Portable Keg stuff

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kmlavoy

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I have yet to start kegging, but may be in the near future. I will be taking a batch with me on a trip to a cabin in July, and have been looking at this little setup to take:

http://stores.kegconnection.com/Detail.bok?no=9

My question is:
-Is the hose for dispensing long enough? I thought I had read that you need a certain length of tubing to avoid excessive foaming.
 
Should be fine. I use a pieced together one very much like that.

The faucet line is going to be longer than that, you can ask Todd @ keg connection if your concerned. The faucet is designed for low-foam I think too.

You can also find 14g CO2 canisters that fit the charger at Academy or any other sports store in the paintball area. I don't know about this "oil" in the cannister, so perhaps someone else will pipe in with some insight.
 
With that setup your keg needs to already be carbonated, and the co2 charger basically provides just enough c02 to push the beer out, I don't believe it's enough co2 to maintain 10-12psi like most home systems do. That being said, I would have 5 to 6 feet of beer line handy just in case.
 
Just thinking on something like this myself... Quick question though. Let's say I have a keg in my kegerator, held at 40F, 12PSI, and its fully carbed to 2.4ish volumes.

If I remove this keg to transport it somewhere and serve with this type set-up, will I lose the carbonation when the beer in the keg warms during transport? Obviously less CO2 can stay in solution at the warmer temp. How long will it take the CO2 in the headspace to re-dissolve, so to speak, once you get the keg on ice and back down to 40F or so. Or am I missing something all together here?

I'm no science whiz...
 
I tend to believe Todd's warning about using food grade CO2 chargers. They are widely available on the internet for use in seltzer bottles (search for seltzer chargers if you have trouble finding them) and are relatively inexpensive.

I'm interested in RoaringBrewers question, as I am planning on bringing kegged beer to some events later this year. My intuition is that if just left alone, it might take up to several days for the co2 to go back into solution once the keg was rechilled. However, once it's cold, I don't see why you couldn't use the standard shake and wait a couple hours force carbing method.
 
My intuition is that if just left alone, it might take up to several days for the co2 to go back into solution once the keg was rechilled. However, once it's cold, I don't see why you couldn't use the standard shake and wait a couple hours force carbing method.

This is what I was thinking also... I took a keg out of my kegerator before that was fully carbed and let it sit at room temp for a week. When I put it back in, it took about 3-5 days to recarb.

Maybe the "de-carbing" wouldn't be as bad for only a 1-3 hour trip (versus 1 week), but I don't know. I guess ultimately I am just trying to figure out if I will need to transport the keg already on ice or what, so it doesn't lose its carb-level.

Also, I guess this would be different for a naturally carbed keg versus forced? A bottle at room temp is still carbed if done naturally... however, I rarely naturally carb a keg, so that won't be my case.
 
those bulbs can definitely maintain 10-12 psi. but you'll use a lot more CO2 doing it that way.

as long as you maintain some pressure, and keep it cold, the keg won't lose noticable carbonation/CO2 volumes.
 
For the price of the CO2 pump-thinger-ma-jigger, cartridges, etc. I wonder if its not more economical to just buy a 2.5lb CO2 tank for travelling/dispensing at parties?

It's $40 for the "Kit" of hand-held CO2, extra carts, and picnic tap from kegconnection. I am pretty sure I saw 2.5lb CO2 tanks for not a whole lot more than that... Maybe $50-80? Or maybe I'm nuts...

EDIT: http://www.beveragefactory.com/C25H.shtml - $58 + S/H
 
Transporting kegs is no different then transporting bottles as far as the carbonation goes. I have let kegs warm up and then cooled them back down and had no noticeable change in carbonation.

Roaring, you can probably get a 2.5 lb CO2 tank for that, but you would still need to add a regulator etc... which will put you back in the $100 range.
 
Transporting kegs is no different then transporting bottles as far as the carbonation goes. I have let kegs warm up and then cooled them back down and had no noticeable change in carbonation.

Roaring, you can probably get a 2.5 lb CO2 tank for that, but you would still need to add a regulator etc... which will put you back in the $100 range.

