Coor's Disposable Keg = Party Pig?

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Hey guy's. I'm new here and the reason I found this is because of this Miller Fridge Keg that is sitting on my desk. Here is my idea and please correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't this be great for small or test batches? I decided to get back into brewing and do not want to go through the bottle thing again. I am not ready for a complete keg system but will be some day. This is where I need help, after fermentation if I was going to keg my beer, to add carbonation don't I apply co2 for a specified period of time at a certain temp?

Why can't I do that with this thing and then just use the canisters to dispense?

Would I have to install a valve somewhere on the fridge keg to vent the co2 as the first step? I'm still learning.

If you look at the tap for this thing there is another pin right next to the cartridge ratchet. I don't know what this is for yet?

This may be useful. If anyone has any success let us know.
 
I just picked up one of these today. I'll have to get some less discriminating friends to help with the miller lite. Here's my mad scientist take on replacing the CO2. How about the co2 holder with a 90 degree barbed elbow so that it can be used with the CO2 keg chargers available at most LHBS's.

The questionable part would be making the adapter fit the threads on the tap. Someone else had mentioned replacing the tap all together with one from a tap-a-draft system. I'm not familiar with that, but it would be worth checking out also.
 
Hey, if there is any of you guys around Dallas area, i will have about six of these in a couple of weeks. If you are interested in a couple, I have extra you can have.
 
Teufelhunden said:
Hey, if there is any of you guys around Dallas area, i will have about six of these in a couple of weeks. If you are interested in a couple, I have extra you can have.
Click to expand...

Damn I'm in Huntsville TX but, I was wondering if there is a way to rig an 8 gram co2 canister to use 3 liter coke bottles instead of buying more.
 
I just picked up one of the coors draft setups today. Luckily I like coors light, but I am more interested in taking the system apart after the beer is gone. I brewed some beer for vacation in july, this might be the way to take it with me. Any ideas on what size top will fit onto the bottle?
 
Any thoughts on drilling out the 16g cartridge and soldering a 1/4" barbed Check Valve on to it? Then after filling I could pressurize and seal (by closing the check valve) and not have to buy those CO2 Cartridges. Just a thought...
 
slowjeep said:
I just picked up one of the coors draft setups today. Luckily I like coors light, but I am more interested in taking the system apart after the beer is gone. I brewed some beer for vacation in july, this might be the way to take it with me. Any ideas on what size top will fit onto the bottle?
Click to expand...

It's 1.25" I believe I read that a 3L Soda bottle top will fit. Any reason you wouldn't just keep the tap on there?
 
killed the beer in this thing last night with some friends. It's pretty cool even if miller is crap. I opened it up today. Its really easy to break off those tabs to make it reusable. Can't wait to get the co2 for it to take it camping.
 
I've been looking for these for a while, finally found one at a super target here in town... while I do drink miller lite, I *really* can't wait to test out some homebrew in there... the miller lite that comes out of this tap seems to have a lot more head than from a bottle... it really is quite like kegged miller lite beer...

I am hoping these will do great for days that I want to bottle faster... you could easily use 3 of these things and then bottle the rest....
 
I just dropped around 1gallon of Hefeweizen in to mine to test it out, once it carbs up I'll let everyone know!
 
Hi All,

I have been using these since around New Years for various batches (Pale Ale, Blue Moon clone, cider). I use them for 3 gallons of each batch and condition in them.

When it works, it is great but... I have had lots of issues. The CO2 cartridges I have found have a slightly smaller diameter tip. I have trouble getting the pin to puncture the cartridge, and then when it does, the CO2 sometimes leaks out or comes out the pressure release valve.

Anyway - if someone finds a good source for the exact right cartridge, please post!

xnappo
 
So I've had the nasty licorice candy beer in the pig for a few months. The beer is still nasty but that's not the point.

The point is, it's still carbed and still dispenses from the keg as you would expect beer to dispense from a keg. Well, ok, more foamy than you would expect. It takes a little finesse to do a good pour. This is with no CO2 cartridge.
 
wow... that's a long time to stay carbed... When you say "no co2 cart", did you take the original expended co2 cartridge out or just leave a dead one in there? my miller lite finally ran out tonight and I am going to play with taking it apart and cleaning it tomorrow...
 
Nitrogen is used with Guinness. Nitrous is happy gas like at the dentist. It is sold in small cartridges for making whipped cream. Also used and abused by people looking for a buzz. Seltzer bottles are the most common usage for the food grade co2 cartridges.


