New to Kegging

[Dulahey]

I'm not sure if I should post this here, the beginner forum or DIY.

I haven't home brewed in almost 2 years. I bought a house and told myself I wasn't going to make another batch until I got a keg operation up and running. Well I'm craving my home brew now so I gotta get the keg system up and running.

I am planning on making a Keezer. I have 3 options for locations.

1. The best spot is an area in our utility room between a utility sink/cabinet and a wall. However it's only 34" wide. So a 5-cu ft freezer is all that'll fit there.

2. In my office where I spend most of my time. However, this room is carpeted and that just really seems weird to me. I can't imagine there's a fire hazard associated with something like that. I could put a board down first, but the whole thing just seems weird. Still, it's an option if I require bigger than 5-cu ft.

3. Garage. Last resort.

So for this post, I'm just going to ask questions assuming I'm going with option number 1.

My local Lowes has these in stock:http://www.lowes.com/pd_462643-33112-ICM050LC_0+1z0vie6__?productId=4756817&Ntt=chest+freezer&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNtt%3Dchest%2Bfreezer%26page%3D1&facetInfo=In%20Store
I am very sure this is the same as the Holiday branded one in the Chest Freezer Spec Sheets stickied thread. They have the exact same model numbers and appearance.

The minimum number of taps I want is 3. One of which to be nitro. So at a minimum, I need 3 ball lock kegs, a CO2 tank and a Nitro tank to fit inside it. Obviously a collar is required no matter what, then I am still undecided on taps through the collar or use a tower. I'm pretty sure that will fit.

My biggest concern is how much I'm going to miss not having extra room for charging and stuff like that. I still consider myself a huge beginner and am unsure of all the details that are unknown to me. I suppose when I'm needing to charge a keg, I'll only have two beers hooked up. I think I am okay with that.

Some other questions:

-How required are Perlick taps? It sounds like they are absolutely worth the investment.
-Are there any very thorough tutorials explaining all the details about hooking up the tubing and regulators and everything? I am sure there has to be some fantastic ones on these forums, but I just haven't seem them =\
-How long would a 5# CO2 tank last under this setup?
-What would my options be for buying commercial kegs and using in this system? I don't think I can squeeze a 1/6 barrel in without removing one of the other kegs. I know a local german restaurant that will fill any container you bring with their beer, but I'm sure this is already carbonated? Is this common?

Sorry for the newbish questions that are kind of all over the place. Any tips/helps/links are greatly appreciated. I just want to make sure I get this right before I dive in. If you guys think that 5 cu-ft is not going to cut it, then we'll move on to discuss other options.

 

[k15997]

I don't have much info as I'm new into kegging myself, I just got set up with a 5cu keezer from lowes. It's perfect for myself. I can fit two cornys and my co2. I know all freezers have a different configuration so who knows. I think you may need to go bigger though. Sorry I don't have more help I'm still new to kegging! Glad to get away from all those bottles though! Good luck!!!

 

[sputnam]

i have a stand up freezer in one carpeted room and a 2 tap kegerator in another....yeah it's a little weird, I agree. I cut a piece of plywood just as big as the footprint for the freezer to sit on. had em almost a year now. Another thing you might could do is remove the carpet a bit bigger than the freezer and tile/laminate a small decorative area.

i personally sugar prime my kegs and let them sit out until i have room in the kegerator. then i put it in my fridge a few days b4 hand. They are ready to taste immediately but it still takes a couple days to get drinkable.

yes to perlick taps!

i just went thru 4 (3) gallon kegs with cleaning in between each and my 5# tank is still going. i have a plan B and plan C-----plan B - i always bottle 3-6 beers from my keg so I will have beer in anything goes wrong, (gas runs out, compressor blows, power goes out, regulator breaks, etc) plan C - i have a back up c02 tank and back up regulator (these suck to purchase but I get people to get them for birthday or christmas)

as far as hooking stuff up - i know it sounds weird but when you have all the stuff in front of you it's pretty self explanitory. I was ultra worried about it too but once i got my kegerator in the house everything just kinda fell into place. If you are building a keezer there is PLENTY of tutorials that should get you everything you need to know.

you are a homebrewer - why would you buy a commercial keg? the ONLY time i drink commercial is when it's not possible to drink my own.

 

[jekeane]

I personally would start with a 7 if you wanted 3 taps. The GE 7cf can hold 4 ball locks and a 5lb tank all without a collar. Both home depot and Walmart have it on sale regularly for the price of the 5cf.

As far as being on carpet you can build a wheeled base from 2x4s and casters. Then get some baseboard that matches the rooms and attach that to your base if you want. You can paint the freezer with chalkboard or white board paint affix a wood top and boom you have something more like furniture.

Perlicks are the top of the line taps and are great but you will be paying more for 3 taps and shanks than you will for your freezer. On carpet you will need to be aware of dripping etc... old beer and carpet would lead to a lot of bad. I would consider just starting out with picnic taps that you keep in the freezer neatly coiled up. They are cost effective as well neat and clean while hidden away in the chest.