Good point, forgot the reg... was thinking too simple. Guess I'll try to cartridge route. I don't intend on needing to use it more than a few times a year. Parties at my place, I just use the kegerator...
 
Just thinking on something like this myself... Quick question though. Let's say I have a keg in my kegerator, held at 40F, 12PSI, and its fully carbed to 2.4ish volumes.

If I remove this keg to transport it somewhere and serve with this type set-up, will I lose the carbonation when the beer in the keg warms during transport? Obviously less CO2 can stay in solution at the warmer temp. How long will it take the CO2 in the headspace to re-dissolve, so to speak, once you get the keg on ice and back down to 40F or so. Or am I missing something all together here?

I'm no science whiz...

If you pull it off the regulator and warm it up the pressure in the keg will increase but the CO2 cannot escape the keg. If you cool it back down before serving or connecting it to a gas supply then the CO2 will redissolve in the beer.
Even if you do release the gas in the keg before chilling if the keg is full then there is not much head space for the gaseous CO2 so most of it will still be in the beer. There will be little loss of carbonation.

Craig
 
The little cartridge based charger is workable and it's the cheapest upfront outlay which is great if you only see needing it once or twice a year. Once you use it like every weekend, you start wasting money on carts. Ask yourself if you wouldn't mind having a second smaller Co2 tank and reg for purging and pushing, etc. If you can make use of it, it might be worth the investment on a 5lb tank. It also serves as a backup for when your main tank empties.
 
Thanks for the tips. I'm guessing (for now) I'll only be using it a couple times a year, so I'm probably going to go with this set up (hello stim check!).

One last question: is there any hard and fast way to know that it's time to change the cartridge? I understand it's mainly there to push beer out, so basically when no beer is coming out? Is there any chance of losing pressure when switching cartridges? Or is it something where if you leave the cartridge holder on there you're okay?
 
One last question: is there any hard and fast way to know that it's time to change the cartridge? Is there any chance of losing pressure when switching cartridges? Or is it something where if you leave the cartridge holder on there you're okay?

When you hit the trigger you'll hear gas flowing into the keg...if you don't hear it, your cartridge is empty. It doesn't take long to empty one! Take the charger off the keg when changing cartridges. In fact, may want to only attach it when you're actually applying pressure to the keg...they are entirely unregulated, and if an over-zealous party guest hits the trigger too many time, it could easily blow the picnic tap off the line and create a beer fountain!

You can find cheap (well, cheaper) cartridges on eBay, including the larger size with the threaded connection.

Personally, I use a regular 5lb tank/regulator when going portable, but I carry the handheld charger as a backup.
 
When it's time to change, simply unscrew the bottom and replace the cartridge.

Don't remove the charger, as you'll depressurize the system. The trigger on the charger will keep the system closed while you replace the cart. Let us know if you find a really cheap place for the carts as well.
 
Yup, the trigger is the isolator between the cartridge and the disconnect. A little piece of advice though, NEVER pull the trigger when it's connected to the keg disconnect but NOT connected to a keg. It will blow the disconnect apart. You're basically putting 800psi into the disconnect.
 
plus my gas supplier only fills on weekdays, not the weekend when I can get out there. I doubt they have 2.5lb cylinders since its a welding shop.

but if you did it a LOT, then the bigger cyilnder, or a 20oz paintball cylinder would make more sense since you'd re-coup the up-front cost.

you can buy those CO2 bulbs online in bulk for 60% less than what my LHBS charges.
 
are the food safe cartridges marked? I know of a guy in town that sells em pretty cheap, but he sources them from someone that throws them away, so I want to make sure they are the right deal
 
Don't remove the charger, as you'll depressurize the system. The trigger on the charger will keep the system closed while you replace the cart.

I don't see how that would that depressurize the keg.

I'd also be more inclined to trust the keg's poppet valve more than the trigger, the latter being designed to hold pressure in the other direction.
 
The instructions for that charger actually say to make sure that the gas post is in place before adding the charger to it if I recall correctly. Prolly to avoid backflow from a sudden pressure of connection.

I see no reason why you couldn't though do it via removing the post, other than laziness (unscrewing and adding a new charger is a lot quicker than removing the post and then replacing).
 
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