Miller Lite Home Draft Dissected

[sportscrazed2]

can i get 3 of these for a 5 gallon batch and then naturally carb and add a co2 capsule to keep it from going flat? thinking of picking some up for thanksgiving since I know my uncle actually drinks that stuff and I could let him drink it and just take the empty home

 

[jiggs_casey]

can i get 3 of these for a 5 gallon batch and then naturally carb and add a co2 capsule to keep it from going flat? thinking of picking some up for thanksgiving since I know my uncle actually drinks that stuff and I could let him drink it and just take the empty home

I've been ignoring these things in the store but just saw a video on hbt somewhere that looks promising! The "conversion" of these to a homebrew system looked really easy. Basically, just a good cleaning and swapping out the co2 cartridge for a new one.

I plan on picking up a few and using them for both storage and hauling to friends and families house..

 

[sportscrazed2]

yeah i saw a few in the store today but couldn't bring myself to buy it. Life's too short to drink crap beer and i refuse to throw out beer

 

[brewmonk]

well, *I* drank it. took me a day and a half.
10 bucks for the beer, 10 bucks for a tap-a-keg 1.5 gal system(ish)
batch is still bubbling, so not re-filled yet.

 

[jiggs_casey]

yeah i saw a few in the store today but couldn't bring myself to buy it. Life's too short to drink crap beer and i refuse to throw out beer

hehehe, exactly! I bought one tonight and got all motivated to try and kill it! "I'm gonna drink this whole damn thing!" The only choices I had were Coors and Miller Lite. Both equally bad, but went with the Miller because "it's what my dad drinks" and Coors light tastes like liquid corn tortillas.

I'm 3/4 the way through it and have come to realize, I do not like Miller Lite. Period. But, it seems such a waste to just dump it. If my dad didn't live 100 miles from here I would ask him to start buying these things and I will pay him $10 a piece for the empty 'kegs'.

 

[sportscrazed2]

yeah i asked the owner of the liquor store to ask any customers who buy them if they could return them to him empty. he said he might be able to get me a few

 

[Swcoxe]

I have a few Coors TAD that I am going to use in the near future. Does anyone know where I can get extra storage caps?

 

[limulus]

By storage caps, do you mean actual bottle caps? If they are 38mm, you can get them from any of the suppliers who sell the Tap-A-Draft system. For example:
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/tap-a-draft-bottle-cap.html
http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/screw-cap-for-tap-a-draft-38mm.html

 

[Swcoxe]

Hey everyone I am planning to use some coors TADs. I have a small problem with the co2. I did a trial run with water and a 16oz cartridge. When I screwed the cartridge in it emptied. It looks like the outside diameter of the top of the cartridge is smaller then the original cartridge. Anyone know how to fix this problem or know where to buy co2 cartridge with the right od to seat right?

 

[Swcoxe]

Also does anyone know if the 38mm storage caps work??

 

[raf1919]

Hey everyone I am planning to use some coors TADs. I have a small problem with the co2. I did a trial run with water and a 16oz cartridge. When I screwed the cartridge in it emptied. It looks like the outside diameter of the top of the cartridge is smaller then the original cartridge. Anyone know how to fix this problem or know where to buy co2 cartridge with the right od to seat right?

i bought some threaded 16g carts, they are thicker so match up with the orignal very well.

these right here http://www.redrockminnesota.com/servlet/the-214/(20)-16-Gram-Threaded/Detail

on first batch and after 4 days and about 1/2 done still good.

 

[raf1919]

i am very intrigued by this though http://www.pyramydair.com/cgi-bin/zoomed_model.pl?model_id=1180&type=A

wish it was cheaper..would like to test out

 

[AluminumGerbil]

I know of people tapping empty 12 gram cartridges with NPT threading and making their own adapters for paintball guns. You may read up on that.

 

[raf1919]

I know of people tapping empty 12 gram cartridges with NPT threading and making their own adapters for paintball guns. You may read up on that.

where can i read about that?

 

[AluminumGerbil]

http://www.mcarterbrown.com/forums/ask-experts/35277-dummy-12-gram-question.html

 

[Special Hops]

So I see a lot of 16g CO2 Cartriges for sale are the unthreaded kind. Will those work or do they have to be threaded?

 

[jiggs_casey]

nonthreaded...

 

[sflcowboy78]

So I finally broke down and bought my first HD system, 3 days and 3/4 of they way empty. Luckly I have friends that will drink BMC. I am looking forward to trying it with my homebrew.

 

[Brewmiser]

I think I'm going to pick one of these up. Sounds like a nice way transport some homebrew...

 

[Dahoov]

Here are the details of my Home Draft modifications.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/home-draft-mini-kegerator-231800/

 

[Opivy]

I'm new to all this force-carbing stuff, but I really like the idea.

