It's Kegging Time 2019

[ben 10]

2 minutes ago, Journeyman said:

There's a gas relief on the reg? (off to look)

On mine there is, degas the reg.

Edited May 2, 2020 by Ben 10

[Journeyman]

1 minute ago, Ben 10 said:

On mine there is, degas the reg.

Ah no, not on this

[ben 10]

5 minutes ago, Journeyman said:

Ah no, not on this

Pleb

[Journeyman]

6 minutes ago, Ben 10 said:

Pleb

I refer you to...

"the shite kegking ones"  

[Otto Von Blotto]

What I do is turn the gas off to the keg on the manifold, then reset the regulator to serving pressure as the soda water is always on, then let the keg sit for a few hours. This allows it to absorb most of the gas in the headspace instead of just wasting it. After that I bleed what is left, then turn its gas back on and it's good to go. Never bothered to release pressure at the regulator itself. Turning it down seem to do the trick, I usually turn it down to pretty much zero then turn it back up again.

I wouldn't run two days at 30psi, one day probably isn't gonna fully carbonate it but two days would likely over carbonate it. 

Edited May 2, 2020 by Otto Von Blotto

[Journeyman]

6 minutes ago, Otto Von Blotto said:

What I do is turn the gas off to the keg on the manifold, then reset the regulator to serving pressure as the soda water is always on, then let the keg sit for a few hours. This allows it to absorb most of the gas in the headspace instead of just wasting it. After that I bleed what is left, then turn its gas back on and it's good to go. Never bothered to release pressure at the regulator itself. Turning it down seem to do the trick, I usually turn it down to pretty much zero then turn it back up again.

I wouldn't run two days at 30psi, one day probably isn't gonna fully carbonate it but two days would likely over carbonate it. 

When you "reset the regulator to serving pressure" does your reg wind down to that pressure or do you have to release pressure to drop it to 0 then wind it up? I had to purge the line up to the manifold to get the keg-side gauge to react. As in, turn the reg off, then release what is in the line to the manifold and THEN I got a 0 reading.

Or is that what occurs because the soda is always on? Is soda forgiving of bouncing around the pressure or something?

[Pezzza]

1 hour ago, NewBrews said:

I was in Rocky from 1989 to 1995 before moving to Brissie. That’s actually where I started home brewing originally. Ahhhh, the joy of brewing at ambient temp with a Coopers draught tin and a kilo of corn syrup in the Rocky summer.

Brother in law was staying with us for a while, we used to go through two king browns each every afternoon, so there was always a brew on.

Ha ha Gold NB!

[Otto Von Blotto]

31 minutes ago, Journeyman said:

When you "reset the regulator to serving pressure" does your reg wind down to that pressure or do you have to release pressure to drop it to 0 then wind it up? I had to purge the line up to the manifold to get the keg-side gauge to react. As in, turn the reg off, then release what is in the line to the manifold and THEN I got a 0 reading.

Or is that what occurs because the soda is always on? Is soda forgiving of bouncing around the pressure or something?

The soda water gas is turned off due to using high pressure on one or both beer kegs, so it doesn't come into it. I just turn the pressure down on the regulator. Once you turn off the manifold valves the pressure in the lines between it and the kegs is irrelevant to the regulator anyway. 

 

[Marty_G]

39 minutes ago, Journeyman said:

As in, turn the reg off, then release what is in the line to the manifold and THEN I got a 0 reading.

I suppose you have guessed how to release the pressure but in case you haven't. Just take a gas disconnect off the keg and depress the centre pin in the disconnect with you clean finger. Don't worry too much about being super sterile handling the gas as the CO2 is not good for the bacteria that we are concerned with.  But in saying that there are more anaerobic organisms than aerobic. 

[iBooz2]

The gas pressure gauge will always show what pressure is in the lines or kegs even if gas is turned off at the bottle.

I don't pull the PRV on force carbing kegs either, waste of gas.  Once they have been sitting say overnight at 40 psi I just disconnect the gas ball locks from these kegs.  Turn gas off at the bottle then wind the harris regulator knob anti-clockwise about 5 half turns (my way of saying 5 wrist turns).  Then connect the gas back up to my already tapped serving keg which usually sits at 8 - 10 psi.