If you are set on taps and a collar, you will need a good drip tray over your carpet as well. I would go with a tower over a collar if I had to put it on carpet.

If you are like me 5cf wont be big enough then 7cf wont then an upright wont because moving kegs is annoying then youll buy the maytag 14cf and hope you are satisfied... One nice thing about the 7cf is if you outgrow it it can be used as a fermentation chamber for 2 carboys instead of 1 in the 5cf

 

[antony]

Kinda new to kegging myself but here's my two cents from the last two months of learning:

I agree with the other posts about going bigger than 5cuft, you can never have too much room but its easy to have too little. Also, I vote for setting it up in the garage. Mine's in an old stand up fridge in the garage & there's nothing like brewing outside and pulling a pint from the fridge just a few feet away. It also makes clean-up a breeze (my wife's favorite point). At least until you can get a more presentable piece of furniture to work inside your house.

Setting up the tanks and fittings is easy once you have everything in front of you. I was concerned as well but when all the pieces arrived it was a piece of cake.

Yes to perlick taps too. I've got two & love em both. My 5lb co2 tank has gone through 2 5g kegs for carbing/serving & is on its last breath just as two other 5g kegs are carbing. I'm hoping it'll be enough to serve keg 3 & 4 but I'm prepared to switch it out for serving.

Congrats to making the switch. As a newbie to kegging myself, I'm so glad I switched. Life is easier and the beer is better.

 

[Dulahey]

Well I ended up going with the 7-cu ft Idylis(Holiday) from Lowes. Ordered 3 corny kegs as well.

Now just to research and figure out what all I need. Having a nitro tap is definitely making it more complicated... and more expensive!

 

[Dulahey]

Purchase List

5# CO2 Tank
Primary Dual Regulator
2-Way Gas Manifold
3x Ball Lock Kegs (purchased)
Air Hose
Beer Hose
3x Quick Disconnect - Ball Lock Gas MFL
3x Quick Disconnect - Ball Lock Liquid MFL
Triple Faucet Tower
2x 630SS Perlick Faucets

Future Stout Expansion:
22 cu ft Nitro Tank
Nitro Regulator
Air Hose
Beer Hose
1x Quick Disconnect - Ball Lock Gas MFL
1x Quick Disconnect - Ball Lock Liquid MFL
Stout Faucet
1x Ball Lock Keg


I need the dual regulator so that one outlet can go to serving(through the 2way manifold) and the other for charging. Is this the best solution? What's different between this and a single regulator followed by a dual secondary regulator. How do they differ?

How much hose do I need? Just the minimum for air to get things around comfortably, right? And Beer hose is a little more complicated, I may need 10-12 feet depending on temperature and pressure I think? Sorry, I've seen things mentioned all around these forums, but just haven't seen an actual tutorial anywhere.

Most things I've read have said to go MFL over Barbed. Opinion? Also, what other small pieces are needed to connect these to the hoses? Just clamps?

How important is the material of the tower? What is the advantage of SS over a chrome plated one? Is rusting an issue from condensation? Does the plating really wear off of the tower?

In the future, when I add nitro, are all the hoses and fittings the same as CO2?

 

[normonster]

....Lowes has these in stock:http://www.lowes.com/pd_462643-33112-ICM050LC_0+1z0vie6__?productId=4756817&Ntt=chest+freezer&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNtt%3Dchest%2Bfreezer%26page%3D1&facetInfo=In%20Store


I just bought that exact freezer yesterday.

It has exactly enough room for two corny kegs and a 5 lb cO2 tank with regulator and several gas-outs.

I easily had enough room to drill out a hole in the back and put a temp probe in there, but I've discovered that because the coils go so high I may have a problem installing taps. I think there is plenty of room for the taps/shanks just along the very top lip, but the bolts to hold the drip tray may have to be somewhere down in the glycol cooling coil area which makes me nervous.

For now I'm just going to keep my party taps on the kegs and use it to cold condition and just open it up to pour. I'll worry about the permanent taps later (though I already have one perlic - those things are expensive too!!!).

The main reason I wanted this was so that I could delicate my other temp controlled fridge to fermentation temps and keep the ball rolling on new batches. With this addition I am able to ferment 20 gallons (10 primary & 10 secondary) in the first fridge and cold condition/serve another 10.

Works for me for now, and the price on this thing was right ($159 at Lowes..not the website).

 

[chickypad]

You only need a dual primary or the secondary if you want to run different serving pressures or are going to be burst carbing at high pressure. If you carb with set and forget and serve all 3 kegs at the same carb level you can go with just a single primary. One difference between a dual primary vs. a primary with secondary downstream is that the secondary always needs to be at a lower pressure. Edit: one advantage of the secondary though is if your tank is outside you can just run the one line in, then put your splitter and secondary inside the kegerator rather than drilling 2 lines off the dual primary.

