# Lion introduces "Tap King" - party keg / growlers



## Liam_snorkel (28/3/13)

> Brews News understands that the Tap King system involves a ‘caddy’ that will sit in a consumer’s home fridge and for which they will purchase 3.2 litre PET bottle refills. The caddy will cost around $25 dollars and the beer refills will cost approximately $22, representing the equivalent of approximately $2.90 per 425ml schooner or $1.96 per 285ml pot. Apparently five beers are currently planned to be sold, including James Squire Golden Ale, XXXX Gold and Toohey’s New.


http://www.brewsnews.com.au/2013/03/hotel-industry-furious-at-lions-plans-to-roll-out-tap-king-home-draught-beer-system/?fb_source=pubv1


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## scon (28/3/13)

Be interesting if this can be modded for the home brewer...


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## bradsbrew (28/3/13)

scon said:


> Be interesting if this can be modded for the home brewer...


Surely if you can get a refill at the pub you can refill off your own taps. Anyone know if you can still get 3L PET bottles?


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## bum (28/3/13)

The full article is confusing.

Publicans are upset that people are already staying home to drink beer instead of going to the pub. They hate this idea that forces people to go the pub to buy their beer. What the actual ****? Morons.


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## tricache (28/3/13)

bum said:


> The full article is confusing.
> 
> Publicans are upset that people are already staying home to drink beer instead of going to the pub. They hate this idea that forces people to go the pub to buy their beer. What the actual ****? Morons.


That's what I thought...could they actually but that stupid?


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## Liam_snorkel (28/3/13)

no I think the 3.2 litre bottle refills will be disposable and thus bought from the bottle shop.


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## bum (28/3/13)

"Lion is reportedly selling the move as something that will support on-premise draught sales."

The word "support" here instead of "supplement" (and "re-fill" elsewhere) indicate to me that they're looking at an actual fill system rather than a swap and go type of deal.


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## bradsbrew (28/3/13)

bum said:


> "Lion is reportedly selling the move as something that will support on-premise draught sales."
> 
> The word "support" here instead of "supplement" (and "re-fill" elsewhere) indicate to me that they're looking at an actual fill system rather than a swap and go type of deal.


Thats the way i read it as well.


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## Airgead (28/3/13)

tricache said:


> That's what I thought...could they actually but that stupid?


"we faced the same issue with premium beers such as Corona"

Yes... yes they could.


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## Liam_snorkel (28/3/13)

Ok. So why do they only plan on having it available for five of their beers? If it's a refill system shouldn't it be available for all/any lion beers?


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## Airgead (28/3/13)

I read it like its a swap and go type thing. Probably not even swap and go.. just a disposable bottle you use and chuck out.

For a start, what hotel is going to fill up a 3.2l bottle for you for only $22? As they said its $2/schooner or thereabouts. Even if it is a refill, there is no margin in that for the pub. The regular schooner price at my local is at least $5. More for something decent.

Has to be a swap and go.I think when they said "on premises" they were referring to customer's premises... ie: draft beer at home. And we all know just how jolly civilized that is.

Cheers
Dave


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## bum (28/3/13)

Liam_snorkel said:


> Ok. So why do they only plan on having it available for five of their beers? If it's a refill system shouldn't it be available for all/any lion beers?


Good point. Marketing decision maybe?

You might be correct and the article is just a little loose in terminology. But either way if you can only get them at pubs (which the article seems to be fairly clear on, I think) then how does the publican lose if some people stop buying their beer at the supermarket?

[EDIT: added quote]


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## bradsbrew (28/3/13)

Liam_snorkel said:


> Ok. So why do they only plan on having it available for five of their beers? If it's a refill system shouldn't it be available for all/any lion beers?


Good point Liam, perhaps the pub does their own fills but have them ready to go? That would of course lead to sanitation and carbonation problems.


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## angus_grant (28/3/13)

Publicans lose because people buy their beer and *go home*.

So people avoid hanging around pub, spending $150 on alcohol when all they wanted was a "few quiet beers" with mates, people having 5 beers and getting on the pokies and blowing $100 of their pension, eating because they have been at the pub for 5 hours drinking like maniacs, etc, etc, etc.

And you could bet the refills will have no margin in it all.


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## scon (28/3/13)

Who's going to play the pokies if everyone buys their beer and goes home?


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## Ross (28/3/13)

Guys, bars cannot do growler type refils from 50L kegs without all sorts of licences & excise hurdles. You can pretty well guarantee it will be a disposable system.

cheers Ross


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## Liam_snorkel (28/3/13)

I don't give a **** about the hotels association (which really is just woolies & coles) whingeing. - I'm more interested in the caddy system for home brew use. If it takes standard size PET bottle thread even better.


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## booargy (28/3/13)

What makes me wonder is where the **** do they get 3.2L from?


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## Liam_snorkel (28/3/13)

My guess is so that the caddy can't take a standard PET bottle size/shape


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## bum (28/3/13)

angus_grant said:


> Publicans lose because people buy their beer and *go home*.
> 
> So people avoid hanging around pub, spending $150 on alcohol when all they wanted was a "few quiet beers" with mates, people having 5 beers and getting on the pokies and blowing $100 of their pension, eating because they have been at the pub for 5 hours drinking like maniacs, etc, etc, etc.
> 
> And you could bet the refills will have no margin in it all.





scon said:


> Who's going to play the pokies if everyone buys their beer and goes home?


It seems fairly obvious to me that this is about getting people who are already drinking at home to buy beer from the pub. Most people would probably grab a jar while they're in there as well. I mean, it'd be rude not to...


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## Yob (28/3/13)

I wouldnt know where a pub is that sells that shit anyway..

The bars I generally frequent only sell good beers anyway.

if I could get refills of Feral Hop Hog for $22... now theres a thing I could get excited about


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## bum (28/3/13)

Ross said:


> Guys, bars cannot do growler type refils from 50L kegs without all sorts of licences & excise hurdles. You can pretty well guarantee it will be a disposable system.
> 
> cheers Ross


Could this still be cheaper and easier than setting up a whole new packaging and distribution chain on this scale?


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## Bribie G (28/3/13)

As Ross will confirm, quite apart from the Watneys Party cans, giant PET bottles of beer were common in the UK in the 1980s and 90s in the bottle shops and supermarkets. I don't think they have them any more, gone on mostly to 500ml cans.

Pretty ordinary stuff but they were five or seven pints. then you'd get the "eight pints for the price of seven" ones. Also for a while in my home town you could get a PET container that you could take to the off licence and get it filled from a keg of Newcastle Exhibition for the same price as over the bar. Why does Australia constantly have to re-invent the bloody wheel? (end pom rant)


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## booargy (28/3/13)

I know you can buy big PET bottles of beer in Finland not sure what size they were 2-3L at a guess, I just remember thinking who would buy beer in a bottle that big and made of plastic.


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## Rowy (28/3/13)

Yob said:


> I wouldnt know where a pub is that sells that shit anyway..
> 
> The bars I generally frequent only sell good beers anyway.
> 
> if I could get refills of Feral Hop Hog for $22... now theres a thing I could get excited about


I'm with you Yob the bars that I frequest either have great craft beer on tap or females in various stages of undress. Never both unfortunately :angry: Now there's a thought if I combined the two...................................


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## sponge (28/3/13)

Rowy said:


> I'm with you Yob the bars that I frequest either have great craft beer on tap or females in various stages of undress. Never both unfortunately :angry: Now there's a thought if I combined the two...................................


.
At home with a lady friend/wife/mistress..?


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## Liam_snorkel (28/3/13)

yeah look guys I reckon these will be sold in grog shops, not over the bar at pubs.


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## bradsbrew (28/3/13)

I have no interest in the refills etc., I am just interested in how it works and if i can use it to take 3L of my beer to a barbie and dispense with a tap. If i wanted to buy draught beer to serve at home/barbie I would grab one of Ross' 5L jobs for cheaper/around about the same price.

cheers


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## Rowy (28/3/13)

I could make my bar an all AHB affair. Ross in charge of refreshments, Smokomark in charge of pies and sausage rolls, Winkle our beer taste tester and of course myself as chief of 'staff' selection. Florian could be in charge of Wurst as long as he didn't try to include his sausage in my selection process. Liam could be in charge of growling..................oops I mean growlers. We could even get Bum along to abuse the clientelle that we wanted to get rid of! This my friends is going to go bigtime! Share options will be listed in the very near future so stay tuned.


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## Liam_snorkel (28/3/13)

Rowy's Beer'n'growl House.

It has a real _ring_ to it.


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## Rowy (28/3/13)

You beauty! The name I've been searching for :super:


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## booargy (28/3/13)

politics in the pub? h34r:


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## Brew Matt (28/3/13)

_Lion has reportedly advised hoteliers that it has spent upwards of ten million dollars developing the system. One report has put the investment as high as $20 million. (from the main article)_

That is a lot of money that has to be re-couped in development costs. I wonder what the budget breakdown is between functionality & making the system hack proof, so it cant be used for non Lion beer.


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## Liam_snorkel (28/3/13)

what other beers can you think of that are sold in PET bottles?

my guess is that they will have a unique/unusual gauge thread for the cap so it can't be used with any old bottle.


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## Brew Matt (28/3/13)

Also, I don't think many fridges will support a 3 Litre Bottle in an upright position, so maybe it will be designed so that the bottle has to be on its side on a shelf?

I wonder what type of system (if any) will pressurize the beer?

Even $10M in development will have to produce something half decent, one would think. Perhaps the unit will function in zero gravity environments as well......


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## Yob (28/3/13)

Shit bars, shit bottle shops, no difference to me, unlikely to have an impact at Purvis or the Great Britain.. If going to a party or whatever I'm likely to need more than 3 lt so the little party keg comes out anyway..

I hops that 20mil was spent developing it here coz they'll get sweet **** all of it back from me.. lol


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## Brew Matt (28/3/13)

And we all know what a creative bunch the marketers at some breweries can be. Who knows how the $10M figure was calculated. Was it the combined yearly salary of everyone that attended the think tank session on how to sell more beer to people who cannot make it to the pub but own a fridge.....


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## BOG (28/3/13)

oh the young ones.

That is how coke was sold in the 80's

They where called Crowd Pleaser Bottles.


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## joshF (28/3/13)

Think about it logically. The company wouldn't release this new product with the intention of making a loss. They can only increase profit (that's the whole principle of business, right?) by increasing sales or reducing expenses. It would appear in this case they are aiming to do both. The cost of a single 3.2L PET bottle would cost less in raw materials compared to 9 x 345ml glass bottles with 9 x bottle caps. So the reduction in labour and materials already presents a substantial cost saving in itself.

You're always gonna have the loyal blokes who grab the same slab of new or xxxx or vb whatever but in the event that one weekend Joe Blow buys his usual carton plus a bottle of this new shit, then the marketing behind the product has already worked by making you buy the product. I'm sure i'm not the only bloke who's gone to the bottleshop, seen something new on the shelf and bought it (pre-homebrew days of course!!!). So the marketing behind it seems to be around the whole 'draught' experience and the convenience of having 1 bottle to dispose of afterwards cause fucken hell i've seen enough of the mess created 'the morning after' a big night on the piss and you now have 100 bottles to throw out.

As for the 10m outlay..... think of Apple as an example. You might pay $600 for an iPad or whatever the fucken things are worth when in fact it only costs them $70 worth of materials and labour etc to make it. But the staggering fact that almost everyone overlooks is the research and development aspect, technological patents/copyrights, wages, marketing, overheads such as rent,
machinery costs, insurance and depreciation etc etc which can all be attributed and traced back to the cost of the product and indeed go towards determining a selling point for the product. 

