Keezer refresh time - what is the latest greatest tubing for keezers?

[Patirck]

I have had my keezer built and working for I think about 5 years now. I am starting to have fairly regular problems with gas tanks running out suddenly so I know I have a leak somewhere. I have 6 taps and an extra gas line as I can fit 7 kegs in my keezer so I usually have a spare in it.

Instead of spending hours finding a leak - I think it is time to replace the gas tubing. I know gas tubing doesn't matter much - I think I am using stuff from home depot now for the gas side. Is there a reason to use something else for gas tubing?

I have a mashup of 3/16 beer tubing - it is all stuff made for beverages - just bought at different times from different sources. I would like to replace this so I have nice 10' lengths on all my taps so I can perhaps deal with my foaming issues that seem to happen from time to time.

What is the latest beer tubing that you would recommend? I would rather not pay extra to have the word titanium printed on it (I am captain cheapskate).

My gas distributor is a plastic one and it does the job but I wish it had check valves. I have had a few issues with kegs pushing beer through the gas line to a keg with lower pressure. What is the best way of adding check valves to the gas lines?

 

[UpstateMike]

For the liquid side, Accuflex Bev Seal Ultra. $15.99 for for 50 feet, or about 32 cents per foot.

Accuflex Bev Seal Ultra

I would recommend getting the disconnect fittings and the shank fittings too.

 

[k1ngl1ves]

I just use the basic red Bevlex 204 pvc tubing for the gas. It's easiest to work with... unlike that damn rigid Ultra tubing. I don't trust those Ultra type of connectors for gas either. Just my personal opinion...

 

[UpstateMike]

I just use the basic red Bevlex 204 pvc tubing for the gas. It's easiest to work with... unlike that damn rigid Ultra tubing. I don't trust those Ultra type of connectors for gas either. Just my personal opinion...

Agreed. I just use the Accuflex for the liquid side.

 

[Zinc_Saucier]

Accuflex Bev Seal Ultra. 15.99 for for 50 feet, or about 32 cents per foot.



Accuflex Bev Seal Ultra



I would recommend getting the disconnect fittings and the shank fittings too.

+1 to both the Accuflex and the fittings, was super easy to swap out after my old lines got a little funky. But remember that you need ~2x the length due to the lower resistance

 

[JuanMoore]

Another vote for accuflex bev-seal ultra for the beer lines. You'll need 20-50% longer lines to get the same flow rate, since they're smoother walled. I like any nylon reinforced vinyl for the gas, but pretty much anything works. These are a cheap and easy way to add check valves to the gas side:
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?sku=57173

 

[Patirck]

Based on the replies to this thread I went ahead and ordered 60' of the accuflex (super stiff) 3/16 beer line from farmhouse brewing supply - it came in and I dutifully cut it to length and wrote matching numbers on each end so I could match the keg connector the the tap number.

I have not really touched these lines in a long time and could have sworn they were 3/16, but... The faucet shanks have built in 1/4" hose barbs, and my ball lock connectors and the few sanke connectors I have are all 1/4" as well.

I have tried the boiling water trick and silicone lube but this stuff is sooooo stiff it has no give and it feels like its going to crack if I stuff it over the 1/4" barb on either end. Bottom line is that I cannot get the 3/16" line over a 1/4" barb.

So I am left with three choices:

1. Order 1/4" line (if so what kind would you recommend?) and use a lot more per run. I have used several calculators and some say 7.8 feet and others say 29 feet. I can't fit that much coiled tubing in my fridge so it would have to be limited to about 15 feet per tap.

2. Replace the ball lock connectors with 3/16 swivel fittings and replace my shanks with 3/16 barb connector shanks. This would be pretty expensive and I would rather not spend the money....

3. Buy a bunch of 1/4" to 3/16" stainless reducers. I would put a short length of 1/4" tubing from the keg to the reducer, run the new beer line, then connect that end to another reducer to a short piece of 1/4" line that connects to the shank behind the faucet. Does anyone know if this will cause any problems? Do I have to use stainless or could I get away with nylon? They are tons cheaper and available at the local hardware store.

