Kegging equipment help!!?!

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zahrndt_usmc

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ok so i read the past articles, looked at websites and im still confused! what do i need to keg beer (besides the keg) I looked at several websites and they have all kinds of doo dads in theyre kits and i just dont want to get taken or buy stuff i dont need or buy something thats gonna break in 3 days. Does anybody have any suggestions for websites or any info that can help? Thanks!
 
Kegging is one of the best moves you can make as a homebrewer. It takes a little to figure all of the equipment out, but once you have it down, the work is well worth it. So keep positive and we'll help you along.
You basically need four things; a keg of beer, a C02 tank with regulator, a hose to get the CO2 into the keg and a hose to get the beer out of the keg.
While they don't focus on homebrew, Micromatic has a large video library that can be very helpful in understanding all the parts of a kegging system. LINK
The only real difference is that instead of using commercial kegs you are using Corny kegs with different connectors.

This is a good example of a starter kit (I purchased it and built upon it) - LINK.

That being said, if I did it again I would have purchased THIS kit. It allows you to have (1) keg being served at low pressure and (1) keg being force carbonated at a higher pressure.

Please let us know what size fridge you have, how many kegs to you want to have on tap and any kits that you are thinking about and the group should be able to give you more specific advise.

Cheer!
School Master
 
Thanks, Im gonna get an upright normal size fridge (i always see em on craigslist) I plan on getting a 1 or 2 keg system but i need something that i can expand to more than that in the future. Also on everybodys pics and videos i see them putting the tap through the door of the fridge, why there? Can you go in though the side of the fridge? Also do i need a new regulator everytime i add a new keg to the system?
 
The door of the fridge usually doesn't have any wires or compressor lines running through it. Anytime you drill through the sides you run the risk of hitting something and ruining the fridge, so be super careful.

A regulator adjusts the pressure of the CO2 bottle down to the pressure you want in the keg. If you have multiple kegs, and you want to keep them all at different pressures, then you would need a regulator for each keg. If you have multiple kegs and you want to keep all of them at the same pressure then you only need one regulator.
There are a few things to consider. There are really only two pressures you need to worry about; serving pressure (lower) and force carbonation pressure (higher). Some people, use the same lower serving pressure for both operations, it just takes longer to force carbonate this way.

Each keg will need its own beer out line, this can be a simple picnic tap or a through the door tap. Each keg also needs a line from the CO2 tank, this can be run through a distribution block with individuals valves LINK.
 
Its always better to have room for extra keg in the fridge. If you have two taps going and third keg carbing up, you wont run out of beer, it takes roughly 3 weeks to carb the beer.
I made that mistake and I have two taps going, drinking both at same time. then I realized Im low on both kegs. Now Im looking for another fridge.....
 
The fridge I have it freezer on top / fridge on bottom and holds (4) corny kegs or 1/6th commercial kegs (they are both basically the same size. I like to have (1) commercial brew on and room for (3) homebrews. Whale is right, when it is on tap it somehow goes much faster than in bottles!
 
I know they have sensor things that you can plug into your fridge, do they have ones that can control your frezer as well (im not trying to make ice beer)?
 
keging equipment list

1. keg
2. CO2 tank
3. regulator
4. check valve
5. CO2 in tubing
6. 2 quick disconnects
7. beer out tubing
8. beer dispensing nozzle.

just do your homework and make sure all the parts fit before you buy them.
 
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