Only reason i chimed in here is because i'm an accounting student and inbetween making beer, i have to bury my head in friggen uni books that cover this exact same stuff so i thought i'd try and help explain how that $10m and $22 is calculated. 

cheers
Josh


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## NealK (28/3/13)

Sounds a bit like Tap-A-Draft. Does this mean the ongoing cost of mini co2 canisters? This is one of the reasons I got rid of mine.


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## barls (28/3/13)

NealK said:


> Sounds a bit like Tap-A-Draft. Does this mean the ongoing cost of mini co2 canisters? This is one of the reasons I got rid of mine.


was thinking the exact same thing.


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## felten (29/3/13)

How else would you keep it fresh without co2? Unless they spent all that money designing a deflatable bag in a bottle...


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## mitch.flint (2/4/13)

I think this might coincide with the push to get beer into supermarkets. Surely this is a very convenient way of drinking beer and if you can sell the refills in supermarkets then all the more likely that the everyday punter will pick one up on the way out.

They may just have high CO2 content within the bottles and have the tap fed directly from the PET bottle. That would result in decreasing pressures at the end of each bottle but I really can't see them trying to sell CO2 cannister replacements to the average punter.


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## bum (2/4/13)

The big breweries have been completely fucked over by the supermarkets. This is a move to get people to buy elsewhere. It'll fail horribly but that is all it is.


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## Lord Raja Goomba I (3/4/13)

Except in Qld or Tas. Why is it I moved from one state where there's no supermarket beer to another state where there is none.

At least in Qld, we had Dan Murphy's.

I've always wanted to go to ALDI (none of those here, either) to grab a 6 pack of some Hefeweiss.

You Victorians are lucky (and I can guarantee that the binge-drinking is no worse there, than in Brisbane).

Goomba


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## Rowy (3/4/13)

> ................................(and I can guarantee that the binge-drinking is no worse there, than in Brisbane).
> 
> Goomba


You leave me out of this Goomba


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## Lord Raja Goomba I (3/4/13)

Rowy said:


> You leave me out of this Goomba


Was thinking maybe more what you see in a professional, rather than personal situation


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## Bribie G (3/4/13)

Local council here have vetoed a Dan Murphys because it might cause the lower echelons to drink irresponsibly. I thought councils were to fix the roads, pump the sewage, round up lost dogs and collect the garbage, not to engage in social engineering.

Fckuwits.


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## Lord Raja Goomba I (3/4/13)

We (SWMBO & I, plus a couple of friends we told the joke to) have a joke that basically goes along the lines of - the crows do more work than the council and don't get paid for it (because they clean up the frequent carrion from the middle of the road).

The thing that got me is that rates here, are around the same as Brisbane city council (aka Beirut because of how crater filled the roads are), but the properties are 1/2 or significantly less in value than Brisbane.


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## Online Brewing Supplies (3/4/13)

Bribie G said:


> Local council here have vetoed a Dan Murphys because it might cause the lower echelons to drink irresponsibly. I thought councils were to fix the roads, pump the sewage, round up lost dogs and collect the garbage, not to engage in social engineering.
> 
> Fckuwits.


No they would rather choke your heart with fat from fast food outlets.
Australian Booze dictators have these antiquated views on booze dispersal, hence why we have the binge drinking problems and violence.
I say put a fast food booze outlet on every corner and decentralise drinking and the problems will decline.
MY2C
Nev
Nev


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## WillCowan (24/4/13)

http://www.theshout.com.au/2013/04/24/article/Industry-debates-Tap-Kings-merits/MAZCRMNMVB.html



By James Atkinson
Coopers chairman Glenn Cooper and Little Creatures founder Howard Cearns have given insights on draught beer at home products, as a poll by TheShout found 70 per cent of respondents believe Lion's Tap King is bad news for pubs (pictured right).
Billed by Lion as a market-leading innovation for the beer category, Tap King has copped a strong backlash from hoteliers.
Glenn Cooper told TheShout that the reaction was similar when Coopers made its entry into making home brew kits. 
He reiterated his earlier comments that if people decide to sit at home and drink beer as an alternative to visiting the pub, "there's something wrong with your hotel".
"Hotels are not just selling beer, they're selling atmosphere," he said.
Asked if Coopers would consider developing a Tap King equivalent product, he said he doubted whether any home draught system could ever compare with having a Coopers in a hotel.
"It would be hard to beat a good pub with good beer line systems in quality," he said.



It really does sound like a Tap-A-Draught style system.


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## mrTbeer (24/4/13)

Here's a picture of the Dispense Head and some pricing info.
http://www.theshout.com.au/2013/04/03/article/Lion-causes-uproar-with-draught-beer-at-home-product/BUPJEFCVCE.html

http://i.imgur.com/7dSlTjf.jpg

Here's the TM
http://www.ipaustralia.com.au/applicant/lion-beer-spirits-and-wine-pty-ltd/trademarks/1494022/


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## Crusty (24/4/13)

Lord Raja Goomba I said:


> We (SWMBO & I, plus a couple of friends we told the joke to) have a joke that basically goes along the lines of - the crows do more work than the council and don't get paid for it (because they clean up the frequent carrion from the middle of the road).
> 
> The thing that got me is that rates here, are around the same as Brisbane city council (aka Beirut because of how crater filled the roads are), but the properties are 1/2 or significantly less in value than Brisbane.


It was the same council that headed a study in outback Australia to find out why the crow numbers were in decline & why so many crows were found dead on the road, not in groups, just one bird on it's own. They came to the conclusion that the crows would eat in pairs. One crow would feed on the carrion on the road & the other would sit in a tree as a lookout. They concluded that when a truck was approaching, the lookout would squawk out Car, Car, but couldn't say truck.
Apologies to the OP................ :icon_offtopic:


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## 431neb (24/4/13)

felten said:


> How else would you keep it fresh without co2? Unless they spent all that money designing a deflatable bag in a bottle...


Clever Felten. That's the same way the gas in a Paslode nail gun is delivered - the outer canister is pressurised and the inner bladder squeezed as a result. Clever.

On the pubs issue. Don't underestimate the choke-hold that big business is tightening on local pubs. It's probably all over in fact. The only atmosphere in my local is the smell of the beer mats on the bar. Or is that the toilets? I can't tell. Neither can the flies.

Pokies, big business and the bottom line (supermarket duopoly) is sucking the life out of local pubs. I pray that craft-brewing can restore the vibrance and diversity of public houses but I don't hold much hope.

Jesus. Jaded and critical much? Sorry.


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## Feldon (24/4/13)

Pubs shouldn't complain _too _much. It could be worse...


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## Liam_snorkel (24/4/13)

431neb said:


> Pokies, big business and the bottom line (supermarket duopoly) is sucking the life out of local pubs.


yeah, the two supermarkets own most of the pubs (at least here in Qld).


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## Dunkelbrau (1/6/13)

mitch.flint said:


> They may just have high CO2 content within the bottles and have the tap fed directly from the PET bottle. That would result in decreasing pressures at the end of each bottle but I really can't see them trying to sell CO2 cannister replacements to the average punter.


The co2 is in a canister inside the bottle, when you tap the keg, it opens the canister and releases the co2 in, to keep pressure in the bottle. Its a pretty neat looking system. Im actually interested in the idea of using the dispensing system refilled with HB for small sessions at mates houses or to take to dinner parties etc without lugging a big corny around. Im sure someone will works something out.

These things don't take up much room in the fridge either, less than a 6pack and less than a bottle of coke, but it has more volume than both. So its pretty cool in that regard. More like a slim heineken keg!

The old mans team got a sample pack of the product, so i'll let you all know how it pours etc


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## Bribie G (1/6/13)

If you're really sure of your FG and accurately add dex or sugaz you should be able to lightly prime them for "draught beer" service? Might not be too good for a bright lager but for a 150 lashes or a Coopers Green style ale, might be the go.


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## Dunkelbrau (7/6/13)

We pulled the cap off and it has a co2 cartridge in them to equalise pressure, I don't think the bottles could be easily refilled with the way the caps are put on, thinking a out it, it's basically a plastic corny with co2 built in to the caps, and the plastic dip tube going to the bottom of the bottle.

Interesting design. 

Definitely tastes better than the bottled stuff, I did a side by side comparison of the JSGA and it was definitely the same as the stuff the pubs get.


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## carniebrew (24/6/13)

Refills are $22 for 3.2 litre PET bottles, just under $2 a pot (you northern weirdo's can work out a schooner price for yourselves).


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## Josho (24/6/13)

Where are we buying these from then?

or are they just a pipe dream?


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## Josho (24/6/13)

I see its only got 2 good beers Squire Chancer and Boags,

Might be interesting if we get small batch craft beers and the like though,


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## carniebrew (24/6/13)

Josho said:


> Where are we buying these from then?
> 
> or are they just a pipe dream?


Bottlo's I suspect, but Lion has said they won't be releasing the system until 'later in the year'.


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## Bribie G (24/6/13)

Pot.. don't you mean a middy?


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## Josho (24/6/13)

on the Keg King website it has a countdown 13 days or so?


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## Yob (24/6/13)

next you will be telling me you can brew your own for cheap and fill your own kegs... maybe even clone beers... naaa bound to be a catch somewhere


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## Josho (24/6/13)

I dont think at what the cost is 22 dollars a bottle plus the Keg King system that it would be DIY,

too much monies to be lost surely,

Lion nathan would have made it too hard to fill your own - cept theres a special machine you can buy that they especially developed to fill these..... and it only costs $10,000 - or some other stupid amount.


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## Bribie G (24/6/13)

Fill your own keg king bottle.... "I can feel a new thread coming on" (sung to old )


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## Josho (24/6/13)

Bribie you might have to start it now in anticipation of the questions, do your research early on and be the go to guy,


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## carniebrew (24/6/13)

Bribie G said:


> Pot.. don't you mean a middy?


Wikipedia seems to think they call 'em pots up your way too, and Wikipedia's never wrong...right?? :blink:


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## Bribie G (24/6/13)

Yes I suppose who can you trust if not Wikipedia 

Incidentally I wrote the "Australian Market" paragraph for the Fosters Lager page.

Edit: and the history section as well. Wow that was a few years ago and it's pleasing to see it's still quite intact despite a lot of people having a hack at it.


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## /// (24/6/13)

Josho said:


> Lion nathan would have made it too hard to fill your own - cept theres a special machine you can buy that they especially developed to fill these..... and it only costs $10,000 - or some other stupid amount.


The bottle is made locally by Visy and KHS did the filler, so you are a little short in zeros if they did the filler

There's plenty if different formats o/s, with the doom and gloom if will bring I'm sure all could be soothed by another poker machine in the venue


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## Bribie G (24/6/13)

Sadly many of the pubs in Australian regional towns and suburbs are the places where people drink who can't or choose not to get into the clubs. In my own limited experience: Woolgoolga RSL, Bribie Island RSL, Morayfield Sports Club, Taree Sailo's, Club Old Bar, Panthers at Port - even some city venues like Chatswood RSL, Dee Why RSL, - well patronised and packed out in the lunchtimes and evenings while the pubs are virtually empty.

Did I say my limited experience? Shit gotta start drinking less :lol:


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## mrTbeer (24/6/13)

Bribie G said:


> Pot.. don't you mean a middy?


Looks like Bribie has been 'influenced' by the cockroaches. I think he's spent enough time with 'canetoads' to know what a 'pot of gold' is.


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## Bribie G (24/6/13)

Having emigrated to Australia from QLD, indeed I have had to brush up on the vocabulary;

middy - pot
longneck - tallie
Motor Registry - Main Roads
Green slip - CTP insurance
Rego - what's that? being a pensioner it's free in NSW
The $2.50 Pensioner Excursion Ticket (PET) - anywhere you want, all day no QLD equivalent.
Four distinct seasons, no QLD equivalent
Real trees


  

Edit: heating bills :huh:


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## 431neb (25/6/13)

Bribie, when my QLD cousins would visit they would pack their clothes in a "Port". Confused the shit outta me as youngster.


