It's Kegging time 2022

[Red devil 44]

12 hours ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

Oh, that red PRV. 

I’ll clear that up, Red on my single stage regulator, green on the dual stage reg.

[Classic Brewing Co]

44 minutes ago, Red devil 44 said:

I’ll clear that up, Red on my single stage regulator, green on the dual stage reg.

All good RD, I have only got the Keg Land MK4 Regulator which is a green PRV. 

If it means I can just release that a couple of times & then re-set the gas back to 12psi it saves all of the disconnecting etc.

[Pezzza]

On 7/23/2022 at 8:03 PM, kmar92 said:

@Classic Brewing Co I suggest you use the 40/20 rule. I got that rule from @Itinerant Peasant but I think that it originally cam from @Red devil 44 the gas master.

40psi for 20 hours. I have found that it works perfectly for most ales and lagers when fermented at atmospheric pressure. For my pressure fermented brews I have to scale it back as they are already partially carbonated during the ferment in the kegmenter.

Gold @kmar92 KMar - and yes yes - that came from the King of Carbing himself  the Gas Guru @Red devil 44Reddler ; )

And now only for the Rugby League fans out there - apologies for those who aren't all good - but what sorta makes the CO2 Keg Carbing Rule easy to remember is that there is a 40/20 rule in RL as well haha! 

 

Edited July 25, 2022 by Itinerant Peasant

[Aussiekraut]

This is what they call a bad idea. Didn’t want to turf the disconnect but should have left more line on it. Put a full 2.6kg gas bottle into the freezer, connected two kegs to it and emptied it overnight. Stupid me  How does one remove those clamps? 

 

Edited July 26, 2022 by Aussiekraut

[Pale Man]

45 minutes ago, Aussiekraut said:

This is what they call a bad idea. Didn’t want to turf the disconnect but should have left more line on it. Put a full 2.6kg gas bottle into the freezer, connected two kegs to it and emptied it overnight. Stupid me  How does one remove those clamps? 

 

Its not easy getting those stepless clamps off, i use a good pair of side cutters and cut and pry.  Or are you talking about getting the tube out of the the duotight?

[ben 10]

1 hour ago, Aussiekraut said:

remove those clamps? 

teeth

[Aussiekraut]

16 minutes ago, Pale Man said:

Its not easy getting those stepless clamps off, i use a good pair of side cutters and cut and pry.  Or are you talking about getting the tube out of the the duotight?

I meant the clamps. Although if I got the hose off, the clamp would just drop  

[Aussiekraut]

1 minute ago, interceptor said:

teeth

Do I look like Jaws?  

[ben 10]

12 hours ago, Aussiekraut said:

I meant the clamps.

Bend, twist and destroy them

[Shamus O'Sean]

13 hours ago, Aussiekraut said:

How does one remove those clamps?

Pliers and force.  The clamp will be un-re-useable. Get a new one.

I am not sure of your gas leak issue though.  The clamps are usually a great way to seal.  A leak is more likely to be related to the duotight.

[ben 10]

16 minutes ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

Pliers and force. 

And blood, if you don't bleed you are not trying hard enough

[Aussiekraut]

1 hour ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

Pliers and force.  The clamp will be un-re-useable. Get a new one.

I am not sure of your gas leak issue though.  The clamps are usually a great way to seal.  A leak is more likely to be related to the duotight.

The leak is undoubtedly in the duotight fitting. The bit of tubing between the disconnect and the connector is not big enough and when it bends, creates a leak. It's the only dodgy bit in the setup.

I don't expect to re-use the clamp, I just want to remove it as I don't really want to throw out the disconnect. I have plenty of clamps when needed. I just didn't have any other gas disconnects left.

 

[Classic Brewing Co]

41 minutes ago, Aussiekraut said:

The leak is undoubtedly in the duotight fitting. The bit of tubing between the disconnect and the connector is not big enough and when it bends, creates a leak. It's the only dodgy bit in the setup.

I don't expect to re-use the clamp, I just want to remove it as I don't really want to throw out the disconnect. I have plenty of clamps when needed. I just didn't have any other gas disconnects left.

 

Hope you get it sorted AK, so far I haven't encountered any kegging related issues but early days.

[Hoppy81]

22 hours ago, Classic Brewing Co said:

Hope you get it sorted AK, so far I haven't encountered any kegging related issues but early days.

You will now hahaha

[Classic Brewing Co]

20 minutes ago, Hoppy81 said:

You will now hahaha

Now, now Hoppy, don't be like that, what could possibly go wrong ?? 

[Aussiekraut]

Need a bigger Kegerator? This one hit my inbox yesterday. 

https://www.kegking.com.au/beer-keg-fridge-kegmaster-solstice-6-keg-12volt-dc-kegerator.html?goal=0_75855f3866-0683c09da2-437225215

It holds 6 kegs, which is handy but it is a tad pricy.

My main issue is though, it says it is powered by 12V DC with max 15A. Now if I am not very much mistaken, power equals electric potential times electric current, so V*A correct? That would make it a whopping 180W cooling/heating. That seems a little low for my liking. How on earth would you cool 6 kegs in a 236l fridge with a measly 180W? Depending on ambient temps, you probably wouldn't be able to even keep the temperature steady with so little power. 

But the size is interesting  

[Pezzza]

1 hour ago, Aussiekraut said:

Need a bigger Kegerator?

I just use a dirty ol' chest freezer n pluto guns but it does fit 6 bigs and 2 smalls - and you set whatever temp you want...