As you stated, gas line length doesn't matter for function just as long as you have enough reach. 10-12 ft beer lines are a good place to start, or you can use this line length calculator which seems by consensus on here to be the most accurate.

I do prefer the ball locks with MFL flares myself over barbed for ease of changing lines, cleaning, etc. You will need swivel nuts and flares for the lines though. Hose fittings will be the same for nitro.

 

[ram5ey]

Good choice. I have the 5cf for fermenting and would hate it as a keezer. I actually have it on carpet and haven't seen one issue...it had little foot nubs.

The ss hardware is for life. Chrome plated will eventually wear down after prolonged exposure so then you have to go through the metallic taste and then the change....

If you want you can cut your holes for the shanks and then plug them with metal hole plugs until you purchase everything...

 

[Dulahey]

Thanks Chicky!

I'll definitely check out that line length calculator. That sounds like exactly what I was missing.

Any opinions on how valuable it is to be able to burst carb? I was thinking at first that was something I definitely wanted to have, but your post got me thinking about it. I'd really like to cut costs down where I can, and that regulator would definitely cut it down. Is it basically just a patience thing?

Also, thanks for letting me know about the swivel nuts and flares.

 

[normonster]

....I have the 5cf for fermenting and would hate it as a keezer....

Why? Just size?

 

[ram5ey]

Yeah. I can't imagine only fitting two kegs. I have a separate 7cf freezer for my keezer which is nice cause it can take 4.

 

[chickypad]

Any opinions on how valuable it is to be able to burst carb? I was thinking at first that was something I definitely wanted to have, but your post got me thinking about it. I'd really like to cut costs down where I can, and that regulator would definitely cut it down. Is it basically just a patience thing?.

I'm sure you'll get different opinions. I've never had a need to carb a keg in 1-2 days so it's not a big deal to me. Most of my beers are in the kegs by 2 wks, so even with set and forget I'm still drinking them close to 3 wks out if I want (it probably takes 2 wks for full carb but I find it's usually most of the way there by 7-8 days, at least enough to start enjoying). That's fast enough for me and I like not having to worry about overshooting if I forget to drop it. I do have a secondary for carbing at lower levels for my stout faucets. For years, though, I just had a single regulator and ran 5-6 lines all at 2.5 vols. I guess it depends on how set you are on carbing to style.

 

[Dulahey]

Chicky, can you tell me a little more about having a dedicated charging line for stouts? Because I am planning ahead on all this so that my 3rd tap is Nitro.

 

[kombat]

I am planning on making a Keezer. I have 3 options for locations.

3. Garage. Last resort.

Don't do it, you'll kill it.

I bought a used chest freezer and read the warnings about keeping it in the garage through the winter. I figured, "Meh, what's the problem?" It lasted the winter (because it wasn't actually doing anything - only the heating [light bulb] circuit was running), but in the spring, when I needed the freezer to do its chilling thing again, it was dead. It would run and run and run continuously, and never get below 40° F. It was scrap. I can't explain the physics, but keeping a freezer outdoors (even in a garage) through the winter will kill it.

 

[chickypad]

Chicky, can you tell me a little more about having a dedicated charging line for stouts? Because I am planning ahead on all this so that my 3rd tap is Nitro.

I have a secondary downstream from my main manifold that I keep at 5 psi with a few lines coming off to carb beers going on the stout faucet. I aim for 1.7 vols, which is about 5 psi at 42*, then switch to beergas for dispensing. I also use those lines for bottling from the keg so I don't have to mess with the pressure on my primary.

 

[Dulahey]

Sounds like I just need to get the dual primary so that I have it when I need it.

 

[Man-O-Leisure]

Ive never used kegs so just a quick question.. When Kegging, is the CO2 bottles a must?

I mean, if i were to prime the beer just the same as when bottling, but put it in a keg instead, then in time it will be carbonated right? or is a co2 bottles still needed for some reason?

Also, i know this is about a keezer setup, but just so i know, how to pubs run cold beer on tap? id imagine the room storing all the kegs isnt cold, so are the lines from the kegs up to the taps chilled or run through ice or something?

 

[normonster]

Yes, you can naturally carb kegs as with bottles. Did that a few weeks ago and it worked great. From there though you need pressure to get it out of the keg so Co2 or at least air tap would still be needed.

Pub systems vary from cold storage to glycol cooled beer lines....lots of ways to go there.

 

[chickypad]

Yes you need a CO2 source to dispense and replace the CO2 used so the beer doesn't go flat or become oxidized. That's why when you get a commercial keg and use a hand pump with air you need to drink the keg in a couple days. Bars generally do have either cold rooms or kegerators for the kegs, and typically glycol systems for the lines as mentioned.

 

[dnslater]

If you naturally carbonate you will likely only get enough pressure to push out a couple of beers, and then your beer will naturally go flat. There are folks here with a lot of kegs who carbonate them warm under high pressure and then run the lines through a chill plate heat exchanger to cool the beer prior to reaching the tap.