Otto Von Blotto Posted August 5, 2015 Author Share Posted August 5, 2015 Hi guys, Firstly, welcome Goodtime! I pulled one of the kegs out of its box earlier when I got home and had a little looksee with a fitting, I can see that it will be a piece of piss at least with regards to filling and carbing it. Pouring pressure I can understand might take a bit of adjustment to get right. I have a no return valve for the gas line, basically I'll fit the regulator to the CO2 cylinder and run a short piece of tubing into the NRV, and the tubing that feeds into the kegerator out the other side of it, so it should be fine. Also yeah was planning on using the 'set and forget' method of carbonating. Phil, yep that's exactly the approach I've taken. I'd much rather do that than spend money continuously fixing broken things, which would probably work out more expensive anyway. I didn't end up getting a gas manifold, I actually bought two of these John Guest 3 way thingies. I won't need either of them with just one keg, but I can run two kegs off one, and the three kegs with two of them. I got the same sort of fittings on the disconnects as well. Much easier to remove if needed than clamps on barbs. Hey Lusty, I'm not am I? I wasn't expecting Dad to order the bigger cupboard to put the in the way stuff into so quickly; I was always gonna go and buy what I have done straight away so it's all here ready, but was waiting until that stuff was able to be removed before getting the actual fridge. Will definitely post some pics though! I admit I have no idea about carbonating different levels on one regulator, but I was under the impression that you need a dual pressure regulator like this one to be able to do it. It seems to me if you set the single pressure regulator to a certain pressure, all kegs will end up at the same carb level eventually because they're all on the same pressure setting. But, I'm just hypothesising there. Either way, I carb pretty well all my beers to the same level anyway so it's no biggie. Definitely looking forward to getting this first batch into the keg though! Cheers Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antiphile Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 ...but I was under the impression that you need a dual pressure regulator like this one to be able to do it. It seems to me if you set the single pressure regulator to a certain pressure' date=' all kegs will end up at the same carb level eventually because they're all on the same pressure setting.[/quote'] Yep, that's what I was getting at except I'd only thought about buying a separate regulator for each keg; I wasn't aware they even made dual regulators! Still a lot (for me) to learn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted August 5, 2015 Author Share Posted August 5, 2015 Ah, yeah well that's another way I suppose but not something I'm overly concerned with at this point given most of my beers are either pale ale or lager and I carb them both to the same levels. Wouldn't mind having a nitro set up at some point though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 It seems to me if you set the single pressure regulator to a certain pressure' date=' all kegs will end up at the same carb level eventually because they're all on the same pressure setting.[/quote']I concur with that sentiment. That said, it will take some time (quite a few pours) for a beer carbonated at a higher pressure than a lower pouring pressure to reach that lower carbonation level in the glass unless you vent the keg repeatedly after carbonating it to that initial higher level. I'm not an overly fussy drinker across the different styles when it comes to carbonation anyways. I carb to a pretty consistent level from brew to brew that I've always enjoyed my beers at. Cheers, Lusty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted August 5, 2015 Author Share Posted August 5, 2015 I'm not an overly fussy drinker across the different styles when it comes to carbonation anyways. I carb to a pretty consistent level from brew to brew that I've always enjoyed my beers at. Cheers' date=' Lusty. [/size'] That's pretty much my angle on it too. The only style I prefer to carbonate lower is stout/porter. Maybe I can use the relief valve with those styles. Otherwise they all pretty much get the same level, it's probably higher than others prefer but I'm generally around the 2.6-2.8 vols level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Hi Kelsey. ...The only style I prefer to carbonate lower is stout/porter... With that style of beer' date=' I still bottle them. As you well know, they require considerable aging before they really reach their best point for drinking anyway, so why tie up a keg for that amount of time? I only make 1-2 beers a year that require a good 5-6 months aging, & always bottle them. I can certainly control the carbonation level (again as you well know), by bulk priming them to the desired carbonation level for bottling. Call me weird, but Porters & Stouts I prefer out the bottle. Cheers, Lusty.