Can this be done? DIY gas manifold?

I'm just not paying 50+ bucks for a gas manifold. I saw this on Austin Homebrew and it looks like all parts I could easily get from Lowes or Home Depot.



The only potential problem I can think of would be check valves. It wouldn't have to be pretty, and I imagine I could build something like this for pretty cheap.

Looks like the check valves at mcmaster carr are about $10 each, might be hard to beat the pre-made one.

Catalog pages 436-440.

Edit: the ones you want are on page 436.

It doesn't look like that AHB one even has check valves, does it? I guess it works if you just keep the ball valves closed.

dumb question - what do the check valves do in this type of application?

rdwj said:

dumb question - what do the check valves do in this type of application?

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Prevent beer from going into the regulator. The keg pressure could easily flood a regulator. Don't ask me how I know that.

Couldn't you just put one between the reg and the manifold.

Here's mine (no check valve) All McMaster-Carr parts.
https://cdn.homebrewtalk.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=875
Sucky small photo, I'm sorry!

Brewsmith said:

Couldn't you just put one between the reg and the manifold.

Here's mine (no check valve) All McMaster-Carr parts.
https://cdn.homebrewtalk.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=875
Sucky small photo, I'm sorry!

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I guess you could!

I originally purchased a three port manifold, but parts is parts. I have check valves at each of the three regulators.

I made mine just like that one about 5 yrs ago with no check valves, just added two more sections to it. Now I have 5 taps and I have never had a problem, could be my bottle is tall (a 50lb) and on the outside of my cooler.

Brewiz said:

I made mine just like that one about 5 yrs ago with no check valves, just added two more sections to it. Now I have 5 taps and I have never had a problem, could be my bottle is tall (a 50lb) and on the outside of my cooler.

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Where's the gas manifold?

Dude said:

Where's the gas manifold?

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Well, you can't actually see it, but you can kinda see less than half of his tank.

Dude said:

Where's the gas manifold?

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It's on the right side under the shelf with the taps. The great part about building your own is being able to run up to the Depot and get parts to add on.

Dude said:

I'm just not paying 50+ bucks for a gas manifold. I saw this on Austin Homebrew and it looks like all parts I could easily get from Lowes or Home Depot.

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Check out pages 6-8 at this link:
http://www.ihomebrewsolutions.com/TheGreatFridgeProject.pdf

Nice manifold with a parts list (Cool kegerator project, too).

Regards,
Paul

I bought a manifold before when I needed one quickly, but it seems like you could definitely build one... I've seen check valves in the NB catalog... so you made be able to add them inline instead of on the manifold.... let me know "dude", I am getting ready to get another fridge, so more space for more kegs...

Jester

I made my own for about $25. The valves were a bit under $5 from Lowes. Add a couple of Tees and some threaded adpaters for less than $10. I already had the threaded nipples and some scrap pipe. No check valves - yet. I'll eventually add one before the manifold

Just to see, I added up the parts cost from McMaster-Carr for the "TheGreatFridgeProject.pdf". Not including the grommets, it came to $99.69.

That being said, I will probably use these as a template when I make my manifold. It looks like a good design, the only thing I may change it the connectors back to barb fittings.

Screw it. I bought the one in the pic from Austin Homebrew. After researching the ball valves with integrated check valves, I decided I couldn't build one for any cheaper.

I am anal about having check valves now--I FUBAR'd a regulator a while back, so the check valve insurance is worth it.

My shanks came today too, so I am about a gnat's nut away from being able to serve beer out of the Irish coffin box in the bar.

PiX!@!@!







Please...

Sure you want to see a picture of a gnat's nut?



Ok





here



*

I bought this manifold from www.morebeer.com. The 2-valve version is $27, but you can add on extra valves later ($15) if you ever need one. The valves also have check valves. The other reason you need them is to keep beer from flowing between the kegs. Anyway, I don't think it would be worth the dollar or two I would save to go looking for the parts myself. Also, since I ordered some other stuff, shipping was free!

Ok guys...so even with a manifold, 15 psi is 15 psi, right?

I've had my 4 kegs on gas for 2 days and it seems like they aren't gassing up like they used to. I know I have CO2, and I know that gas is getting into the kegs.

Is it typical to have to jack up the pressure more when using a manifold, or am I crazy?

At these flow rates, there shouldn't be any need to jack up the pressure. Are your kegs at the same temperature as they used to be?