Then turn the gas back on at the bottle and give the regulator knob a tweak to get regular serving pressure back up to the 8 - 10 psi again.

When the force carbed kegs are ready to be tapped I again turn the gas off at the bottle.  Attach the gas to the force carbed keg only and watch the gauge, it will show how much pressure is still in the keg, usually nearly all has been absorbed and the pressure may need only a slight burp to get it back to serving pressure, then turn gas back on at the bottle to hold it about 8 -10 psi (for my beers).

Some men are weather wise.  Most are otherwise. 

Some men are keg wise. I am otherwise. 

Cheers - AL

[Otto Von Blotto]

Guessing you don't have a manifold? Turning the gas bottle off wouldn't be necessary with one.

I agree it's a waste of gas burping the kegs that have been on high pressure as soon as the gas is turned off or disconnected, however I find when they've been left alone for a while there's not much pressure left so it doesn't really waste much. 

[iBooz2]

Yep, OVB, no manifold for me yet mate, just an octopus of 3 gas lines with ball lock connectors. 

Its working fine, have two pluto taps which are stored in the fridge on the two tapped kegs.  Nothing fancy, just convenient and efficient for time being. Keg fridge can only hold two kegs.  I have a freezer which would hold about 6 kegs but no room in the man cave until we off load some stuff.  Got a couple of deceased estates dumped on us in last year or so and it has been overwhelming.

Cheers - AL

 

[Beerlust]

2 hours ago, Ben 10 said:

On mine there is, degas the reg..

 

2 hours ago, Journeyman said:

Ah no, not on this..

Having the blow-off valve on the regulator is pretty handy. I have the Harris one like yours right now Journeyman, but originally had one like Ben 10 displayed. I @#$%ed that one because I didn't know any better at the time to fit a non-return valve exiting the regulator that was later explained to me. Without the non-return valve it allows back-flow moisture back into the regulator housing that eventually rusts it out internally & eventually screws it.

That said, these days I just push a pen onto the keg connector fitting on the end of the gas line to expel unwanted gas from the regulator when required.

Cheers,

Lusty.

[kmar92]

As previously posted I am setting up a kegerator with 3 taps (nuka taps) on a font. I have been pressure testing the set up and I have found that the CO2 to regulator to 4 way manifold to keg is holding pressure fine. However checking pressure from an empty keg to the taps has shown that 2 of the lines are holding pressure but 1 is not. Before I dismantle the font and taps should I be worried about this?

[Otto Von Blotto]

1 hour ago, kmar92 said:

As previously posted I am setting up a kegerator with 3 taps (nuka taps) on a font. I have been pressure testing the set up and I have found that the CO2 to regulator to 4 way manifold to keg is holding pressure fine. However checking pressure from an empty keg to the taps has shown that 2 of the lines are holding pressure but 1 is not. Before I dismantle the font and taps should I be worried about this?

I'd probably be more concerned about that if it was leaking beer. Perhaps the offending line just needs to be tightened more on the shank. Either that or the tap itself isn't sealing properly or the keg post is leaky, may need the seals replaced. Are they new or second hand kegs?

Edited May 2, 2020 by Otto Von Blotto

[Shamus O'Sean]

1 hour ago, kmar92 said:

As previously posted I am setting up a kegerator with 3 taps (nuka taps) on a font. I have been pressure testing the set up and I have found that the CO2 to regulator to 4 way manifold to keg is holding pressure fine. However checking pressure from an empty keg to the taps has shown that 2 of the lines are holding pressure but 1 is not. Before I dismantle the font and taps should I be worried about this?

I am not sure on the answer.  If one tap line is not holding pressure I think that is an issue.  My limited experience may help.  I recently set up a four tap font.  One of the taps was dodgy. 

I tried it on two outlets and had the same leaking issue.  Took it back to supplier and got a replacement and it worked fine.