[/size'] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted August 6, 2015 Author Share Posted August 6, 2015 Ok, you weirdo. That thought did cross my mind though. The other option would be to buy a 5th keg at some stage, and use it for ageing dark beers like that. At this point I'll have the 3 going on tap at once with an extra one conditioning in wait. Either way, I'll figure something out for it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted August 6, 2015 Author Share Posted August 6, 2015 The taps arrived today, and I just had to post a picture of them because they look so bitchin'! Looking forward to pouring some beers through them that's for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted August 6, 2015 Share Posted August 6, 2015 Ok' date=' you weirdo. [img']tongue[/img] That thought did cross my mind though. The other option would be to buy a 5th keg at some stage, and use it for ageing dark beers like that. At this point I'll have the 3 going on tap at once with an extra one conditioning in wait. Either way, I'll figure something out for it! I said "Weird", not "Weirdo"! I reckon if I did keg a dark beer, I'd probably bulk prime it & put it away somewhere at ambient to condition like I would my bottles. Cheers, Lusty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goodtime G Posted August 6, 2015 Share Posted August 6, 2015 Cheers Otto. Yeah, I work on the bottling dark beers methodology also...stout especially. Re. different levels of carbing for different beers is something I don't really worry about too much. I just disconnect the gas line when gassing a new keg. I have also found that when a keg is fresh there is no need to turn on the gas for pouring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goodtime G Posted August 6, 2015 Share Posted August 6, 2015 Nice taps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted August 6, 2015 Author Share Posted August 6, 2015 Yeah, my plan was to either stick it on gas and give it a bit of that quick carb method and then store it away for a few months, or naturally carbonate it in the keg. Leaving a keg sitting there like that won't be a problem if I buy another one at some stage, as I can still have my 4 in normal rotation while the 5th one sits there ageing, and it will save bottling which I'm glad I won't have to do much of anymore. I hardly brew these beers at the moment because I don't like to take up the cupboard space with all the bottles sitting there ageing, but if I had a spare keg to age them in I might brew them more often, and I'd get a couple of six packs surplus to compare bottle vs keg too. The taps are brilliant, I got the Perlick SS Flow control ones so they're decent quality. They're bringing out a new model soon with what they call a "creamback" feature on them, whereby you push the handle back further than the off position or something and it imitates the nitro effect somehow. Just waiting on the font and tap handles to arrive now, and the big cupboard for the stuff to be moved out of the way, and then I can get the kegerator and begin to set it all up. Cheers Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted August 10, 2015 Author Share Posted August 10, 2015 I went and picked up the tap tower/font today from the post office since the courier was hopeless at delivering it on Friday, apparently.... Anyway, I thought I'd mount the taps in it to get an idea of spacing, and also a bit of practice putting them in for when I connect the beer lines later on. The middle bottom one is a right PITA! The other two were easy enough though. I reckon they are spaced far enough apart to be able to fit all my fancy tap handles on them together. It's hard to tell in photos online but to see it in the "flesh", they're further apart than I thought which is excellent. The tap handles themselves should arrive some time this week hopefully. Cheers Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 Kelsey, will you be getting yourself something to keep the font cool? Perhaps something like this fan: Font Snake Or a glycol system Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted August 10, 2015 Author Share Posted August 10, 2015 A glycol system would be kickarse but probably not gonna go down that route. The font snake looks good though! I'll see how it goes but most likely will end up getting something like that to keep it cool. It does have insulation foam in it but how well that works is anyone's guess, especially with it being outside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 Hi Kelsey. Given the font is subject to ambient temps, I'm with Hairy about using a fan to force cold air up into the font to keep it cool/cold. In the Autumn/Winter you can probably get away without needing to run a fan, but in the Spring/Summer, I reckon you'd be chancing warm & frothy beer without it. Cheers, Lusty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnaman Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 G'day Kelsey, or as Hairy advised Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted August 10, 2015 Author Share Posted August 10, 2015 I'm not against the idea either, especially in the warmer months. I reckon I'll probably grab one of those