It's Kegging Time 2019

[MitchBastard]

Hey keg lords.

ive just whacked 4 taps on my fridge Door as opposed to using a Pluto gun on each keg.
 

My serving pressure with the Pluto’s is 8psi with a 3m line length And about a serving temp of about 4 deg. 
 

should this be the same with my taps too?

can I also loop my lines and zip tie them to neaten them up? Not to tight obviously ...

cheers 

 

 

Edited June 16, 2020 by MitchBastard

[Otto Von Blotto]

Doesn't sound like a lot of carbonation. 4 degrees is too warm for my setup but obviously a different setup. It just poured too much foam and the beer wasn't very cold in the glass either. However I had to use about 13-14psi to get the bloody beer carbonated sufficiently. 

As for the lines ideally they should be coiled up and sat on top of the kegs, obviously leaving a length to reach the taps. 

[Pezzza]

3 hours ago, Otto Von Blotto said:

a bit over a month of lagering including the time in the fermenter. 

And Kelsey - you just gas up and then park it up hey...  do you check over time to see if you need to top up the gas over the month?

[Pezzza]

1 hour ago, MitchBastard said:

Hey keg lords.

Ha ha I had to laugh at that one Mitchie.... luvyerwork ha ha!

[MitchBastard]

Cheers Otto man.

I was thinking i might need to bump the psi up a bit.... the Pluto’s give a little pinch when you release the handle which always seemed to add some froth due to a bit of turbulence, doubt the taps do the same.

ok I’ll coil away. My temp might be lower.... can’t remember last time I checked but beer never seems like it needs to be colder...

 

 

[Otto Von Blotto]

7 hours ago, Bearded Burbler said:

And Kelsey - you just gas up and then park it up hey...  do you check over time to see if you need to top up the gas over the month?

Nope, just sits there. It's not carbonated or really even begun that process. It won't be in there a month anyway, that's the total time including the two weeks or whatever it's had in the fermenter already

The main purpose of the little bit of pressure is just so that there's CO2 in the headspace. It was purged first before I left it sitting there on the gas for a short while. The beer has probably absorbed most of it by now. The lids don't need pressure to be sealed from allowing air or other crap to get in, so it will be fine sitting in there until it's time to tap it.

7 hours ago, MitchBastard said:

Cheers Otto man.

I was thinking i might need to bump the psi up a bit.... the Pluto’s give a little pinch when you release the handle which always seemed to add some froth due to a bit of turbulence, doubt the taps do the same.

ok I’ll coil away. My temp might be lower.... can’t remember last time I checked but beer never seems like it needs to be colder...

 

 

I usually get foaming at the start of the pour but it's because the taps are usually warm unless I've recently used them. As for the beer temp, different setup, Mine's the kegerator with the font sticking out the top, and the old one which didn't chill down properly was the one I had issues with warm beer. I had a water pump setup in it to pump chilled water through the font but it didn't work only because the FN power lead had fallen out. Didn't even realise that until I removed the unit to put the new one in, so that was frustrating. 

So, it would barely get the kegs below 5 degrees, then go through the warm font and taps into a warm glass...beer was basically 10 degrees by the time the glass was filled. Might be ok for an ESB but it was pretty shit for most of what I drink. 

[Naughty Corner Brewing]

Few hundred bucks lighter but now the fun begins!

[Journeyman]

It's KEGGING TIME!!!

Only a 9.5L keg though?

[Pale Man]

58 minutes ago, NewBrews said:

Few hundred bucks lighter but now the fun begins!

Keep us updated, i'm about to embark on the same journey ( if i can get all my bits for four taps ) 

[Naughty Corner Brewing]

1 hour ago, Pale Man said:

Keep us updated, i'm about to embark on the same journey ( if i can get all my bits for four taps ) 

Will do. I just got 2 picnic taps for the moment seeing as I'm not sure what direction I'm going to head with the whole operation.

[Naughty Corner Brewing]

2 hours ago, Journeyman said:

It's KEGGING TIME!!!

Only a 9.5L keg though?

There's a 19l right behind it

My fridge will fit 2 x 19l and 2 x 9.5l all together and still leave room for the rest of the families drinks - my wife and teenage daughters like wines and ciders and spirits and mixers and RTD's ..... 

Thanks god it's a 560l fridge/freezer! Freezer will be glass and ice storage

[Naughty Corner Brewing]

So here's a question for all you kegging legends - especially @Beerlust as I know you use these.

How much line should I have between the liquid out disconnect and a picnic tap?

I've read elsewhere that it's not so important for the picnic taps as it is for pluto guns and normal taps..

I was thinking of having about 1m on them. Depending on how much I use getting the gas line in there I might have some more to spare.

I've got 6m of 5mm ID line for both gas and beer, so length isn't too big an issue.

[Pezzza]

5 hours ago, NewBrews said:

Few hundred bucks lighter but now the fun begins!

Nice Regulator.... mmm.... and lovely electric frypan to the left!?

[Naughty Corner Brewing]

 

3 minutes ago, Bearded Burbler said:

lovely electric frypan to the left!?

That thing gets used at least twice a week. Carbonara, curries, bolognese, tacos. Pretty much anything cooked in bulk, that's not done on the BBQ. Freakin smallest kitchen in Australia I think. 

I figured I'd get something semi-decent - wasn't keen on saving $10 bucks and buying something that I'd have to replace in a year or two.

[iBooz2]

2 hours ago, NewBrews said:

Will do. I just got 2 picnic taps for the moment seeing as I'm not sure what direction I'm going to head with the whole operation.

