My Rolling Portable Keg Dispensing Unit

BARBQ said:

damn, I guess i need to mess with it prior to pint 1 then. So you have to manually pull the trigger each time to apply pressure? Is that why people try to use the tank instead so you dont have to babysit the C02 handheld? I know i should just try it, but I am at work and bored.

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Yep, you can think of those as the same concept as a manual pump, except its CO2 and not air. They do not regulate flow, so you need to add it as you see fit to get a good pour. If the money is not a huge issue, I would suggest getting a paintball tank and regulator set up. It has probably been one of the best purchases I have made so far in my kegging days. I use it to carb beer outside of the kegerator, purge bottles and kegs with CO2, keg-to-keg transfers, and of course now in my rolling portable kegerator. Not to mention that it is much cheaper to refill a paintball tank than to continually purchase those cartridges.

BARBQ said:

damn, I guess i need to mess with it prior to pint 1 then. So you have to manually pull the trigger each time to apply pressure? Is that why people try to use the tank instead so you dont have to babysit the C02 handheld? I know i should just try it, but I am at work and bored.

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At first, you'll need to shoot it every pint or more, because you'll have barely any headspace in the keg. The more empty the keg gets, the less often you'll have to give it another charge of CO2 to keep pouring. You know how beer should pour from a tap from experience, so just eyeball it as you are serving.

shortyjacobs said:

At first, you'll need to shoot it every pint or more, because you'll have barely any headspace in the keg. The more empty the keg gets, the less often you'll have to give it another charge of CO2 to keep pouring. You know how beer should pour from a tap from experience, so just eyeball it as you are serving.

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that sucks. I thought it was a set and forget thing. I might try to figure out how to install my tank on the cart then.

BARBQ said:

that sucks. I thought it was a set and forget thing. I might try to figure out how to install my tank on the cart then.

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There are other options.

You can put a regulator on a paintball bottle, with an adapter, or you can get one of those mini-regulators with the big screw in cartridges. With either of these, you get a more portable CO2 setup, with full control of the pressure.

BTW, the little injectors work fine. Just "bump" the trigger when the pour slows. As long as your keg is properly carbed, you don't have to bump it that often.

Atl300zx said:

subscribed....

ive been looking for a good cheap portable solution that will fit in the trunk of a 350z...what are the dimensions of the cooler and box separately?

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Sorry I never updated you with the dimensions. I measured them when I got home: The boxtop is 18 5/8" wide x 16 3/4" deep x 9 1/4" tall. The cooler is approximately 18 1/2" wide x 17" deep x 19" tall.

While Im at it, I'll throw out the dimensions of each piece of wood, in case anyone wants to try this:

Top: 18 5/8 x 16 3/4
Front/Back: 17 1/4 x 9 1/4 Need to notch out the back for the cooler hinge bumpout
Sides: 16 3/4 x 9 1/4

I also gave the bottom a second coat of blue plastic spray paint, and the top is all white now. I will be adding the chalkboard paint to the top.

I just want to add some more of my frustration that this will not hold two kegs. I am sooo unhappy that I will need to keep one in a trashbag at the tailgate. (Well I won't be unhappy once we need to swap em out!)

Well I have to say that that may have been the crappiest weather I have ever experienced at a game. Pouring rain and swirling winds, it was ugly all around.

To top that all off, a cop busted our tailgate. I guess you arent allowed kegs. After talking with him and explaining that we were there to just have a good time and its homebrew and not natty ice to get us all f'ed up, he told us to get the keg out of sight. We have a few paranoid buddies in our group, and they decided that this meant we need to get rid of the beer. I of course said no way. So we compromised. The half keg of pale ale got dumped into an igloo cooler (has anyone ever done this?!?) and the full keg of wit went in the back of the jeep in the cooler (out of sight, out of mind). The cops never came back, and we were able to kill the pale ale before it got too foamy.

So it wasnt the ideal situation by any counts, but we had a blast and all the beer got drank! So it was a success!

Thanks to everyone following this thread!

dang, still too big for thetrunk of my 350z. the trunk is not very deep is my issue. i might just have to go with the ice wrap.

Okay, so I sorta abandoned the ice cube cooler kegerator. Who wants to be locked down to only one keg?!?!

i ended up just going with the keglove with ice wrap, a compact faucet, and the mini co2 dispenser bc of the size of my car. I've always liked the idea of the trash can kegerator though. Simple, inexpensive, and functional!!! Cant wait to see it all hooked up. Are you going to insulate at all?

I havent decided if I want to insulate it or not. One reason why I might not is the fact that if I use one of my converted pin locks I dont think it will fit two kegs. It is pretty tight even with 2 ball locks.

But I may wrap the inside with some reflectix for at least something. I'll try to keep it in the shade, but I imagine on a hot day it could rip through a bunch of ice without any insulation.

you could always wrap the outside in reflectix, then drape the trashcan with a table cloth or something to pretty it up.