Otto Von Blotto Posted October 6, 2015 Author Share Posted October 6, 2015 Good luck with it mate, hope it turns out well! I might sample half a glass on Saturday, just to see how carbonation is coming along. I don't expect it will be fully carbed by then yet though, but we'll see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpaca Brew Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 The Perlick 650ss twins arrived. I installed them and hooked up the kegs. My first pour was a lot of foam but I did not give up. After several more pours because the taps ARE fun I decided to let the system rest. After 2 days the system settled down and is working great. My ruby red ale is running low and the keg is ready to blow. I have a cascade draught in the FV that will be ready to keg next week. I might have to do an Otto and buy some beer to fill the keg until mine is ready. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpaca Brew Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 Second try at a photo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpaca Brew Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 [/img] Kegging is way more fun then trying to post pics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted October 21, 2015 Author Share Posted October 21, 2015 Nice one Peggy! Looks good too. Good to hear the system has settled down now. What carbonation method are you using on the kegs? Just set and forget? My first one poured foam after foam too but the keg was overcarbed. Yes, the buying two cartons to fill a keg was a bit of desperation however, it's worked out quite well because as of Monday when I kegged my red ale, I now have 1 full keg and two probably 2/3-3/4 full kegs in the kegerator, so it has bought me some much needed time doing that. After this batch of pilsner goes in the FV today though, it will be all ales for a while to keep building the stocks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpaca Brew Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 I use the set and forget. It takes a bit longer but you don't get over carbonation either. I kegged my Evil Dog Double IPA kit. I should have bottled it. It keeps getting better over time but I only have 2 kegs and it is wasting space ageing. I think I will do a few brews to keep the kegs in a good rotation and then make a few just to bottle. Maybe I just need more kegs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted October 21, 2015 Author Share Posted October 21, 2015 That's what I've been doing as well. I find they are well carbonated after one week, which at the moment is fine as the only kegs I have with beer in them are actually in the kegerator and I do have some bottled beers still to drink. My plan is to shortly buy 3 more kegs, which will give me a total of 7 kegs. 6 of them will be on rotation in and out of the kegerator so that there will always be 3 in there, and the 7th one I will use to age a porter/stout recipe. I'm gonna be on brewing overload over the next few months trying to fill them all I think! Once I get these extra kegs stockpiled, I will use a faster carbonation method on them, but not a "full version" of it. The full version quick carbs over a certain time at 45 PSI on the regulator, but I will use something like 30-35 PSI over the same timeframe, so that they are carbonated but not completely to the level I like. Then they will sit in waiting. This way, when they go in the kegerator they won't be over carbonated but I also won't have to wait a whole week before they're ready either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted November 17, 2015 Author Share Posted November 17, 2015 Hi guys, Firstly, just want to say how much I'm enjoying this kegging caper. Everything is going well and I'm into brewing a few ales to fill kegs now. Currently have 3 on tap and hoping to keep it that way. Anyway... I wanted to share my experience from a little experiment I did leading up to and over the weekend with the font fan I have installed in the kegerator. Originally, when I got the thing, I set it up as per instructions and also a video or two I'd seen online, i.e. push the conduit tubing as far up to the top of the font as possible. I can see the logic being that cold air sinks. However, given the inside of the font is so narrow with the insulation foam inside it and the conduit takes up a fair bit of that space, I was finding that the cold air was simply staying at or near the top because it wasn't being allowed to sink back down through the font due to the fan itself being in the way and continually blowing the air back up to the top. Either that, or it was seeping over the outside of the insulation foam, which is just as useless. And if I turned the fan down to a low speed it didn't blow enough air up to do anything in the first place. So, I decided to pull the conduit tubing down almost to the bottom of the font and turn the fan on full speed, thereby blowing cold air up into and all through the inside of the font. This worked much, much better. The whole font was cold, much colder than it was when I