PET-a-draft Cheap and easy 2 liter mini keg system

[Hlombard]

I came up with this simple way to turn a 2 litre pop bottle into a mini keg.

I already own a Corney keg system and a Tap-a-Draft setup. I find the 8 gram CO2 cannisters too expensive and the Corney to big to take along.

I was surprised to find that you can pull a 1/4" vinyl tube through a 7/32" hole in the lid and have it air tight. I've made a few and tested them over a period of time and never had a leak at the lid.

The vinyl tubing is cheap and you can find them at any hardware store. They easily handle the low pressure side of a CO2 system.

And they work perfectly with "Push-to-connect" fittings! These quick connects does not leak and is simple and cheap.

You can quickly glue a smaller tube inside a larger one with vinyl glue. This is how I increase the diameter of the 1/8" ID x 1/4" OD tubing (which I use for the CO2 in and beer out lines) to 1/4" ID x 3/8" OD in order to fit it over the picnic tap and the barb on the CO2 regulator.

I made an Instructable with details on the process - here.
I includes a video of how it pours.

I used the same technique on a 6 litre PET bottle and it dispenses beer perfectly at 12 psi.

To prevent my beer from going skunk, I spray painted the PET bottles with vinyl spray. I put a strip of electrician's tape down the side so I can see inside.

All of a sudden, I am getting invited to every party in the neighbourhood!

 

[Pappers_]

Hi, to post photos, you need to either upload them to HBT first (use the pull-down menu 'my account' at the top, then go to 'my profile', then photos and you can probably figure it out from there) or link to them using the photo's url (if its posted somewhere else on the web).

 

[Hlombard]

Thanks! Looks like I figured it out now.

 

[UncleRusty]

I like it! Interesting alternative to using a growler... would be kinda cool to setup like 4-5 of these and have a 5-tap jockey box cooler.

 

[ame]

I am building one of these! I have all the parts, but my first attempt at drilling holes in the bottle cap was not successful.

I will try again tomorrow.

I tested with a bike pump to check for leaks. I have a bicycle CO2 cartridge pump for later. I have ordered a pressure gauge from China so that I won't overpressurise the bottles, and I'll fit that later.

 

[IslandLizard]

I am building one of these! I have all the parts, but my first attempt at drilling holes in the bottle cap was not successful.

I will try again tomorrow.

I tested with a bike pump to check for leaks. I have a bicycle CO2 cartridge pump for later. I have ordered a pressure gauge from China so that I won't overpressurise the bottles, and I'll fit that later.

I've drilled holes in plastic caps using a smaller drill bit than needed, then use a Dremel tool with a small conical grinding stone to "polish" it to the required diameter, from both sides of the cap. Start small and widen gradually until you get the right leak-free fit. A bit of dish wash soap helps to get the tubing through the holes.

I've used 1.75 liter plastic liquor bottles with the same success. They're a bit heavier PET.

 

[ame]

Took a while to find tubing that would work. It's mostly metric here, but a lot of the stuff is imperial, just marked with the closest metric measure. So it doesn't actually fit together.

I have a 6mm Y adapter and 6/4mm polyurethane pneumatic tubing. For the faucets and the Schrader valve I have a short length of 8/6mm vinyl tubing glued over the polyurethane tubing.

The Schrader valve was hacksawed off an angled fitting from a moped wheel. It's brass, but won't be in contact with the beer.

The bottles are 2 litre brown PET bottles, and I drilled two 5.5mm holes in each cap. That seems to be holding pressure.

Right now I have water in the bottles and I have put CO2 in there to pressure test it. In the morning I will check if the bottles are soft or there's any water around the faucets.

If there's no leaks I'll try with beer. There's a party this weekend I could, er, test it at.

Finally, I have found a cheap insulated picnic backpack which I can buy to keep things cool if I can't find anything cheaper.