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## /// (25/6/13)

Swimming Toggs anyone?


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## S.E (25/6/13)

/// said:


> Swimming Toggs anyone?


Wrong thread :lol:


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## Bribie G (25/6/13)

Searched in vain for Cheerios at the supermarkets here when rugrats were visiting at Christmas. The little red sausages, I thought the name was Australia wide - had to settle for cocktail Franks instead.


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## Bribie G (25/6/13)

On topic, here's the Tap King website. Their wrists must have been sore for days after they wrote all that drivel.


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## Liam_snorkel (25/6/13)

Bribie G said:


> On topic, here's the Tap King website. Their wrists must have been sore for days after they wrote all that drivel.


"The brewing equivalent of a hoverboard"

what a pisser!


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## tricache (25/6/13)

Just watched the video ( Lionel Richie must be running out of money) and they look fairly long, will be interesting to see how they fit in the normal depth fridge.

How many litres does it apparently hold?


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## Liam_snorkel (25/6/13)

found these: https://www.youtube.com/user/tapkingdom?feature=watch

they've got Charles Firth (chaser) in a bunch of them. Still aren't funny.


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## Liam_snorkel (25/6/13)

tricache said:


> Just watched the video ( Lionel Richie must be running out of money) and they look fairly long, will be interesting to see how they fit in the normal depth fridge.
> 
> How many litres does it apparently hold?


3.2 litres.


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## gava (25/6/13)

I like the idea of this but once I saw the beers listed I was sad again...


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## MastersBrewery (25/6/13)

Liam_snorkel said:


> 3.2 litres.


I'm just not sure if a footy belongs on the top shelf of the fridge, this will just give the kids ideas.


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## mwd (25/6/13)

Looks like they are not sparing the advertising dollar in promoting the launch.


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## Bribie G (25/6/13)

I wonder if it will be just at selected outlets or at every BWS, LL, Liquorstax, etc etc. Imagine the logistics behind distributing the unit and the refills all over Australia, mind boggling. They must be sinking millions and millions into the exercise.


----------



## bum (25/6/13)

MastersBrewery said:


> I'm just not sure if a footy belongs on the top shelf of the fridge, this will just give the kids ideas.


Yeah, I'm sick to death of telling my kids that sports equipment belongs in the crisper.


----------



## mrTbeer (25/6/13)

If it's 12 days until launch, I reckon it'll be 13days until it's 'hacked' for homebrew.

Pity they only have 1 Ale on launch but encouraging to see 6 brands.


----------



## 431neb (27/6/13)

Lionel Richie pocketed 1.5 million for this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyNQJplaVa4


Tap King Instructional video - vaguely amusing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_F596t7dY0






mrTbeer said:


> If it's 12 days until launch, I reckon it'll be 13days until it's 'hacked' for homebrew.


Agree. It's gotta make a handy party keg.


----------



## Bribie G (27/6/13)

I'll just keep the 3L growler on the floor next to my TV chair and swig from that.


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## winkle (27/6/13)

Bribie G said:


> Searched in vain for Cheerios at the supermarkets here when rugrats were visiting at Christmas. The little red sausages, I thought the name was Australia wide - had to settle for cocktail Franks instead.


There is a whole new generation that doesn't shudder at the idea of pouring milk on Cheerios for breakfast. :icon_vomit:
We all drink schooners up here Bribie, pots are reserved for the elderly at small Bowls Clubs - you should know that.
At the risk of swerving on topic, these things will appear then vanish within a few months - too much effort when you can just buy a carton of cans.


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## Bribie G (27/6/13)

The problem I can see during the settling in period is that they will send hundreds of thousands of growlers out all over Australia, presumably in the same ratio as what each brand achieves currently in pub sales. Or will it be in the same ratio as what each brand achieves in bottle shop and Dan's sales.

So whatever they do they are taking a punt. So I can envisage oversupplies of Tooheys New in this shop, oversupplies of XXXX gold in that shop, people screaming for JS or Boags in the other shop.... could be a logistical nightmare shipping excess stock from store to store.

Interesting to see how it pans out.

When I arrived in OZ it was seven ounce glasses, but eight ounces in Metro Brisbane for some reason.


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## spryzie (28/6/13)

In Tassie, a pot is called a "ten ounce". Pints remain the same however.

They don't have school ports or cheerios.

They call the latter "little boys", the sick bastards.

If I can refill with homebrew I'll buy one of these things. Otherwise why not stick with 5L party keg thingies?


----------



## tricache (28/6/13)

I have to admit the pop out drip tray is pretty nifty...apart from that it will be interesting to see how these go.

I used to like the Heineken Kegs but first pour was always tears, foam city


----------



## NewtownClown (28/6/13)

Tropical_Brews said:


> Looks like they are not sparing the advertising dollar in promoting the launch.


Ummmm.... Have you EVER known CUB or Lion Nathan to "spare" the advertising dollar?

They spend more on marketing than ingredients each year...


----------



## Yob (28/6/13)

NewtownClown said:


> Ummmm.... Have you EVER known CUB SAB Miller or Lion Nathan to "spare" the advertising dollar?
> 
> They spend more on marketing than ingredients each year...


If only they had contacted Brewnut for the growlers :lol:


----------



## Liam_snorkel (28/6/13)

that's the whole point isn't it? This tap king thing is itself a marketing strategy.


----------



## Adr_0 (28/6/13)

Bribie G said:


> Having emigrated to Australia from QLD, indeed I have had to brush up on the vocabulary;
> 
> middy - pot
> longneck - tallie
> ...


Rugby league... :S


----------



## brewdrew (28/6/13)

spryzie said:


> They don't have school ports or cheerios.


My primary school had 'port racks' for us to keep our backpacks on. It all makes sense now, 25 years later.


----------



## Liam_snorkel (2/7/13)

review:

http://www.brewsnews.com.au/2013/07/hands-on-with-tap-king/


----------



## Josho (2/7/13)

Wow under the cap looks interesting,


----------



## Logman (2/7/13)

I bet there was a lot of back and forth over the size of it, 3.2 litres wouldn't do too many of us any good. :drinks:


----------



## Josho (2/7/13)

yeah friday afternoon meeting


----------



## mrTbeer (8/7/13)

This should be available now.
Guessing regional areas get it last tho' :beerbang:


----------



## barls (8/7/13)

I heard it was delayed due to manufacturing problems


----------



## Blackened (9/7/13)

Apologies if I missed this bit of info in one of the previous links, but I asked at my local liquor shop about these and the guy behind the counter was able to give me a piece of info I hadn't heard before. They'd been supplied with a sample unit and had a good look.

The dispenser has no CO2, there is a tiny CO2 canister attached to the PET bottle. Single use, just enough to dispense it. Looks like if we want to adapt these for homebrew, we'll need to make an adapter, perhaps between the PET bottle and dispenser, that can allow an external CO2 source to be plugged in. Maybe a sodastream bottle laying down next to it? Or sparklet bulb?

Either way, it's not as reusable as I'd hoped, assuming the info I've been told is correct of course.


----------



## mrTbeer (9/7/13)

I reckon that's right. Otherwise they'd need to sell co2 bulbs as well as refills.
That also explains the photo showing top of lid in one of the linked reviews.


----------



## pist (10/7/13)

Perhaps they should think about offering other alternatives to the public instead of relying on selling megaswill tasteless garbage. People are starting to finally broaden their horizons and try something new. I know i like to drink something other than a watery lager with no taste. You can see this trend in my home town of newcaste. In the last 12 months especially there has been 2 fully fledged craft beer bars opened, and alot of the pubs in the area have also taken note and now have at least one bank of craft beer taps.


----------



## pist (10/7/13)

The commercial hotel at morpeth in the hunter valley is now also brewing their own beer on premises and have a full range on tap...and you can take some home with you in a growler


----------



## barls (10/7/13)

Blackened said:


> Apologies if I missed this bit of info in one of the previous links, but I asked at my local liquor shop about these and the guy behind the counter was able to give me a piece of info I hadn't heard before. They'd been supplied with a sample unit and had a good look.
> 
> The dispenser has no CO2, there is a tiny CO2 canister attached to the PET bottle. Single use, just enough to dispense it. Looks like if we want to adapt these for homebrew, we'll need to make an adapter, perhaps between the PET bottle and dispenser, that can allow an external CO2 source to be plugged in. Maybe a sodastream bottle laying down next to it? Or sparklet bulb?
> 
> Either way, it's not as reusable as I'd hoped, assuming the info I've been told is correct of course.


i was told they had one integrated like the heinekin kegs.


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## tricache (11/7/13)

barls said:


> i was told they had one integrated like the heinekin kegs.


This is still "technically" true, it's just the Tap King has a bit of hardware to pour the beer which the heineken kegs have integrated into the keg itself


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## BadSeed (19/7/13)

barls said:


> i was told they had one integrated like the heinekin kegs.


Maybe a system like I knocked up here would work - http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/66108-5l-mini-kegs/page-2

You would just need a hole cut in the keg to take the cap. It's a nice system for the average punter, I like the laying down in the fridge design.
I already have all my favourite beers on tap.

Slightly off topic, when I was a youngster in England a few of the pubs used to sell take-aways. It was almost like a milk carton, each one contained 2 pints. A disposable growler almost.
We used to buy them on the way to the movies.


----------



## tricache (29/7/13)

Just got my email about these today...with prices :huh:


----------



## winkle (29/7/13)

Wow, talk about a choice selection of crap beers.


----------



## tricache (29/7/13)

When James Squire is the "winner" of the choices they have some problems


----------



## winkle (29/7/13)

Squires make a few drinkable beers - sadly the Golden Ale ain't one.


----------



## ash2 (29/7/13)

tricache said:


> Just got my email about these today...with prices :huh:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Not the cheapest option for the punters :angry:


----------



## soundawake (29/7/13)

I sent a tweet to Matt Kirkegaard from Brews News about this, and said I thought it was going to be a flop. He said 'I'll wager you a bottle of Nail Clout Stout you're wrong.' I said if it was still on the market in 18 months I'd eat my hat. He replied, '18 months? That's easy money. I'll even give you odds.'

I just can't see Hahn Super Dry drinkers paying an initial outlay of over 70 bucks for less than one carton of beer. 

What say you, AHB?


----------



## tricache (29/7/13)

soundawake said:


> I sent a tweet to Matt Kirkegaard from Brews News about this, and said I thought it was going to be a flop. He said 'I'll wager you a bottle of Nail Clout Stout you're wrong.' I said if it was still on the market in 18 months I'd eat my hat. He replied, '18 months? That's easy money. I'll even give you odds.'
> 
> I just can't see Hahn Super Dry drinkers paying an initial outlay of over 70 bucks for less than one carton of beer.
> 
> What say you, AHB?



Totally agree...that is a LOT for less than a carton of less than average beer. Can't see the usual XXXX drinker spending that much


----------



## winkle (29/7/13)

I don't think that Gold drinkers would pony up that much.


----------



## tricache (29/7/13)

$37.99 for a carton of 375mL stubbies (9L) or $34.50 for a twin pack of mini kegs (6.4L)...so some quick calculations...

$4.22 per litre in bottles or $5.39 per litre in mini kegs...at the end of the day you are paying for more a fancy thing in your fridge which will be probably useless in an esky.

I see this lasting a year max, unless they either drop the price or put on some different beers.


----------



## soundawake (29/7/13)

Also I should confess that when Matt said, "I'll even give you odds', as I'm not a gambler, I don't know what it actually means.

Anybody?


----------



## Liam_snorkel (29/7/13)

what kind of hat?


----------



## tricache (29/7/13)

Could be interesting....