When I was tightening up the replacement, I heard the dreaded spluttering "hiss".  The tap beside it was kegged up and carbonated.  Luckily it was only carbonated water.  Turns out the duotight on the first tap was resting onto the duotight on the second tap and causing it to leak gas and water.  Once I adjusted the position of the doutight/shank of the first tap, the problem was solved.

The duotights and EVA barrier seem to resist quite a bit of lateral pressure.  However, in my case it was only a little bit before the issue occurred.

I suggest checking inside your font.  Are the short shanks and duotight fittings separated from each other and not touching the side of the font?  If you are all good in that regard, the only option I can suggest is to recut the end of your EVA barrier line and re-insert it into the duotight fitting.  I did have a case of a PVC line into a duotight fitting that leaked.  Re-cutting and re-inserting fixed that.  I think that the PVC line had a marginally bigger diameter than the EVA line.

[kmar92]

OK thanks, the kegs are brand new and I have pressure tested them and they are fine. Shamus I am with you on this I feel that the problem is in the font, 2 out of 3 lines are fine I just have 1 dodgy 1, maybe the tap but I suspect a Duotight connection is not playing the game. I will pull it apart Sunday and try and find where the leak is.

[Shamus O'Sean]

@Journeyman, I feel you man.  I took at least two days, over two weekends, to get mine together and operating.  I thought about going secondhand freezer, but the looks and comments from SWMBO put a kibosh on that.

Deciding to go new kegerator means $1,000 of kit that CANNOT go wrong.  No pressure!!

Super excited when it arrived.  Took my time setting it up.  I am a natural procrastinator.  Eventually got it all going.  Four taps no issues (now).  Happy days.  You will get there, if not already.

Those who do it in a couple of hours, only count the actual time doing stuff.

[Shamus O'Sean]

Kegged my Promising Ale on Thursday 30 April 2020.  Also bottled 4 Coopers PET long-necks.

No taps on kegerator free.  I guess I can just pressurise it to 10psi, disconnect pressure, and leave until a keg spot is free?  I have no option to cool it below ambient (other than leaving it outside).

Cheers Shamus

[Journeyman]

16 hours ago, MartyG1525230263 said:

I suppose you have guessed how to release the pressure but in case you haven't. Just take a gas disconnect off the keg and depress the centre pin in the disconnect with you clean finger. Don't worry too much about being super sterile handling the gas as the CO2 is not good for the bacteria that we are concerned with.  But in saying that there are more anaerobic organisms than aerobic. 

I just flip a non-connected manifold lever.  If I get a 4th keg I'll have to try your method but for now... And hopefully, unless I mess things up, th e gas will just sit there on serving pressure from now on and I just add kegs as needed. I'm about to do a brew today which will fill my empty keg in 2 weeks, so unless I'm dreaming, I shuld be able to do 1 brew per week and keep 3 on tap pretty much constantly.

The only issue I can see is if I don't concentrate on 1 beer at a time - if I empty all 3 within a short time I'll have problems.

8 hours ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

@Journeyman, I feel you man.  I took at least two days, over two weekends, to get mine together and operating.  I thought about going secondhand freezer, but the looks and comments from SWMBO put a kibosh on that.

Deciding to go new kegerator means $1,000 of kit that CANNOT go wrong.  No pressure!!

Super excited when it arrived.  Took my time setting it up.  I am a natural procrastinator.  Eventually got it all going.  Four taps no issues (now).  Happy days.  You will get there, if not already.

Those who do it in a couple of hours, only count the actual time doing stuff.

Yeah... bit of a procrastinator myself although I prefer to think of it as 'Careful Planner'! Particularly for something like this where I can't afford (literally) to get it wrong. It's not so serious when you can just go buy another 'whatever' to replace the one you broke.

Well, if we count actual time working and not the hunting for the tools, looking stuff up online and cleaning up the mess, I also did it in a couple of hours.

Mine's all set with 2 kegs on tap. I'm thinking I'm going to have to disconnect though to move the fridges and clean underneath - I don't want beer on the concrete under there developing little nasties that could get in my brews. I've done well at keeping my brew area sanitised so don't need a cesspool of moulds and bacteria in a space that has never seen anything they can eat before.

