Beer line question

[surreal_trip]

So I got the go ahead to build myself a keezer and I have a few questions. I'm not much of a drinker more of a social habit for me really. How long can I keep these kegs tapped for? They may. Go two- three weeks between uses, so I'm a lil worried about the lines getting funky. Not worried about the beer in the keg though. Are my fears unfounded?

 

[Arg1129]

I have two kegs taped at once and have beer in the line a week or two between pulls and haven't had any problems with the 4 separate kegs on two lines. If you clean and sanitize the lines before taping and between kegs you should be fine. the system is closed and unless the keg is dirty the lines should stay as clean as the beer in the keg. The only issue is scale buildup but line is cheap and you can buy more if that turns out to be an issue.

 

[beertroll]

I don't know anything about pin locks, but ball lock kegs are super easy to connect and disconnect. You could always just pop your lines off the kegs every couple of weeks for a quick cleaning. The beer in the keg itself should keep for a very long time.

 

[zachattack]

The beer in the line is cold and pressurized just like the beer in the keg. So it should be fine. If you're sensitive to plasticky tastes it might be worth it to use barrier tubing, otherwise beer sitting in the plastic line for 3 weeks might pick up some off flavors. I'd also recommended Perlick Perl faucets (525SS or similar) so that the faucets don't gum up on you.

 

[beertroll]

+1 on Perlicks. I just replaced my lousy no-name faucets with Perlicks. It's difficult to overstate the difference. The Perlicks pour beautifully, and the levers are silky smooth every time. My old faucets used to jam up after a couple of hours without a pour. Quality faucets are worth every cent.

 

[snowveil]

It's worth investing in higher quality line.

Farmhouse brewing has accuflex bev-seal ultra line for a decent price. It's a royal pain to get installed, but doesn't leech off-flavors into your beer from the line.

The old line I used prior to upgrading the bev-seal would taint my beers with an intense plastic taste in less than a day's time.


Of course, you could always just dump out the first few ounces of each pour and not have this issue....but if you haven't made your purchase yet I'd recommend the bev-seal.

 

[erikpete18]

I'll throw my voice in as well for the bev-seal lines. Its not that much more in the grand scheme of things, and while I never had a problem with the previous lines I was using, when I upgraded the piece of mind was worth it for me. Will also say definitely get the perlicks. The first kegerator I had used two of the standard cheap faucets, and since it was in the basement there would be a day or two between pulls. Granted I now know that there are some cleaning steps that can be taken with the cheap taps to get them to work a little better, but after breaking off countless black taps after they gummed up on me, Perlicks were an easy choice for round 2.

Otherwise, so long as you run a little cleaning solution and sanitizing solution through between kegs, and your beer/kegs aren't contaminated, you shouldn't have anything to worry about in the lines.

 

[LLBeanJ]

If you do decide to go with bev-seal line, do yourself a favor and also get the John Guest fittings and MFL tailpieces that make installation of this line a snap.

http://www.isopurewater.com/John-Guest-PM4508F4S-Female-Flare-Connector-516-Tube-X-14-FL-Gray_p_5504.html
http://www.chicompany.net/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=2879

You'll need 2x JG fittings, 1x tailpiece, and 1x MFL liquid disconnect per tap.