@NewBrews I started off with picnic taps but very quickly went with 2 x Pluto guns, the cheap black ones from Kegland not the SS ones and they are the way to go IMO.

They pull a much better beer in the glass and you can give the head a little boost if your kegs are just slightly under carbed, before they hit their stride so to speak.  All around much better than picnic taps.  Unsure if I will go the SS beer taps through the fridge or freezer thing now as very happy with the Plutos but its horses for courses and I don't need the whole pub look just yet.  I use exactly 2 metres of 4 mm ID line for the Plutos, Duo-tights on each end and don't forget the little push in adapter thingy for the Pluto end Duo-tight connection, that's if you are going this way.  Gas is set to 8 - 10 psi.

Cheers - AL

Edited June 18, 2020 by iBooz2

[iBooz2]

21 minutes ago, NewBrews said:

 

That thing gets used at least twice a week. Carbonara, curries, bolognese, tacos. Pretty much anything cooked in bulk, that's not done on the BBQ. Freakin smallest kitchen in Australia I think. 

I figured I'd get something semi-decent - wasn't keen on saving $10 bucks and buying something that I'd have to replace in a year or two.

The electric frying pan, if it has a low setting say 125 C then it can also be used as a slow cooker.  I use ours when away in the caravan to slow cook lamb for circa 6 hours and then make our own souvlaki's.  I have a proper electric slow cooker in the house but the pan does just as good a job.  Also use it to slow cook pork spare ribs circa 4 hours before finishing them off in the Weber Q.

Might post my recipes in the cooking thread.

Cheers - AL

[Beerlust]

3 hours ago, NewBrews said:

So here's a question for all you kegging legends - especially @Beerlust as I know you use these.

How much line should I have between the liquid out disconnect and a picnic tap?

I've read elsewhere that it's not so important for the picnic taps as it is for pluto guns and normal taps..

I was thinking of having about 1m on them. Depending on how much I use getting the gas line in there I might have some more to spare.

I've got 6m of 5mm ID line for both gas and beer, so length isn't too big an issue.

My beer out lines are 2 metres long. It's all about line balancing if you want it to pour right.

Keg Line Length Balancing – The Science of Draft Beer

1 hour ago, iBooz2 said:

@NewBrews I started off with picnic taps but very quickly went with 2 x Pluto guns, the cheap black ones from Kegland not the SS ones and they are the way to go IMO.

I disagree.

I bought the picnic taps with the plan to just use them to get started & then I would upgrade at some point. They worked that well I never did. Each to their own on this one.

1 hour ago, iBooz2 said:

They pull a much better beer in the glass and you can give the head a little boost if your kegs are just slightly under carbed, before they hit their stride so to speak.  All around much better than picnic taps.

Guns & taps don't pour beer. People do. 

Cheers & good brewing,

Lusty.

[Otto Von Blotto]

Actually gas pressure pours beers

[Naughty Corner Brewing]

11 minutes ago, Beerlust said:

My beer out lines are 2 metres long. It's all about line balancing if you want it to pour right.

Thanks Lusty!

[Beerlust]

15 minutes ago, Otto Von Blotto said:

Actually gas pressure pours beers

...& who controls the gas moving you ninny??! 

I have never seen gas flick the trigger on my picnic tap. Not even once. NEVER.

Edited June 18, 2020 by Beerlust

[Naughty Corner Brewing]

Well it looks like it works. No discernible leaks. Beer comes out the tap. Set at 20psi for a slow leak test with the gas bottle turned off. Will drop it back to 12 when I pop it in the fridge and leave it sit for a few days given it’s a kolsch.

Brew day tomorrow for a 23l three c’s Pale Ale. Recipe courtesy Cheeky Peak brewing.

Very happy little brewer tonight!

 

[The Captain!!]

Kegged a 4.2% pale and a 4% stout the other day, both will be on the pour tonight. 

[Shamus O'Sean]

Kegged my Coopers Schooner yesterday.  Also got a few bottles as well.  I made it as a 25L batch on purpose, to get some bottles to share.

No tap spare in the kegerator.  At least 3 weeks until one will become available.  Therefore, I added 200ml/140g sugar water to the keg before filling.  Hopefully this will mean the brew is carbed up ready to drink, bar cooling, when a tap is free.

[Otto Von Blotto]

My pale ale keg ran out yesterday, so removed and replaced with the pilsner. It will carbonate on serving pressure and I'll drink the porter during the week. Will pour one Friday night to see if it's carbonated enough, if so probably pour a few more

[Journeyman]

I want to clean up the 'mess' I have in the kegerator. I left things hanging cos I figured I'd learn stuff as I experienced it all. Now I want to fix the manifolds to the wall, run the gas lines across the top to drop straight down to kegs and have the beer lines pinned to a side wall with differing lengths free to let the door swing open. (same lengths of line, just more or less in the coil depending on which tap it runs to.

I used the figures I found online and the resistance mentioned on ibrew.com.au for 4mm ID line and reverse-engineered the formula to give me 1.8m line at 12 psi and 3°C - if anyone has a calculation for that size line I'd appreciate a link. My figures suggest resistance for 4mm ID is 5.8.

Just wondering what people use? For the lines I figure it might be best to have something that can be unclasped or opened so I don't have to unscrew stuff from the plastic walls. I have thought about a pair of plywood strips with small blocks at intervals so I can put the coil of line through each hole and butterfly nuts on the inside so I can lift the inner strip off if I have to remove a line. That way I'd have bolts through the wall that never get moved.

Any ideas please? How do you organise all the lines in your fridge?

Edited June 22, 2020 by Journeyman