----------



## Liam_snorkel (29/7/13)

a Nacho Hat would be the obvious choice.


----------



## soundawake (29/7/13)

Liam_snorkel said:


> a Nacho Hat would be the obvious choice.


Bingo


----------



## givemeamash (29/7/13)

anyone got their hands on one to see if it can be doctored into a party keg setup???


----------



## bum (29/7/13)

You think brewers are the only beer drinkers who like ghetto bling?


----------



## givemeamash (29/7/13)

Yep....the rest don't want ghetto bling, just proper bling, hence why many will pony up the coin for less beer at the same price. Bit ironic that they call it draft beer but it comes out of a bottle


----------



## givemeamash (29/7/13)

Yep....the rest don't want ghetto bling, just proper bling, hence why many will pony up the coin for less beer at the same price. Bit ironic that they call it draft beer but it comes out of a bottle


----------



## tazman1967 (31/7/13)

I got mine today.. decided on the Golden Ale... rumor has it that the range will be expanded to Heineken and Stella. All BUL for Lion Nathan.


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## WarmBeer (31/7/13)

tazman1967 said:


> I got mine today.. decided on the Golden Ale... rumor has it that the range will be expanded to Heineken and Stella. All BUL for Lion Nathan.


Both Heineken AND Stella? Hallelujah!

h34r:


----------



## tazman1967 (31/7/13)

Yup.. keep the trendy punters happy...LOL


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## DU99 (1/8/13)

up front costs always deter alot of punters..won't be rushing out to buy one..considering we can make beer cheaper and better..


----------



## NewtownClown (1/8/13)

tricache said:


> $37.99 for a carton of 375mL stubbies (9L) or $34.50 for a twin pack of mini kegs (6.4L)...so some quick calculations...
> 
> $4.22 per litre in bottles or $5.39 per litre in mini kegs...at the end of the day you are paying for more a fancy thing in your fridge which will be probably useless in an esky.
> 
> I see this lasting a year max, unless they either drop the price or put on some different beers.


 You're missing the point and comparing apples to oranges (at least in Lion's marketing mind).
it's about the "OMG I can have draught beer at home and it is better than bottles/cans"


----------



## Josho (1/8/13)

Has anyone got one of these? i read on another site that the dispeneser needs to be hooked up to the bottle in order for the co2 to equalise or the dispenser wont work,

is this true?


----------



## Josho (1/8/13)

so 9 hours between bottles = fail


----------



## barls (1/8/13)

ok my knowledge on this product is what i learned at work.
bottle changes look easy but so long as the bottle if cold it should be no problem changing and keep drinking will try to confirm this tomorrow when i use one at work for tastings.

kinda been pulling the dummy display unit apart and looks like a standard co2 cartridge in there but you need special triangular bits to undo the 4 screws holding the whole thing together once again once i empty one ill pull apart the unit and see how it goes.


----------



## tazman1967 (2/8/13)

Just tapped mine... pours a nice creamy head. Beer seems "fresher" IMHO. Pretty happy with it.
Takes all but 2 minutes to attach the bottle, put back in fridge pour..
Love the retractable drip tray.. and it comes off easy for cleaning.


----------



## winkle (2/8/13)

tazman1967 said:


> Just tapped mine... pours a nice creamy head. Beer seems "fresher" IMHO. Pretty happy with it.
> Takes all but 2 minutes to attach the bottle, put back in fridge pour..
> Love the retractable drip tray.. and it comes off easy for cleaning.


Fine,
now dismantle it and work out how we can fill it up with something decent.


----------



## tazman1967 (2/8/13)

Just knock this little keg back first..


----------



## tazman1967 (2/8/13)

IMHO.. I think that it runs off a "Widget".. similar to the Guinnness Cans..


----------



## nicktron (2/8/13)

I don't see these things lasting long on the market.


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## bum (2/8/13)

You mean they'll sell out?


----------



## mrTbeer (2/8/13)

Had a good look just now.
It can be hacked it looks like a 16g cartridge fitted under plastic sleeve inside plastic cap. All the screws are triangular though (not hex, not torx) which probably means it has to be drilled? I reckon I'd wreck a few bits of plastic (@$23ea) before figuring out but I'm hoping there is someone out there that's more surgeon and less butcher than me.
It easily fits on a fridge shelf without changing heights, my 9L kegs can't do that and the picnic tap leaks a bit too where this has a drip tray.
Having said all that I wasn't sold tonight, $75 to get started was a bit high and it's sold hot so can't drink till next morning?
Beer choices are not exciting but it's cheap at less than $9/L for refills. I filled a growler at Archive last week and it cost 2.5x that per Litre. Was better/stronger and cold beer (Holgate Temptress) at Archive but much dearer by the Litre.


----------



## bum (2/8/13)

There's a bunch of mutli-head, cheapy triangle screwdrivers all over eBay.


----------



## lukiferj (2/8/13)

There's also a bunch of faux kegs with shit beer all over Dan Murphys.


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## tazman1967 (2/8/13)

I just stand corrected... 
I agree with mrTbeer.
.but , I hope common sense prevails and they keep them in the cold fridge..


----------



## jyo (2/8/13)

tazman1967 said:


> .but , I hope common sense prevails and they keep them in the cold fridge..


Yet we all know they probably won't.


----------



## driftdaddy (3/8/13)

Hi Guys,

Long time lurker, first time poster here.

I'm happy to report that the tap king bottles look totally home brew friendly. I just got done ripping mine apart, and other than the triangle screws (PITA - have been replaced with socket head equivalents) it's all pretty easy.







Basically, it's a 12g Co2 canister inside. When the bottle is loaded into the dispenser and the lever is "clicked" into position, a little pin (pictured next to the yellow cap) is driven into the Co2 canister releasing the gas. 

So I'm off to find some Co2 canisters today, and will be re-bottling tomorrow. Will post results.

Anyone have any thoughts on priming these? Would the Co2 canister have enough pressure to force carbonate, or would i prime as if I was bottling normally? The Tap King bottles are very firm when new so I'm guessing they are carbonated prior so I'm thinking of just priming as normal......


----------



## EvilTwin (3/8/13)

Nice work DriftDaddy - looks like a pretty simple system.


----------



## Ross (3/8/13)

Nice work driftdaddy... :super:


----------



## tricache (3/8/13)

Great work!! Would think you could get these from any kitchen shop ect...soda bulbs?


----------



## driftdaddy (3/8/13)

tricache said:


> Great work!! Would think you could get these from any kitchen shop ect...soda bulbs?


I'm positive they are sold at cycling shops for emergency tyre inflating. That's going to be my first port of call.


----------



## Liam_snorkel (3/8/13)

At what point will the canister be cracked when you reassemble?


----------



## tricache (3/8/13)

driftdaddy said:


> I'm positive they are sold at cycling shops for emergency tyre inflating. That's going to be my first port of call.


Had a quick look and sizing might be the issue with them as they are usually a bit bigger so pressure might be an issue, they usually inflate there tyres to 120PSI!


----------



## brente1982 (3/8/13)

Or, or just look out for these
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQBruQc9jho&feature=share&list=UUS_kY-wmFiHEz-GIfqCsWJg
you'll see liquor craft's soon to be released Tappa Draught system at the 0:24 mark


----------



## Florian (3/8/13)

They'd definitely be only for dispensing, not carbonating.
easy to fill if you're kegging already, otherwise either live with the yeast from a natural carb or carefully fill from carbonated bottles.


----------



## driftdaddy (3/8/13)

Liam_snorkel said:


> At what point will the canister be cracked when you reassemble?


When you crank down the lever to load the bottle into the dispenser. Hard to explain if you haven't had a muck around with the tap king unit.


----------



## driftdaddy (3/8/13)

tricache said:


> Had a quick look and sizing might be the issue with them as they are usually a bit bigger so pressure might be an issue, they usually inflate there tyres to 120PSI!


Yeah, I've had a quick look and it seems that I'll need 12g unthreaded bulbs. 120psi does sound scary!!


----------



## Liam_snorkel (3/8/13)

driftdaddy said:


> When you crank down the lever to load the bottle into the dispenser. Hard to explain if you haven't had a muck around with the tap king unit.


 makes perfect sense. I was worried they had somehow tried to make it hack proof


----------



## DU99 (4/8/13)

!st choice also stocks them,walked past the display..with holgate in hand


----------



## tricache (5/8/13)

I saw these on the weekend...they look smaller in person :huh:


----------



## Bentnose (5/8/13)

I've got a bloke at work who just bought the James Squire Chancer ale, he's going to give them to me along with the next lot he's going to buy. I'll certainly be keeping an eye on this post, these are just the thing I'm looking for, a bit fed up with loads of bottles. The best price I could find, with a quick look, on CO2 unthreaded 12 oz cartridges was 85c each for 50, from a gun shop. Just need one of those triangular screwdrivers and I'm away.

Anyone think Lion Nathan will be pushing to have the law changed so we can refill at the pub, as opposed to them selling their beer through the supermarkets (with all the discounting selling through supermarkets entails)?


----------



## Liam_snorkel (5/8/13)

Bentnose said:


> Anyone think Lion Nathan will be pushing to have the law changed so we can refill at the pub, as opposed to them selling their beer through the supermarkets (with all the discounting selling through supermarkets entails)?


I don't think so. It's something coles & woolies might be interested in, but much simpler for Lion to just send them out on trucks.


----------



## driftdaddy (5/8/13)

Bentnose said:


> I've got a bloke at work who just bought the James Squire Chancer ale, he's going to give them to me along with the next lot he's going to buy. I'll certainly be keeping an eye on this post, these are just the thing I'm looking for, a bit fed up with loads of bottles. The best price I could find, with a quick look, on CO2 unthreaded *12 oz* cartridges was 85c each for 50, from a gun shop. Just need one of those triangular screwdrivers and I'm away.
> 
> Anyone think Lion Nathan will be pushing to have the law changed so we can refill at the pub, as opposed to them selling their beer through the supermarkets (with all the discounting selling through supermarkets entails)?


Make sure your getting *12g *not* 12oz *cartridges. I've ordered 20 from a paintball supply place @ $0.95 each. I managed to get the triangle screws undone with a small flat blade and a small torx bit shoved in there at the same time - bit of mucking about but got there in the end. Once I got them out, I promptly threw them in bin and replaced with socket head versions.


----------



## Josho (5/8/13)

if these can be adapted for tap beer at home straight from ferment to drink i mean wow awesome.

imagine no keg no paying for gas bottle rental or refills, no need for a bar 

great just great.

but the proof is in the test.


----------



## Crispydude (5/8/13)

Hey Guys

Has anyone actually completed this, if so how has it turned out. I brought one yesterday and looking forward to adding my brew to it

Cheers

Chris


----------



## fcmcg (5/8/13)

Josho said:


> if these can be adapted for tap beer at home straight from ferment to drink i mean wow awesome.
> 
> imagine no keg no paying for gas bottle rental or refills, no need for a bar
> 
> ...


You'd need a truck load of them to "keg" a standard batch...and then how are you going to carb them ?


----------



## Josho (5/8/13)

cant you use the co2 bottles - bulb thingies replacable part? obvioulsy you would need a few to start off with to bottle the brew but atleast you buy them full,

and it gives you something to drink between batches. win win


----------



## driftdaddy (5/8/13)

Crispydude said:


> Hey Guys
> 
> Has anyone actually completed this, if so how has it turned out. I brought one yesterday and looking forward to adding my brew to it
> 
> ...


I bottled 3 Tap King bottles yesterday - put the rest of the batch in tallies as usual.

I primed as usual, so will leave for a week or so and then let one rip. Wish me luck.


