Can I use this to keg and carbonate my brews?

[DaltonD]

Hey guys, I'm still fairly new to the home brew scene and I know absolutely nothing about kegging home brew so forgive me if this is a dumb question. I've got a few brews under my belt and I just recently started doing 5 gallon all grain batches and have been bottling. I've been wanting to build a keg set up but haven't had the funds. Though my father built this set up when I was a kid and used it for store bought half barrels. Everything still works, even has Co2 in the tank after not being used in years. With a good cleaning it would be ready to go. Is there any additional equipment I would need other than a refillable keg? Would this system be able to carbonate my beer? Thanks in advance guys.

 

[cubalz]

Yes. Sort of. You can use the fridge, CO2 tank and regulator but you will need to switch out the keg tap to traditional ball lock or pin lock style taps for both the gas and liquid sides. Which style you choose depends on what Cornelius kegs you purchase. What you have on there currently does not work for homebrew. The first thing you need to do is pull off that tap handle and drive over it a few times.

 

[mirthfuldragon]

That's a commercial keg adapter- probably a sanke "D" coupler. It is used for commercial kegs. If you have a compatible keg, you can use it. However, most homebrewers use soda kegs (corney kegs, cornelius kegs, etc), which have ball lock or pin lock style connectors.

To convert, you can cut the tubing at the connections to the sanke coupler, put in the appropriate ball lock or pin lock fittings, and then use those connections on an appropriate homebrew keg.

What you can use: co2 tank, regulator, co2 supply line, beer shank and faucet.
What you will have difficulty using: sanke coupler.
What you will need: keg(s) - corneys are probably easier to use. Also, appropriate fittings.