It's Kegging Time 2019

[iBooz2]

On 4/4/2020 at 10:41 AM, Red devil 44 said:

Harris Regulators are the best, they have a much better diaphragm inside them and softer seating, hence the easy adjustment ( I used to service & rebuild them ), more expensive yes but worth it IMHO

Yep + 1 also for the Harris regulator @Journeyman from me.  I had a bit of a play with the Kegland one over at their factory outlet.  After years of using good quality regulators in my gas welding equipment just knew that it did not feel right so I went with a Harris off evil bay.  Much better feel and control.  I would however be reluctant to put my gas reg into a kezzer or fridge, just asking for trouble with any condensation that obviously would get into the gauges I reckon.  Cold metal bits attract moisture from the surrounding air as you are well aware and precision equipment does not deserve this sort of treatment.   Look after your gear and it will look after you.  Good luck with your kegging.

Cheers - AL

Edited April 5, 2020 by iBooz2

[Beer Baron]

I kegged my pale ale today and the smell was fantastic. I kegged it early because my fermentation fridge won’t drop below 8 degrees anymore and I can’t buy a new chest freezer because of all the panic buying idiots. 

I’ll brew my black IPA on Friday because I managed to swap and get the day off. 

[Journeyman]

On 4/5/2020 at 8:57 PM, iBooz2 said:

Yep + 1 also for the Harris regulator @Journeyman from me.  I had a bit of a play with the Kegland one over at their factory outlet.  After years of using good quality regulators in my gas welding equipment just knew that it did not feel right so I went with a Harris off evil bay.  Much better feel and control.  I would however be reluctant to put my gas reg into a kezzer or fridge, just asking for trouble with any condensation that obviously would get into the gauges I reckon.  Cold metal bits attract moisture from the surrounding air as you are well aware and precision equipment does not deserve this sort of treatment.   Look after your gear and it will look after you.  Good luck with your kegging.

Well, it's getting closer. Just getting prices on things.

The list is:

1. 3 x long shank taps.
2. 3 gas CMB disconnects.
3. 3 liquid CMB disconnects.
4. 6 kg CO2 bottle 
5. Harris 601 regulator
6. 4 way manifold
7. Connectors - thinking is duotights not crimps - I use them on the RO system and like the ease of use.
8. 20 metres line for gas and liquid. (likely 5mm ID for gas, 4mm ID for beer)
9. Drip tray to go on fridge door.
10. Spanner for beer taps - figure I have spanners but these look different - I'd prefer not to damage anything by using the wrong tool and they are cheap.

3 x kegs. (for now - will add more as money permits but 3 gives me rotation options) Also, going for the converted pin lock ones - I can't find anything to suggest they are in any way different to proper ball locks kegs except the dimensions.

 

[Marty_G]

1 hour ago, Journeyman said:

3 x kegs. (for now - will add more as money permits but 3 gives me rotation options) Also, going for the converted pin lock ones - I can't find anything to suggest they are in any way different to proper ball locks kegs except the dimensions.

 

Yep and they will be pressure tested and have new ball locks and seals.    

Edited April 8, 2020 by MartyG1525230263

[Journeyman]

Well, kegs are ordered - 3 x reconditioned ball locks for $200. Just waiting for KL to give me a price on all the other parts and about to send the list to CPB for price and postage.

Kegging, here I come...

[Journeyman]

1 hour ago, Journeyman said:

Well, kegs are ordered - 3 x reconditioned ball locks for $200. Just waiting for KL to give me a price on all the other parts and about to send the list to CPB for price and postage.

Kegging, here I come...

Hmm... KL seem to have removed any option for a kegging kit that doesn't come with kegs. So I resent the email with a specific list of what I want.

