Getting into kegging

[alcholfurbrains]

I'm in the market to get a couple of kegs and a couple taps bit not sure of the best way to go ? I would like to have at least 2 beers on tap but imy neck of the woods we travel by 4 wheeler if the party isn't at my place. Just wondering what's the best bang for my buck and if I could just fill a dozen bottles out of a keg and cap them for the ride? Also are old corneys better than new ones?

 

[andy6026]

I'm in the market to get a couple of kegs and a couple taps bit not sure of the best way to go ? I would like to have at least 2 beers on tap but imy neck of the woods we travel by 4 wheeler if the party isn't at my place. Just wondering what's the best bang for my buck and if I could just fill a dozen bottles out of a keg and cap them for the ride? Also are old corneys better than new ones?

I've recently bought all the components I need to make a kegging system. It was shockingly expensive - even when I took advantage of sales and bought the kegs themselves second-hand. Granted, I live in Canada where everything seems more expensive 'just because', so you will likely fare a little better than me.

What I recommend is this - buy corny kegs second-hand. I went for ball-lock kegs because their taller size means a smaller diameter - I can fit more of them in my fridge.

I bought a brand new 10# Co2 tank and dual regulator - I got them on sale. I'd strongly encourage you to check out the second hand market for these (5# Co2 tank is good too). I would have bought second hand had something been available when I pulled the trigger.

You'll also need gas hoses, beer lines, fittings, etc., and even a manifold if you want one gas line out of the Co2 tank to branch into more lines (say if you want to be carbonating a keg or two while simultaneously drinking from the others).

Something you'll need to make a major decision on is the faucets and shanks (part that connects the faucet on the outside of the fridge to the beer line on the inside of the fridge). Generally the faucets tend to come either chrome plated or stainless steel. My casual research suggested to me that I'd be happy paying the extra to go all stainless steel (for both taps and shanks), but you might be happy with chrome.

Of course you also need to decide on and acquire the cooling box (fridge or freezer) to fit everything in and do the necessary alterations. If you're going with a chest freezer you will likely need to build a collar and install a thermostat. Fridges and freezers are fairly cheap on the second hand market and very easy to find.

All of these things add up to a fairly hefty chunk of change. Even by being quite frugal but going with quality items, I spent about $800+ on developing a system that has 4 kegs, and 3 taps in a converted refrigerator (the extra keg is to have on carbing on deck while I drink from the others). Unless you find someone giving the stuff away I imagine you'd struggle hard to put together what you're after, even in the United States, for less than $500.

 

[bragona71]

I'm in the market to get a couple of kegs and a couple taps bit not sure of the best way to go ? I would like to have at least 2 beers on tap but imy neck of the woods we travel by 4 wheeler if the party isn't at my place. Just wondering what's the best bang for my buck and if I could just fill a dozen bottles out of a keg and cap them for the ride? Also are old corneys better than new ones?

I bought an OLD kegorator very inexpensive(on craigslist) and found the BALL lock corny to be the best. I did have to work on the old kegorator, If I was to do it over go to home depot. Get a a chest freezer for $150, buy a couple taps and make a keezer.I think in the long run I will spend way more money on electricity since the newer equipment is so much more efficient. IMO good luck you will find you love kegging over bottling..Get a beer gun they aren't cheap but very handy in bottling a couple bombers to take your buddies! takes about 10 minutes and your done. there are DIY counter pressure fillers you can make but beer gun IMO kicks butt

 

[Ski12568]

I would look at a kit online with everything and note the price. Then see if you can get everything between Craigslist and online shops to compare the cost. Unfortunately, it's a little pricy. I got lucky with the kegs I have

 

[brewprint]

Homebrewing.org

I bought 2 used pin lock kegs and regulator and taps for I think $139 plus shipping.

I have $159 in a 7 cuft keezer and $45 in a temp controller And another $10 or so for an extension cord.

$80 in a 5lb co2 tank filled.

I then replaced the 4 ft beer lines with 7 ft and bought another keg but that doesn't count if you only have 2 kegs.

Just figure $500. Shop at homebrewing.org for the best deals on kegs period.

 

[chawn]

I'm in the market to get a couple of kegs and a couple taps bit not sure of the best way to go ? I would like to have at least 2 beers on tap but imy neck of the woods we travel by 4 wheeler if the party isn't at my place. Just wondering what's the best bang for my buck and if I could just fill a dozen bottles out of a keg and cap them for the ride? Also are old corneys better than new ones?

I personally would go with new kegs. Adventures in Homebrewing has the best deal at $75 per keg. When I started kegging I bought 2 used kegs and it was a huge headache finding and fabricating parts. Also, I would recommend buying Perlick faucets; if you don't now, you will later. And you can get a growler tube that attaches to your faucet to fill bottles for under $10.

 

[alcholfurbrains]

What's the difference or advantage between pin lock and ball lock also do I need a double regulator?