What do you think?

 

[day_trippr]

What you really want to do is buy the John Guest "push to connect" fittings that are matched to the OD of that tubing and the thread size you want to fit to (eg: 1/4" MFL at the keg and whatever tail piece threads you're using - or directly to the shanks).

Definitely do NOT go 1/4" unless you want a hella lot of tubing inside your dispensing appliance...

Cheers!

[edit]

This

http://www.farmhousebrewingsupply.com/1-4-mfl-push-to-connect/

and typically this, for connecting directly to a beer shank

http://www.farmhousebrewingsupply.com/5-16-x-5-8-bspp-shank-connector-push-to-connect/

 

[Zinc_Saucier]

Personally I would go with option 2. I think you will need closer to the 29' length for the first option (from what I've heard, no first hand experience), and I don't know how option 3 would impact your pour.

However, I would get shanks without a built in nipple and get some of the fittings referenced above as it will be much easier to install. If you don't have stainless shanks, it's a good idea to upgrade, the beer will eat away at the plating of the other ones, and it's pretty gross...

 

[JuanMoore]

Based on the replies to this thread I went ahead and ordered 60' of the accuflex (super stiff) 3/16 beer line from farmhouse brewing supply - it came in and I dutifully cut it to length and wrote matching numbers on each end so I could match the keg connector the the tap number.

I have not really touched these lines in a long time and could have sworn they were 3/16, but... The faucet shanks have built in 1/4" hose barbs, and my ball lock connectors and the few sanke connectors I have are all 1/4" as well.

I have tried the boiling water trick and silicone lube but this stuff is sooooo stiff it has no give and it feels like its going to crack if I stuff it over the 1/4" barb on either end. Bottom line is that I cannot get the 3/16" line over a 1/4" barb.

So I am left with three choices:

1. Order 1/4" line (if so what kind would you recommend?) and use a lot more per run. I have used several calculators and some say 7.8 feet and others say 29 feet. I can't fit that much coiled tubing in my fridge so it would have to be limited to about 15 feet per tap.

2. Replace the ball lock connectors with 3/16 swivel fittings and replace my shanks with 3/16 barb connector shanks. This would be pretty expensive and I would rather not spend the money....

3. Buy a bunch of 1/4" to 3/16" stainless reducers. I would put a short length of 1/4" tubing from the keg to the reducer, run the new beer line, then connect that end to another reducer to a short piece of 1/4" line that connects to the shank behind the faucet. Does anyone know if this will cause any problems? Do I have to use stainless or could I get away with nylon? They are tons cheaper and available at the local hardware store.

What do you think?

1) Not an option IMO. You'll need an ungodly amount of 1/4" line, likely a lot more than 29' unless your serving temp is close to freezing.

2) Probably your best option, but I'd buy standard shanks and 3/16" tailpieces rather than the shanks with integrated tailpieces. This allows a lot more flexibility. Had you done that in the first place, you would only need new tailpieces rather than the entire shanks. And as Zinc mentioned you also won't be able to follow day_tripprs suggestion for John Guest fittings (it's a good suggestion BTW) unless you use standard shanks.

3) This has the potential to create foaming issues, especially having it so close to the faucet. It also creates an additional place for nasties to hide, which partially defeats one of the main purposes of this wonderful line.

 

[Patirck]

I ended up going with option 3 using nylon reducers to go from 3/16 to 1/4 for the back of the shanks and I found that I had 3/16 tailpieces for the sanke keg connectors. Getting the accuflex tubing over the 3/16 tailpiece took years and cost millions of lives... Or at least it seemed at the time - it was a major pita - had to keep the tube end in boiling water using white grease to lube the tail piece. I still ended up with scraped knuckles and a broken nail.

After asking around and shopping for shanks - I found that many people end up with shanks that have 1/4" bore holes in them and connect 3/16 tubing using a tailpiece. I figured my mashup was basically the same thing.

I have three kegs connected now - it is pouring fine - one of the kegs is a little foamy but I think it might get better after it sits for a few days.

The major upside of this - I now have a keg of Stone Enjoy by 4-20 on tap!