Kegging kit

[GatorBrew1]

Hello folks,

After reading some other post here I think I would like to start kegging my beer. I know nothing about kegging, so I'm not sure what to look for in a kit. I found this one on e-bay and would like to get some input from the veteran keggers. Seems like a good price. I guess I would need a fridge to keep the keg cold, but would I need anything else.

Thank you for any advice.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Home-brew-K...679?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f0e990f9f

 

[worksnorth]

Yep that kit looks like it's got all the basics. And yep you'll need a fridge to put it in.
Think ahead on the fridge, my guess is that you will find that one keg just isn't enough and you'll want expansion room for more kegs. : ) You'll also start looking at faucets that can be mounted on the door etc. cause you'll probably soon get tired of opening the fridge to use the picnic tap.
Just my experience

 

[dmckean44]

You're going to want a dual regulator if you ever plan on having more than one tap. It's really not that much more money. This one from midwest is only $45 more and the shipping is cheaper.

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/brew-logic-dual-tap-draft-system-w-pin-lock-kegs.html

 

[Chad_C]

While I do agree that a dual regulator is nice, it is certainly not a necessity to have in order to have more than 1 tap. I run 4 taps off of a single regulator. You will need a dual regulator if you plan on running multiple pressures. If you set all of your kegs at the same pressure then you only need a single regulator.

 

[GatorBrew1]

The only thing I don't like about both kits is the style of the keg. I have a small fridge in my shop, but don't think keg will fit. The kegs seem to be too tall. Will any type of keg work?

Thanks to all for the reply. Really helpful. TY

 

[dmckean44]

Pin lock kets are slightly shorter than ball locks. They also make 2 1/2 and 3 gallon cornies that you can buy but they're expensive.

 

[dfess1]

Pin lock kets are slightly shorter than ball locks. They also make 2 1/2 and 3 gallon cornies that you can buy but they're expensive.

exponentially expensive!

 

[GatorBrew1]

Thank you all for the help. Guess I'll buy the wife a new fridge so I can use her old one. I won't tell her I have plans for the old one though.. Honey, I think you deserve a new fridge.

 

[Joncb04]

I can't believe someone hasn't posted this yet, but you'll find that most people will recommend longer beer lines for your picnic faucet (or tower, doesn't matter). Most veteran keggers are running 10ft beer lines for more resistance thus less foam. My beer lines to my tower are only 6ft and I don't have any foam problems, but people still suggest it and if I had foam problems that's the first thing I'd do. So just keep that in mind.

 

[Smashing]

That's all you need for a start. I found my 5lb tank a bit small after a very short time. I would recommend a 10 or even 20. My other suggestion is to skip the stores and watch Craigslist for used equipment. You can easily get all that stuff for < $100(including a bigger tank). I don't regret going the kit route though, I use my 5 lb tank for portable kegging and my 20lber stays at home.

 

[TonyR]

You could always wait a few weeks and see what KegConnection or others have for sale on black friday. I picked up a 2 keg kit for a decent price them last year.

 

[worksnorth]

Thank you all for the help. Guess I'll buy the wife a new fridge so I can use her old one. I won't tell her I have plans for the old one though.. Honey, I think you deserve a new fridge.

Lol very funny, I just bought the wife a new freezer (lucky her) so that I could have the old one to start Lagering.

 

[GatorBrew1]

Lol very funny, I just bought the wife a new freezer (lucky her) so that I could have the old one to start Lagering.

That will be our secret. We won't tell them we had alternative motives. Unfortunately no kegging equipment on CL around here.

 

[zazbnf]

1 more thing, I would call around to make sure you can get a 5lb co2 tank filled close to where you live. I bought a 5lb tank several years ago only to find out the closest place that would fill it was almost 2 hours away.

 

[LordUlrich]

1 more thing, I would call around to make sure you can get a 5lb co2 tank filled close to where you live. I bought a 5lb tank several years ago only to find out the closest place that would fill it was almost 2 hours away.

Yes, and make sure if they only do swaps, that they have whatever size tank you get on hand most of the time.....it took 2.5 weeks for my last fill, it to is problematic.

 

[GatorBrew1]

Great advice guys, thank you. I don't think I will have a problem getting it filled here, big industrial area. However, there is only one place to fill my nitrious oxide tank filled and it is not cheap.

 

[autobaun70]

One thing you may check out before you pull the trigger, call around to your local gas suppliers and find out how much they charge for a bottle, and how much for a refill. I found that it is much easier to just use cylinder exchange at the local welding company than to have to wait on them to fill the bottle. This also gives you the ability to swap up or down in size by paying the difference in your bottle size and the one you go to. I can swap out my 10lb bottle for $13.00. When I had my own bottle I would sometimes run into them not having someone there at the time that was certified to fill it up.

On the regulator, a single pressure reg is fine if the beers you brew require similar carbonation levels. Mine do, however I am going to upgrade soon just to be able to use a different pressure outside of my serving fridge for pushing beer with CO2, ect.

I personally keep 2 beers on tap (probably going to up that soon to 3 taps, more is better). I can fit 4-5 kegs in the fridge. I usually just have the 2 on tap, then two more hooked up to the gas aging & carbing. If you can ever manage to build a beer pipeline where you are currently drinking the beer from 2-3 brew sessions ago, you will just about always have very clear beer that has had plenty of time to age.