----------



## professional_drunk (5/8/13)

wow! I'm so looking forward to the results of this. this would be ideal for giving some beer to friends and family


----------



## slcmorro (5/8/13)

I have 'friends' who have purchased these, and their pics and stories are all over my FB feed. I literally facepalm every time a new one pops up.


----------



## Bentnose (5/8/13)

Yeah I'm just waiting for driftdaddy's verdict. How did you prime them driftdaddy? I'm thinking maybe a 15ml tablespoon of sugar per Tap King bottle. For me it would be 7 of them for a standard batch, a bit better than around 60+ bottles to wash sanitise and prime.


----------



## MetalRooster (5/8/13)

Josho said:


> cant you use the co2 bottles - bulb thingies replacable part? obvioulsy you would need a few to start off with to bottle the brew but atleast you buy them full,
> 
> and it gives you something to drink between batches. win win


you wouldn't be able to use these to carb, they are only for pouring pressure/maintaining carbonation. The system appears as though it acts as a controlled released of co2 from the bulb to maintain pressure.

Really keen to hear how driftdaddy goes - well mainly if the co2 bulbs from the paintball place are the right size etc.

For me i'm thinking keg and carb as per normal, then fill the tap king bottles with my blichmann gun. ready made micro party kegs.


----------



## brente1982 (5/8/13)

I havent looked at them up close myself, but judging from the pictures someone puts up, i would say the bulb is just to maintain pressure inside the thing itself rather than carbonation. Especially if you compare it to LiquorCrafts soon to be released version, they use 2 co2 bulbs to carbonate the bottle


----------



## givemeamash (5/8/13)

there is no chance it is for carbonation otherwise you would need to wait to drink it until the co2 has absorbed ino the beer


----------



## driftdaddy (5/8/13)

Bentnose said:


> Yeah I'm just waiting for driftdaddy's verdict. How did you prime them driftdaddy? I'm thinking maybe a 15ml tablespoon of sugar per Tap King bottle. For me it would be 7 of them for a standard batch, a bit better than around 60+ bottles to wash sanitise and prime.


I just primed as usual - about 110g of dextrose to my 19l batch. Filled the 3 tap king bottles and the rest went in the tallies/pint bottles. 

In other news, it was my birthday today and just about everyone bought me a tap king refill. I'm up to about 8 bottles now.... I've got some drinking to do to empty them for my next batch.


----------



## Liam_snorkel (5/8/13)

^ awesome, you have enough to 'keg' a whole batch.


----------



## driftdaddy (5/8/13)

Liam_snorkel said:


> ^ awesome, you have enough to 'keg' a whole batch.


That's the plan if these first 3 work out ok.


----------



## Bentnose (5/8/13)

brente1982 said:


> I havent looked at them up close myself, but judging from the pictures someone puts up, i would say the bulb is just to maintain pressure inside the thing itself rather than carbonation. Especially if you compare it to LiquorCrafts soon to be released version, they use 2 co2 bulbs to carbonate the bottle


Any details on the Liquorcraft system available? Good to keep the options open.


----------



## mrTbeer (5/8/13)

I'm guessing as with tap-a-draft it'll be best for dispensing rather than force carb.


----------



## aussiebrewer (6/8/13)

From what I read I was of the belief that the beer inside was flat. I have been told that they built a new bottling line for this product. A whole new line if it was the same carbonated beer in there as the normal bottles wouldnt they have just built an adapter for the existing line. I'm keen to find out the other guys results. I'll be pulling one apart today once I get to jcar to get the triangular key. I hope my theory is right would be much simpler hahaha


----------



## Donske (6/8/13)

aussie brewer said:


> From what I read I was of the belief that the beer inside was flat. I have been told that they built a new bottling line for this product. A whole new line if it was the same carbonated beer in there as the normal bottles wouldnt they have just built an adapter for the existing line. I'm keen to find out the other guys results. I'll be pulling one apart today once I get to jcar to get the triangular key. I hope my theory is right would be much simpler hahaha



They wouldn't build an adaptor for the main bottling line because that would reduce the amount of cans/bottles they could package per hour/day/month (whatever their kpi is).

It definitely makes sense to have a stand alone packaging operation for the tap king bottles.


----------



## tricache (6/8/13)

Doesn't anyone remember the Tap-A-Boom thread....I think I will wait and see how this goes -_-


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## sp0rk (6/8/13)

Bentnose said:


> Any details on the Liquorcraft system available? Good to keep the options open.


looks to be more or less the same as the tap a draft system
http://www.ibrew.com.au/products/tap-a-draft-beginners-kit


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## Josho (6/8/13)

so can any one answer this question is the beer inside the bottles carbed?

and the c02 cannister is just for pressure?

i thought the point of a draught system is un carbed beer?


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## bum (6/8/13)

Kegs aren't carbed?


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## Liam_snorkel (6/8/13)

they will be carbed. 16g won't be enough to carbonate and serve these beers and maintain their lively carbonation.


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## brente1982 (6/8/13)

Bentnose said:


> Any details on the Liquorcraft system available? Good to keep the options open.


They are awaiting info on Thursday so there could be an announcement shortly after that.


----------



## aussiebrewer (6/8/13)

bum said:


> Kegs aren't carbed?


Kegs are carbed. Some kegs like coopers are even carbed with sugar And have sediment in the keg. I'm now thinking that it will have to be primed to some degree.


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## Josho (6/8/13)

so its basically a system to replace bottling but just more bottles(kegs) i guess?

so whats the difference beween this and bottles?


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## Liam_snorkel (6/8/13)

Really?

They're bigger, pressurised when "open", and have a tap...


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## Josho (6/8/13)

yeah i see that but your still priming, and you can prime a stubbie or a long neck - it wont go flat if your going to drink it anyway.

the dollar a bottle will cost you that per brew every brewe works out a little bit expensive.


----------



## Bentnose (6/8/13)

Josho said:


> yeah i see that but your still priming, and you can prime a stubbie or a long neck - it wont go flat if your going to drink it anyway.
> 
> the dollar a bottle will cost you that per brew every brewe works out a little bit expensive.


It adds about $6 to a 23 litre batch, I'm happy to pay this for reducing the bottles down from 60+ to 7; it should take a similar amount of time to clean and prime the 3.2L bottle as it does 1 normal stubby. The only extra would be dismantling and sanitising the tap kig lid and installing the new CO2 bulb; don't know how fiddly this is, jury is still out. I like being able to pour out whatever amount I feel like drinking at the time, I'm not a big drinker, a pint a day is usually enough. It takes me 1.5 hours to bottle 60+ stubbies with clean up, I'd expect that to come down significantly. Also I prime individual bottles as opposed to batch priming and would find it easier to achieve my desired carbonation level with the larger bottle size.

Of course you also have to add on the cost of the dispenser, don't know the durability of these, I should hopefully get all of my bottles as discards, fingers crossed


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## mattfos01 (6/8/13)

Donske said:


> It definitely makes sense to have a stand alone packaging operation for the tap king bottles.


All the tap king bottling is happening in one spot. Even have to tanker boags stuff up from tassie to be bottled on the mainland.


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## Donske (6/8/13)

Mattfos01 said:


> All the tap king bottling is happening in one spot. Even have to tanker boags stuff up from tassie to be bottled on the mainland.



That's a bit odd then, there has to be a financial reason behind it though that makes it cheaper for Lion Nathan in the long run, we're talking about a really large company here, really large companies examine the most efficient way of doing everything before implementing any changes.


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## Airgead (6/8/13)

Nahhh... really big companies tend to piss money away wholesale doing stupid stuff. Like listening to their marketing department...


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## luckyphil61 (6/8/13)

just ordered my tap king ,looking forward to filling the bottles with my own HB , maybe someone should sell the conversion kits ie driver bit ,replacement screws ,co2 bottle and instructions :beerbang:


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## driftdaddy (7/8/13)

Ok guys, we have lift off!!

I grew impatient and tapped one of my re-filled Tap King bottles.

The result of the first pour.......







Pretty happy with the results.

Also thought I post some picture of the CO2 cartridges.






The right hand cartridge is the Paintball one, left hand is obviously the standard Tap King one. A couple of small differences but not enough to stop it from sealing.


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## pressure_tested (7/8/13)

Nice work! Care to write up a complete guide?


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## skelly22 (7/8/13)

Good work driftdaddy. May have to give this a go to see how it works!


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## luckyphil61 (7/8/13)

what are the size of the screws to replace ,i presume they are metric


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## breakbeer (7/8/13)

driftdaddy, didn't you bottle that only a few days ago?


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## driftdaddy (7/8/13)

breakbeer said:


> driftdaddy, didn't you bottle that only a few days ago?


Yeah, Sunday..... Like I said, curiosity got the better of me.


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## breakbeer (7/8/13)

:lol:

at least you know it works. 

got any pics of the triangular screws by any chance? I reckon I might have the right tool for it already


----------



## AJ80 (7/8/13)

Naturally carbed that quick?

As a self declared idiot when it comes to pulling things apart and not getting them back together again, I'm also all for a 'how to' guide for this. Preferably with a few photos and a break down of what you need!


----------



## soundawake (7/8/13)

Well done driftdaddy - you're a pioneer.


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## Andanale (7/8/13)

Dismantled one last night. The triangle screws just need a 1.5mm Allen key to unscrew them


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## Amph (7/8/13)

Nice.. I went out and got one before checking if they could be re-used.. Glad to see they can..

For anyone with a small metal lathe, this might be an option for the CO2 bulbs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nucdZB9f4jY


----------



## pyrosx (8/8/13)

_Breaking News: Man blows his own face off in an accident involving a metal lathe and a CO2 cartridge_

Yeah so $1 a cartridge doesn't seem like that big a cost....


----------



## Bentnose (8/8/13)

pyrosx said:


> _Breaking News: Man blows his own face off in an accident involving a metal lathe and a CO2 cartridge_
> 
> Yeah so $1 a cartridge doesn't seem like that big a cost....


Fantastic stuff driftdaddy, now I just need to wait for the promised bottles to come to me.


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## Crispydude (8/8/13)

great stuff, what size co2 cannister did you use?


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## driftdaddy (8/8/13)

Crispydude said:


> great stuff, what size co2 cannister did you use?


12g


----------



## driftdaddy (8/8/13)

pressure_tested said:


> Nice work! Care to write up a complete guide?


Working on, will post later.


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## luckyphil61 (8/8/13)

good work mate ,well done :beerbang:


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## DJ_L3ThAL (9/8/13)

Ten thumbs up mate, spewing I finished building my kegerator two months ago... just need to hide the tap king idea from the mrs so im not forced fo downsize!


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## tricache (9/8/13)

DJ_L3ThAL said:


> Ten thumbs up mate, spewing I finished building my kegerator two months ago... just need to hide the tap king idea from the mrs so im not forced fo downsize!


I don't understand :huh: you are spewing you built a full keg system because of a mini plastic keg device....riiiiiiiiight


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## DJ_L3ThAL (9/8/13)

tricache said:


> I don't understand :huh: you are spewing you built a full keg system because of a mini plastic keg device....riiiiiiiiight


Oh I am sorry to disturb you, although I was being slightly tongue in cheek (perhaps in hindsight should have used an emoticon)!

Tis a very simple system that will get a lot of people into kegging who have space considerations, I for one am satisfied with my kegerator through and through. One vessel to fill and a long-lasting CO2 cylinder FTW.

But once again, great work on modifying it for HB'ers needs


----------



## jacknohe (9/8/13)

driftdaddy said:


> Working on, will post later.


Looking forward to it!!!


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## MastersBrewery (9/8/13)

I'm sure someone later down the track will modify a lid on these with a diffusion stone to force carb, as it is it's a cheap alternative to 9l kegs for portability.


