It's Kegging Time!

[Mark D Pirate]

And this reg:

 

http://www.machineryhouse.com.au/O0171

 

Am I barking up the wrong tree here or would this work? Any help much appreciated' date=' this is a subject I have no idea about.

[/quote']

 

Welding regs like that one are pretty much useless for kegging , welding regs are calibrated in Litres per minute ( flow volume ) not constant pressure

Gumtree/Ebay wants to be your friend i'll add aLINK HERE of the Ebay store that i got my taps and lines through , have a look around for a quality reg or buy the keg king one from same site i linked at a cheaper price

[Otto Von Blotto]

One thing I'm glad I did when I set my system up was to buy the right equipment, buy quality and buy it once. It's been nearly two years since I began buying stuff for it, and other than buying a flooded font to replace the original one (personal preference purchase), switching to a gas manifold set up instead of T-splitters (again personal preference), and obviously replacing empty CO2 cylinders I haven't had to repair or replace anything in my system.

 

I read from time to time people complaining about various items from Keg King, usually the regulators or the gas/beer lines being of inferior quality to other brands. Regulators leaking or not working properly, lines cracking under normal working conditions etc. I'd read this stuff while I was researching what I needed as well and as a result I steered clear. The kegs themselves are great as is the kegerator, no complaints there, but other equipment apparently not so much. I haven't any experience with it though because I was put off by the complaints.

 

I can only recommend from personal experience the Valpar Flexmaster II line for gas and beer, and the Micromatic CO2 regulator. There are other decent quality regulators and lines of course, but I haven't used any of them. Both of these have performed without a hitch since I filled my first keg back around August 2015, as has everything else in the system. I have the Perlick 650SS flow control taps as well, a little pricey but bloody good quality. They never leak and always pour well.

 

I can only imagine my frustration if I'd gone the cheaper route and ended up constantly having to replace shit that had broken or wasn't doing what it should have been, which would have only pushed the cost up further in the end because the replacements would have been the same stuff I already have now from buying it straight up.

 

Cheers

 

Kelsey

[James Lao]

Not sure if this is the right thread or not but does any one know how much an empty 19litre ball lock kegs weighs?

Got my keg King kegerator and have been enjoying myself a bit too much since I tapped the kegs 10 days ago.

Just disconnected the lines and weighed the pale ale keg and it was 9.5kgs

Been averaging 7 x 350ml glasses a night from the pale ale and stout.

Starting to stress I am running out of beer and the next batch isn't ready yet!

 

Cheers

 

James

[Otto Von Blotto]

Every newbie kegger goes through that period. For some it never wears off but for others the novelty does wear off a bit and the drinking habits return to normal.

 

Anyway, I don't know how much they weigh empty but from picking them up I'd guess about 2kg. I might weigh one tomorrow, there is an empty one down in the brewery. I never move mine once they're in the kegerator though, stirs up the shit in the bottom and lets warm air into the fridge.

[captsensible23]

Empty 19L Keg King ball lock with all attachments weights 4.3Kg roughly.

[James Lao]

Cheers for the replies.

I was looking on a US forum and they were saying 8.8lbs, and in my panic read it as 8.8kgs and thought I only had about a litre of pale ale to go!

Have been keeping a running tally every time I pour one but sometimes forget to write it down.

Might have install a level sight glass on the side of the kegs to prevent stress and shock of a keg running out!

It's the only negative I can think of at the moment re kegs vs bottles.

At least with bottles you can do an easy head count!

 

Cheers

 

James

[Otto Von Blotto]

I wouldn't install a sight gauge in a keg but you can get keg floats. These consist of obviously a float that sits on the beer, and a ball that sits on the outside of the keg. The two are magnetic, so the ball on the outside simply follows the float down as the beer level drops. I've been thinking about getting some myself but since I've worked out a system that keeps me in beer all the time (barring Xmas/New Year period), I don't have to worry too much about when kegs run out.

[RobW17]

OK - so now that I fixed my Kegerator I am trying to get my head around a couple of things. I still don't have any beer lines, gas lines or Kegs so I'm having to picture stuff in my head instead of first hand..... and my head is a murky, murky place

 

So - please excuse the most likely stupid ramble to follow.....

 

I have dual faucets and was going to just use a T-splitter for the two gas lines. Then I wondered about what happens if I only have one keg in operation. With just the splitter there is no way for me to turn off the gas to the other line. I have visions of Co2 spraying all over my shed....... Same thing if I have two kegs going and need to change one and forget to switch off the Co2 bottle.

 

And if I do switch off the gas bottle to change over a keg, what happens carbonation wise to the still connected keg? Or is it a case of the Co2 already being in solution so it won't matter?

 

Do the Gas quick disconnects actually seal the gas when they are not connected to a keg? Or do I need to ditch the T splitter in favour of a manifold with individual shut off valves?

 

For a similar reason, I haven't checked my regulator and gas bottle yet as there doesn't appear to be a shut off valve on the regulator and I have visions of attaching it to the bottle, switching on the gas, winding in the big knob on the front (as opposed to the big knob writing this) and launching the whole thing into space....

