Best way to move from bottling to kegging?

so right now i'm bottling all of my beer. i have no kegging equipment at all.
how did you guys get into kegging? what kind of setup are you using now? did you switch systems? spend extra money?
should i just start out with a 1 keg basic system, even though i would like to have at least 2 in the future? should i buy parts piece by piece, or get a kit? should i go kegerator right away, or build up to it?
need some advice from you kegers out there.
thanks

I got started kegging by buying a 5 lb CO2 tank and regulator from beveragefactory.com; gas lines, gas manifold, beer line/cobra tap, and o-rings from Annapolis Home Brew; and two Cornies I bought from a guy off of eBay.

I would say if you want to have variety/pipeline do more than one keg. You have to empty that keg (aka drink) to keg more. I have six kegs total now, and I'm going to make a three tap kegerator.

Buy a 2 keg kit from Midwest or Kegconnection. Not a one keg kit. By a suitable fridge. I believe mine is an Oster. Buy 4 extra kegs from kegconnection or pedalbiker.

This will get you not just started but moving along nicely while you learn all there is to know about kegging. Down the road you might want to upgrade but with the basic setup and extra kegs you don't have to.

how do you guys serve your beer from the kegs? spouts from the front door of the fridge? put em in ice and hook up to co2?

I'd start simple and cheap with a chest freezer, plastic "picnic faucets", some ball lock connectors, a keg or two, a temperature controller, and some beer and gas line. It's so cheap for the little plastic faucets and they work fine. Plus it's easy to upgrade from there if and when you want to.

I use a converted chest freezer. They're more efficient than a refrigerator because they don't have to work as hard to maintain low temperatures, they're more insulated, and the cold air stays down when you open the lid.

You can get a whole setup as a package deal, or just piece it together to save money. You can get a cheap temperature controller for your chest freezer here.

If you want to piece it together, you can post in the classified forum that you're looking for a 5 pound CO2 tank and a regulator. You can pick them up cheaper there than at a welding shop or online, usually. That goes for most of the other parts as well.

There's a ton of threads on converting a chest freezer to a "keezer" including here. Obviously yours would be much easier to begin with, unless you wanted to build a collar and have faucets off the bat.

Most of us have a kegger of some sort, either on the fridge door or like this:



But, I also use party taps on some kegs and that's a good way to start. Use 10' of 3/16th to save yourself some grief.

I am in the process of moving from bottling to kegging.
This is the order I went it:

1.Bought used Sanyo mini fridge on Craigslist $50
2. Bought two tap tower w/ perlicks from kegconnection $150
3. Bought two keg system from kegconnection $200
4. Bought two extra kegs from kegconnection $50

This way I always have two beers on tap, and two kegs as a back up to replace the first two when they become empty.
I want to get a few more kegs to age in.

I just built my kegerator - used a 7.0 GE chest freezer from Home Depot. It fits four kegs and the CO2 with a 6-inch collar installed.

I definitely recommend buying a complete kit. I was going to purchase the 2 faucet kit from kegconnection, but when I figured up the costs to build out the third keg on my own, it was cheaper to order the 3 faucet set.

I could not have done this without the information provided by everyone here on HBT - it is amazing the amount of info you can find here, and how willing everyone is to share!

Think I'm going to see if I can pick up a chest freezer and a basic kit. If I'm going to have at least 2 kegs. I would get a double gauge regulator right? That way I can carb one and serve one at the same time? Run two different pressures? If I have say a 2 keg system do I have to keep two kegs on there at all times(I don't have to kick both to change em out)?

get a chest freezer or cheap fridge and you might want to check this link http://www.beveragefactory.com/draftbeer/kits/ehk.shtml out cheap tap system only 70 buck and an additional 50 for the co2 tank. this is what i ordered when i started in kegging and it works great

Eppo, the "two gauge" regulator can be a little confusing. There are very simple regulators that have only one gauge, and that gauge shows the pressure that you set ("line pressure"). One step up from that are regulators that have two gauges, one of which shows the line pressure and one of which shows the tank pressure. (As a side note, that second gauge is, in my experience, useless. It doesn't show a drop until just before your CO2 tank is empty.)

If you want to carb one and serve one at the same time, you will need a regulator that could serve two discrete pressures. That would be a regulator with two regulator bodies.

yes thats what i meant 2 regulator bodies. sorry i'm new to this. though i think i know what i need. now i just need to find out how many cubic feet i want my chest freezer to be.

doggage said:

If you want to carb one and serve one at the same time, you will need a regulator that could serve two discrete pressures. That would be a regulator with two regulator bodies.

Click to expand...

Not to nit pick, but just in an effort not to confuse a newb, I believe lots of us force carb one keg while leavin another at serving pressure. All I do is shut off the gas to the serving keg while force carbing another keg for 24 hours. Yea it is a bit of a hassle, but don't think you absolutely need a two body regulator to force carb.

Agreed, the ideal system would be a manifold w/ multiple regulators for each keg, but it can be done manually as well if you don't mind the labor.

There are many ways to do it. I have been assembling mine over time, as I have been able to find good values on equipment, and as my needs change.

I began by stalking craigslist and other classifieds until finding a good deal on a used freezer or refrigerator. I found a 14.8 cu ft Maytag chest freezer on craigslist for $75. It will fit eight kegs plus the tank.

I was also fortunate to see a post on HBT for a local brewer who was moving and selling off his 6 kegs, tank, regulator, and various fittings, including a couple of cobra taps, and bought those for a good price. The regulator has a wye on it with two gas outputs, so I have been keeping two kegs going at once with the cobra taps.

A friend gave me a ball lock and pin lock keg, tank, regulator, etc. I reconditioned the ball lock but I do not use the pin lock, even though I did get the liquid and gas disconnects with it. I have not gotten to the point where I have filled all seven ball locks, yet. If anyone within a few hours of Boston wants to trade a good condition ball lock for a good condition pin lock, let me know.

I got a Love temperature controller and wired it inside a PVC box, according to https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/temperature-controller-box-portable-solution-128443/.

I am looking to be able to keep more than two kegs going, so the next project is to go from one leg of the wye to a secondary regulator and a four port manifold. This will allow me to keep four kegs at one pressure off of the manifold, and a fifth at an equal or higher pressure on the other leg of the wye. The current gas lines are 5/16, and the secondary regulator and manifold are 1/4, so I am going to figure out a way to step down to 1/4 on that leg of the wye. I believe the wye is 1/4 FPT, with 1/4 NPT x 5/16 MFL ball check valves, but I have yet to take it apart and confirm that. If I am correct, I will only need one 1/4 NPT X 1/4 barb or MFL to make it work. I will probably rig up a quick disconnect where the gas line goes into the secondary regulator.

That should hold me for a while. If I really want to be able to keep more than five kegs at once, I will probably get another secondary regulator and manifold, and put them in series. That would allow one pressure from the other leg of the wye, a second equal or lower from the other leg of the wye through the first secondary regulator, and a third equal or lower from the second secondary regulator.

The freezer is in my utility/brew room in the basement, so I am not in any hurry to move from the cobra taps to Perlicks through a collar, but I may get there at some point. Not before I get what I need to go to all-grain though.

Can you tell that I'm having fun yet? :cross:

think i'm going to get that GE 7.0 freezer, and the 2keg basic premium kit. and see where it goes from there. looks like making the collar is easy enough, then i'll make it into a keezer. it'll be down in the basement, but its a short walk for some tasty brew. for now i'll even have some extra room in it for bottles.