used it the other way, and there was a lot less foaming on pouring a beer; only that from the taps themselves being warm which was controlled by use of the flow control anyway. Once that had dissipated I could open the taps up fully to pour it properly. To some it probably sounds glaringly obvious, and to me after trying it, it is.. but when you're given instructions that all say the opposite, I guess you just don't think of these things. I will definitely be leaving it set up like this from now on, and I'd probably also suggest to anyone else with a kegerator and font set up like mine to do the same, because setting it up per the instructions doesn't work anywhere near as well. Cheers Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zargonb Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 good info otto - thanks. I've just finished building my own font snake from an 80mm fan I had and 3d printed the case. I don't have the font tower yet (pouring from a gun stowed inside) and I'll be sure try your positioning first up when I get my tower in a week or so. I didn't bother with a speed control for mine. I'll likely add some temp sensing and control later on to start and stop it, but for now it'll be full speed. One issue I'm facing is that my kegerator element is freezing at the bottom. I'm doing a defrost now. Anyone else had a similar problem? Its a Series 3 Keg King unit. I suppose part of the problem is how often I open the door to pour right now...letting in humid brisbane air regularly. I have the temp set to -2 which equates to a 3C average air temp but would create an icy spot at the element. I certainly agree that kegging is the way to go. A little learning curve to start with as with anything but worth it in the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted November 17, 2015 Author Share Posted November 17, 2015 I guess with mine being outside, I'm not worrying about controlling the temperature in the tower - it's only gonna get as cold as the fridge itself anyway. And being more exposed to the ambient air than inside the fridge it probably doesn't get as cold, though cold enough to keep the lines cold. I also had that happen when I had the kegerator set to -2C, it built up ice on that drain hole near the back left. I changed it to -1C and that solved it. At that time I was probably opening the door a bit often as well though, checking the beer lines for gas build up and whatnot when I had that issue with the over carbonated keg and working out the system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shibby Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 I just kegged my first brew last night (fruit salad ale) I couldnt believe how quick it was, minutes for sanitising and filling. The gear is on loan while a friend is away for a year. The tube I attached to the coopers FV let all the brew out quickly into the keg. i made sure the tube went to the bottom so it wouldn't splash to avoid oxidation but the pressure still made some ripples but hopefully all good. Sitting in fridge with keg now at 11 psi for first attempt. Now Ill wait 2 weeks. Next time ill try a quicker carbonation. Now I think I can brew a coopers pale ale or sparkling ale all grain clone for xmas, and maybe a chubby cherub for another keg. Dar Larger looks good but not enough fridge space for temp controlled brewing. Maybe a steam beer while the fridge is in use. Will be a good xmas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted November 17, 2015 Author Share Posted November 17, 2015 Good stuff Shibby! What temperature is your fridge sitting at? You might find it's carbonated quicker than two weeks although the beer does improve with more time. I find mine are usually carbonated after one week sitting at serving pressure of about the same 11PSI. I've also just ordered a four way manifold to use with my gas lines. I'm getting a bit tired of constantly re-working these T-piece splitters around when it switches between 2 and 3 kegs on tap, and it will also allow me to have a spare line to quick carb kegs when I build my stockpile without having to remove the gas lines from the other kegs. Should have just done that in the first place like I was going to but you live and learn I suppose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shibby Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 The fridge should be at 3-4c I only just scored it from a friend so Ill double check. It should take 2 kegs and the gas bottle nicely. Think I may have to put taps on the front door next. Do you normally carbonate while in the fridge or is it good to do this at room temp? