 line hooks into or how it's going to change what I need to buy to get this baby running.



Blurry pic, sorry. It's not much to look at anyway. lol



Here's what the CO2 line hooks into, not sure what it is exactly.



The bottom of the tower is pretty rusty; going to take it apart to clean it and hope it'll be alright since these are SUPER expensive to replace apparently. It also has a light in it, not sure if it's functional.



The taps look pretty gross, will Oxyclean fix them up or do I need to replace?

Again, thanks for your patience and answering my newbie questions!

For the taps, take them completely apart and clean. Aside from the gaskets & o-rings, they're stainless so you can scrub hard. If you don't already have one, you may need a brush that will fit inside the tap head.

For the tower, it's cosmetic only - so clean or replace.

For the CO2, first thing I'd check out (if you haven't already) is what you can get locally. Some companies swap tanks, so you don't want to buy one. Also, no reason not to go with the biggest tank that will fit in with the beer kegs. I'd also get a dual regulator - will allow flexibility for different styles and/or force carbonating one keg while serving another. If dollars are tight, you can get a single and add another later. Also looks like you already have a manifold which allows splitting the CO2 between different kegs.

Alright, so I took apart the tower and it is NASTY! I've only been able to take apart one of the taps even partially and it's really dirty. Will I really be able to refurbish these and reuse them? Should I soak these in Oxyclean or something?

I'll be able to get the CO2 locally but as far as regulators, will I need to hook them up AFTER the manifold? There is a metal tube that feeds into the kegerator to the manifold and I'm afraid that's going to be dirty and nasty inside too; any way to clean it?


These puppies were attached to some really grimy hoses; no idea how to take them apart yet. Haha


Here's the only tap I've been able to disassemble. The shank(Is that the right word?) is stuck really bad and I can't get the other two taps apart at all.


Note on the door, this thing looks ancient.


Temperature gauge on the inside of the unit. I'll post a pic later of the AC unit on the outside that the guy I bought it from replaced the original with.

I think I need to RDWHAHB; I'm feeling overwhelmed with all the work I've gotta do to this thing. Did I mention the bottom is nearly completely rusted out? At least the insulation is still there and there are boards inside it so the floor is sturdy.

EDIT: Got all 3 taps completely taken apart. Any place in particular I should buy replacement seals/etc from? Some of the stuff looks pretty dirty; hope they clean up nice!

Soaking in Oxyclean and scrubbing is not cleaning up any of the internal parts on the taps, they all still look rusty. It looks like the shafts inside the faucets had some sort of coating and is getting scraped off so I don't know if they'll clean up at all much like everything else, the inside of the shanks are rusty too.

EDIT: I'm buying all new Perlick 575s(new shanks too) and going to scrap these old faucets since they're so nasty looking.

Looking at getting the following for my CO2 setup:
Local welding supply company will get me a 10lb CO2 tank for $120 filled.
http://www.kegworks.com/product.php?productid=19100 CO2 gauge $56 - seems to be the cheapest in stock option at the moment
http://www.kegworks.com/product.php?productid=16651 Secondary dual CO2 regulator $83 - I'll put this on after the already equipped Perlick distributor
Will 20' of air line and 50' beer line be enough for all 3 taps/etc?

Other misc: BLC, keg lube, nylon faucet brush

Does that sound like it'll cover me? I don't want to forget something simple and not be able to enjoy draft beer, ya know?

One last thing, how do you pump BLC through your lines to clean them out?

Yeah - they look pretty nasty, but I think they're all stainless so you might search the web for various ways of removing rust from stainless. Or, just pop on the some new ones.

For my CO2, the local supplier gives me full tanks w/gas which I return for another when empty, so I didn't have to buy the tank (or even leave a deposit on it). Might not be an option, but worth checking out.

From what you described, it sounds like the CO2 tank will sit outside the box with the CO2 run into the manifold by the metal tubing. If this is the case, it may be difficult to use a secondary regulator as these typically attach to the tank and would come before the manifold meaning you would need to run another line into the box (not difficult, but you may not want to be drilling holes). You can still run different pressures on different kegs by opening/closing the valves in the manifold before/after changing pressure on the regulator, it's just not as easy.

Sounds like that would be enough tubing - I would think 2-4' for the gas from the manifold to the keg and another 6-8' for the tubing to the manifold if you're replacing that as well. For the beer line, I would think 10' per tap would be more than enough.

Do you already have your corny kegs & connectors (ball or pin lock)? If you do you're secondary fermentation in the kegs, you'll probably want at least 6 kegs (3 serving/3 fermenting). And you'll need 3 gas + 3 liquid connectors. And, don't forget clamps for each place a hose meets a nipple (I prefer the worm clamps which are reusable).