[Stoobs]

Does anyone know where you can get beer brand tap handles from have looked on gumtree and eBay and can't find the ones I want 

[Titan]

15 minutes ago, Stoobs said:

Does anyone know where you can get beer brand tap handles from have looked on gumtree and eBay and can't find the ones I want 

You can make your own decals and the fittings you need are here. https://www.kegland.com.au/82mm-chrome-decal-holder.html

[Stoobs]

7 minutes ago, Titan said:

You can make your own decals and the fittings you need are here. https://www.kegland.com.au/82mm-chrome-decal-holder.html

Yeah I've seen them and thought there a good idea but I'm hoping to find some actual beer handles like this one on eBay https://www.ebay.com/itm/193261203646 but I'm after some Cooper's ones and a Pacific ale one to try and match my favourite brews

 

 

[Shamus O'Sean]

6 hours ago, Stoobs said:

Yeah I've seen them and thought there a good idea but I'm hoping to find some actual beer handles like this one on eBay https://www.ebay.com/itm/193261203646 but I'm after some Cooper's ones and a Pacific ale one to try and match my favourite brews

 

 

You could try emailing Coopers.  Worth a shot.

[Titan]

11 hours ago, Titan said:

You can make your own decals and the fittings you need are here. https://www.kegland.com.au/82mm-chrome-decal-holder.html

Anyone got these? Im looking to buy a couple but they dont so them fitted to the taps and i cant figure out how they will look. Anyone has a photo of them fitted would be good.

[PaddyBrew2]

What temps do you set your kegerators at. I had mine at -1 but it tend to swing plus and minus 3 degrees. So the odd time it would go to minus four. I was kegging my Witbeir last night from what I thought was my empty ESB keg. Opened her up to clean it first and greeted by a nice iceberg of frozen beer.  Only about 2 litres I’d say. So I’ve set the fridge now to 2 degrees. 

[Journeyman]

Well, all ordered, most from Cheekypeakbreweries but while I waited for a response they sold out of 6kg CO2 bottles so that is coming from beerbelly - more expensive than kegland but KL were rather unhelpful in the prelim stages and BB is nothing but helpful. A little extra cost is reward for better service.

3 kegs, 4 taps, CO2, CMb disconnects, Harris Reg, 4-way manifold, duotight connectors and MFL threads on everything. Even a drip tray. Total with gas and kegs, $780. 

Theoretically the 2 brews in the fridge right now should be my last bottling brews except for occasional specialty ones I want to store.

[Greenyinthewestofsydney]

2 hours ago, PaddyBrew2 said:

What temps do you set your kegerators at. I had mine at -1 but it tend to swing plus and minus 3 degrees. So the odd time it would go to minus four. I was kegging my Witbeir last night from what I thought was my empty ESB keg. Opened her up to clean it first and greeted by a nice iceberg of frozen beer.  Only about 2 litres I’d say. So I’ve set the fridge now to 2 degrees. 

I set my kegorator to 3c. Its pretty accurate but some are not. Have you tested your temp by putting a schooner of water in it for a few days?

[PaddyBrew2]

It’s a brand new series x so I would have thought it were accurate but the fecking three degree swing can be annoying. What’s the schooner trick 

[Shamus O'Sean]

11 hours ago, Titan said:

Anyone got these? Im looking to buy a couple but they dont so them fitted to the taps and i cant figure out how they will look. Anyone has a photo of them fitted would be good.

I have the 72mm ones.  On my 4 tap fond they are really crowded.  Photo of one on each tap so you can see what they look like.

I even have them set forward and back on the shank just so they squeeze together.  See photo for the overlap.

I plan to set mine up as in the photo below.  The second tap from the left is for soda water, so I am thinking of having some other decal for that tap.  The decal on the outside taps will be angled so they sit better on the tap shank and they are easier to see when not behind the tap.

Maybe with a two or three tap font they would work better.  Remember these are the 72mm not the 82mm ones you mention.

The label is just printed on paper at home, ran through a cheap hot laminator from K-mart, cut out carefully and held in place by a couple of small pieces of blu-tac.