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted November 17, 2015 Author Share Posted November 17, 2015 The fridge should be at 3-4c I only just scored it from a friend so Ill double check. It should take 2 kegs and the gas bottle nicely. Think I may have to put taps on the front door next.Do you normally carbonate while in the fridge or is it good to do this at room temp? That should be cold enough to carbonate it at serving pressure in about 7-10 days I'd imagine. At the moment I carbonate them in the fridge. You use less gas if they're carbonated cold because it's more soluble at colder temperatures, but it can be done at room temp. I keg them straight from cold crashing so they're already cold when they go in, and then hook up the beer and gas lines and let them sit there for a week or so. By this time they're usually good to go, but I find they do benefit from another 2-3 weeks ageing, depending on the style. When I get a stockpile going and have surplus kegs, I plan to use the 4th connector on the manifold to fast carb them to about 75-80% of what I'd normally have them at, so that when they do go into the fridge I don't have to wait a week to pour one, and it avoids overcarbonation as well. They'll still be carbed cold, but obviously will warm up again before they go into the kegerator. Cheers Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted December 2, 2015 Author Share Posted December 2, 2015 My 4 way gas manifold arrived last week, so I ordered some 4 metres of gas line to use with it, as I wouldn't have had enough of the stuff already being used after it was cut into all sorts of various lengths in order to split it three ways with the T-piece connectors I had. I had ordered 6mm ID line, but upon it arriving today it was actually 4mm line. However, it is quite flexible so I decided before asking for a refund or replacement, I'd try and attach one end of it to one of the barbs, by soaking it in hot water then stretching it open with pliers before pushing it onto the barb which had some keg lube applied. Well, it worked perfectly fine, so I set about cutting it to length and attaching to each of the four "out" barbs. The manifold itself was then mounted to the outside of the kegerator with some extra strong double sided tape. I was able to fit the three lines for serving kegs into the kegerator via the hole at the back after removing the plastic tubing from the hole to make it big enough. I was glad about this as I didn't really want to be drilling more holes in it, and I couldn't really fit the manifold inside the kegerator. The short fourth line is purely for fast carbonating kegs that won't be being served straight away, and I will get another liquid out disconnect and push in fitting for it, although I suppose since it's only being used for carbing and nothing else, it will be permanently set up like that so I could get a barbed fitting for it. At the moment I only have two kegs in there with a third going in tomorrow, but I like the idea already that I can simply turn valves off that aren't in use, and also have the spare one there to quick carbonate kegs if I want/need to. Cheers Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porschemad911 Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 Looks good Kelsey, nice setup. You will have to buy one of the Coopers bar runners from the online store to replace the one you've got there though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 Looks good Kelsey' date=' nice setup. You will have to buy one of the Coopers bar runners from the online store to replace the one you've got there though![/quote']+1 He spent all his money on fancy taps! I'll definitely be grabbing one of those manifolds too once I run the third keg in my Keezer. Cheers, Lusty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted December 3, 2015 Author Share Posted December 3, 2015 Cheers guys Haha yeah, that thing was one I "borrowed" from a now defunct heavy metal club here about 9 or 10 years ago. It's been sitting here doing nothing since then until I got this setup. I figured I'd use it to soak up excess spillage or wipe the bottom of glasses if it flows over a bit. But yeah, not a fan of the beer it's got on it. I'm about to keg an SNPA clone which will obviously go on the third line. I'm gonna leave it set at serving pressure initially, and then later tonight when I go to bed I'll turn off the other two lines and bump it up to about 30PSI and leave it there until tomorrow morning. That should have it carbonated a bit quicker and then it can be left alone to settle and clear up over a week or so. I could have done this with the old setup by taking the disconnects off the other two kegs but it's a pain in the arse compared to simply turning a lever. Cheers Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpaca Brew Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 This is to everyone who as a kegging system. How often do you clean your beer lines? I have 2 kegs that I have filled three times each. I have not cleaned the lines yet but I am thinking it is time. Peggy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted December 3, 2015 Author Share Posted December 3, 2015 I've been cleaning them every time a keg runs out, although this is partly due to not always having a fresh keg ready to go in straight away, and rather than leave beer residue sitting in the line and tap for potentially weeks, I rinse out the empty keg and then use it to run sodium percarbonate through the line/tap, followed by a rinse with hot water (which also