----------



## mrTbeer (10/8/13)

Finished 1x3.2 today and tried to take it apart, fucked if I can find a triangular screwdriver or even a bit small enough to kinda fit. I went to Jaycar and struck out, online I can't find anything smaller than 2.0mm and its not tri-wing?
Will get on the angle grinder tomoz and make something.
Next step is to find 12g cartridges, my bicycle ones are all 16g. I wonder if 8g can do the job??
Would be awesome to hook up a sodastream 330g bottle!
Anyone know the thread size vs tap-a-draft thread?


----------



## driftdaddy (10/8/13)

luckyphil61 said:


> what are the size of the screws to replace ,i presume they are metric


They are a pretty strange size, M2.5 x 10mm CSK. Not too common....

I just used M3 x 10mm CSK with out drama. On the first bottle, I actually used 4G x 10mm timber screws (all I had at the time!) and they worked fine as well (this bottle is the one I tapped earlier in the week and is working like a champ).


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## driftdaddy (10/8/13)

northside novice said:


> you will always feel a bit dumber after you unload
> 
> watch the ashes, its loaded with ads for the tap drafty thing , the latest one is richy singing his only song.. hello ?
> 
> then move to qld and walk into a tap a poof outlet =


Uh-huh.......... :unsure:


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## Bentnose (10/8/13)

Hmmm, can't seem to get the screws out. I found this on E-bay, http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Black-Yellow-Antislip-Plastic-Grip-Magnetic-T2-Head-Triangle-Screwdriver-/160958222263?pt=AU_Hand_Tools&hash=item2579db8fb7 the screws seem to be about 2mm across, it might fit.


----------



## driftdaddy (10/8/13)

Bentnose said:


> Hmmm, can't seem to get the screws out. I found this on E-bay, http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Black-Yellow-Antislip-Plastic-Grip-Magnetic-T2-Head-Triangle-Screwdriver-/160958222263?pt=AU_Hand_Tools&hash=item2579db8fb7 the screws seem to be about 2mm across, it might fit.


I reckon that would work, the each side of the triangle is about 2.2 - 2.3mm. That would mean from the middle of the base to the tip of the triangle (as indicated in that picture on Ebay) would be about 1.90mm (thanks Pythagoros!!).

I've actually grabbed an old screwdriver and hit it with the bench grinder to make a triangle headed screwdriver - mostly because I'm impatient. Wasn't as hard as I thought and works perfectly, doesn't look real pretty though.....


----------



## Bentnose (10/8/13)

driftdaddy you inspired me. I got out the angle grinder and a file and wallah, the screws now come out with ease thanks to my new triangular screwdriver, yours actually looks a bit prettier than mine. The screws seem to be self tapping without a point and a shallow thread that is widely spaced. Very little force is need to unscrew/screw them, I'll just continue to use the same screws.


----------



## driftdaddy (11/8/13)

Bentnose said:


> driftdaddy you inspired me. I got out the angle grinder and a file and wallah, the screws now come out with ease thanks to my new triangular screwdriver, yours actually looks a bit prettier than mine. The screws seem to be self tapping without a point and a shallow thread that is widely spaced. Very little force is need to unscrew/screw them, I'll just continue to use the same screws.


Nice work! You're right on the thread, it's not a normal metric thread like you'd find on regular machine screws.


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## Bentnose (11/8/13)

I've been reading that the CO2 for paintball guns may contain impurities that are damaging to your health, are the CO2 cartridges you used, driftdaddy, food grade? It seems that food grade unthreaded CO2 cartridges aren't super easy to find, I found these http://www.ezychargers.com.au/product_info.php?products_id=479 that state 100% CO2 and I e-mailed the company just to check it is food grade, should be if it is 100% CO2. Threaded ones are plentiful.


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## driftdaddy (11/8/13)

Bentnose said:


> I've been reading that the CO2 for paintball guns may contain impurities that are damaging to your health, are the CO2 cartridges you used, driftdaddy, food grade? It seems that food grade unthreaded CO2 cartridges aren't super easy to find, I found these http://www.ezychargers.com.au/product_info.php?products_id=479 that state 100% CO2 and I e-mailed the company just to check it is food grade, should be if it is 100% CO2. Threaded ones are plentiful.


Not too sure.......I'll check it out though. Thanks for the heads up!


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## yum beer (11/8/13)

Spotted these yesterday at the local IGA, $10 off already(the dispenser bit), guy behind the counter said its not selling very well.


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## NickB (11/8/13)

I'm assuming if you're looking for a screwdriver, the heads are most likely known as tri-lobe. The slightly larger sizes are at bunnings/masters...... Could be wrong though!


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## MastersBrewery (11/8/13)

yum beer said:


> Spotted these yesterday at the local IGA, $10 off already(the dispenser bit), guy behind the counter said its not selling very well.






It may just end up that us home brewers buy up kit till we've got enough bottles etc and it dies out of the market


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## Bentnose (11/8/13)

NickB said:


> I'm assuming if you're looking for a screwdriver, the heads are most likely known as tri-lobe. The slightly larger sizes are at bunnings/masters...... Could be wrong though!


I think the tri lobe is another term for tri wing, if Google is correct, they are different than the triangle, Wikipedia has a list of screwdriver types, the triangle is known as a TA, the Tri wing is just below, look towards the bottom of the page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_screw_drives hows that for unecessary information


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## mrTbeer (11/8/13)

TA18 most likely.


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## jd_007 (12/8/13)

driftdaddy or anyone else that has or is thinking of using the TAPKING for homebrew how you found somewere that we can get 12g Co2 Chargers that are Food Grade and that are unthreaded?

I am looking and if I find I will post if anyone else finds them please post were we can get them.


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## barls (12/8/13)

fine whip has the threaded and non threaded


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## brad81 (12/8/13)

I've bought from finewhip before: http://finewhip.cart.net.au/store/co2/12g-co2-cartridges/

I've bought plenty of the 16gm ones from there.

In regards to natural carbonation, I use about 20gms of dex per 5L keg, so 15-18gms seems pretty on the money for these.


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## driftdaddy (12/8/13)

barls said:


> fine whip has the threaded and non threaded


Fine Whip only lists threaded versions on their website???

As above Ezychargers list unthreaded 12g but only in a box of 50.

http://www.ezychargers.com.au/product_info.php?cPath=51&products_id=479


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## mrTbeer (12/8/13)

Just an idea but I reckon 8g bulb will do it. Tap-a-draft is nearly 6L and it takes only one 16g to dispense. So if 3.2L an 8g might just work. Might just be 12g to guarantee they are not dealing with returns.


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## barls (12/8/13)

i thought they had both listed at one stage havent bought from them in ages. might have to have a play when the one ive got is empty.


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## browndog (12/8/13)

mrTbeer said:


> Just an idea but I reckon 8g bulb will do it. Tap-a-draft is nearly 6L and it takes only one 16g to dispense. So if 3.2L an 8g might just work. Might just be 12g to guarantee they are not dealing with returns.


I bought one of these systems with a view to adapting it and was surprised at the pressure/speed the beer pours at and the large amount of head you get. Considering this is megaswill, I think a decent HB beer will have way too much head when poured at that pressure. I think an 8G bulb may be the answer.


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## bradsbrew (12/8/13)

Anyone got a pic of the bottle without the lid?


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## breakbeer (12/8/13)

bradsbrew said:


> Anyone got a pic of the bottle without the lid?



there's a pic of it on this page...

http://www.gadgetguy.com.au/hands-on-with-the-tap-king-is-this-the-king-of-beer-at-home/


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## mrTbeer (12/8/13)

http://i.imgur.com/EoE8wgE.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/21AR9ks.jpg


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## bradsbrew (12/8/13)

breakbeer said:


> there's a pic of it on this page...
> 
> http://www.gadgetguy.com.au/hands-on-with-the-tap-king-is-this-the-king-of-beer-at-home/


Cheers, thanks, that helps. @ MrTbeer, Is the lid screw on and is it possible to take the lid off without drinking/having to use the dispenser?

Cheers


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## mrTbeer (12/8/13)

The lid can be simply removed without using tap, there is a small lever for the task and wing nuts.
But why? You'll end up with near flat Megaswill but you could use unpierced bulb in lid for your own beer.


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## browndog (12/8/13)

I don't believe that bulb carbonates the beer at all since it pours carbed up immediately.


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## barls (12/8/13)

mate its carbonated just feel the bottle exactly like a bottle of coke


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## Bentnose (12/8/13)

browndog said:


> I bought one of these systems with a view to adapting it and was surprised at the pressure/speed the beer pours at and the large amount of head you get. Considering this is megaswill, I think a decent HB beer will have way too much head when poured at that pressure. I think an 8G bulb may be the answer.


An 8g bulb may be better, though it would need some sort of spacer, the only way is to get one and try it, they are quite a bit cheaper than the 12 g from ezycgarger. Can a N2O charger be used for dispensing stout? Its nitrous oxide.


----------



## barls (12/8/13)

n20 will just ruin the beer you need the straight nitrogen


----------



## herbo (12/8/13)

The best thing about these tap king things is the Lionel Richie ad.


----------



## digger (13/8/13)

Has anyone got any results regarding the carbonation of them after refill?

Curious as to how it would turn out (considering using them for small batch seasonal beers).

Also the nitrogen idea for stout is kinda cool. Anyone game to do one and try it out?


----------



## Glengine (13/8/13)

The tap king seems like an almost perfect device for home brewers that don't drink huge amounts and don't have room for a separate keg fridge. I'm not sure how many people fit into that category but I am one.

My only reluctance to get one is how hard it seems to find the 12g unthreaded C02 cartridges. As others have mentioned, I've also read that ones supplied by paintball goods stores often contain a lubricant to help keep paintball guns from jamming. Will definitely be watching this thread to see if anyone can get this to work with a threaded 12g bulb (as sold on finewhip) or even better, mod it to work with an 8g soda siphon bulb as they are very easy to get.

For those pioneering with the units, but are having trouble getting triangular screws out, there is a technique I have used before to unscrew non-standard screw heads in other things. Take a disposable biro/ballpoint pen, remove the tip/ink tube so you are left with just the outer plastic shaft. Heat up the end of the shaft so it is soft and can be molded (but not so hot it starts to drip). You should be now able to squeeze the hole closed at the tip and press it into the screw head then let it cool. If the screws aren't in there *too* tight, you should now have a make-shift plastic screwdriver that fits the triangle head you can use.


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## bradsbrew (13/8/13)

Picked one up this arvo, the guy at first choice was pretty helpful. He had an empty one, took the lid off showed me the inners. Should work ok with what I have planned. Must say for 20 bucks the tap unit is well designed, not that I should need it but I grabbed one anyway. Now what to do with 6.2 litres of tooheys new.

Edit. And if it does not work for me the way I planned, at least I will have a couple of starter bottles.


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## Bentnose (13/8/13)

bradsbrew said:


> Now what to do with 6.2 litres of tooheys new.


You could use it to kill snails.


----------



## Screwtop (13/8/13)

Glengine said:


> For those pioneering with the units, but are having trouble getting triangular screws out, there is a technique I have used before to unscrew non-standard screw heads in other things. Take a disposable biro/ballpoint pen, remove the tip/ink tube so you are left with just the outer plastic shaft. Heat up the end of the shaft so it is soft and can be molded (but not so hot it starts to drip). You should be now able to squeeze the hole closed at the tip and press it into the screw head then let it cool. If the screws aren't in there *too* tight, you should now have a make-shift plastic screwdriver that fits the triangle head you can use.


Local brewer had no trouble undoing the screws, used a small triangular file snapped off at the right spot to match the hole size.

Screwy


----------



## Bentnose (13/8/13)

I'm thinking with the 8g CO2 bulbs, maybe you could cut the bottom off the 12g ones that come with it so that the 8g ones fit in snuggly, size difference may not be great enough to allow this. I'm not brewing again till October so I'll have to see what ideas crop up before then. I will, however, purchase the tap and two bottles in preparation meaning I'll have more than half a batches worth of Tap King bottles.


