Clueless - Beginner Upgrade to Keg?

[TheCADJockey]

Hey all. I currently have a basic setup with a few decent additions but I still bottle. I would like to eventually get into kegging and have been keeping an eye on craigslist. The problem however, is that I have no idea what I am looking for and anything that is already constructed is way out of my price range. Anyway, I found this and it is affordable and seems like it is in good condition.

Beer Keg (Freshkeg)

Would this get me anywhere on my quest to eventually get into kegs? Am I way off base? Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys.

 

[DevilNuts]

I just bought my first used kegs for $80 each, and those are 5 gal. Doesn't seem terrible.

 

[brew_ny]

soda kegs are easy to use nice big opening to put beer in

if you have a soda place around you or it maybe listed as carbonics the sell used kegs most of the time

pinlocks most of the time are cheaper

a couple links to give you a look and some ideas

http://www.homebrewing.org/product....m=ProductAds&gclid=CKSbx4rrscECFSgS7AodfgMAkA


https://bvrgelements.com/product/5-Gallon-PIN-Lock-Kegs__Used/?gclid=CO38lYHrscECFUMV7Aod1jQAwQ

 

[TheCADJockey]

Okay, I have seen these pinlock ones come up in conversation a lot. So maybe that would be the best place to start, to get one or two of those and go from there? Just found an immaculate keezer with two of those and all the equipment for $800. Fawk....If I wasn't getting married in two weeks I would have the money then I would just have to learn how to use it.

 

[Sir_niveda]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/fresh-keg-170092/

Seems doable, though a tad unconventional. I wouldn't mind one just for the all-in-one portability. Could be cool if you want to keg half the batch and bottle condition the rest.

Yes you need a sankey tap to fill it. But sankey taps have one way valves in them. So you need to remove the valves as you are putting beer in the out port. You clean them about the same way. I put water and sodium percarbonate in it then dispense it out via the included tap. This way I clean all of it at once.

This is the only part that gets me, what exactly do you need to fill it?

 

[RhodySeth]

If you're willing to be patient you can piece together a lot of the stuff you'll need (kegs, CO2 tank, chest freezer) on Craigslist for a decent price. I would recommend going that route because after a while it all starts to add up with additional costs you didn't think about.

For example, I got two kegs, a regulator and a 20 lb CO2 tank on Craigslist for $120, which I thought was a pretty good deal. Then I picked up a Craigslist 5 cubic foot frezer for $75. Hey, I'm doing alright so far. But then I dropped another $100 on all the additional parts and tubing and everything that I needed. Okay, now we're getting up there. Don't forget to fill the CO2 tank. Hey, more money! And then various trips to Home Depot for this and that as I constructed the collar. All told it cost me about $400 which isn't too bad for a two keg setup but I'm glad I started off on Craigslist.

 

[brew_ny]

Okay, I have seen these pinlock ones come up in conversation a lot. So maybe that would be the best place to start, to get one or two of those and go from there? Just found an immaculate keezer with two of those and all the equipment for $800. Fawk....If I wasn't getting married in two weeks I would have the money then I would just have to learn how to use it.

offer them 500 cash

I bought all my pinlocks from a place by where I work I bought 19 kegs for 120 dollars

they are a soda place stop in for poppets bought kegs

1 was a dog it had a pin hole we tried to weld it and made it worst

I would call around I did and it paid off nice

low on bucks buy a chest freezer used get a STC1000 , picnic tap, regulator and gas line

you are serving beer for cheap you can always build a kezzer and use the chest freezer

for your fermenter cool

all the best

S_M

 

[metanoia]

If you're willing to be patient you can piece together a lot of the stuff you'll need (kegs, CO2 tank, chest freezer) on Craigslist for a decent price. I would recommend going that route because after a while it all starts to add up with additional costs you didn't think about.

For example, I got two kegs, a regulator and a 20 lb CO2 tank on Craigslist for $120, which I thought was a pretty good deal. Then I picked up a Craigslist 5 cubic foot frezer for $75. Hey, I'm doing alright so far. But then I dropped another $100 on all the additional parts and tubing and everything that I needed. Okay, now we're getting up there. Don't forget to fill the CO2 tank. Hey, more money! And then various trips to Home Depot for this and that as I constructed the collar. All told it cost me about $400 which isn't too bad for a two keg setup but I'm glad I started off on Craigslist.

That's my only issue with a keezer right now, it's so much most costly up front.

 

[ericbw]

I'd skip that because it's too complicated. A built in Co2 tank?

Piece it together slowly. Adventures on Homebrewing sometimes has good deals on beat up pin locks. Others do, too.

Keg outlet and keg connection both have good deals on basic setups with a paintball tank. You can grow it from there.

What adds up is faucets and shanks.

 

[RhodySeth]

That's my only issue with a keezer right now, it's so much most costly up front.

I hear that. I happened to get "lucky" in that the new job I started back in April forgot to pay me for the first week of work. I used that found money to begin assembling my kegging setup.

 

[dyqik]

TBH, for the first keg(s) and kit, I'd go with a kegconnection kit or similar from another supplier. Get a CO2 bottle, regulator, hoses, tap and a refurbed keg in the system of your choice in one complete pack for around $210 (pin lock, more for ball). Add your own fridge or freezer from craiglist. This saves a lot of the hassle of making sure you've bought everything you need in one go, and lets you get started.

With one pin or one or two ball lock kegs you can start with a cheap undercounter fridge, rather than a more complex keezer build.

I'd then add kegs as you find good deals on them, and eventually add more taps, which can be done with just a wye-splitter, extra gas and beer lines and an extra tap, before you upgrade into dual regulators etc.

