mini cartridges for 5gal keg

[Hockeyhunter99]

Looking to travel with kegs to a part in a few weeks. instead of traveling with the whole CO2 setup, i would like to find a mini CO2 dispenser for a pin-lock keg. i have seen the $150 mini regulators (like this http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0064OJSYA/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 ) but i am not about to spend that for a one time travel deal. looking for the type without the actual regulator.

any help would be appreciated

 

[TimpanogosSlim]

You mean like this?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...ASIN=B000NV9CE6&linkCode=as2&tag=hombrefin-20

You'll need a gas QD with a flare fitting (rather than barb) to connect it. And despite what the description says it will work with any non-threaded 16 gram co2 cartridge.

You'll want to make sure that the beer is fully carbed first. I can't imagine how many 16 gram carts it would take to carbonate 5 gallons. But you knew that.

 

[Hockeyhunter99]

that is it!! thank you. it is called a charger!!!

 

[Dr1nkBeer]

Bring extra chargers and be sure to keep an eye on who's pulling that trigger... I had two parties with these and went through 8 of them for a keg because someone kept holding the trigger down while pulling the tap handle... They didn't understand that a quick shot is all they needed... Also i found that some 16gram cartridges are too short and leak a bit. I think they make 22gram cartridges that work better.. Also look under the rim there are threads there that I'm going to see if the larger threaded ones fit.. They are awesome though and work awesome with the pigtail faucets...

Im also still trying to get a paintball tank i got rigged..

 

[Dr1nkBeer]

Get extra cartridges... And definitely make sure you keep an eye in people pumping it out. I had a party where we went through 8 for a keg because some was trigger happy...

Im still trying to figure out how to get a paintball tank rigged up.. Regulating has been trivial... :-(

 

[TimpanogosSlim]

Get extra cartridges... And definitely make sure you keep an eye in people pumping it out. I had a party where we went through 8 for a keg because some was trigger happy...

Im still trying to figure out how to get a paintball tank rigged up.. Regulating has been trivial... :-(

two ways to hook up paintball tank

1st is the cga320 to paintball adapter that attaches to a normal regulator. these are $14 at the lhbs here.

2nd is to get a remote tank fitting with on/off and connect it directly to the regulator with a nipple. the tank fitting will have 1/8" npt female right-hand thread on it and costs about $10 on ebay. your regulator body has 1/4" npt thread but may be male or female so you might have to get an LH to RH nipple - i know midwest supply has them.

you can also use a length of 1/8" air hose with option 2 if you wanna.

it appears that some automotive fire extinguisher brackets can be bent out a bit to accommodate the slightly larger diameter of a 20oz co2 bottle.

 

[iskuse]

I have this:
http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/soda-keg-co2-charger.html

Works great. 2 things though, and I believe this is in the instructions for attaching, but not detaching. (I guess most are empty, mine was not for this keg):

1. you want to put your ball/pin lock on the keg first, then attach the charger, then tighten the co2 cartrige.
2. If you are done and there is still gas/pressure in the CO2 cartridge, remove the charger from the ball/pin lock first, then remove the lock from the keg. My brother-in-law, tried to remove the lock from the keg with the charger attached and the pressure blew the ball lock apart. luckily he still has both his eyes.

 

[Dr1nkBeer]

two ways to hook up paintball tank

1st is the cga320 to paintball adapter that attaches to a normal regulator. these are $14 at the lhbs here.

2nd is to get a remote tank fitting with on/off and connect it directly to the regulator with a nipple. the tank fitting will have 1/8" npt female right-hand thread on it and costs about $10 on ebay. your regulator body has 1/4" npt thread but may be male or female so you might have to get an LH to RH nipple - i know midwest supply has them.

you can also use a length of 1/8" air hose with option 2 if you wanna.

it appears that some automotive fire extinguisher brackets can be bent out a bit to accommodate the slightly larger diameter of a 20oz co2 bottle.

That is what i basically did.. bout a "remote on/off" hard lined it into a brand new regulator... but when I turn the on/off knob to on the PSI jsut raises up to 50-60 psi and blows out the safety valve....

This should in theory work but it doesnt.. someone said i may have nitrogen in the tank instead of CO2 causing it to climb up... I hooked up a primary gauge and it read 1300 psi... but even with the low pressure knob all the way out it still climbs to 60 and pops.

 

[TimpanogosSlim]

That is what i basically did.. bout a "remote on/off" hard lined it into a brand new regulator... but when I turn the on/off knob to on the PSI jsut raises up to 50-60 psi and blows out the safety valve....

This should in theory work but it doesnt.. someone said i may have nitrogen in the tank instead of CO2 causing it to climb up... I hooked up a primary gauge and it read 1300 psi... but even with the low pressure knob all the way out it still climbs to 60 and pops.

Huh. Well, they would have charged you extra for nitrogen - it's more expensive, isn't it?

I did exactly what you did, except i used a crappy old regulator that came attached to a 20lb co2 tank i bought from a retired airbrush artist for $10 - with 9 pounds of co2 still in it!

The only guess i can make is that maybe something is wrong with your regulator - maybe you knocked some crud into the body of it that doesn't let the poppet close properly?

Either that or you accidentally hooked up the gas to the low pressure side, but that would be a smack-forehead why-did-i-not-notice-that thing.

So maybe it's time to take apart your regulator body and see if there is any crud in there messing things up.

The problem i have with my rig is that i am new to kegging. I put a keg of kolsch in the mini-fridge with the paintball tank and regulator that i thought i had properly burst carbed, that it turned out was still somewhat flat. So over the course of a week or so i made further attempts to burst carb from my 20lb tanks and usually would turn off the gas from the paintball tank when i wasn't serving.

