New to kegging

I'm ready to buy a keg setup. What do I need to know?
I see the corny keg, co2 tank setups for around $160.

Get ready to spend more than that. One tap just isn't enough. Next you'll need a new keg fridge, a draft tower, perlick's and maybe a glycol chiller to keep the tower cold

That's about the right price to get started, plus a fridge of some kind.

Todd at KegConnection has everything you need to get started for $158.95. He's a good guy to work with and I'll buy from him again.

http://stores.kegconnection.com/Detail.bok?no=20

Can I store beer in the corny kegs without a co tank attached? If so, how long?
Do I carbonate it first and then disconnect the co?

Also, how many kegs will a 5lb co tank last?

Is there any difference between a cornelius keg and a firestone keg?

This is how I started 5 months ago. Bought the kegging setup from my LHBS, but it wasn't good enough. I ended up buying a chest freezer off of craigslist, put 4 ventmatics on the collar, and am now looking for my next project!

It won't end there! Just to warn ya.

Cos said:

Can I store beer in the corny kegs without a co tank attached? If so, how long?
Do I carbonate it first and then disconnect the co?

Also, how many kegs will a 5lb co tank last?

Is there any difference between a cornelius keg and a firestone keg?

Click to expand...

Yes, you can store your beer without being on gas constantly. You will need to purge the head space with CO2 and put it under pressure (I do 30 psi at room temp) to keep everything sealed.

I get 6-8 kegs from one 5# tank. I went ahead and picked up a 10# exchange tank and extra regulator from the welding supply shop and use it to purge kegs, move star san from keg to keg, and carbonate beer at room temp. Since I'm carbing at room temp off the 10#, I'm only using the 5# tank to push beer, and should get closer to 15 kegs from it.

I'm not an expert on the differences between corny's and firestones, but I think the major difference is one is ball lock and the other (firestone) is pin lock. No real big difference other than the kind of connectors used. I would say that you'll find more ball lock kegs than pin locks though.

Like jdoiv, I use my CO2 bottle for more than just serving beer, so it is hard to say, by my experience, how many kegs you will get. Just make sure you know where your local gas dealer is, so that you can refill quickly when you need to, and it won't matter.

I like to use the CO2 to push start a syphon when racking to a secondary or to the keg, etc. Also, like jdoiv does, I use it to move sanitizer around, either between kegs, or syphoning from a carboy, etc. On top of that, it also gets used if I feel like hauling out the counter-pressure bottle filler. If you ever decide to get a filtering system, you will use some of your CO2 on that also, as you push the beer through the filter, from one keg to another.

A full CO2 bottle is a wonderful thing to have around.

I definitely have to agree with Chris though, once you get started, it is like everything else in home brewing, it spreads faster than bacterial grown in an unwashed carboy.

There is no real difference between Cornie (Cornelius) kegs and Firestone kegs they will have a different type of pressure relief valve. But they are just different manufactors.

The difference between ball lock and pin lock kegs is the type of connection that goes to your CO2 and Tap. So make sure you know what type of connection is being offered.

Jvoid is correct that ball locks are more available (easier to find) also they may be slightly cheaper.

Here's a basic system for $89 from the people I got my starter keg kit from.

http://www.homebrewing.org/Homebrew-Kegging-System_p_24-69.html

They also have 5# steel co2 tanks for $65