serves to clean the keg out at the same time). Once I get a stockpile of kegs and can do a simple changeover when one blows dry, I might leave it longer between cleans. Cheers Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted December 30, 2015 Author Share Posted December 30, 2015 It would appear that there is a leak in the gas system somewhere now. The pressure on the high gauge on the regulator has dropped from about half to nearly empty in 3 or 4 days, which is utterly ridiculous. I suspect it is the gas lines themselves at the point where they go into the push-in fittings on the kegs, as this line doesn't really seem to go into them as far as the line that I was using with the T-piece splitters did. I'm gonna go to Craftbrewer tomorrow and pick up some 6mm line which I know goes into these fittings much better. I should have a look at the manifold itself as well just in case. Either way, not terribly happy about this because now I have to go and get another gas bottle months earlier than I should have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 Hi Kelsey. Sorry to hear you may have a leak. Don't rule out an individual keg either. I assume you purchased secondhand post mix kegs like most of us do, so there may be an issue with the seal on the lid &/or the blow-off valve. Even the gas-in & beer-out valves have rubber seals on them so should probably also be checked. Easiest way to check the lot is to use a spray bottle filled with soapy water & just hit everything. Any bubbling in an area & there is your leak. I get around 17 kegs worth out of my 2.6kg C02 bottles before they need changing, & I remember you saying you bought the larger size so keep track of how many brews you get out of one tank as it is nice to know when you are getting close to a refill & also if something is amiss with your lines etc. Good luck sorting it out. Lusty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted December 30, 2015 Author Share Posted December 30, 2015 I actually got all brand new kegs, I figured that would be easier albeit more expensive but hopefully prevent issues like seals buggering up like that. The SNPA keg failed to carbonate properly on its first week because the keg lid didn't seal properly which I managed to sort out and after another 3-4 days it was fine. The gauge didn't really drop over this time, though. It's only now two weeks later that it has. I've since turned off the gas bottle but I'll give the soapy water trick a go tomorrow before I replace the lines. I'd imagine if the blow off valve or lid seal was leaking then either there would be little pouring pressure or the beer would have gone largely flat, which hasn't happened. I poured one earlier and although I had to use the flow control on a trickle to prevent too much foam, the beer was perfectly carbonated still. Yes I have the 6.8kg bottle and it should carb and dispense around 30 kegs from what they tell me, and I am definitely nowhere near that amount yet. The fact the gauge went from half full to nearly empty in a matter of a few days suggests a leak somewhere and my money at this point is on the lines going into the push-in fittings on the kegs since I never had this issue with the old lines that pushed in properly. There is a chance it could be the manifold itself although it did come put together already with thread tape in the mountings so it seems unlikely to be that, but not ruling it out of course. Cheers Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted December 31, 2015 Author Share Posted December 31, 2015 Hi Lusty (and anyone else interested) I found the leak, it was one of the ball valve thingies on the manifold itself. This particular valve had been screwed in one full extra turn than all the other ones for some reason. Even plumbing tape wouldn't solve its problem so I ended up putting silicone on the thread as well as the tape, then screwing it back into place. Now just to wait 3 days for the silicone to cure to see if it fixed the problem. Just in time for the 3rd Test. So it would seem that the gas line I was using was perfectly fine. I still replaced it anyway, I'm now using the same line as my beer lines, which does fit into those push-in fitting much more securely, or at least it feels like it is. That may well be the reason why that SNPA keg didn't carbonate properly - it was hooked up to that line. Will update in 3 days time when I test it again. Cheers Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted January 2, 2016 Author Share Posted January 2, 2016 Looks like the silicone fixed the leak issue in that manifold. Yes, it's only a day but the stuff has set now. I turned the pressure up to 30 PSI for a minute or so and couldn't hear any hissing, which I could hear previously on that pressure before I went about this procedure. Also sprayed soapy water on the thing and no bubbling was happening like it was prior to the silicone being applied to that thread. Hopefully this is the last of the gas leak issues!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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