For cleaning, I usually just attach a keg filled with a cleaning solution (gotta clean the keg anyway) back up to the gas and beer lines and then run some cleaning solution through the lines - and let it sit in the lines for a bit. Then, when I'm sanitizing the keg, I do the same thing to run sanitizer through the lines. This is also a good way to check for leaks in the lines/taps, etc - much better to spill some water than spill some beer. You should also do the soapy water check on all your gas connections so you don't end up wasting a tank of CO2.

There are also cleaning kits which are similar (and include the faucet wrench/brush).

http://www.kegworks.com/product.php?productid=16412&cat=395&page=1

EDIT: I just learned about secondary regulators! Didn't realize there was such a thing, but it explains why it had a nipple for input instead of threads. So, yes - later on down the road you could add the pair of secondary regulators inside the box and end up with 3 different gas pressures.

Pressure 1: set by primary regulator on tank
Pressure 2: set by secondary regulator 1 (<= primary)
Pressure 3: set by secondary regulator 2 (<= primary)

You also asked about the ability to swap between commercial kegs (I'm assuming Sanke) and Corny kegs (I'll assume ball lock). Here's what I did.

I use one of these each on the gas in/beverage out lines of the Sanke tap (I think I had to order an extra nut and washer as well):
http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/tail-piece-1-4-mfl.html

I then used a barbed swivel nut to terminate both my gas & beverage tubing:
http://www.northernbrewer.com/default/5-16-barbed-swivel-nut.html

These then screw on to the tails I added to the Sanke tap.

For the corny kegs, I used threaded ball lock connectors, like these:
http://www.northernbrewer.com/default/ball-disc-1-4-mfl-gas.html
http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/ball-disc-1-4-mfl-liq.html

And again, the gas/bev lines just screw on. So, switching between the two is an easy disconnect/reconnect of 2 threaded lines.

Auspice said:

Local welding supply company will get me a 10lb CO2 tank for $120 filled.

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I sure hope that's for a brand new aluminum tank that you get to keep.

You can get a brand new aluminum 20lb tank (empty) for $107+shipping over at beveragefactory.com. See if you can find a local shop that will fill your tank instead of doing swaps. -- at $120 for a 10lb tank, you'd be better off looking elsewhere.

boogyman said:

I sure hope that's for a brand new aluminum tank that you get to keep.

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Not sure but I'll find out before I buy anything. If I can just "rent" a CO2 tank like pdbreen suggests I'd sure as hell rather go that route since it appears my total is getting close to $500 for all this ****.

You guys think the existing aluminum(I think that's what it is) line that runs from the oustide of the kegerator to the distributor is going to be alright or should I try to replace it and feed a plastic line into the side instead? Actually, it seems the distributor is useless with my setup:

I plan on running a CO2 tank with regulator into the kegerator then splitting off into two secondary regulators to the kegs, one of which will have a T so it can service 2 kegs. That way I can run 1x keg on one pressure and 2x kegs on another if needed.

I've got 2 twist on style Sanke tap adapters(pictured on an earlier post) that I think I can use but one looks grimy and I don't know if/how to take it apart to clean it. They both have appropriate threads already on them.

I do not own any corny kegs yet but the best deal I've found is $16 for used pin/lock style kegs. I didn't want to buy any of the quick disconnects or anything until I get the kegs just in case I pick up the Pepsi style instead or something.

For all this time, money, and frustration I hope everything turns out to be better than sex.

Will it be safe to ferment lagers in my kegerator at 50F and also serve beer from it or will that be too warm? The last thing I want is to have a 1/2 keg of something spoil on me, ya know?

EDIT: I'm also thinking about just leaving my CO2 tank inside the kegerator so I don't have to worry about trying to fish a new line in through the side, will that cause any problems?

I just pulled the trigger on $500 worth of equipment/cleaning supplies and ingredients for my next batch of beer! Here's hoping everything turns out great.

Money is way easier to spend after a half a dozen bottles of craft beer; all right!

Auspice said:

EDIT: I'm also thinking about just leaving my CO2 tank inside the kegerator so I don't have to worry about trying to fish a new line in through the side, will that cause any problems?

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No problems with the chill, but you may want to set the tank on something as the bottom may rust and transfer the rust/discoloration to whatever it's sitting on.

The bottom has several removable racks that I can set kegs and the CO2 tank on.

I'm still worried about lagering and fermenting beer at 50F-60F in the same chamber that I'll have tapped kegs. I really don't have anything else I can use as a cooled fermentation or lagering chamber other than this kegerator; will I be running the risk of spoiling my currently tapped kegs by doing this?