mattreba
Well-Known Member
I had some success with QD on my kegerator and thought I'd share my experience. I know this isn't ground breaking but I learned a few things.
I have a Beverage-Air BM-23 4-tap homebrew kegerator and wanted to be able to swap in a full keg for those times when I have no homebrew to serve (like now). I already had a sanke coupler but didn't want to keep messing with clamps swapping fittings back and forth between sanke and ball locks. I ended up with these from McMaster:
The total cost was $34.54 which was over $15 cheaper than what I found looking at the various online homebrew shops.
I basically bought three sets of male/female fittings. I use male on anything that gives and female on anything that receives. So the gas-in ball lock, the gas-in on the sanke and the product line connected to my faucet are all female. The product-out ball lock and sanke and the gas line going to my regulator are all male.
I opted for QDs with shut-offs because I was worried about what would happen if something went awry. I didn't want 15 gallons of delicious beer on the basement floor. I mean the cat and dog would surely enjoy it but I really don't want to share. The female QD that is connected to my product line that goes to the faucet is the only one without a shutoff. I figured the straight-through fitting would make cleaning the line/faucet easier.
I was worried about the extra restriction from the smaller ID of the coupling causing foaming. I think I get a bit more foam when I first start pouring but then it's smooth sailing. I prefer pouring pitchers with this setup rather than shorts.
Another word of warning: With the sanke coupler on a 1/2 barrel using the QD on the output I have almost no clearance inside my kegerator. If I were to do this over again I'd buy a tailpiece for the sanke coupler that had a 90 degree elbow in it. I know they sell them but I didn't consider it at the time.
<end brain dump>
I hope that's helpful for someone!
I have a Beverage-Air BM-23 4-tap homebrew kegerator and wanted to be able to swap in a full keg for those times when I have no homebrew to serve (like now). I already had a sanke coupler but didn't want to keep messing with clamps swapping fittings back and forth between sanke and ball locks. I ended up with these from McMaster:
The total cost was $34.54 which was over $15 cheaper than what I found looking at the various online homebrew shops.
I basically bought three sets of male/female fittings. I use male on anything that gives and female on anything that receives. So the gas-in ball lock, the gas-in on the sanke and the product line connected to my faucet are all female. The product-out ball lock and sanke and the gas line going to my regulator are all male.
I opted for QDs with shut-offs because I was worried about what would happen if something went awry. I didn't want 15 gallons of delicious beer on the basement floor. I mean the cat and dog would surely enjoy it but I really don't want to share. The female QD that is connected to my product line that goes to the faucet is the only one without a shutoff. I figured the straight-through fitting would make cleaning the line/faucet easier.
I was worried about the extra restriction from the smaller ID of the coupling causing foaming. I think I get a bit more foam when I first start pouring but then it's smooth sailing. I prefer pouring pitchers with this setup rather than shorts.
Another word of warning: With the sanke coupler on a 1/2 barrel using the QD on the output I have almost no clearance inside my kegerator. If I were to do this over again I'd buy a tailpiece for the sanke coupler that had a 90 degree elbow in it. I know they sell them but I didn't consider it at the time.
<end brain dump>
I hope that's helpful for someone!
