Sanke Setup Question

So I got everything I need to get my Sanke keg setup, alls I have to do is get my CO2 tank filled. I few questions though: this is the kit that I'm using to do my conversion. First of all, should I clean the picnic faucet, and if so how? Next, these little plastic snaps that squeeze the CO2 hose onto the regulator and tap seem like they won't be doing all that much squeezing: should I maybe use some of those screw-type hose clamps instead? Also, the nipple on the tap that my CO2 line runs to is actually removable, via a screw-on collar. How tight should this thing be? Its hand-tight right now. Same question for the picnic tap: how tight should I screw it on? I didn't get any installation/instruction manual, which I find odd.
Thanks!
ezziey

Yes, you'll want to clean that cobra faucet. You can just run a bunch of hot water through it as there shouldn't be any crud or beerstone on it if it's new. The faucet will unscrew to make cleaning easier. Plastic clamps will hold just fine & use a wrench to tighten those connections, the last thing you want is leaking CO2 or even worse leaking beer!!!

Cool, thanks a lot for all the tips. There is supposed to be some sort of o-ring type gasket between the regulator and the CO2 tank right? Where can I get this? Also, do you guys put teflon tape on all threads, or just the threads on the tank, or what?

Yes, there is a gasket between the regulator and tank. I would suggest the teflon ones over the paper ones (or whatever the other one is made of). I usually only put teflon tape on the threaded connections like the gauges and such. The gasket should be enough for the tank. Make sure you check all those CO2 connections well too. I would also suggest a soapy solution sprayed over the connections to make sure they are not leaking. Burning through a tank in a week sucks. Good luck man and cheers!

The gasket should have come with your kit, if it didn't you can pick one up at your local welding supply shop or wherever you get your tank filled. No teflon tape should be needed the gaskets that come with the kit should seal everything up just fine. The soapy water suggestion is a good idea as well.

I'll do the soapy water thing. As for the teflon gasket, it seems after reading more closely the contents of my kit, that this is optional. I must have opted out

ezzieyguywuf said:

I'll do the soapy water thing. As for the teflon gasket, it seems after reading more closely the contents of my kit, that this is optional. I must have opted out

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The paper gasket will do. Just dont expect it to last after a few times cranking down on it.

Well, that is to say that I guess since I opted out, I got NO gasket. Its all good though, $0.67 later at LHBS and I got two non-paper ones. woot! Now I just gotta make a trip to the hardware store for some teflon tape.

Oh yea, one more question: should I just push these CO2 lines as far as I can on the conical shaped nipples, or should I dunk them in some boiling water so that I can push them even further?

You're supposed to use that gasket?

ezzieyguywuf said:

Oh yea, one more question: should I just push these CO2 lines as far as I can on the conical shaped nipples, or should I dunk them in some boiling water so that I can push them even further?

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I would dunk them in hot water. The farther on the tighter the seal. You definitely dont want a leaking connection. A plastic hose clamp will help too.

robbiex0r said:

You're supposed to use that gasket?

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Yep, or you will leak CO2 slowly and run through a bottle quick.

Any particular trick to actually tapping the keg? Do all the lines need to be attached to the tap first?

WrongCoastBrewery said:

Yep, or you will leak CO2 slowly and run through a bottle quick.

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My bottles aren't empty yet... but I guess I should correct this.

ezzieyguywuf said:

Any particular trick to actually tapping the keg? Do all the lines need to be attached to the tap first?

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Yeah, all the lines should be attached. Make sure the lever is in the unlocked position, I would turn the gas down to zero, and then tap it. Adjust the gas and away you go. Adjusting the gas is more so you dont make a mess on accident. You dont have to.

12-14 psi right? Is there different optimum pressures per beer type? This is a porter.

edit: also, is the fridge temp and the beer temp necessarily the same? I have a thermometer in a cup full of water in the fridge, which reads a little over 40F. When I drank the first brew, though, it felt much much warmer than that.

ezzieyguywuf said:

12-14 psi right? Is there different optimum pressures per beer type? This is a porter.

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I would check with the distributor to see what they say, but serving pressure is usually from 8-10psi. This is more to keep the foam down in the lines. I would even say 8psi would be enough because I doubt you have 6+ feet of beer line in your kegerator. If you do, then you can go higher no problem.

Oh wow, that low huh? Its not going to affect my beer carbonation? I plan on having this on tap for ~ 2 months.


edit: yea, just poured the second cup and it was all foam. hrm.... Brought pressure down to 10 psi.

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You may lose some carbonation, but with the beer being cold, it wont be much. If you are worried about it and/or you know you are going away for a period of time, bump the pressure up to say 12psi. Just remember to vent the pressure off (i.e. turn the pressure off to the keg and pour a pint) and reset it. Personally I think with a porter leaving it at 8-10psi would be fine.

