long time bottler 1st time kegger..help!

So I recently ordered my kegging equipment, my dual tower was on back order, but I think it shipped yesteday or today. Regardless, I want everybody's advice.

What would you recommend to do/not to do as a first time kegger.

I will have a 2 corny keg mini fridge with dual tower, perlick faucets, and a dual body taprite regulator.

If you made any mistakes, or have learned anything that has helped you tremendously, please inform me, I would greatly appreciate it.

Any info is welcome, do not hesitate.

ALWAYS check for CO2 leaks... Especially after you change the CO2 tank. Coming home to an empty bottle sux!
And keg lube is your friend. Use it religiously

LFMF

1. Always turn gas off before servicing (removing) your beverage lines. I have lost more than a few pints this way.
2. Be very careful with your PSI gauges. They can break with even the slightest nudge.
3. Tighten all connections. Then tighten again.
4. Use a rug to catch drips unless you have a drip pan. I am poor, I use a rug.
5. Beverage connections leak slightly when you remove them from the keg. Remember to wipe them down to prevent a sticky mess.
6. Beer is sticky.
7. To help with number 1, remove the beverage line 1st.
There is much more to kegging, and I am sure others will add their knowledge. Good Luck and Happy Kegging! :rockin:
Just my two pints...

1) Try to do the set and forget method of carbing if possible.
2) If you need to carb in a big ole hurry, shake the piss outa the keg at SERVING temp and pressure, not at crazy high pressures and temps so you dont overcarb
3) Plan on trouble shooting your system endlessly until it works well for YOU, every system is different and has its own quirks.

Those are my big pointers that work for me and my kegs.

Don't cut the beer lines off shorter because "you don't really need all that tubing". Did that and am still kicking my self every time I get more foam then needed. Thinking about replacing my lines.

Special Hops said:

Don't cut the beer lines off shorter because "you don't really need all that tubing". Did that and am still kicking my self every time I get more foam then needed. Thinking about replacing my lines.

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+1 on the hose length. I too thought I had overly long serving lines, but now I am replacing all of them with 10 footers.

Don't buy into the myth you need 10ft of line to get a good pour. Biggest pile of crap spread on this site. I know my life is to short to spend half of it waiting for a beer to pour.

And force carb with some common sense.


Let me amend that. If all you drink is beers carbed to 3+ volumes I would up the line length. I personally dislike hefes, so it's not a problem.

Make sure your lid is seated properly...it may look like it is seated and the clamps may be clamped, but it needs to be pulled up tight or you will leak C02. Also, you may want to test out the controls a little and do a dry run with your tank filled with some One Step, you won't waste much C02 if it's full of liquid and you can figure out how everything works while you are doing a final sanitizing. I'm just waiting for a beer in my secondary to finish dryhopping so I can "go live" with my new keg setup as well.

if you force carb, chill the beer overnight first, then do the force carb thing at about 20 psi. the beer will absorb the CO2 better if the beer is cold. take the time to run your CO2 line outside the fridge to the bottle. it saves room in the fridge.

Make sure all of your taps are closed before hooking up a keg.

wildwest450 said:

Don't buy into the myth you need 10ft of line to get a good pour. Biggest pile of crap spread on this site. I know my life is to short to spend half of it waiting for a beer to pour.

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Why do you have to wait for a beer to pour? Do you have some kinda special beer that backs itself back into the keg after each pour? Even with long lines the amount of time it takes for a beer to find its way into your glass isn't going to change?!?!

Also can you please at least give a negative point on long lines if your refering to it as "Biggest pile of crap on this site."

1) 10 ft line rocks! Don't get discouraged if the 5 ft of line w/kit gives you a cup full of foam.
2) Get a thermometer to monitor the inside temp of the keggerator
3) Keep a spray bottle of cheap vodka and spray the inside of the taps periodically to help kill any bacteria...And if you make a bad batch feel free to polish off the vodka.
4)+1 on making sure the taps are closed (i.e.,-Don't have too many homebrews when working with the kegging connections!) I got a face full of beer on one occasion.

Well, I didn't order any additonal beer hose, is it something I can purchase at Lowe's?

Also, A guy I know uses ~7' lines, does anyone have a calculator for beer line length/volumes/temperature etc...?

All great info, thank you all for your input!

Cheers!

I would try the line they give you first to see if it works. No, you can't use the cheap piece of **** line from Lowe's. Order 20 feet of beverage line from somewhere like Micromatic and your problems are solved. It has to be thick walled to provide the proper resistance...

Some great info from the AHA.

http://www.draughtquality.org/