 

 

[fattima]

Manifolds are much better than a splitter, something likes this Your text to link here... I mounted mine to the side of my kegerator with a couple of screws. They are handy as you can switch gas to a serving keg off while you up the pressure and force carb another keg,

 

You can disconnect kegs and the quick connects will seal and not leak gas or beer everywhere. Gas will stay in the keg so no worries there. With the regulator you attach it to the bottle check your lines then turn the bottle on as you would do with a BBQ gas bottle, as long as your gas lines are all connected up no gas should leak out. You could wind the regulator right down if you are worried, but the bottle isn't going to take off, if you crack the valve on the bottle with nothing connected it will just make a crack noise and gas will come out.

[Otto Von Blotto]

From experience, a manifold is much easier than T-splitters. I also have mine mounted on the outside of the kegerator but with double sided tape rather than screws. I had to remove the plastic sleeve from the gas line hole to fit all three lines in plus the power lead for the water pump which I use to pump chilled water from a reservoir (cut off 3L milk bottle) up through my flooded font. The gaps are filled with packing foam or whatever.

 

I have a four way manifold so three gas lines go into the kegs and the other one is used for purging kegs or pressurising them to push out cleaner and rinse water if I'm not running it through the tap (it's taken elsewhere after being pressurised and a spare liquid disconnect is then attached to dispense it). This set up has proven to be much simpler and less messy inside the kegerator as well.

 

If you get a manifold, get a 4 way one because if you do decide later on to upgrade to 3 taps, you'll have the means to do so without having to buy another manifold. One thing I would do before using it though is to remove all valves, as well as the stopper and inlet barb at their respective ends, and use thread sealant or silicone to seal up all threads. I had a leak in one of the valve threads when I first got mine and lost most of a 6.8kg gas cylinder in about 2 or 3 days as a result. I did the sealing of all threads with silicone and haven't had a problem since.

 

You don't need to turn the gas bottle off to change a keg, no. The disconnects don't allow gas through when not connected to a keg, the little 'pole' inside them needs to be pushed up for there to be any flow through them.

 

What sort of regulator have you got? There should be an on/off valve on it as well as a pressure relief valve. The regulator should be connected with its pressure on zero really, then you just wind it up to the desired pressure once the gas bottle is turned on. When turning on the gas bottle, turn the valve open until it turns no further, as they should be fully open rather than only partly.

 

 

 

 

 

[Titan8]

Also concider non return valves on the gas lines so you dont get beer coming back up them.

[Otto Von Blotto]

You only need one NRV to protect the CO2 regulator itself. It's not gonna ruin anything if beer gets into the manifold although that would be highly unlikely to happen under normal circumstances anyway, and I'm led to believe that the check valves in the manifolds are actually NRVs themselves, so you've got double protection with a manifold.

[fattima]

I'm led to believe that the check valves in the manifolds are actually NRVs themselves' date=' so you've got double protection with a manifold. [/quote']

Really, didn't know that. Will test mine when I get a chance.

 

Edit: Just looked at the KK site, mines a older manifold so could be different.

[Otto Von Blotto]

I didn't get mine from Keg King but yeah, apparently the valves used in them are NRVs, or at least work in the same way.

 

Probably explains why I have to set the pressure a bit higher with the manifold compared to the splitters to achieve the same carbonation level in the beers.

[RobW17]

Thank you all . I feel much better now, lol.

 

On the question of the Regulator, it's a Tesuco one - I tried to attach an image but I don't think it worked. It has the two gauges, a post that connects to the gas bottle and another that connects to the Gas line. the Gas line post does have the ability to wind in and out somewhat I think, so maybe that acts as a valve?

 

 

[Titan8]

If its the rc1scd04 it has a NRV.

[RobW17]

Yep Titan, that's the one I have. Handy to know it has the non return valve, although I'm still not sure why it doesn't have a separate relief or shut off valve, unless the nut above the Gas out barb accomplishes that...

[Otto Von Blotto]

The picture didn't show up, you need to get the link to the file and paste it in between img tags.

[Otto Von Blotto]

This is a photo of my regulator, all set up and in place where it's been since I got it really. The little ring pull thingy between the gauges is the PRV, while the red lever just above the outlet barb is a shutoff valve.

 

 

Those Tesuco ones don't appear to have the shutoff valve but they reckon there's a PRV built into them.

[RobW17]

Cheers Kelsey. The brass barb I'd attach the gas line to isn't actually attached to anything - it sits inside the brass nut above it and tightens up as you wind the nut, so I have a feeling that might be how you switch the flow on and off, although I'm not at home at the moment to check properly.

[Otto Von Blotto]

That's what my oxygen regulator is like as well, but the CO2 one is a screw in or on barb fitting.

 

The whole set up stays on pretty much all the time anyway unless there's no kegs in the fridge.

[Titan8]

This is from the data sheet:

Single Stage CO2 Regulator for Naturally Ventilated Areas. Built-In

Relief Valve and Non-Return Valve Fitted to Outlet.

[James Lao]

2nd time kegging last night Citra/Mosaic/Cascade IPA and an ESB.

Kegged at 7.30 pm, set gas reg to 45psi, but forgot to burb/purge the kegs of O2 until 10pm.

How much of an issue does anyone think this will be?

All the info I have read on kegging says to burp straight away.

Hope I haven't stuffed 2 kegs of deliciousness ...

 

Cheers

 

James

[Titan8]

It will be fine.

[Morrie]

James - I've completely forgotten to burp/purge kegs and haven't noticed any ill effects. I keg hop APAs which also introduces oxygen into the beer and have not noticed any ill effects. Having said that my kegs are always kept under refrigeration at all times and never left at room temperature.