Babylon said:
Not the exact same thing, but Nitrous is used for dispensing some beer. Guinness would be one example.
Click to expand...
 
I would be interested in one or 2 of those.
PM me if any are still up for grabs.
Thank you.


Teufelhunden said:
Hey, if there is any of you guys around Dallas area, i will have about six of these in a couple of weeks. If you are interested in a couple, I have extra you can have.
Click to expand...
 
Mykek
You "could" ferment in these but for primary fermentation you will have a lot of spent yeast and other sediment. You should ferment in something else that can hold the desired final volume plus trub and headspace for fermentation/krausen. Food grade buckets are cheap, but I like carboys. When it clears, you could rack into the 'fridge keg" and add a calculated amount of priming sugar for the carbonation. It would take a lot of little cartridges to force carb. If I get my hands on one or 2 of these I will just fill from my force carbed kegs for portable dispensing.

mykekc said:
Hey guy's. I'm new here and the reason I found this is because of this Miller Fridge Keg that is sitting on my desk. Here is my idea and please correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't this be great for small or test batches? I decided to get back into brewing and do not want to go through the bottle thing again. I am not ready for a complete keg system but will be some day. This is where I need help, after fermentation if I was going to keg my beer, to add carbonation don't I apply co2 for a specified period of time at a certain temp?

Why can't I do that with this thing and then just use the canisters to dispense?

Would I have to install a valve somewhere on the fridge keg to vent the co2 as the first step? I'm still learning.

If you look at the tap for this thing there is another pin right next to the cartridge ratchet. I don't know what this is for yet?

This may be useful. If anyone has any success let us know.
Click to expand...
 
wow.. as previous posters have stated these things are indeed incredibly ready for reuse... the tap screws off easily and then you can reverse twist off the co-2 compartment just with arm strength alone... no tools... it will snap a lock ring, but it is obviously non-functional... you can rinse out the tap easily with water and the tube is weighted at the end to sink to the bottom of the bottle so you get all the beer out of the keg...

the first thing i did was compare it to a standard non threaded 16g cartridge i had in the garage with my bike stuff... the canister is the same size but xnappo is correct... the ones in these kegs have a slightly thicker neck... I don't have a micrometer, but just with a ruler I think the bike tire carts are 5/16" and the ones in this keg are around 3/8" ... the one I compared it to does not say food grade (however they brag that their co2 comes from a naturally occurring volcanic source! hmmm)...

Someone posted a source a while back for Midwest homebrewing supplies Leland brand food safe carts... I went to Lelands site, and (not all) but most of their small Co2 carts are 3/8" so... I think these carts could be the right ones...

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/box-of-ten-16-gram-co2-cartridges.html

I guess I will call tomorrow and see if I can get the mfg part # for this box of carts so this can be verified...
 
bendavanza said:
Mykek
You "could" ferment in these but for primary fermentation you will have a lot of spent yeast and other sediment. You should ferment in something else that can hold the desired final volume plus trub and headspace for fermentation/krausen. Food grade buckets are cheap, but I like carboys. When it clears, you could rack into the 'fridge keg" and add a calculated amount of priming sugar for the carbonation. It would take a lot of little cartridges to force carb. If I get my hands on one or 2 of these I will just fill from my force carbed kegs for portable dispensing.
Click to expand...

It only took 2 cartridges to carbonate some apfelwein I filled one of these with. The first cartridge took about 3-4 days to absorb. It barely flowed out at all once the co2 cartridge was empty. Put a 2nd cartridge on there and left it for around another 4 days. It seemed carb'd enough and still dispensed almost all of the contents.
 
These seem more common to find lately. I've seen then at Walmart, Kroger, and Albertsons. When they first came out they were priced around $25. They're now selling for $17 at Kroger and Albertsons. I'm planning on picking up a total of 3-4 of them. Enough for test batches and able to easily take a couple different beers to parties.

The 16gram co2 cylinders I've found locally work just fine in them. They're cheaper online. Although for people in the Dallas/Ft Worth area it might worth the drive to Foremans in Colleyville to pick them up. http://www.homebrewerysupply.com/
 
I got two of the Miller Home drafts from my brother-in-law and I was wondering how much priming sugar is required for the 1.5 gallon batch to bottle condition it?
 
Wow, so you actually carbed your apfelwein with the Home Draft System?
I bought a Coors Light Home Draft and can't wait to try this.
So, when you say it "absorbed" a cartridge, when you removed it to add a new cartridge, it didn't leak out the CO2 from the bottle?