And then i left the gas turned on for about four days and didn't drink any beer from that keg, and then found my paintball tank empty and my beer carbed, so i can't decide whether i just slowly carbed at 12psi for four days and used up all of my co2 in the little bottle, or if i have a co2 leak in the regulator.

I have the filling rig to refill the paintball tank myself from one of the 20lb tanks but haven't used it yet. Not enthused to invert one of my tanks yet.

 

[Dr1nkBeer]

How difficult is that? can i ruin it? or encure any additional costs when re-assembling?.. i'm curious enough to do this... but havent yet.

 

[TimpanogosSlim]

Regulator bodies are pretty simple on the inside. The only additional cost i can think of, unless you break something, is some heavy silicone grease to lightly smear on mating surfaces. "plumber's silicone grease" from the hardware store should work.

 

[TimpanogosSlim]

Oh, and DO NOT use locktite. It is brittle and will fail under stress, and then you'll have a hell of a time disassembling, and a hell of a time cleaning it off. Use teflon tape or a silicone based thread sealant. If you use a silicone sealant, let it cure for a day or two before use.

 

[Dr1nkBeer]

Thanks now i can only hope on finding something that is obviously not right... cause i havent a clue what it should look like or how the internal work other than a diaphram of sorts...

 

[TimpanogosSlim]

Well I've heard of various kinds of leaks caused by just some foreign material caught somewhere inside the regulator. chunk of sealant, wad of teflon tape, whatever.

What model regulator is it? can't make it out in your picture.

 

[Susurro]

I've used the Co2 charger that was linked a number of times. I've never had a problem with attaching the Co2 cartridge before connecting it to the keg.

I also use slightly smaller generic Co2 cartridges for cost reasons. I just pack some paper towel at the bottom of the handle and the cartridge lines up just fine.

 

[DrawTap88]

Those co2 dispensing cartiridges work fine, just be wary that they sometimes break, so have a back up ready to go. As far as the regulators, the first thing that I'd check is the needle pointing out the presure. I've found that more often than not the needle or the face that has the pressure readouts on it is either bent or off kilter, which will screw up your readings.

 

[Hockeyhunter99]

i was talking with the LHBS about this today and he made sure to emphasis that i needed to get the cartridges WITHOUT oil. apparently there are some CO2 cartridges that have self-lubing oil for their paintball guns. FYI.

what are the usually sized CO2 cartidges that you can get at any paintball supplier. 12 oz or 16 oz?

 

[TimpanogosSlim]

i was talking with the LHBS about this today and he made sure to emphasis that i needed to get the cartridges WITHOUT oil. apparently there are some CO2 cartridges that have self-lubing oil for their paintball guns. FYI.

what are the usually sized CO2 cartidges that you can get at any paintball supplier. 12 oz or 16 oz?

I'm not sure that the oil thing is true. I've never seen a manufacturer fess up to it.

And if you look at the airgun forums, everyone is recommending to put a little oil on the end of the cartridge before inserting it into the gun. And Daisy and Crossman sell air gun oil.

It doesn't add up.

 

[cwi]

I'm not sure that the oil thing is true. I've never seen a manufacturer fess up to it.

And if you look at the airgun forums, everyone is recommending to put a little oil on the end of the cartridge before inserting it into the gun. And Daisy and Crossman sell air gun oil.

It doesn't add up.

It doesn't need to add up, especially if you are using "The Chewbacca Defense".

The oil (and other random smegma) in the non-food cartridges is leftover from the manufacturing process for the casings. For ones intended for food usage, they put the casings through a cleaning cycle before filling.

 

[Dr1nkBeer]

Well I've heard of various kinds of leaks caused by just some foreign material caught somewhere inside the regulator. chunk of sealant, wad of teflon tape, whatever.

What model regulator is it? can't make it out in your picture.

Its from berverage Factory.. their chrome ones...

 

[Dr1nkBeer]

I've used the Co2 charger that was linked a number of times. I've never had a problem with attaching the Co2 cartridge before connecting it to the keg.

I also use slightly smaller generic Co2 cartridges for cost reasons. I just pack some paper towel at the bottom of the handle and the cartridge lines up just fine.

paper worked for me too... I also found that putting a dime and a penny at the bottom of the handle work well... Put the dime in first then the penny cause the dime will bend alone.

 

[certaut]

The portable chargers work if the keg is carbed and you can do this https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/portable-co2-keg-charger-16-g-12g-mod-240152/
you can also use it to air up bicycle tires

 

[rusackas]

Sorry for bringing this thread back from the dead, but I would up with some CO2 cartridges that were FAR too short for my charger, was trying to find out what to do, and this was a top result.

My solution, which may help you (or someone else) out too: Pennies! You can drop a penny or two (or several, in my case) down into the canister case part, and that'll allow the canister to be punctured and stay in place. Worked for me, at least. Your mileage may vary, wear safety goggles, etc. etc.

Bring extra chargers and be sure to keep an eye on who's pulling that trigger... I had two parties with these and went through 8 of them for a keg because someone kept holding the trigger down while pulling the tap handle... They didn't understand that a quick shot is all they needed... Also i found that some 16gram cartridges are too short and leak a bit. I think they make 22gram cartridges that work better.. Also look under the rim there are threads there that I'm going to see if the larger threaded ones fit.. They are awesome though and work awesome with the pigtail faucets...

Im also still trying to get a paintball tank i got rigged..