[Shamus O'Sean]

4 hours ago, PaddyBrew2 said:

What temps do you set your kegerators at

Also got a new Series X.  I set the temperature at 2°C.  Mine seems to only vary by +/- 1°C.  It only has soda water in it so far.  When I tried it the water it was so cold it hurt my teeth so I have upped the temperature to 3°C, might go even higher yet.

I had a brew ready to connect, but I did not finish assembling the kegerator in time.  Therefore I kegged the brew and dropped in 100g of sugar to naturally condition it.  Plan to hook it up on Sunday because that will have been two weeks conditioning.  The "Copper Head Ale" badge is already done.

[Titan]

40 minutes ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

I have the 72mm ones.  On my 4 tap fond they are really crowded.  Photo of one on each tap so you can see what they look like.

I even have them set forward and back on the shank just so they squeeze together.  See photo for the overlap.

I plan to set mine up as in the photo below.  The second tap from the left is for soda water, so I am thinking of having some other decal for that tap.  The decal on the outside taps will be angled so they sit better on the tap shank and they are easier to see when not behind the tap.

Maybe with a two or three tap font they would work better.  Remember these are the 72mm not the 82mm ones you mention.

The label is just printed on paper at home, ran through a cheap hot laminator from K-mart, cut out carefully and held in place by a couple of small pieces of blu-tac.

Thanks Shamus.

[Greenyinthewestofsydney]

2 hours ago, PaddyBrew2 said:

It’s a brand new series x so I would have thought it were accurate but the fecking three degree swing can be annoying. What’s the schooner trick 

Hey paddy

Set it to 3c for example. Put a schooner of water in the fridge preferably in the middle somewhere. After a couple of days drop a thermometer you know is correct in it and see what it says. If it says 3 then its pretty accurate etc..

Mine is pretty close but dont mean what you see on the dial is correct in any appliance. My robobrew is 2c out for example. 

[Titan]

I made a couple.

[Shamus O'Sean]

47 minutes ago, Titan said:

I made a couple.

They look beaut.  How did you do them?  And how are they connected to your taps?

[Titan]

7 minutes ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

They look beaut.  How did you do them?  And how are they connected to your taps?

I went to bunnings a got 2 of these. You can shorten the back part but i just left as is. https://www.bunnings.com.au/adoored-white-disc-hook_p0089506 . I just have plastic handles so drilled a small hole on the front and screwed the disc on. Label as just printed and stuck on with a glue stick.

[Shamus O'Sean]

41 minutes ago, Titan said:

I went to bunnings a got 2 of these. You can shorten the back part but i just left as is. https://www.bunnings.com.au/adoored-white-disc-hook_p0089506 . I just have plastic handles so drilled a small hole on the front and screwed the disc on. Label as just printed and stuck on with a glue stick.

THAT'S GOLD!

You have given me some inspiration and ideas for doing my soda water tap

Edited April 12, 2020 by Shamus O'Sean

[Journeyman]

Just read the thread on the difference between keg and bottle and wondered...

Has anyone tried racking to a keg with (say) 100g sugar in it? Then seal it and leave it for 2 weeks? The carbonation would still go ahead as normal, right?

How about add the sugar then put it on serving pressure? Would that still give the fast carb effect or would it double up on CO2 in the beer and give gushers?

[Red devil 44]

30 minutes ago, Journeyman said:

Just read the thread on the difference between keg and bottle and wondered...

Has anyone tried racking to a keg with (say) 100g sugar in it? Then seal it and leave it for 2 weeks? The carbonation would still go ahead as normal, right?

How about add the sugar then put it on serving pressure? Would that still give the fast carb effect or would it double up on CO2 in the beer and give gushers?

You will have CO2 once kegging, why not use that ? You are overthinking things again dude, if you have a 6kg cylinder you will use a poofteenth of CO2 to gas your keg if you do it right, you can get around 40-50 kegs per Cylinder ? 
‘Just sayin mate