Question about Regulators/Lines for Kegerator

[sboyajian]

Did some googling and found some good information, but nothing that seemed to fully answer what I'm looking for.

I've been bottling since I started brewing, however I'd like to build a kegerator soon. I'm a bit confused as to what I need to do for the CO2 setup.

Most of my beers are in the 2.5-2.7 C02 range, however I do have some stouts much lower, and a few wheats and ciders that are a bit higher.

My goal is to have 4-5 total taps on the front door. What is the ideal way to handle different CO2 levels for each tap? Should I go with something like a dual or triple regulator (knowing majority will fall in the same levels) or is it better to get a manifold with a single regulator off of each to control every tap individually?

Thoughts? Suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[chickypad]

There won't be an ideal way, just a way that works best for you. My advice is to draw out the basic schematic before buying everything to be sure it fits your needs. For example, if you go with a dual body at the tank and you keep your tank outside that will mean running 2 lines in rather than 1. Also remember that the pressure out from secondaries downstream can never be greater than the pressure in from the primary itself. Personally if I wanted multiple carb levels to different kegs on a regular basis I would go with a primary regulator outside and a bank of secondaries mounted inside. For yrs I had just a primary with 5 lines on a manifold and ran everything at the same 2.5 vols. I only more recently added a secondary to carb beers for serving on nitro.

 

[day_trippr]

The ultimate would be a reg per keg, but you might be able to subset that, with one reg feeding a 1:3 splitter or manifold for "middle" carbed beers, one for "low" and the third for "high". You'd only be able to have one each of the latter (although you could have two high or two low) so if that's going to be a problem, subsetting probably isn't going to work for you.

Otherwise, a reg per keg gets unwieldy if you try to do it with primaries - unless you remote the whole gang - which is possible to do but requires a pricey high pressure hose between the tank valve and the gang.

The alternative is a single primary at the tank driving an inexpensive low pressure hose to a gang of secondaries. Run the primary 5+ psi above the highest pressure you'll ever set any of the secondaries and you're good to go...

Cheers!

 

[Rev2010]

I have a dual gauge primary regulator and a Taprite three product secondary regulator so I can control the carbonation levels individually for all three kegs. Working out awesome so far. Only caveat is that you have to have the highest psi keg at the first regulator in line of the three (meaning the first one which is closest to the gas in barb) on the secondary regulator. In other words, if you had one beer at 15 psi, another at 12psi, and another at 9psi you'd order the gas lines so that they go from the highest psi keg in to the lowest. Would be easier if I made a graphic, but trust me it's so easy and disconnecting/swapping gas lines and readjusting psi is so easy it's really not a bother at all.


Rev.

 

[sboyajian]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I guess I have some things to draw up and figure out. Perhaps even determining if I'm being realistic in my wants vs my needs.

 

[day_trippr]

I have a dual gauge primary regulator and a Taprite three product secondary regulator so I can control the carbonation levels individually for all three kegs. Working out awesome so far. Only caveat is that you have to have the highest psi keg at the first regulator in line of the three (meaning the first one which is closest to the gas in barb) on the secondary regulator. In other words, if you had one beer at 15 psi, another at 12psi, and another at 9psi you'd order the gas lines so that they go from the highest psi keg in to the lowest. Would be easier if I made a graphic, but trust me it's so easy and disconnecting/swapping gas lines and readjusting psi is so easy it's really not a bother at all.

That's very strange, as all of the secondary regulators I've seen or used have their high-pressure bypass ports opposite their high-pressure input ports, so every secondary in the gang sees the exact same input pressure, thus there is no required "order"...

Cheers!

 

[Rev2010]

That's very strange, as all of the secondary regulators I've seen or used have their high-pressure bypass ports opposite their high-pressure input ports, so every secondary in the gang sees the exact same input pressure, thus there is no required "order"...

Cheers!

My Taprite has the input on the right side. Since I'd count the regulators left to right that puts the input barb to the right of regulator 3, which has to house the keg with the highest psi to pass on a pressure of equal or lesser psi down to the next in line. This correct or have I misunderstood? I can say doing this way has been working, and one time I swapped gaslines and forgot to order properly and couldn't get the psi up to where I wanted. Then I realized my mistake and reordered the gaslines and all was fine.


