Where do I start?

[spb]

I'm sure this question has been asked countless times in this forum but.....
I have been brewing for around six months and have always bottled. I was just given a kegging setup-CO2 tank, multiple corny kegs, regulators, lines, everything but the fridge. My question is where do I start?
My most important question is how do I check that my cornys are pressure tight and do not leak?
What do I have to take apart and clean?
Can anyone provide help and/or direct me to websites that will help me?
Thanks in advance!
Lucas

 

[gnef]

you start by making more beer. haha.

most things are pretty simple. use soapy water, or star san (my preference) if you have it in a bottle, and spray all the connections. if there is a major leak, it will start bubling. minor leaks may not, and you will have to test for those as well. the way you test for minor leaks is hook whatever you want to test up to the co2 w/ regulator, and turn off the tank. if overnight, the pressures drop, you have a leak.

you should take apart the entire keg and clean it, at least before the first use. do this by taking off the lid, removing the posts, and then taking out the dip tubes and poppets. use whatever cleaner you have on hand, let it soak if necessary, and then sanitize and bleed out oxygen from the keg.

many people will recommend the shake method for carbonating, but i am a set it and forget it kind of guy, mostly because it is simpler, but also because you are less likely to miss your volumes of co2. i actually use a diffusion stone if i need the beer quickly, but that rarely happens, and i just hook up the co2 for a few weeks as the beer conditions, and by the time it is ready, it is properly carbonated.

make sure you have check valves everywhere in your system. it only takes one time for beer to be pushed back in to the lines and in to the regulator to destroy the regulator diaphragm.

don't forget to search, a lot of the questions you may have will most likely already have been answered.

 

[user 6240]

I just made one of these kegerators.

http://mysite.verizon.net/res00t0f/ebh/

this guy has compiled several sites with info on making a kegerator. I chose to remove the inner part of the door to fit two cornies and a co2 inside. I'll be posting pics soon.