 

[ghohn]

What's the difference or advantage between pin lock and ball lock also do I need a double regulator?

No real advantage or disadvantage other than the fact they are slightly different dimensions (ball lock taller and thinner, pin lock shorter and stockier). There seem to be more fittings that are ball lock centric though anything on MFL becomes universal assuming that your disconnects are MFL (which I love). Try all you'd like but pin locks are impossible to reverse because of their pins whereas you can get a ball lock stuck on the wrong post pretty easily if you aren't paying attention. It's advised to have a special socket to remove the posts on pinlocks.

Basically, go shopping for a kegerator fridge with whatever you end up with and test them out to make sure they fit. Don't rely on "meh, that looks about right".

Dual reg? I'd say start out with just the single unless you're a stickler on having each beer carbed exactly to style. I just shoot for middle of the road and throw a stainless steel T in the gas line. They are about 4 bucks.

 

[purplehaze]

No you don't need a secondary regulator, that can easily be added later.

If your not in a hurry buy all used equipment, you will save a lot of money.

Pinlocks
-shorter
-wider
-usually cheaper than ball locks
-Since the coupler is pushed down and turned it can be a pain for the coupler to be removed if the keg post is a bit loose.
-More difficult to remove the keg posts for maintenance
-easy to distinguish between gas side(2 pins) and liquid side(3 pins)

Ball locks
-taller
-thinner
-can be more expensive
-much easier to attach the the correct gas/liquid couplers.
-easy to remove the keg posts
-Harder to distinguish gas side from the liquid side

 

[paperairplane]

Buy once and cry once. Here are some things that you will regret skimping money and upgrade later:

Manifold - get a bigger one than you think you need. Being able to carb and serve at the same time is helpful. Being able to run star san on tap to clean is helpful. Having an extra gas line is always helpful.

Taps - Just get the perlicks. Picnic taps foam and suck. Standard taps drip and stick. You will end up with Perlicks - just spend the money 1 time.

Spares - orings and keg lube and poppet valves are cheap, keep a bunch laying around to fix the issues you will have.

Yes, it is super easy to pull beers off a keg - instead of a 12 pack, I'd do growlers. Get some flip top Grolsch bottles.

If you have perlicks, racking cane tube fits in the tap perfectly and makes a great growler filler.

Buy as many kegs as you can afford - allows you to free up fermenters and keep the pipeline rolling.

 

[paperairplane]

I found an old guy with a shed full of pin locks - got a dozen for $100. Sure I had to spend a weekend scrubbing soda gunk and I needed a few bucks worth of orings, but well worth the cost savings.

Having a keg of star san sitting around is about the handiest thing ever.

 

[Subdivisions]

Here's a good thread on filling bottles from a keg:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/we-no-need-no-stinking-beer-gun-24678/

 

[btbnl]

Having a spare CO2 tank is also very handy - both to swap in when the one on the keezer runs out and to take with a keg to a party.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

Im curious what "neck of the woods" requires a 4 wheeler just to get to another party.

"Roads?,where we're going there are no roads"

 

[Newsman]

Also, there's a whole thread here with a guy selling CO2 tanks at very good prices with relatively new test dates. Easiest thing to do is get a tank, go somewhere and swap the empty for a full and pay $20. That way you know you have a tank with a good in-service test date.

 

[alcholfurbrains]

Northern Ohio we all live on 2 to 50 acres about 10 of us that all have layed out garages full kitchens,baths and tons of TV and entertainment and big firepit some ones always got something cooking or brewing or getting ready for some ******* stunt or idea there are 3 bars within a 20 min ride down the tracks View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1424227130.191328.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1424227365.164084.jpg. Everyone doesn't do this?

 

[MattyIce]

Worth the expense for sure. Buy more kegs than you have taps. Having one to fill with star San is awesome. it is also nice to have a couple extras to have ready when a keg kicks. With the right setup, you can have another beer carbed and ready to swap into the place of a keg you polished off. I am using an extra keg right now as a secondary fermenter. No worries about light, oxidation or keeping an airlock filled.

 

[alcholfurbrains]

In my searches I've run across nitro what's that all about. By the time I get set up to keg will I be out dated already.

 

[btbnl]

In my searches I've run across nitro what's that all about. By the time I get set up to keg will I be out dated already.

No - you always have to carb with CO2, but if you want to push the resulting carbed beer through a stout tap (to get that creamy head) you need an inert/insoluble gas like nitrogen.

(Pushing through a stout tap requires much higher pressure; if you tried to do it with C02 you'd massively over-carb the beer.)

 

[alcholfurbrains]

So far for sure I'll be getting a double regulator,perlick faucets and a 10 lb co2 tank. Not sure about kegs , leaning towards a couple ball locks. Maybe 2 new and 2 used or 2 smaller. Any suggestions on lines, flare or hose clamps?