font snake things. Just had a proper read through that page and it looks pretty bloody decent quality. I won't get it straight away - I'll get the fridge and get it set up first, I won't be drinking anything out of it for a few weeks anyway so there is plenty of time to order, receive and set up a fan inside. I imagine you wouldn't have it running all the time though, just switch it on before a session to cool it down and leave it going until finished? I wouldn't mind one of those Cobra flooded fonts that use the glycol just because they look bitchin', but it's an expense I probably don't really need to make right now so I'll stick with the cooling fan for the time being. Cheers Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 Our ol' forum mate Gash Slugg also has a video walkthrough on installing a font fan. . Cheers, Lusty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted August 10, 2015 Author Share Posted August 10, 2015 Hi guys, thanks for the video links, I shall check them out now. I forgot to mention in my previous post that I had been doing a bit of Googling last night about keeping the font cool. As usual with anything home brew related there was a split between those who are for it and those who can't be bothered. Some of them are just tipping the first 100mL every time (stuff that!). Others with the flow control taps are using that feature at the beginning of the pour to reduce the foaming. Apparently they're having no problems with it staying cold enough to not foam for about an hour or two after that first pour, even if it's not constantly pouring. So, with that in mind, I will heed the advice here and purchase a font fan within the next week or two. Firstly so I'm not wasting 100mL or so of beer every time I pour one after a while of it sitting there "idle", as that would add up quite a bit, and also just for simplicity and ease of use sake. I'll go with the Digital Homebrew one, it looks to be much better quality than the Keg King one for not much more cost by comparison. Cheers Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brownsworthy Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 G'day Otto, I only get a little froth on my first pour and its usually not in use for another hour and a half and the next pours fine I'm really not that bothered by it though I was going to make a couple of mods to improve efficiency. I was going to use some expanding foam, a piece of conduit big enough for the beer line to fit down and some cardboard cut out to fit either end and fill the font with expanding foam then trim it up to suit. I also have my gas bottle on the outside of the fridge so where the gas line comes out, because the line is smaller than the hole, cool air can leak from around the line so I was going to fit a grommet to block it up. All the best with it mate. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted August 10, 2015 Author Share Posted August 10, 2015 Hi mate, I think I'll be fine in the colder months without a font fan, but over summer I'll definitely need it up here, especially with the kegerator sitting outside on the back deck. I won't run the fan constantly though, I'll just turn it on an hour or so before I plan to pour a beer so it can cool it down and then turn it off when I'm not having any more. The font came with some insulation foam inside it so that will no doubt help matters as well. It fits up the whole thing so it covers the tap holes if pushed all the way up. I was thinking of cutting the excess off it when I fit it properly and sticking that in the top above the shanks. I'll be putting my gas bottle on the outside too, since I got the 6.8kg size one in order for it to last a while before needing a refill. I don't know what the hole size is like compared to the line yet as I haven't got the fridge but I will put the power lead for the fan through the same hole and then maybe block it up with some blu-tak or something if needed. Looking forward to getting it all up and running that's for sure. Cheers Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antiphile Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 C'mon Otto. Store your glasses in the kegerator and forget the font fan. Then, if the beer isn't the same as your STC-1000 setting, you know you're not using a big enough glass! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted August 10, 2015 Author Share Posted August 10, 2015 That wouldn't solve the problem of warm beer lines though. I may still keep a couple in there anyway if there's any room with 3 cornies. Also, I forgot to say thanks for the list of items you provided on the first page of this thread, made it a lot easier when looking through the Craftbrewer site and coming up with a shopping list. Cost was around the same too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antiphile Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 Sorry, I must be missing something. I thought the kegs, and the beer lines from the keg to the font are all totally contained within the kegerator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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