Noobie getting into kegging

[1EightT]

I'm on my third batch of homebrew, and i'm thinking about getting into kegging instead of bottling. What all should I look at when piecing something together? Found some inexpensive 5 gallon kegs in the classified section, so i'm considering those. Any suggestions for the rest of the gear? Thanks in advance guys.

 

[WortMonger]

Do you ever want to hook up commercial kegs?

 

[1EightT]

Probably not. Just the homebrew.

 

[JoMarky]

To me the most important piece of equipment for kegging is a refrigeration vessel. Maybe that's just because I dont have one, but my kegs are pretty much just glorified storage vessels. I fill 2 liter soda bottles, refrigerate, then use a carbonator cap to carb the bottles individually. Around me craigslist is filled with CO2 tank/lines/regulator set ups. A 20lb tank will generally last you a very, very, long time.

 

[WortMonger]

I'm not much help as I have been out of the Corny scene for a while now. Lots on here about Cornies though and kegging setups. I bought a bottle and pay $19 every 1 1/2 yrs for another bottle swap. Craigslist is excellent for finding kegs and other accessories, so good luck to you. Kegging is way better than bottling IMHO.

 

[Brooklyn-Brewtality]

Do you have a budget?
Will you use a full size fridge, a chest freezer or a dorm/mini fridge?
How many taps do you want? For that matter, will you use shanks or a tower and taps or is a cobra/picnic ok?

 

[abracadabra]

If you have room a 20 lb CO2 tank is great and an extra 5 lb tank for road trips and as a spare is good to have but not a necessity. IMHO a single gauge regulator is all you need as in my experience the CO2 tank gauge is that they are useless, others believe differently. That, a fridge, a cobra tap with a black disconnect for the beer side and a gray one for the gas and a couple of hoses and you're set. Or you can buy a kegging set up from someone like
Home Brewing Home Beer Brewing Home Wine Making Beer Kegging Equipment Breweriana Beer Tap Handles Liqueur Making Making Soda Adventures in Home Brewing or others.

You'll need to decide what type of disconnects you'd like the flair type that screw off or the barb type that attaches with a clamp. I have both but like the screw off type better.

Edit: what on earth is this site doing with the URL I posted?

 

[1EightT]

I've got an extra full size refrigerator that i'm going to be using to start. I would like to have multiple taps/kegs. The plan is to setup a fairly large bar area in my basement along with a climate controlled brewing/storage room. That's about a year off in the plans, but when it happens it would be nice to have 4-6 taps setup on the bar top.