Fortunately I got mine just before Covid hit and now they look like an extra $300 : (

https://huskybrand.com.au/product/295l-solid-door-hybrid-chest-fridge-freezer-white-hus-295che/ 

Even tho gone up in price significantly they are still cheaper than the kegmaster one... but are not real flash to look at (unless you are happy to hide the fact there is a Brewery in the Larder )

If you can get one... 

[ozdevil]

1 hour ago, Aussiekraut said:

Need a bigger Kegerator? This one hit my inbox yesterday. 

https://www.kegking.com.au/beer-keg-fridge-kegmaster-solstice-6-keg-12volt-dc-kegerator.html?goal=0_75855f3866-0683c09da2-437225215

It holds 6 kegs, which is handy but it is a tad pricy.

My main issue is though, it says it is powered by 12V DC with max 15A. Now if I am not very much mistaken, power equals electric potential times electric current, so V*A correct? That would make it a whopping 180W cooling/heating. That seems a little low for my liking. How on earth would you cool 6 kegs in a 236l fridge with a measly 180W? Depending on ambient temps, you probably wouldn't be able to even keep the temperature steady with so little power. 

But the size is interesting  

you might as well go a series x plus    which holds 8 kegs which is far less then what keg king is offering

however though i like the idea of the cassette side of things as  if the fridge  breaks down its just replacing it with the cassette and not the entire unit    but having it on DC hmmm  not certain that was the best thing who is going to  cart a 6 tap kegerator around  with them  i would have just made it straight 10-15amp on 240v

[Pezzza]

Just kegging the Wheatie... will be interesting to see what it is like... Using the SOS KMar @Shamus O'Sean @kmar92patented method ; )

Which is slow but very neat and tidy and oxy free.

 

Is slow as a wet week but works well and with a bit of humidity in the air a nice condensation fill-line is visible for monitoring the volume... as I don't have the nice set of scales some of the Keg Lords have which allows clear and distinct monitoring of the fill...  and have had a few over-fills in the past with brew coming out of the poor old spunding valve which fortunately is robust enough to be cleaned and keep working 

 

 

[kmar92]

6 hours ago, Itinerant Peasant said:

Just kegging the Wheatie... will be interesting to see what it is like... Using the SOS KMar @Shamus O'Sean @kmar92patented method ; )

Which is slow but very neat and tidy and oxy free.

 

Is slow as a wet week but works well and with a bit of humidity in the air a nice condensation fill-line is visible for monitoring the volume... as I don't have the nice set of scales some of the Keg Lords have which allows clear and distinct monitoring of the fill...  and have had a few over-fills in the past with brew coming out of the poor old spunding valve which fortunately is robust enough to be cleaned and keep working 

 

 

If you take the spunding valve off it would speed it up, being an un-pressurissed ferment I doubt that the spunding valve is doing much. I just stick a disconnect on the gas post and just leave it open when transferring from an open ferment, you will not get any O2 going back to the keg as it fills.

@Itinerant Peasant how long did it take to fill the keg? When I do a transfer from my kegmenter it takes around 40 minutes, give or take.

[Pezzza]

2 hours ago, kmar92 said:

When I do a transfer from my kegmenter it takes around 40 minutes, give or take.

Yes mate something like that...  @kmar92

Yeah Spundly is just like a non-return valve I guess... no pressure buildup. 

I guess my frame of reference from prior is a big fat white food grade silicone hose that takes very little time to fill the keg ; )

[stquinto]

A quick question for keggers out there @Aussiekraut @ozdevil @kmar92 and others I might have missed mentioning the product: is the kegerator series X any good? I’m tempted, have to do a 16 hour round road trip to get one mind…. Just wondering?

Cheers!

[Aussiekraut]

1 hour ago, stquinto said:

A quick question for keggers out there @Aussiekraut @ozdevil @kmar92 and others I might have missed mentioning the product: is the kegerator series X any good? I’m tempted, have to do a 16 hour round road trip to get one mind…. Just wondering?

Cheers!

I'm happy with mine. The only "issue" I have is the noises it makes. If the fan isn't on, it sounds like there is a flock of pigeons roosting in there  If the fan is running, it is a little noisy. The lounge room may not be the best place for it.

If you happen to get one, do yourself a favour and go for the 4-tap version, else you will ask yourself over and over why you didn't and then start upgrading  Also get additional beer lines because what you get with the kit isn't enough. Short beer lines are a PITA. My 3-tap I initially got came with 5 or 6m, leading to short lines. Something I had to correct at the upgrade.

Edited July 29, 2022 by Aussiekraut

[Pezzza]

4 hours ago, stquinto said:

kegerator series X any good?

Or you could just obtain a nice chest freezer and some Plutos Sainter @stquinto for the Man Cave and then SWMBO might not realise you are running a brewery down there.... mmm.... might be a bit too late by now I guess 

[Classic Brewing Co]

2 hours ago, Aussiekraut said:

is the kegerator series X any good? I’m tempted, have to do a 16 hour round road trip to get one mind…. Just wondering?

Hey Stquinta,

I have 2 mates that have them & one of them has gone to a lot of trouble to incorporate into his bar, it looks very impressive.

I nearly bought one before I converted my fridge, now with 4 taps but weighed up the cost & decided the big old ex-brew fridge would do the job. I reckon there are a lot of cosmetic benefits with the Kegerator & also it depends on whether you are incorporating it into a Bar/Man Cave. 

I also now guys that sell them & of course there are a number of members on this forum who have them.