Corny Keg Chargers

[brilaneb]

So I am new to kegging and bought two 5 gallon corny kegs online and refurbished them and bought this little CO2 pocket charger that was advertised to be used in lieu of traditionally large CO2 tanks and only costs about $25. The directions say to keg the beer then pump 3 -16 gram cartridges into the keg for optimal carbonation. Does anyone have any experience with this and advice? I really don't want to screw up my first time kegging.

 

[IrregularPulse]

These are generally used for serving already kegged beers. There's no way to determine pressure with those since there is no guage. It's best to use a traditional tank to carb and one of these to serve if you're taking it somewhere.

 

[ArcaneXor]

It takes about three cartridges to dispense a keg. Carbing with them is impractical and uneconomical.

If you don't want to get a CO2 tank and regulator right away, prime your kegs to carbonate, and use the charger for dispensing.

 

[brilaneb]

Ok, I broke down and bought a 5 lb tank. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[certaut]

If you put a dime in the bottom of the cartridge cage you can use it with the 12g carts which you can get for 47cents ea. you can also use it to blow up bicycle tires,,,,

 

[I_B_Mongo]

If you put a dime in the bottom of the cartridge cage you can use it with the 12g carts which you can get for 47cents ea. you can also use it to blow up bicycle tires,,,,

Thanks for the tip! I'll be sure to try that out. It would be nice to keep a bunch on hand, since every time I want to take my 2.5 gallon to a party/tailgate/fishing I never seem to have any cartridges.

 

[gnef]

I would definitely recommend being careful with them, and making sure to NEVER pull the trigger while the quick disconnect is not attached to a keg. I have read of a thread where that was done accidentally, and the buildup of pressure inside the disconnect caused it to explode, and caused some damage to the guy holding the charger.