Chairman Cheyco said:

At these flow rates, there shouldn't be any need to jack up the pressure. Are your kegs at the same temperature as they used to be?

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OMG DUH!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks Cheyco.....I'm a moron.

pjj2ba said:

I made my own for about $25. The valves were a bit under $5 from Lowes. Add a couple of Tees and some threaded adpaters for less than $10. I already had the threaded nipples and some scrap pipe. No check valves - yet. I'll eventually add one before the manifold

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I'm at wits end, anybody know what department to find the valves? Spent 2hours in Home Depot (no Lowes) tonight looking for the smaller manifold valves, no luck. Closest thing I found was a toilet shut-off valve. Would work but unable to find any fittings in the Watts section to assemble a bulkhead.

I got a 4 way manifold from morebeer for inside fridge so this is for the co2 tank that I want to put outside.

Now this bulkhead manifold looks like the simplest, fool proof way to go

I don't know where they'd be at a Home Depot, but the ones at Lowes are up front in the hand/power tools area in the air tools/compressor area (Kobalt brand).

I just built a new cheapo manifold for my mobile draft cart. Supplies 4 kegs. I simply bought three 3/8" copper tees and a 12" piece of 3/8 tubing. I used the pipe cutter to make two grooves on each "nipple" piece, to help hold the hose (don't know if that was necessary). Each nipple was about 1.5 inches long. Soldered it all up. No valves other that those in the keg disconnects. The cart was designed to use for parties so I didn't bother with valves. I don't know the robustness of the valves in the disconnects, but it makes me wonder if that would be sufficient anyway in a more permanent set-up too. Just unhook the keg(s) when you want to close off the CO2 to it, say if you wanted to force carb another keg in the kegerator. Not as convenient as with valves, but cheap! (less than $10). I"ll try and post a picture this week.

If you had access to a chunk of aluminum, it wouldn't be hard to drill and tap it with some NPT threads in order to make a manifold block. Perhaps I'll fab up an example piece sometime.

Yuri, how much would you charge to fab up a five-port AL manifold?

the_bird said:

Yuri, how much would you charge to fab up a five-port AL manifold?

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Depends on whether you want me to get all the associated hardware. For the block alone, maybe $25-ish.

I have all the hardware, I just would need the block. I'll have to think about how I would want it set up; I have a second manifold so that I can run two pressures, so I might want to have three ports connected and two ports connected, if you know what I mean ... I'll mock something up tonight for what I'm thinking and get back to you.

the_bird said:

I have all the hardware, I just would need the block. I'll have to think about how I would want it set up; I have a second manifold so that I can run two pressures, so I might want to have three ports connected and two ports connected, if you know what I mean ... I'll mock something up tonight for what I'm thinking and get back to you.

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I hear you. I'll post a pic of what I'm thinking. Two different pressures is easy. More than two possibly becomes a challenge.

Here's what I'm picturing, bird. Thinking 1/4" NPT ports would be best.

Other ideas?

That's exactly what I was thinking.

I have a bunch of these:



at the house. I'll double-check the measurements when I get home.

hey bird, those valves are nice. Look like the ones northern brewer?/morebeer? uses on there manifolds. Where'd you get them?

Are they commercially available at Home depot or hardware store? I''m just really cheap, have a hard time paying shipping. I know I should support my LHBS.

I bought them from someone on here a month or so back...

Do they have built in check valves?

yup.

567890

Thanks Bird. I should keep an eye on classifieds then.

You can get little plastic check valves from us plastics for about a buck each. I bought several of them a few months ago and add them as needed.

If I could add a suggestion on check valves...

As I've seen a lot of posts saying to put only one between the regulator and the manifold.

Personal preference, and if you always keep all your kegs at the same pressure, it may never become an issue. But if you dump CO2 from one keg after dialing down the pressure, the CO2 in the other kegs rushes through the lines from one keg, through the manifold, to the keg you're dumping CO2.

So if you're dumping from, say, an Alt, and you've got a Belgian Abbey Ale on the same manifold, your German Altbier may taste oddly Belgian at some point in its life.

You could also disconnect the other kegs when relieving pressure, or at least turn them off via the manifold valves.

I bought the 6-way manifold from MoreBeer.com for $67 and being over $50 meant the shipping was free. I couldn't buy the parts for less than that anywhere as well as deal with the headache of putting them together with no leaks.