Thinking of a major (to me) kegerator overhaul...

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seatazzz

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It's been almost a year since I replaced my beer and gas lines in my kegerator (four taps and six gas lines, two are dedicated force-carb). When I rebuilt it after purchasing (it was set up for sankes, I use ball-lock cornies exclusively) I used the cheap vinyl tubing for both beer & gas. I'd like to switch to the eva-barrier for the tap lines, which I can get at Amazon; but I'd also like to switch to duotight/John Guest fittings for easier cleaning/switching out of connectors/lines. Has anyone out there done this? If you have, can you give me an idea of what I need to buy? My manifold has the removable barbs so I can connect directly to it. I use about 6' of 3/16"ID tubing for each tap, which works for me without foaming. 20211212_072448[1].jpg20211212_072459[1].jpg
 
Use the EVA for your gas lines too. It will actually make a noticeable difference in taste. I didn’t believe it until I tried it. My whole system is EVA and it’s worth it. Make sure you use the 4mm ID stuff and stick with 6 feet for your beverage lines. Length is irrelevant for the gas.
You will want this connector for your beer shanks and this one for your keg disconnects.
If you decide to change the tubing on your gas manifold, that will be a little more involved. It really needs MFL valves on it to work best.
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You might be able to use larger diameter EVA, heat it and slide it onto those barbed fittings.
 
Fantastic, thanks. Order placed for the line and the fittings, going to wait a bit on the gas side. Morebeer has the eva barrier longer & cheaper than amazon so getting it all there, guess I know what I'm doing next weekend...
 
When you screw the gray connectors onto the disconnects and beer shanks, they need to be pretty snug but not Hercules tight… I have seen threads where folks are complaining about cracked fittings and it seems they are usually too tight. I have 18 of them on my system and so far no problems.
 
When you screw the gray connectors onto the disconnects and beer shanks, they need to be pretty snug but not Hercules tight… I have seen threads where folks are complaining about cracked fittings and it seems they are usually too tight. I have 18 of them on my system and so far no problems.
Good to know. I've cracked a fair few of plastic fittings going the Hercules route and learned my lesson the hard way.
 
Hand tighten, check for leaks, wrench a 1/8th turn if necessary.

I have ~50 PTC fittings in service, only blew the back out of one 1/4" FFL to 8mm Tube fitting via over-tightening, and I knew it immediately.
The much bigger problem is stressing to just shy of an immediate snap and having it go when nobody is looking...

Cheers!
 
I swapped out both beer and gas lines last year and am very happy.

If you decide to do the gas side it's likely cheaper to buy a whole new manifold with flare fittings than swapping out the check valves/barbs. At least it was when I was looking and a quick search shows manifolds with barbs are even cheaper now.

For tightening I followed directions I found online - finger tight then 1/8-1/4 turn more. Have had zero leaks and no cracked fittings.
 
New manifolds with flare outputs can be had from brewhardware.com.

When you’re using Duotight, make sure to push the tubing all the way in, past the second o-ring. You can push it halfway and get a leak/free connection, but any strain on the fitting will then cause a leak or pop out the tube. Ask me how I know
 
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