DarthBeer said:
It only took 2 cartridges to carbonate some apfelwein I filled one of these with. The first cartridge took about 3-4 days to absorb. It barely flowed out at all once the co2 cartridge was empty. Put a 2nd cartridge on there and left it for around another 4 days. It seemed carb'd enough and still dispensed almost all of the contents.
Click to expand...
 
keithbeats said:
Wow, so you actually carbed your apfelwein with the Home Draft System?
I bought a Coors Light Home Draft and can't wait to try this.
So, when you say it "absorbed" a cartridge, when you removed it to add a new cartridge, it didn't leak out the CO2 from the bottle?
Click to expand...

It started to barely drip out when opening the tap. When the co2 cartridge was removed, it didn't hiss or anything. A way to tell if its spent is to open the tap and listen for co2 bubbling into the bottle.
 
I'm wondering if you actually carbed your beer with two co2 cartridges that you added to the Home draft system.
Did it really work? :)

DarthBeer said:
It started to barely drip out when opening the tap. When the co2 cartridge was removed, it didn't hiss or anything. A way to tell if its spent is to open the tap and listen for co2 bubbling into the bottle.
Click to expand...
 
keithbeats said:
I'm wondering if you actually carbed your beer with two co2 cartridges that you added to the Home draft system.
Did it really work? :)
Click to expand...

It's not beer. It's apfelwein. Yes. It went from the ale pale into the home draft bottle. I was drinking some of it earlier tonight. It's still holding carbonation and tastes great. It's almost empty. I can post some pics of refilling it. Probably do that next week.
 
I just got a hold of one of these and am wondering if I primed my brew just like I was going to bottle, but filled one of these if it would carb alright?
 
Wondering, how thick are the walls on those 16grams? I've seen paintballers tap 12gram cartridges with a 1/8" npt fitting and then hook up a bulk tank to feed it. Maybe you could tap a 16gram and hook up a 7oz paintball tank to sit in the fridge next to it. Heck I know a machinist from my paintball days that could whip up a hunk of aluminum the size of a 16gram, but with a threaded hole to screw a fitting into. Hmmm. If I weren't sitting on a half built kegerator I might actually consider it.
 
tophatxj said:
I just got a hold of one of these and am wondering if I primed my brew just like I was going to bottle, but filled one of these if it would carb alright?
Click to expand...


Hey fellas, just read the entire post and have played around with both of these systems. The link listed below has a lot of useful info pertaining to TAD use, thought I throw it out here since the draft box is basically the same thing. Best of luck.

Tophatxj, it also contains natural carb instructions.:mug:
Link: https://secure.midwestsupplies.com/index.php/aitdownloadablefiles/download/aitfile/aitfile_id/450/
 
I guess the real problem is where to get food grade 16g carts that fit correctly and will not leak... most 16g carts for sale that I have found have a smaller neck diameter... I guess we can try to thicken the neck diameter with tape?

Here's a pic of the difference:

CARTS.jpg
 
Damn I just tried it for this for the first time and what I believed was some kind of pressure relief valve opened and I lost all of my c02. Any ideas on what I did wrong.
 
So what is the consensus on this? Is it a handy replacement for TAD and do the 16g cartridges from Midwest supply work?
My thoughts are to treat as a TAD system, carb 3L (or 6L) bottles with priming sugar, and when ready to dispense, remove the top of the 3L/6L bottle and tap with this.
I just don't want to buy $20 worth of beer that I will not drink, dump it out, and have something that doesn't work (especially after buying $13 worth of 16g carts).. ;)
 
Ibrewaletx said:
So what is the consensus on this? Is it a handy replacement for TAD and do the 16g cartridges from Midwest supply work?
My thoughts are to treat as a TAD system, carb 3L (or 6L) bottles with priming sugar, and when ready to dispense, remove the top of the 3L/6L bottle and tap with this.
I just don't want to buy $20 worth of beer that I will not drink, dump it out, and have something that doesn't work (especially after buying $13 worth of 16g carts).. ;)
Click to expand...

I'll check when I get home later. I'm pretty sure the Leland 16gram CO2 that is on the midwest site is the same brand that I bought from the LHB and it works fine with no problems.

I have had the pressure relief open and the vent the whole cartridge only one time. It was when tightening the cartridge while the bottle is vertical. Which the instructions say not to do anyway.

There's a small O-Ring that might come out easily when you remove the original cartridge. If its not in place then it will likely leak. It came out once when I was changing CO2. I had to fish under the fridge to get it back.

Other than that, it matches all the same info for the name brand TAD from the document linked in the thread above.
 

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