Differing keg pressures? Manifold usage?

[treesmcgee]

So I've got my keggerator built, my 50# co2 tank filled, my fermenter bubbling. I've got 4 shanks/taps on my keggerator and planned on filling 3 corny kegs with homebrew and saving one tap for a commercial keg (sanke). I bought the coupler for the sanke keg. My questions comes to pressures. Will a 4-way gas manifold be proper for this usage? Having four kegs (3 corny, 1 sanke) on tap at all times? Will each keg require different keg pressures (meaning I couldnt use a manifold?) I'm really looking for some clarification before I buy this kit. Here's the kit I was looking to buy: http://www.midwestsupplies.com/brew-logic-quadruple-tap-draft-system-with-4-way-gas-manifold.html

 

[WAORGANY]

So I've got my keggerator built, my 50# co2 tank filled, my fermenter bubbling. I've got 4 shanks/taps on my keggerator and planned on filling 3 corny kegs with homebrew and saving one tap for a commercial keg (sanke). I bought the coupler for the sanke keg. My questions comes to pressures. Will a 4-way gas manifold be proper for this usage? Having four kegs (3 corny, 1 sanke) on tap at all times? Will each keg require different keg pressures (meaning I couldnt use a manifold?) I'm really looking for some clarification before I buy this kit. Here's the kit I was looking to buy: http://www.midwestsupplies.com/brew-logic-quadruple-tap-draft-system-with-4-way-gas-manifold.html

You should be fine if you want everything at the same pressure..if you want different pressures you will need to crank up the bottle and use regulators on the out side of your manifold...that's the only way to do it....I run everything on my system at the same levels except for two kegs, and for them I have another 5 lbs tank with a separate regulator.

 

[treesmcgee]

And what are the odds that I'd need different pressures? I know, say, some styles of beer are less carbonated or more, but I usually brew mid-range ales and lagers, so I'm assuming not a huge difference in pressures? And youre saying that I can put a regulator on the line coming from the manifold to set the pressure for a specific keg? Thanks for the information!

 

[motobrewer]

yeah, I have one reg and a 3-way manifold. in the past year it hasn't been a terrible issue. then i brewed a hefeweizen and longed for an additional reg.

yes, you can put a reg after the manifold. but remember, the manifold always has the highest pressure. so if you have a 3way and you want 15psi and 10psi, and you only have one additional reg, 2 beers will get 15psi and one will get 10psi.

 

[devilishprune]

Really it's up to you. If you want them to have different pressures you can do that, but if you're fine without that then I say don't worry about it. When I built my kegerator I couldn't justify the cost of having different pressures, so I just got a manifold.

 

[treesmcgee]

Ya I feel ya on the justification, I am looking to hone in on a few ale recipes and a good lager before I move on to other styles, so I suppose for the time being the manifold is the best way to go. One last question: I have a coupler for a commercial sanke keg that I wanted to put on tap (lets say, a 1/6th barrel of bells amber ale), there wont be any problem with the pressure between a homebrew and a commercial keg, correct? Especially since I would have similar beer styles that require similar pressures?

 

[devilishprune]

No, pressure is pressure. You can fill your entire house with 12 psi and carbonate in your bathtub if you wanted.

 

[jgourd]

No, pressure is pressure. You can fill your entire house with 12 psi and carbonate in your bathtub if you wanted.

Hahahaha! God it would suck to live in that house though! Every time you open the door for your beer buddies, there's a big whoosh and you have to help them up off the pavement. Then re-pressurize. Hahahaha! LOL!

 

[Eisendrath]

I added 4 secondary regulators after my 4 way manifold for my 4 keg keezer.
Now I have more places that can leak. I hope I'm happy with it.

 

[MikeRoBrew1]

You really just need two pressure zones - one for carbonating beer, and one zone for serving. If you have a single regulator and a 4-way manifold with on/off valve for each line, you can turn 'on' the keg to carb and 'off' the rest, or visa versa. Charge that new keg, then turn it 'off'. Reset the regulator to serve-pressure, turn the rest of the servable kegs back to 'on' and you're done.

This is my plan for the near future to expand from two to four corneys.

 

[treesmcgee]

Awesome info guys, thanks for the help. I'll post some pictures when it's all said and done, probably later on this week I should be recieving the regulator, gas lines, and kegs, just about the time my ale is done fermenting!