Someone explain regulators to me please.

[scottywags]

I am building a collared Keezer and am looking into the parts needed to tap 4 kegs in the future. Right now I am only going to have 2 on draft but would like the ability to go to 4 without having to completely redo my set-up.

I have been looking at these on Ebay which seem to be about $25-50 dollars cheaper than other dual bodied regs:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dual-Body-B...ultDomain_0&hash=item1e59f91ecc#ht_500wt_1413

I tried calling the company that has them for sale but they don't like to return calls for some reason.

The original regulator that I was looking at was this for $130.00:
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/kegging/double-co2-regulator.html

but seems kinda pricy when I could get the one off of Ebay

But then I see "secondary" regulators that are in the $90-110 dollar range but kinda look the same.

Is there a difference that I need to be aware of?

TIA

 

[Gduck]

I use a 3 way gas manifold with my regulator so that I don't need to deal with dual body ones or secondary regulators, etc. basically the manifold just split the gas line so that I can have three kegs hooked up at once. Yes, everything has to be kept at the same pressure rather than each keg getting its own individual pressure. But I've had no complaints.

 

[masonsjax]

I bought bargain regulators the first time and wasn't happy. You cant go wrong with a micromatic, its worth it. Also, its a really good idea to use 3/16 beer line for both beer and gas, and use 1/4" barbs. It takes a little more effort to assemble, but you'll only need to do it once, and won't lose all your gas. Been there, not fun.

 

[scottywags]

So should I not even worry about going with a dual body?
Should I just go with something like this:
http://www.micromatic.com/draft-keg-beer/regulators-pid-642-2.html

Then down the road pick up a manifold?

 

[pfgonzo]

I bought bargain regulators the first time and wasn't happy. You cant go wrong with a micromatic, its worth it. Also, its a really good idea to use 3/16 beer line for both beer and gas, and use 1/4" barbs. It takes a little more effort to assemble, but you'll only need to do it once, and won't lose all your gas. Been there, not fun.

I'm still in the conceptual stage with kegging. What's the benefit of using 3/16 for the CO2 line rather than 5/16?

 

[masonsjax]

Beer lines are usually 3/16 for the flow resistance, but for gas that doesn't matter. Using 3/16 for everything is just convenient. Making replacement lines, jumpers for keg to keg transfers, and it can be cheaper if you only need to buy one size, you can get a spool and save a few bucks. Using one size smaller than your barbs makes leaking a thing of the past, which is the biggest benefit if you ask me.

 

[masonsjax]

So should I not even worry about going with a dual body?
Should I just go with something like this:
http://www.micromatic.com/draft-keg-beer/regulators-pid-642-2.html

Then down the road pick up a manifold?

That's the one I was referring to. Just note that if you decide to go with the 3/16" lines all around, you'll need to buy a 1/4" barb/shutoff as well because micromatic puts 3/8" barbs on their regulators. Also, the gauge is generally useless, especially if you keep your tank in the fridge. So, if it were me, I'd get the single body, single gauge regulator with the single outlet. In fact, that's exactly what I did.

 

[audger]

. What's the benefit of using 3/16 for the CO2 line rather than 5/16?

for short runs (if you are using less than 20-30 total feet of gas line) there is no difference. if you are using 1/4" gas barbs, i would recomend using 3/16" tubing. put the ends of the tube in boiling water and push them over the 1/4" barbs. you almost dont need to use clamps if you do that (...almost), and it will be leak-free.

 

[brewhappy]

My first regulator was the cheapest dual pressure regulator I could find a couple years ago. It worked ok for the first 6 months but then the pressure started to jump up and down after I adjusted it. It got the point where I had to adjust it ever day when I got home from work. Then one of the regulators failed and let full pressure into my corny. When I finally realized this I pulled the pin on the corny and thought they thing was going to explode! So then I used a backup regulator and purchased a secondary regulator so I could still have 2 pressures. Well this never really worked. The two regulators never got along with each other and I was back to fiddling with my pressure almost every day and never having properly carbonated beer.

A few weeks ago I finally broke down and purchased the big dual pressure micromatic regulator. http://www.micromatic.com/draft-keg-beer/regulators-pid-642-Battery.html I must say this thing is worth every penny. It's huge! Twice the size of my other regulator and very solid. Not only that but when I adjust it, it stays at the pressure I adjusted it to, no more fluctuations. I als really like that this one comes with the relief valves. You can adjust it and ten pull the valve and know the pressure is set right where you put it. I really can't recommend the micromatic pro regulators enough. Don't mess around with crappy regulators for a couple years like I did.

One caveat, I do know guys that have one cheap ass regulator they've used for years and never had a problem. So for some people it works out that way too. It's a gamble like anything else.

 

[Homercidal]

You will need an additional regulator for every DIFFERENT pressure you want a keg. If you only plan on serving at 1 pressure, then a single regulator (dual gauge) will be fine.

Some people might want more than a single regulator so they can carb a mild at a lower volume than, say, a German Hefeweizen. Or they might have soda on tap for the wife and kids, which would be carbed to like 20-30 lbs.

If you need to split the same pressure to several kegs, then a manifold is all you need.

 

[scottywags]

So if I wanted to have maybe a cider an ale and a porter....I could run those off of one pressure and then maybe add some root beer later on...then I would need another pressure source or just a new regulator?
I've learned early on to buy what for the future as opposed to buying for right now. So that's why I want to make sure I buy a decent reg now instead of having to fool with it later on.

 

[masonsjax]

You can split lines from one regulator as much as you want. As soon as you want more than one pressure, you'll need to add more regulators.