Does anyone have an in-depth description of how to do it with these fellas?

 

[Zamial]

I'm new to all this force-carbing stuff, but I really like the idea.

Does anyone have an in-depth description of how to do it with these fellas?

Yep there are a few different treads on this...

The concept is:

Spin the CO@ cart out with pliers, use a folded piece of paper or an O-ring to raise the replacement CO2 cart just a bit. Fill with liquid leaving some head room, spin tap head back into place, chill, crack CO2 cart #1, let sit in fridge 1 week, remove old CO2 cart and replace with a new one, crack it and...serve.

I have a Barley wine and apfel wine "on tap" in the fridge...mmmmm bubbles.....

 

[Opivy]

hehe, that confused me a little bit. are your instructions for this miller/coors homedraft thing only? (I'd like to try it with this before investing in something larger.

 

[Hoosier-Brewer]

My buddy had one of these so I asked if i could have it when he finished the beer and he gave it to me. I filled it tonight with my first brew, a Nut Brown Ale. I'm naturally carbing it and can't wait to try it out in 2-3 weeks. Bottling wasn't bad, but if I this TAD works out well I'll be loving that.

 

[jonp9576]

Yes, there are people who use Nitrogen in the TAD.
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/box-of-24-no2-nitrogen-cartridges.html

These are not nitrogen. They are nitrous oxide. Big difference. I can't believe they are selling this as nitrogen. Nitrogen is n2. Itsays n2o right on the box. And the gas used to whip cream is always nitrous oxide.

 

[Special Hops]

I have been using these lately and I am having a problem keeping The pressure. How long does the cartidge last?

I prime with priming sugar and let them sit. When I am ready to serve I chill and pop on a new cartridge. I figure it should last till the keg is done. Bit it does not last. About half way down the beer goes flat and is slow to pour. Like I have a leak. Excel there is no liquid that leaks out.
I don't get it.

 

[Catt22]

I have been using these lately and I am having a problem keeping The pressure. How long does the cartidge last?

I prime with priming sugar and let them sit. When I am ready to serve I chill and pop on a new cartridge. I figure it should last till the keg is done. Bit it does not last. About half way down the beer goes flat and is slow to pour. Like I have a leak. Excel there is no liquid that leaks out.
I don't get it.

Several possibilities:

1. You have a gas leak and not a liquid leak.
2. The beer may not have been fully carbonated when you charged the keg with the initial cartridge. Did you allow 2-3 weeks for the beer to naturally carbonate?
3. The beer may not have been fully chilled when you charged the keg with the initial cartridge and it absorbed additional gas as it cooled.
4. A single cartridge should dispense the entire keg as that's all that you get when you originally purchase it full of beer.
5. It may require several cartridges to get it carbed back up if it's flat now.

I suspect that #2 is the most probable.

 

[jiggs_casey]

I have been using these lately and I am having a problem keeping The pressure. How long does the cartidge last?

I prime with priming sugar and let them sit. When I am ready to serve I chill and pop on a new cartridge. I figure it should last till the keg is done. Bit it does not last. About half way down the beer goes flat and is slow to pour. Like I have a leak. Excel there is no liquid that leaks out.
I don't get it.

I found that keeping these things charged turned out to be a real PITA. ...and a couple of uses, either the pins that pierced the cartridges would fail or the rubber seal that the cartridge rests in would fail. Trying to find EXACTLY the right cartridges is impossible. I gave up on trying to keep them charges and just wound up using the last two as giant beer bottles.

 

[Special Hops]

1. You have a gas leak and not a liquid leak. I figured that - But there is only one opening in the bottle and when it sits sideways it is submerged. So how can gas leak out bu not liguid?
2. The beer may not have been fully carbonated when you charged the keg with the initial cartridge. Did you allow 2-3 weeks for the beer to naturally carbonate? Yes - probably 4 weeks.
3. The beer may not have been fully chilled when you charged the keg with the initial cartridge and it absorbed additional gas as it cooled. The last one I just did I had cooled for a week before I put the cartridge in.
4. A single cartridge should dispense the entire keg as that's all that you get when you originally purchase it full of beer. that's what I figure too
5. It may require several cartridges to get it carbed back up if it's flat now. Yeah - This is no the first time this has happened.

 

[Special Hops]

I found that keeping these things charged turned out to be a real PITA. ...and a couple of uses, either the pins that pierced the cartridges would fail or the rubber seal that the cartridge rests in would fail. Trying to find EXACTLY the right cartridges is impossible. I gave up on trying to keep them charges and just wound up using the last two as giant beer bottles.

I've got a couple of these as I normally do 13 gallon batches. I put 5 gallons each into 2 cornies and always had left overs. I figured add two of these and I am set for the 13 gallons. But I am having issues.

I just put in a new cartridge and I can't even get it to pierce. Sounds like similar issues you are having.