Hrm, ok thanks. Also, my serving hose is only 2 ft. Is this going to hurt me a lot foam-wise?

edit: ugh, nothing but foam. this is my hose

So I'm going out to Lowe's, like in 2 minutes, to buy some longer hose. What ID should I get? How critical is it that I get 'food grade'? And is vinyl tubing /the/ thing to get?

ezzieyguywuf said:

So I'm going out to Lowe's, like in 2 minutes, to buy some longer hose. What ID should I get? How critical is it that I get 'food grade'? And is vinyl tubing /the/ thing to get?

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I would go with food grade always. 3/16" ID tubing is what your looking for. Get yourself at least four feet.

Will do, thank you so much everybody for all the help!

3/16 id THICK WALLED beverage grade tubing, otherwise you'll still have foam.

Crap, I don't know if what I got is necessarily thick-walled...and its not food grade because Lowe's didn't have any. I got 10 ft of the stuff though ($2.47). Question: when I go to replace my current hose, would I be better off taking the tap off the keg to do so, or will releiving the pressure and just unscrewing the current hose be fine? I worry that this method will allow O2 into the keg and I don't want that happening.

First - Don't swap it out! Beverage Grade tubing is smooth walled to prevent foaming, the stuff you got isn't. It's also rated for pressure so it doesn't bulge in spots and create foaming.

Second - You'll need to take the tap off to swap the tubing. If you don't then promise you'll video tape it and put it on YouTube for us to watch.

So you suggest I just go to my LHBS and get some real food-grade tubing? This is rather dissapointing to me, but I guess I can just keep pouring foam until I get a chance to get there Also, thanks for the tip on taking the tap off. Whether I decided to take the tap off or not, I was gonna close the CO2 tank valve and relieve the keg pressure, so I don't think anything exciting would have happened. Like I said, though. I was concerned about the O2.

ezzieyguywuf said:

So you suggest I just go to my LHBS and get some real food-grade tubing? This is rather dissapointing to me, but I guess I can just keep pouring foam until I get a chance to get there Also, thanks for the tip on taking the tap off. Whether I decided to take the tap off or not, I was gonna close the CO2 tank valve and relieve the keg pressure, so I don't think anything exciting would have happened. Like I said, though. I was concerned about the O2.

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Yes, go and get the beverage tubing. Until then just deal with the short foamy hose. You won't oxidize the beer by taking the tap off, but if there is ANY positive pressure at all when you take that cobra tap off the beer will flow so you'd better have a glass ready! Ask me how I know...

My beer tastes a little carbed, and its at 8 psi. Maybe I should just throttle it down some...

edit: against your better judgement, I'm going to use the non food-grade stuff, at least for now.

If it's foamy or tastes flat after coming out of the end of that tap, it's probably the hose. The irregularities on the walls of the hose will knock the CO2 out of solution in the hose. Give it a shot to see what happens, you may have gotten a good batch of tubing, nothing to lose!

So far, the 10' hose has eliminated foam at ~8 psi. I have no flatnees yet. I'll keep you guys informed.

Somehow, I keep getting air in my beer line, i.e. its not just beer in there, air pockets form. What could be the cause of this? Its rather annoying, because these pockets are giving me foam. Could it be that the line is too long? I /have/ been storing the tap itself at a lower height than where it comes out of the tap: could this be the problem? should I store it higher up? Help!

If it were me I'd follow the suggestions of those who already replied since they seem to have experience regarding food grade hoses, hose length, psi etc.

ezzieyguywuf said:

Somehow, I keep getting air in my beer line, i.e. its not just beer in there, air pockets form. What could be the cause of this? Its rather annoying, because these pockets are giving me foam. Could it be that the line is too long? I /have/ been storing the tap itself at a lower height than where it comes out of the tap: could this be the problem? should I store it higher up? Help!

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It's not "Air" it's CO2 coming out of solution because the walls of that tubing aren't perfectly smooth like "Beverage Grade Tubing".

Not to say "I told you so." but...

Lol, you did told me so. I'll get some beverage grade tubing as soon as I can. I find it hard to beleive that the smoothness of the wall causes this, as the CO2 pockets occur when the beer is just sitting in the line, not when I'm pouring. I fail to see how surface roughness would affect a stationary fluid.

ezzieyguywuf said:

Lol, you did told me so. I'll get some beverage grade tubing as soon as I can. I find it hard to beleive that the smoothness of the wall causes this, as the CO2 pockets occur when the beer is just sitting in the line, not when I'm pouring. I fail to see how surface roughness would affect a stationary fluid.

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Find it hard to believe or not, but that's the reason there is beverage grade tubing that is more expensive than the standard vinyl stuff at HD/Lowes. Stationary or not the rough wall of the tubing provides a nucleation site, think Coke and Mentos.

hrm. I'd like to read up on this phenomenon, as it interests me.

Here is a good thread on beverage tubing...might not want to discard that Lowes tubing quite yet if its poly??...a good read.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/beer-line-tests-solution-plastic-taste-60380/