New to beer, would kegging this way work?

[ditchbanker]

I've made several batches of wine and am not even a big fan of bottling wine when it takes significantly less bottles that way.

Making my first batch of beer and REALLY not looking forward to bottling. Also not a fan of spending over a hundred dollars in keg equipment to get started without knowing how much I'm going to enjoy making beer.

However This system for $70 looks like it should work with sugar priming in a keg to dispense just fine. And, if I decide I don't like making beer, I could use this as a skeeter pee (delicious and I strongly recommend) dispenser to help me avoid bottling for a summer party with minimal expense by just putting it in a fridge and making a kegerator later if I decide I need it.

It seems like this set up would allow me to upgrade any number of ways if I decide to. Is there any problem with getting started this way? Acknowledging that I'm still going to have to wait for 2-3 weeks for the sugar to carb the beer in the keg, that is.

 

[RickWG]

If you're going to pay 70 bucks for that system just spend another 40 or so for a regular keg set up. You're not getting the keg included in that I don't think so just the dispensing set up.

oops my bad. keg included. I just found three cornys for 10 bucks each. (I know, lucky bastich) You could go to beveragefactory.com and buy the parts a put it together yourself for less. The co2 injector is just a tire inflator for a bicycle.

 

[FromZwolle]

it's not a bad way to start. but it takes about 5-7 cartriges just to serve one keg. i've naturally carbed in a keg many times and that works just fine, but you'll probably need to use half a cartridge just to ensure your keg seals, or the priming sugar won't do much of anything.

You'll eventually need to grab a co2 tank and regulator if you decide to keep making beer. I have one of those portable co2 fillers in the picture, and i use it often to seal kegs with a quick burst.

Also, you'll want to grab some more tubing for the tap, that's pretty short. you may find you have a lot of foaming issues with that short of a serving line.

 

[Changeduser123]

I would go for this one:

http://stores.kegconnection.com/Detail.bok?no=511

You will *quickly* save a lot of money over the little CO2 cartridge system.

 

[ditchbanker]

Thanks for the input.

Looking on the same site it looks like the pin lock setup is $10 cheaper for whatever reason. If there's a reason to choose ball over pin I don't know it so I'd probably save the $10.

 

[bruin_ale]

lots of threads about pinlock vs. ball lock. Basically, they both work fine. The ball locks are a little bit taller and skinnier than the pinlock. Right now, pin locks are easier and cheaper to get because the word on the street is there are virtually no more used ball locks left. So if you don't have a space limitation, I'd go with pin lock. The disconnects are better anyways, IMO. I have both kinds, FWIW.

 

[Changeduser123]

You have a lot of information on pinlock vs ball lock on HBT, but here is a summary:

* size is different: ball lock are thiner and taller. It is something to consider if the fridge you plan to use is small.
* disconnects are different: with pin lock, gas and liquid disconnect are different, and you cannot plug them the wrong way. With ball lock, you have to pay more attention.
* Some pin lock do not have a pressure release valve. They just have a safety valve. Not very convenient to purge, but you can do it through the IN post.
* price: this days, ball locks are more expansive, it it looks like it is becoming harder to find them.

The ultimate advice I saw when reading HBT before getting my setup to choose between ball lock and pin lock was: find a good deal, and buy 3 times more kegs than what you think you need, so that you do not need more later.

But I ended up with ball lock because of the dimension, so that I can eventually fit 4 in my keezer.

 

[KevinM]

Agreed. Get a tank setup and don't go for the portable. The portable will wind up being more expensive as you purchase more of the little co2 cartridges. (Each cartridge is about a buck, but filling a tank is cheaper)
Here's my carbonating water breakdown costs, you can modifiy it for beer since you'd just be using it for dispensing.
Soda spritzer: 12g cartridge, cost $1: provides 1 liter of co2water ($1 per liter)
16 g $3 cartridge, expect 1.33L water ($2.25 per liter)
2.5 lb tank fillcost $5 125L water. ($0.06 per liter)
5lb tank fillcost $10 250L water ($0.04 per liter)

Now this was for both the carbonation and dispensing of just water. If you're keg priming, you'll just be doing dispensing so you can reduce those costs even more. But I'd go with a tank setup as being cheaper. The portable option is nice, particularly when carting things around so you don't have to pull along a tank, but it's not going to save any money.

 

[Bobby_M]

A 5lb CO2 tank (fills are between $5-15) holds the same amount of gas as 188 12g cartridges ($188).

Of course, the tank/reg is a bit of an initial outlay but after the first dozen kegs you're getting close to break even. After the cartridges are empty, they are garbage. Even if you get out of the hobby, resale on a tank/reg is pretty high (80%?)

You have the added benefit of accurate carbonation levels.

 

[Brandonovich]

If for some reason you decide you don't like brewing, you could sell an almost new kegging set up pretty quickly and only be out about $30 or $40. I would pay that much not to have to bottle two or three batches of beer.

 

[ditchbanker]

A yard irrigation issue has just reared it's head and funds need to be diverted that direction at the moment. My first batch may be very nicely aged before I get to keg it.