14 hours ago, Beerlust said:

Having the blow-off valve on the regulator is pretty handy. I have the Harris one like yours right now Journeyman, but originally had one like Ben 10 displayed. I @#$%ed that one because I didn't know any better at the time to fit a non-return valve exiting the regulator that was later explained to me. Without the non-return valve it allows back-flow moisture back into the regulator housing that eventually rusts it out internally & eventually screws it.

That said, these days I just push a pen onto the keg connector fitting on the end of the gas line to expel unwanted gas from the regulator when required.

I seem to have bypassed that need with the manifold, which has check valves on all the ports. And the manifold means I can just open a line not in use or one I pull off the keg if all are in use in the future - I can either do the pin-push or simply remove the line from the duotight.

And to answer a comment earlier from someone, the duotights are working just great. All connections sealed perfectly, no bubbles at joins, everything gas and liquid-proof. Very pleased with the for ease of use.

9 hours ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

The duotights and EVA barrier seem to resist quite a bit of lateral pressure.  However, in my case it was only a little bit before the issue occurred.

I noticed that. My shelf above the kegs was a bit low, meaning a wiggle needed to get the keg under it - the disconnects had clearance but the lip at the front of the shelf caught one of the beer duotights and pushed it down a little - BEER! Where it shouldn't ought'a be... on ME!  Not much, the moment I pulled the keg back out it slowed and hardly any came out of the line as I removed it from the duotight and pushed it back in.

Then I moved the shelf up a notch.  Moral - do things WHEN YOU THINK OF THEM!

Edited May 3, 2020 by Journeyman

[Journeyman]

7 hours ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

No taps on kegerator free.  I guess I can just pressurise it to 10psi, disconnect pressure, and leave until a keg spot is free?  I have no option to cool it below ambient (other than leaving it outside).

A question on doing this - would it be an idea to pressurise it a bit higher, say 15 psi and leave it? Would the extra pressure help put more CO2 into the beer as nights cool it down? The thinking is, the keg will lose heat in the coolth of the night but not necessarily warm up as much during the day. If you've left a can of liquid out overnight and pick it up the next afternoon it isn't as warm as the room it is in.

I'm not sure if it matters apart from possibly having the keg closer to being able to pour from it once cooled (more CO2 in suspension) but I like to understand the process and backgrounds for things I learn.

[Journeyman]

17 hours ago, Otto Von Blotto said:

The soda water gas is turned off due to using high pressure on one or both beer kegs, so it doesn't come into it. I just turn the pressure down on the regulator. Once you turn off the manifold valves the pressure in the lines between it and the kegs is irrelevant to the regulator anyway. 

Thanks, that clears it up. I thought you meant the soda was always on gas even when you were at high pressure.

[Beerlust]

22 minutes ago, Journeyman said:

I seem to have bypassed that need with the manifold, which has check valves on all the ports. And the manifold means I can just open a line not in use or one I pull off the keg if all are in use in the future - I can either do the pin-push or simply remove the line from the duotight.

Yep. Any where in your system that can release pressure. I purchased a 4-way manifold many years ago with all intentions of using it in my keezer, but never got past the two keg split line setup. I've rarely got in a situation where I haven't had a keg free. Maybe once or twice, but in each case I just left the beer still in the fermenter cold conditioning until a keg was free, & then transferred.

My partner says this is because I drink too much, to which I sternly protest, & state I don't brew enough. 

Cheers,

Lusty.

[Marty_G]

49 minutes ago, Journeyman said:

I just flip a non-connected manifold lever.  If I get a 4th keg I'll have to try your method but for now

I would suggest connecting a very long hose and a disconnect to that so you can use it as an auxillary hose to gas kegs etc that are outside the fridge.  Makes life very easy if you don't have a second bottle. 

[iBooz2]

11 minutes ago, MartyG1525230263 said:

I would suggest connecting a very long hose and a disconnect to that so you can use it as an auxillary hose to gas kegs etc that are outside the fridge.  Makes life very easy if you don't have a second bottle. 

+1 my gas lines with their gas ball lock connectors on each looks like an octopus but damned handy.

Cheers - AL