----------



## Captain Morgan (14/8/13)

Hi All,

I'm new around here but following this one with great interest. This looks like it should do the trick I think to undo these screws?

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Antislip-Plastic-Handle-Triangle-Screwdriver-Repair-Tool-2mm-x-80mm-/161026124589?pt=UK_Hand_Tools_Equipment&hash=item257de7ab2d


----------



## robv (14/8/13)

A very small flat screwdriver works well, have taken a couple apart.


----------



## Captain Morgan (14/8/13)

Glengine said:


> My only reluctance to get one is how hard it seems to find the 12g unthreaded C02 cartridges. As others have mentioned, I've also read that ones supplied by paintball goods stores often contain a lubricant to help keep paintball guns from jamming.


The ones at ezychargers at least say they are 100 percent CO2 and that you would need to add your own lubrication if using in a gun.

http://www.ezychargers.com.au/product_info.php?cPath=51&products_id=479

They look like they should be ok. I'll order a box and give them a run me thinks.


----------



## hotmelt (15/8/13)

If only the bottles were this big.


----------



## Adr_0 (15/8/13)

Would these work?

http://www.mrfizz.com/1216.html

I'm having a bit of a giggle thinking how much FineWhip's sales must be going up since the Tap King came out. Saw one in action last night... much want.


----------



## luckyphil61 (16/8/13)

I am trying to empty enough bottles to do a brew ATM, when i sobber up ill try and get the screws out :icon_drool2:


----------



## mrTbeer (16/8/13)

Experiments with 8g bulbs.
I figured 8g is easily enough to push 3L of beer if you've ever used a 16g keg charger on a 19L corny keg you'll agree.
These 8g bulbs used to be sold everywhere but are now tricky to find, no one under 30 even knows what a soda siphon is. (They all know about Nitrous though!) finally got some from a 'House' kitchen store $10 for 10 bulbs.
6x5c coins fix the length issue but unfortunately the collar is slightly bigger on smaller bulb. I removed 1 of 2 orings and successfully pierced bulb and started pouring test-water from TapKing but a leak started and I heard the gas go!
Undoing all the little screws and springs is a pain even with the correct 12g bulb.
http://i.imgur.com/eQsM9VZ.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/YYpbbhj.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/uoQzMXx.jpg


----------



## Bats (17/8/13)

mrTbeer said:


> Just an idea but I reckon 8g bulb will do it. Tap-a-draft is nearly 6L and it takes only one 16g to dispense. So if 3.2L an 8g might just work. Might just be 12g to guarantee they are not dealing with returns.


I wonder if there would be enough left in the bulb to pour a second bottle?

I was thinking about re-filling the bottle with my counter pressure then have a go at pouring from it again. 

Does anyone think this would work?


----------



## barls (17/8/13)

i think the problem is when you tap them it pierces the bulb and then its open to atmosphere.


----------



## bradsbrew (17/8/13)

barls said:


> i think the problem is when you tap them it pierces the bulb and then its open to atmosphere.


Yes, once pierced you will waste the rest of the bulb when you disconnect it from the tap unit, it looks like there is a ring seal as well. Think I lost the ones from the first bottle, a small bit of beer line over the top of the soda bulb and gas unit may work as well. I grabbed a box of 8gm ones today at the shops and will give it a go, I don't hold much hope but will give it a go. I am more at looking to convert the lid to have gas in and beer out to a picnic tap within the lid. If they will still be good growler bottles to take to BBQ's etc. Mainly wanted the tap unit for soda water on tap in the kitchen fridge. IMO the tap unit pours too much head with swill, so its going to be worse with home made brews.


----------



## mrTbeer (17/8/13)

As barls said. When you remove the empty bottle it lets go of any spare gas so you can't do a second with same bulb.

BUT have tried the following with success.
1.
Inside the tapking there is a small white regulator, remove it.
High pressure side is flush against bottle lid a small 6mm OD tube does a U-turn which takes low pressure side into bottle. 
Only takes 1 screw to remove but you need to remove 6 to access it. (All Phillips heads)

2.
Now push about 1cm of that tube into a 6mm ID tube and put a clip around it. (Clip not shown in pic)
Drill a hole 8mm hole in tap keg at about '11 oclock' and feed the 6mm ID tube out of there. Connect that 6mm ID line direct to your CO2 regulator and gas.

3.
Reassemble and use the tapking exactly as before.
A: It won't pierce the bulbs now and you can reuse those lids in an unmodified tapking with homebrew or megaswill.
B: Pierced (used) lids can be reused with homebrew or megaswill in the modified tapking, don't undo tri-screws on lid and never buy bulbs again.

I've just done this with a full size regulator and gas bottle but have ordered one of these today so regulator & gas can both reside in fridge. The 16g bulbs are available at brew & bike stores easily.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/281150299353?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649
I reckon 1x 16g bulb should do 3x 3.2L tapking bottles but haven't tested that yet.

Still working out the optimum pressure, could test the old regulator but would waste a bulb and need to reinstall everything. Let me know if anyone works it out but my guess is 15psi??

I can't work out how to make use of the removed regulator but I bet someone else does.

I've got 2 tapkings in kitchen fridge now, one takes bulbs, one takes gas. $46 total cost for 2-tap keg setup not bad. That assumes you have CO2 reg which I did.


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## mrTbeer (17/8/13)

Pics for above.
16g bulbs (finewhip.com.au) are about 9c / gram.
330g Sodastream refill from Woolies about 4c /gram.


----------



## jorni (18/8/13)

Captain Morgan said:


> The ones at ezychargers at least say they are 100 percent CO2 and that you would need to add your own lubrication if using in a gun.
> 
> http://www.ezychargers.com.au/product_info.php?cPath=51&products_id=479
> 
> They look like they should be ok. I'll order a box and give them a run me thinks.


On the ezychargers site, they also sell the 12g cartridges in 10s, not just 50s.

www.ezychargers.com.au/product_info.php?cPath=51&products_id=529

However, just looking at the measurements provided by ezycharges, 19mm x 83mm, and comparing it with the tapking cartridge, it seems like (from my measurements) that the collar is 2mm smaller. Currently, the cartridge fits snugly when pushed into the o-ring. But with the 19mm collar, the o-ring might have to be removed, which could be problematic, as mrTbeer discovered previously with a leak.

Could Be just spouting nonsense. Let me know if I am. Cheers.


----------



## driftdaddy (18/8/13)

I've got some on the way from ezychargers, so will let you all know.


----------



## luckyphil61 (18/8/13)

I have just received my co2 cartridges from ezcharges ,the 12 g look identical the 8g apart from being smaller(shorter) have a wider neck


----------



## jorni (18/8/13)

luckyphil61 said:


> I have just received my co2 cartridges from ezcharges ,the 12 g look identical the 8g apart from being smaller(shorter) have a wider neck


Cool... does the 12g fit with the o-ring in place?


----------



## Captain Morgan (18/8/13)

Just had one that didnt fire. It poured half a glass then stopped. I didnt hear the gas inside as per normal and the bottle was soft when I pushed on the sides. Dan Murphy's were all too happy to swap it straight out. I was concerned that it was the tap but the replacement bottle is doing fine.


----------



## driftdaddy (18/8/13)

luckyphil61 said:


> I have just received my co2 cartridges from ezcharges ,the 12 g look identical the 8g apart from being smaller(shorter) have a wider neck


Do you mean that the 8g has a wider neck?


----------



## Adr_0 (18/8/13)

Gents/ladies,

Has anyone tried maths, or science with the 8g/12g CO2 cartridges and the volumes of CO2? We know that 2 volumes of CO2 in 3.2L of beer = 6.4L of CO2 at atmospheric pressure...

At about 4-5°C, the density of CO2 is 1.95g/L (check webbook.nist.gov/chemistry if you doubt). So:
8g cylinder = 4.1L CO2
12g cylinder = 6.15L CO2

So, if you completely discharge an 8g cylinder into a full 3.2L Tap King container of beer, you are adding 1.3vol of CO2 to the beer.
The 12g will of course be another 1.8vol CO2.

If you are naturally carbing your beers, this should of course be considered... and probably lines up with the gut feel or what people have experienced. Probably perfect for hefeweizens. 

I'm guessing that you get a good chunk of pressure drop over the little 1/4" or 3/16" hose going through the bottle, so maybe estimate for another 0.5volCO2 on top? That should give you another 50kPag but of course you'll get inconsistency from the first to the last. I don't have a lot of experience with kegging, but that to me would be the limitation of a non-regulated system.

Yes, no, maybe?

EDIT: I guess the point of the above is that if you take the extra into consideration, you should be able to use a 12g cylinder without a drama. To me, like-for-like always results in less dramas and playing with o-rings or fabricated stuff normally gets you into trouble.


----------



## luckyphil61 (18/8/13)

jorni said:


> Cool... does the 12g fit with the o-ring in place?


yep the 12 fits fine the 8g will not fit


----------



## luckyphil61 (18/8/13)

driftdaddy said:


> Do you mean that the 8g has a wider neck?


Yes the neck is wider and wont fit with the oring in place


----------



## jorni (18/8/13)

luckyphil61 said:


> yep the 12 fits fine the 8g will not fit


Thanks mate!


----------



## Bentnose (18/8/13)

Poured my first beer out of the Tap King today, it was mostly head. The Chancer Ale tastes a bit bland after only having home brew for a while.

Does anyone else think it sounds like a budgie when the gas is entering the bottle?


----------



## damienkelly87 (18/8/13)

So the 12g canister fits nice, a filed down Allen key can sort the triangular screws...

Next logical question...

How much do we prime the PET bottle? As usual for longnecks or less?? Anyone over/under carbed yet?


----------



## Hwkdog (18/8/13)

I'm really interested in this, the ezy charge website did not have food grade 12 g , keep it up guys, Great project


----------



## Adr_0 (19/8/13)

damienkelly87 said:


> So the 12g canister fits nice, a filed down Allen key can sort the triangular screws...
> 
> Next logical question...
> 
> How much do we prime the PET bottle? As usual for longnecks or less?? Anyone over/under carbed yet?


Damien, 

See my post on previous Page which should give a starting point, and shouldn't require much if you use a 12g. 

I don't think you'll ever get a consistent pour without a regulator topping up the gas, so your first few will be heady because of the higher carbonation and probably velocity, and the last few will start to suck in CO2.

Maybe prime to the lower end of the range and allow something like an extra 0.5-1 vol of CO2? 0.2 would be enough to push it out, but I guarantee you'll have nothing left at the end. 

Good luck...


----------



## mrTbeer (19/8/13)

It has a regulator inside TK. It's not adjustable but is regulated. First glass is always foam but last glass is much the same as 2nd. If it were unregulated the 900psi bulb would blow the little 4mm tube off.


----------



## evildrakey (19/8/13)

Anyone notice that the Chancer in the tap king tastes quite a bit metallic over the Chancer served in bottles, or is it just me?


----------



## bradsbrew (19/8/13)

I thought the tooheys new tasted worse than in a can, although I probably havnt had a can of new for a couple of years.


----------



## Adr_0 (19/8/13)

bradsbrew said:


> I thought the tooheys new tasted worse than in a can, although I probably havnt had a can of new for a couple of years.


The trick is to serve at room temperature in a couple of months time, after having sat on the bench for 2hrs and preferably with a cigarette butt or two in the bottom. Peak flavour.


On a side note, I guess regulator = good and bad: good for consistency but who knows what pressure it's set to. You could use the keg-side gauge of a regualator (I guess plug the bottle side) connected to a set volume to see what the pressure is, or trial and error.

I think I need to commit to this...