Rev.

 

[day_trippr]

My Taprite has the input on the right side. Since I'd count the regulators left to right that puts the input barb to the right of regulator 3, which has to house the keg with the highest psi to pass on a pressure of equal or lesser psi down to the next in line. This correct or have I misunderstood?[...]

You've misunderstood. The port opposite the input port is called the "bypass" port as it is not affected by the regulator setting. If you were to end the gang with a high pressure gauge instead of a plug, it would be clear how they all work. And if using secondaries in the gang, you just have to set the driving primary regulator 5 psi higher than the highest secondary regulator setting...

Cheers!

 

[AnOldUR]

I have a dual gauge primary regulator . . .Only caveat is that you have to have the highest psi keg at the first regulator in line of the three . . .

On my Tap-Rite, the high pressure inlet and high pressure gauge are pass through left hand threaded ports on both sides of the regulator and are interchangeable. You can put the tank connector on either side. If you're using it as a primary with secondary’s attached the high pressure gauge goes on the last secondary gauge in the series with LH pipe nipples connecting the gauges.

In the picture you can see the two "PRI LEFT HAND" ports where you can connect your inlet from the tank, a high pressure gauge or a nipple to a secondary regulator to either side. The other two (top and bottom in picture) are regulated ports. One for output to your beer. The other for a low pressure gauge.

 

[Rev2010]

On my Tap-Rite, the high pressure inlet and high pressure gauge are pass through left hand threaded ports on both sides of the regulator and are interchangeable.

You've misread my post. I was referring to my secondary Taprite 3-product regulator like so:

 

[day_trippr]

Doesn't matter. Right to left, you could feed your gang of Taprites from either end and set any regulator to any pressure 5psi below from the input pressure...

Cheers!

 

[AnOldUR]

You've misread my post. I was referring to my secondary Taprite 3-product regulator like so:

Doesn't matter how they're mounted or how much pressure you feed the series, they function the same. The horizontal ports are pass thru. Take a look at the pressures on the gauges of this set-up.

 

[Saboral]

View attachment 234760

View attachment 234761

So I have a similar setup to what you're looking for. I used a micromatic primary regulator at my tank outside the kegerator. I piped that to a gas distribution block that allows two hookups at the primary regulator pressure. In my case these are at 30-40 psi for force carbonation, but could be brought down for my highest volume of CO2 beers.

Then I used a secondary regulator I've had around and hooked it to the gas block. I added a wye to allow two beers at this serving pressure.

I then used my old tap-rite tank regulator as a second secondary. This has the left handed threads on the high side making it incompatible with my other regulators for hard plumbing. I took the tank nozzle off the regulator and using a hacksaw I removed the flange that goes to the tank. I then then bought a $6 pipe tap and die set at Harbor Freight. I used the die to thread the cutoff end of the nipple in a right handed thread so I could mount the regulators together.


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew

 

[Rev2010]

Doesn't matter. Right to left, you could feed your gang of Taprites from either end and set any regulator to any pressure 5psi below from the input pressure..

Interesting, thanks. I'd read on here a ton of posts where people have said the regulator following cannot be set higher than the psi of the one before it. Didn't seem to make sense to me as I figured the regulator merely regulates what is going into the keg.


Rev.

 

[day_trippr]

Interesting, thanks. I'd read on here a ton of posts where people have said the regulator following cannot be set higher than the psi of the one before it. Didn't seem to make sense to me as I figured the regulator merely regulates what is going into the keg.

It seems clear you're conflating the secondary regulator required differential with an entirely different paradigm.

Bottom line, you misunderstood, and you can set any of the regs in your triplet to any setting your want without affecting the neighbors - as long as you stay at least 5 psi below your primary reg setting...

Cheers!

 

[Rev2010]

Bottom line, you misunderstood

I'd actually read some misinformation unfortunately. Funny thing is, when searching and finding the information, you actually corrected the poster further down in the thread. Must have missed that. Oh btw, I did know about the 5 psi higher primary setting. Thanks again for the correction.


Rev.