 

[TheCADJockey]

Yeah if the wedding wasn't so soon I would likely just buy that keezer since it looks like it has everything. I just really know nothing about plumbing/electrical nor do I really want to... I'd much rather just get it and figure out how to use it. Anyone have a link to bare minimum needs to keg beer?

EDIT: Sorry got slammed at work in middle of this post and missed new posts... I didn't know there was some sort of keg kit to help get started up, that sounds perfect i'll have to look into this option for sure. For the amount I brew and space I have currently, only one to two of those pinlock kegs looks perfect for me. Stupider question...is that what people are calling Corny kegs?

 

[paperairplane]

I've bought a lot from keg connection - great service and their prices are hard to beat. It took me a little over a year and a couple lucky finds, but I'm pretty happy with my setup now.

You need:
1. Refrigerator or freezer - freezer needs thermostat like a STC or a Love, fridge doesn't
2. CO2 tank - 5# is good for a lot of beer, but a 15 or 20 is nice.
3. CO2 regulator
4. CO2 manifold - this splits 1 gas line into multiple gas lines if you want to serve more than 1 at a time
5. Kegs - pin lock or ball lock, both do the same thing equally well, just with different fittings
6. Picnic taps or faucets/shanks - a picnic tap is the little plastic tap like at a keg party, a faucet is like a bar tap. Faucets need shanks - and you can go from the basic brass faucet to stainless perlicks, perlicks are very nice, but are triple or more in cost.
7. Drip tray - keeps spilled beer off the floor. I use a plastic spackle tray.

You also need hoses, clamps, and some small parts - if you order from keg connection they will assemble all of this for you.

We are having a party in a few weeks and I want beer in my yard (keezer is in basement) - so as a mobile setup you need 1 keg, 1 picnic tap, 1 CO2 tank and regulator and a trash can or cooler big enough for your keg. This isn't sexy or ideal, but certainly works to pour beer. This is how I started until I found a cheap chest freezer - I got a magic chef 6.8 at HD for about $100 on a scratch and dent sale. I made a 2*8 collar and it will hold 4 pin lock kegs.

 

[TheCADJockey]

I've bought a lot from keg connection - great service and their prices are hard to beat. It took me a little over a year and a couple lucky finds, but I'm pretty happy with my setup now.

You need:
1. Refrigerator or freezer - freezer needs thermostat like a STC or a Love, fridge doesn't
2. CO2 tank - 5# is good for a lot of beer, but a 15 or 20 is nice.
3. CO2 regulator
4. CO2 manifold - this splits 1 gas line into multiple gas lines if you want to serve more than 1 at a time
5. Kegs - pin lock or ball lock, both do the same thing equally well, just with different fittings
6. Picnic taps or faucets/shanks - a picnic tap is the little plastic tap like at a keg party, a faucet is like a bar tap. Faucets need shanks - and you can go from the basic brass faucet to stainless perlicks, perlicks are very nice, but are triple or more in cost.
7. Drip tray - keeps spilled beer off the floor. I use a plastic spackle tray.

You also need hoses, clamps, and some small parts - if you order from keg connection they will assemble all of this for you.

We are having a party in a few weeks and I want beer in my yard (keezer is in basement) - so as a mobile setup you need 1 keg, 1 picnic tap, 1 CO2 tank and regulator and a trash can or cooler big enough for your keg. This isn't sexy or ideal, but certainly works to pour beer. This is how I started until I found a cheap chest freezer - I got a magic chef 6.8 at HD for about $100 on a scratch and dent sale. I made a 2*8 collar and it will hold 4 pin lock kegs.

Wow this is perfect. Thanks so much man. I am kind of torn which way to go if I make this jump. There are a lot of super cheap refrigerators around here if not even free... people just don't want them. I do like the super clean look of a lot of keezers people have made out of the little chest freezers though. It just seems complicated because I've never even known anyone to have a keg system. Its exciting and a little daunting. Definitely going to check out that site and keep an eye on craigslist.

 

[bbycrts]

I bought two of the "loose handle" pinlocks from Adventures in Homebrewing CHEAP, pinlock gas in coupling, pinlock liquid out, 5 feet of gas line, 6 feet of skinny beer line (3/8?), and a shank and Perlick faucet found cheap on eBay. That's the extent of what I purchased at retail outlets. Found a fridge for $20 on Craigslist and a CO2 cylinder/Taprite regulator on Craigslist for $75. Replaced the inside of the door with a piece of plexiglas I had. Total invested less than $200 and I have my favorite brew on tap. And it was fun! What a feeling of accomplishment the first time I pulled that tap handle and the beer came pouring out! (AND - to save some cost you don't have to get the shank and faucet - just get a picnic faucet and you'll still have kegged beer on tap - you just have to go to the trouble of opening the fridge door to get it )

 

[dyqik]

Corny kegs (Cornelius kegs) are ex-soda kegs, usually 5 gallons, and come in two kinds, pin lock and ball lock. Ball lock are currently much more expensive secondhand but are very slightly narrower, just enough that you can get two into a dorm/undercounter type fridge without major modifications (unless they are converted from pin lock kegs, which many are).

If you can buy and house a bigger fridge cheaply, going pin lock will save you some cash.

Since the only difference is the fittings on the keg ends of the lines, it's not a big deal to mix and match pin and ball lock kegs, just slightly annoying having to buy two kinds of connectors.

 

[TheCADJockey]

Oh yeah.. If I can figure out what I'm doing and what I will need, it will definitely have the faucet tap. Then ya can get sweet ass handles right? Thanks guys, so much info, so little time.

 

[bbycrts]

Oh yeah.. If I can figure out what I'm doing and what I will need, it will definitely have the faucet tap. Then ya can get sweet ass handles right? Thanks guys, so much info, so little time.

I'm surprised at just how much the coolest sweet ass handles cost! I'm going to make my own, I think...