How to tell when keg is getting empty?

[kh54s10]

https://ballandkeg.com/

But I use the - when it spurts only foam and gunk it is empty method.

 

[odie]

I don't care...I have 3 taps so when one blows I just move over to another tap...

 

[rnorman57]

I put these 90lb low profile postal scales under my kegs in my mini-fridge/kegerator.

 

[ba-brewer]

Things have changed in the 5years since I first posted. I am no long doing the lift and guess thing. About a year ago using the generously shared information of @day_trippr in the raspberrypints thread I have a working tap monitoring system.

A bonus of not having to peak inside the keezer I also have less of an condensation issue.

 

[day_trippr]

Extra bonus: drama. As a kick gets closer with each pour and you wonder if this is the one

Got a few of those looming tonight, in fact...

Cheers!

 

[Pkrd]

There's a couple of sure fire ways to tell when a keg is about to kick.

"Wow, this beer is just about perfect. I think I'll have another"
"Hey guys, try this one, it's delicious"​

 

[pvpeacock]

All my kegs have floating dip tubes. When my pints go from clear to cloudy, I know the keg is almost dust. I usually get 2-4 pints of cloudy beer before it's empty.

 

[Jag75]

When it goes splat splat plop!

 

[bracconiere]

I put these 90lb low profile postal scales under my kegs in my mini-fridge/kegerator.View attachment 666306

do those postal scale stay on all the time? i need something like that that plugs into the wall to leave my co2 cyclinder on so i can catch leaks before they catch me! my sping loaded bathroom scale, isn't fast or acurate enough, but has saved me a couple times....

 

[ba-brewer]

this one stays on when plugged into the wall.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KYA0RC2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[bracconiere]

this one stays on when plugged into the wall.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KYA0RC2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

thank you kind sir! now i'll be able to track how much co2 i'm using the nearest 0.1oz,

(and all for just the price of co2 refill!)

 

[bracconiere]

and back to my kegs i count each pour with one of these.....

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Mechanical...462827?hash=item4d7ed669eb:g:1M8AAOSwoDlbw2MQ

and as you can tell from my avatar, i make sure their really close to the same everytime....

 

[ba-brewer]

When it goes splat splat plop!

That sounds more like keester than a keezer.

 

[bracconiere]

That sounds a keester not a keezer.

only on certain furniture....

 

[rhys333]

I'm guessing there are non-contact liquid level indicators available somewhere. I did a quick search and foudn this on Amazon: https://www.amazon.ca/Non-Contact-Water-Indicator-Sensor-Controller/dp/B0716YTZTW

 

[fun4stuff]

These are all for non-metallic containers though, right?

 

[rhys333]

These are all for non-metallic containers though, right?

I dont' know.

 

[rhys333]

These are all for non-metallic containers though, right?

Here's another one. It says that there are no special requirements for either liquid or container, and that it works with pressure vessels.
https://www.robotshop.com/ca/en/gravity-non-contact-liquid-level-sensor.html#product-reviews

If I were on the hunt for something like this, I'd contact my local industrial supplier. Where I am, that's Gregg's Distributors or Amre Supply. You may not have these where you are but you will have something similar.

 

[rnorman57]

do those postal scale stay on all the time? i need something like that that plugs into the wall to leave my co2 cyclinder on so i can catch leaks before they catch me! my sping loaded bathroom scale, isn't fast or acurate enough, but has saved me a couple times....

 

[rnorman57]

Yes, if you use the AC/USB adapter. On batteries they shut off after about a minute, then re-tare to zero if the weight is still on it. It's funny one scale says 90 lb and one says 60, but they are the same model number and identical. About $21 on Amazon

 

[Alex4mula]

I have always found a fullproof method is that when you suspect a keg is on its last leg and figure you will kill it, it will flow all night and you will get drunk and regret it in the morning. Then the next day when you go to take a pull off of the neverending keg you will get less than a glass worth out of it before it kicks. Never fails.

LOL! Yes, this happened to me twice! The mistery never-ending keg. But like bracconiere I also started using one of these basic counters. All my beer friends are properly trained to click it. Before that, I used a manual tally on a glass table with a glass pen.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Mechanical...462827?hash=item4d7ed669eb:g:1M8AAOSwoDlbw2MQ

 

[bracconiere]

All my beer friends

LOL, i drink alone, but still like to look good in public...

 

[bracconiere]

When it's ultra clear, tastes better than ever and has more head than normal... you've just drank the last pint.

S.O.B.!

 

[blasterooni]

I just do my best to stay ahead of the curve, and I was until a 5 gallon carboy filled with cider broke when I started a pressure transfer, only 3-5 psi and a big ole chunk went flying and cider gushing everywhere! I was able save 3 quarts. I'm almost caught up again tho, thanks to kveik! Now i can go back to low and slow for a few batches. Aurora kveik is in the wings waiting to be pitched in a few days to keep the train rolling!

 

[bracconiere]

I just do my best to stay ahead of the curve,

yeah i know the feeling, i thought i finally had my drinking under control back in 2018...so naturally i plugged in my other fridge and thought, hell i'll start doing lagers! needless to say i lost control of my drinking, and i haven't been able to recover....i have a fridge that fits 6 kegs, and recently i'm having trouble keeping two in it....

 

[lump42]

I put these 90lb low profile postal scales under my kegs in my mini-fridge/kegerator.View attachment 666306

This looks like the cheaper route than the Plaato Keg.

https://plaato.io/pages/plaato-keg

 

[6Tap]

No worky at the tap.
Qout = 0

 

[blasterooni]

yeah i know the feeling, i thought i finally had my drinking under control back in 2018...so naturally i plugged in my other fridge and thought, hell i'll start doing lagers! needless to say i lost control of my drinking, and i haven't been able to recover....i have a fridge that fits 6 kegs, and recently i'm having trouble keeping two in it....

I saw that you just finished 10 gallons in 5 days(?) using turbo yeast, that's one way to keep the fridge full!
Btw, I'm "lagering" a cider now...

 

[bracconiere]

I saw that you just finished 10 gallons in 5 days(?) using turbo yeast, that's one way to keep the fridge full!
Btw, I'm "lagering" a cider now...

yes i did, yes i did....i thought it was 4 days though? at any rate it's in the fridge, and i have one other keg of brüt porter i'm working on while the cider carbs...i'm also fermenting a farmhouse pale now too...hoping to finally get back to normal after 2 years of barley getting by


Good luck with the cider! as tom petty said ( i think) "the waiting is the hardest part"!

 

[jdauria]

I just use chalkboard tape on the fridge and under each beer name, I just make a check marks for every beer poured, be it a 12 oz pour or 16 oz, it gets one mark, filling a growler gets 5 marks, when I get close to 40 marks I know the keg is getting close to kicking.