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Kegging - What Do I Need?
I didn't even know you could keg your own beer until I found this forum. It sounds great. What do I need to properly keg my own beer? Where would be the best place to get it?
Thanks
Gary
You'll need a CO2 cannister (5 lb size is fine, it should last through 4-5 kegs and can be refilled or swapped out for a full one at your friendly local welding supply company), a regulator with pressure gauges to step down the pressure coming out of the CO2, keg(s) (most use cornelius kegs, they're just the right size, relatively cheap, and easily available), and faucets (taps), as well as appropriate tubing and connectors to put everything together. You can piecemeal it, but it's a lot easier to use a vendor that will sell you the whole shootin' match in one lump sum. I got mine from a guy on ebay who's carved out a niche doing this, I'm sure if you search under kegerator or beer kit you'll find him. Then you'll need to decide on something to put it in to keep the beer cold. I bought a new fridge at Sears and just cut a couple of holes to run the tap shanks through. Some convert dorm fridges and use tower faucets, some convert chest freezers with some kind of device to step up the temperature. There's plenty of info on the web. Ultimately it comes down to the room you have, how many taps you want (my fridge could easily hold 3 corny kegs, although I only have two going), and whether you want to do anything else with your 'chilling system'. In my case we use the freezer part of the fridge for extra storage. Sometimes the fridge section does double duty holding other things besides beer kegs.
It's a bit pricey to set it up, but it's definitely alot more convenient than dealing with bottles, plus it's just plain cool to have beer on tap! Also you can force carbonate your beer in the keg, which eliminates waiting two weeks for your bottled beer to condition. If you have any more questions, I'd be happy to help.
Thanks so much. I checked it out and it does seem quite expensive but it would be easier and pretty cool. Maybe later if I get really into the home brewing. It's so cool to make my own beer but the sanitation, clean up, and WAITING are a pain. We'll see how it goes. Thanks again.
Gary
crasher1339 wrote:
it should last through 4-5 kegs
4-5 kegs?? Are you serious? I bought mine in December 2005 and it finally went out in October 2006. I used mine HEAVILY. I had someone else tell me theirs only lasts a few months. I have no idea what all these people are doing wrong, but they should definitely last longer.
I brew every few weeks and fill kegs at least once a month, plus I have to pump in more co2 often, so I can guarantee they should be lasting considerably longer. Mine does.
Speaking of which, I refilled in October, and have since brewed and kegged over 90 gallons. My bottle is still mostly full.
Cubx, what size tank do you have? Do you force carbonate or prime in the keg? These variables might explain your tank's longevity. When I asked the guy in the welding shop where I go to swap out my tank, he said most of the people he talks to go about 4-5 kegs on a 5 lb. tank, and that's been my experience. Not that it matters a whole lot, CO2 is pretty cheap.
I usually go through my CO2 tank about twice a year, but each tank does at least 15 kegs for me. That includes force carbonating and keeping the serving pressure high and letting off pressure from the keg every time I pour a beer. If you're only getting 4-5 kegs, either you have a leak or your kegs are huge, ha.
DT
crasher1339 wrote:
Cubx, what size tank do you have? Do you force carbonate or prime in the keg? These variables might explain your tank's longevity. When I asked the guy in the welding shop where I go to swap out my tank, he said most of the people he talks to go about 4-5 kegs on a 5 lb. tank, and that's been my experience. Not that it matters a whole lot, CO2 is pretty cheap.
A 5# co2 bottle. I force carbonate. Haven't done any priming in... hmmm good question. A long time. If the dude at the welding shop said 4-5 cornelius kegs on a 5 pound tank, he is smoking crack.
No way in hell a 5# bottle should only last 4-5 kegs. I honestly don't know how many kegs I carbonated with my last bottle, but I guarantee you they will last MUCH longer, unless as dmofot said, either you have a leak or MASSIVE kegs.
Well, let's see... I have racked 90 gallons since October, and pumped in more co2 as time goes on, and my bottle is still plenty full. Right there I have nearly 20 kegs worth. I can't give an estimate on my first bottle because I started kegging in 12/05, but didn't take brewing notes until 3/06, so I don't know how much I brewed and kegged those few months.
As I said, I use my tank HEAVILY. When I bought my first kegging setup, Doug (shop owner) said it should last me at least 15 kegs, but it lasted much longer.
Bottom line, something is terribly wrong if you only get 4-5 uses out of your 5# co2 bottle.
Cubx,
I'll have to check my system. Early in the winter I had the fridge in the garage, and had a major failure, losing a keg of beer to the floor through the faucet. I think it was something about the line freezing, and somehow the tap opened up. That was on my very first tank of CO2. Since moving it inside I've had no further problems, but I wonder if there might be a tiny leak somewhere, maybe in an O-ring that was damaged or something, that I just can't see when any leaks when I put soapy water on the various connections. The problem is if I can't find an obvious leak, replacing every O-ring would be a major nuisance. Any thoughts on where to start?
Maybe your CO2 guy meant half barrel kegs, that would equal about 15 corny kegs.
he prbably did mean half barrels, I know I was told when I first filled my tank for my kegerator years ago that it should last for 5-7 half barrels.
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