----------



## jd_007 (19/8/13)

G'day Gents

Got a reply from finewhip about food grade 12g unthreaded bulbs.

They are getting them in next month but the price is $3.50 a bulb which conpared to $1.20 for non food grade chargers

anyone else having luck?

JD


----------



## Tony M (19/8/13)

Finewhip have no 12g bulbs until mid Sept. All you enthusiasts must have cleaned them out.


----------



## luckyphil61 (19/8/13)

Tony M said:


> Finewhip have no 12g bulbs until mid Sept. All you enthusiasts must have cleaned them out.


ezycharger have them


----------



## Feldon (19/8/13)

evildrakey said:


> Anyone notice that the Chancer in the tap king tastes quite a bit metallic over the Chancer served in bottles, or is it just me?


Me too. Definite 'metallic' after taste.


----------



## Captain Morgan (19/8/13)

mrTbeer said:


> Pics for above.
> 16g bulbs (finewhip.com.au) are about 9c / gram.
> 330g Sodastream refill from Woolies about 4c /gram.


I'm keen to see more of this! How has it all been going mrT? Is this doable for the average user? Cheers.


----------



## dougsbrew (19/8/13)

Anyone notice that the Chancer in the tap king tastes quite a bit metallic over the Chancer served in bottles, or is it just me?




Feldon said:


> Me too. Definite 'metallic' after taste.


Yep me too, had a free sample at the bottlo the other day, My megaswill mate thought it was alright. Was flat and horrible for me.


----------



## aussiebrewer (19/8/13)

mrTbeer said:


> Finished 1x3.2 today and tried to take it apart, fucked if I can find a triangular screwdriver or even a bit small enough to kinda fit. I went to Jaycar and struck out, online I can't find anything smaller than 2.0mm and its not tri-wing?
> Will get on the angle grinder tomoz and make something.
> Next step is to find 12g cartridges, my bicycle ones are all 16g. I wonder if 8g can do the job??
> Would be awesome to hook up a sodastream 330g bottle!
> Anyone know the thread size vs tap-a-draft thread?


Mate I bought a console game tool kit from jaycar it has the triangular piece and a hand ratchet screwdriver it fits in.


----------



## mrTbeer (20/8/13)

Captain Morgan said:


> I'm keen to see more of this! How has it all been going mrT? Is this doable for the average user? Cheers.


Yeah easier than I thought. The main body comes apart pretty easily all with a standard screwdriver.
I took a photo so I knew how to put back together but didn't need to refer to it.
Didn't need a reducer as the fit between 6mm OD and 6mm ID tube was perfect would probably hold without a clamp but I've got one on there.
There are a couple plastic legs that need to be jiggled in when re-assembling but doesn't take long. It's a little bit tighter than before but I think that's because some of the oil has been wiped off.

Trying it out with a (new) bottle of Boags and the larger co2 tank (sodastream). It's working well, will be better (less room in fridge) when the mini reg arrives. 
Hope to find the right pressure setting before this bottle is finished.
This is the first bottle, should yield a lid with fresh bulb and another empty PET, will use those with my homebrew (APA) on the unmodified rig.
If the mini reg arrives before then, I'll use the bottle for my homebrew and provide my own co2.




aussie brewer said:


> Mate I bought a console game tool kit from jaycar it has the triangular piece and a hand ratchet screwdriver it fits in.


Good stuff, was it the set for ~$30? I made 1 from an ikea allen key (silver metal was too soft) and made a second from a real allen key (harder black metal). Since doing the above I may not need to use it much though.


----------



## Adr_0 (20/8/13)

mrTbeer said:


> Trying it out with a (new) bottle of Boags and the larger co2 tank (sodastream). It's working well, will be better (less room in fridge) when the mini reg arrives.
> Hope to find the right pressure setting before this bottle is finished.
> This is the first bottle, should yield a lid with fresh bulb and another empty PET, will use those with my homebrew (APA) on the unmodified rig.
> If the mini reg arrives before then, I'll use the bottle for my homebrew and provide my own co2.


As I understand, your setup just has a line in from the sodastream, via regulator then into the 3.2L PET bottle? If you had a new 12g CO2 cylinder and 'engaged' the TK, would this pressure back into the bottle?

Does your regulator have pressure relief in it, i.e. if you lower the pressure does it vent off through the regulator or rely on opening the tap?

Eitehr way, you could get tricky and set your regulator to say 200-250kPag, crack the cylinder (hopefully nothing comes out of the 12g cyl), turn off your sodastream cylinder and either wind down the regulator in 10-20kPag increments or crack the tap a bit. Hopefully you get to a pressure around 150kPag where your 12g cylinder/regulator is topping up gas.


----------



## mrTbeer (20/8/13)

You're right in description, my setup gives an alternate line in from sodastream reg BUT I've removed the bit of TK reg which is the bit that pierces 12g cylinder.
Need to use an unmodified TK if I want to pierce a new 12g cylinder.
The metal 'piercer' is actually in the lid but the TK has a metal pin that pushes it.

The reg that I currently have does have pressure relief, I've ordered a cheaper reg on ebay $39 and am not sure if it does?

What you've suggested is possible but I've got no fittings for the tiny 4mm hose, it'd need a Y on the low pressure side of TK reg. There's no room to access high pressure side of TK reg besides I'm not keen on fiddling with that.


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## robv (20/8/13)

Filled an empty from one of my kegs, with the 12g cartridge carbonation seems perfect. Awesome for taking beer to parties if you already keg.


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## meathead (20/8/13)

You know that bit in Apollo 13 where they are trying to power up the "LAM" and they need the "procedure"?

Well I need the procedure!

Just sayin


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## Captain Morgan (20/8/13)

Has anyone else had the issue of the o ring in the top of the bottle being stretched or out of position when removing the empty bottle from the tap? My last few bottles look like they'll need new o rings prior to reusing with HB.

My empties dont come off smoothly, I must say. Feels like a little more effort is involved that I would have thought to move the lever back into place. Possible tap issue I guess with mine...


----------



## mrTbeer (20/8/13)

Yep I've had 1 where o ring looked twice as big when it was done.
Designed for single use?


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## Captain Morgan (21/8/13)

mrTbeer said:


> Yep I've had 1 where o ring looked twice as big when it was done.
> Designed for single use?


Perhaps! I might try opening the tap until there is absolutely no more fizz next time and see if that makes it any better.


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## treefiddy (21/8/13)

http://stores.ebay.com.au/Oringsandmore/ORING-SIZE-CHART.html

This guy has cheap bulk silicone o-rings.


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## JustAdam (21/8/13)

Robv said:


> Filled an empty from one of my kegs, with the 12g cartridge carbonation seems perfect. Awesome for taking beer to parties if you already keg.


Where did you get your cartridge Rob?


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## diver_318 (21/8/13)

With regard to the supply of 12g CO2 cartridges. I think that looking at these 2 links you will find they are the same item from the same manufacturer.

http://finewhip.cart.net.au/store/12g-un-threaded-keg-chargers-x-1.html

and

http://www.ezychargers.com.au/product_info.php?products_id=479

if they aren't the same, why is finewhip using the same text?


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## robv (21/8/13)

JustAdam said:


> Where did you get your cartridge Rob?


Got a couple from the local gun shop to test, will order more from finewhip or somewhere similar.


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## Hwkdog (21/8/13)

Good pickup diver!

I'm a noob when it comes to home brew, can someone explain the steps of how to get my home brew into empty tk kegs, how much carbonation I need, or do I just put home brew from fermenter in and the c02 will carbonate the tk keg , or will I have to work out the how much carbonation for the 3.2 l keg with the carb drops,

Again I'm new to this,

Thanks in advance


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## mrTbeer (21/8/13)

Whatever sugar u put in a tallie x4


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## Rocker1986 (21/8/13)

So, the basic process is basically empty the TK bottle, disassemble it, replace the CO2 canister, refill it with carbonated beer or flat beer with priming sugar, reassemble it and let it carbonate as you would a normal bottle if carbonating in this manner, then fit it to the dispenser and chill down?

If carbonating it in the TK bottle itself would you load it into the dispenser straight away or wait until it is carbonated?

Or am I completely off the mark here? :blink: Was thinking about going to Dans and picking one up to have a play around with on my next day off.


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## JustAdam (21/8/13)

Rocker1986 said:


> So, the basic process is basically empty the TK bottle, disassemble it, replace the CO2 canister, refill it with carbonated beer or flat beer with priming sugar, reassemble it and let it carbonate as you would a normal bottle if carbonating in this manner, then fit it to the dispenser and chill down?
> 
> If carbonating it in the TK bottle itself would you load it into the dispenser straight away or wait until it is carbonated?
> 
> Or am I completely off the mark here? :blink: Was thinking about going to Dans and picking one up to have a play around with on my next day off.



Wait until it is carbonated, then chill it and load it. The CO2 in the canister/cap is just for dispensing pressure. Well that is a least my understanding.


----------



## Rocker1986 (21/8/13)

JustAdam said:


> Wait until it is carbonated, then chill it and load it. The CO2 in the canister/cap is just for dispensing pressure. Well that is a least my understanding.


That's what I was thinking too. I think next Tuesday might be a bit of an investigative day. B)


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## Hwkdog (21/8/13)

Thanks guys , 

Only a few days till my beer is ready to brew


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## mrTbeer (22/8/13)

Here's my hack in pictures using 16g bulbs. I had some lying around for my bike.
MFL fitting ($2.50), 6mm hose (had it?), stainless clip ($1), 4mm hose and plastic (TK $23), mini-regulator ($39)

1.Remove 2.Drill 3.Assemble 4.Pour

Put a new TK bottle in here and you can reuse the lid/bulb and bottle after for your HB in another TK.
Put a used TK bottle in here and you can dispense your HB from it.


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## luckyphil61 (22/8/13)

mrTbeer said:


> Here's my hack in pictures using 16g bulbs. I had some lying around for my bike.
> MFL fitting ($2.50), 6mm hose (had it?), stainless clip ($1), 4mm hose and plastic (TK $23), mini-regulator ($39)
> 
> 1.Remove 2.Drill 3.Assemble 4.Pour
> ...


Well done


----------



## Tony M (22/8/13)

Tony M said:


> Finewhip have no 12g bulbs until mid Sept. All you enthusiasts must have cleaned them out.


Ordered 10 off,12g sparklets from ezychargers @$1.20 ea + $10.00 P&P on Monday afternoon. They arrived early Wednesday and I was equipped with three litres of easily portable beer less than an hour later. I reckon I could refill these from a keg and be ready to go in less than 1/2 hour. My only reservations are that these are a single use container and a few refills would see leaking seals and stripped threads in the plastic where those dreadful little screws are located.


----------



## bradsbrew (22/8/13)

Tony M said:


> . My only reservations are that these are a single use container and a few refills would see leaking seals and stripped threads in the plastic where those dreadful little screws are located.


Which is why you are better off using a different gas source like mrTbeer has. I should have mine done tomorrow, slightly different to his but runs on the same principle.


----------



## Captain Morgan (22/8/13)

mrTbeer said:


> Here's my hack in pictures using 16g bulbs. I had some lying around for my bike.
> MFL fitting ($2.50), 6mm hose (had it?), stainless clip ($1), 4mm hose and plastic (TK $23), mini-regulator ($39)
> 
> 1.Remove 2.Drill 3.Assemble 4.Pour
> ...


Thats a great job. Well done! Tell me, do we need the gauge on the mini-regulator or is all that is required simply an on/off screw? Does the TK still regulate the pressure or does the mini reg now do it?

Cheers


----------



## Captain Morgan (22/8/13)

bradsbrew said:


> Which is why you are better off using a different gas source like mrTbeer has. I should have mine done tomorrow, slightly different to his but runs on the same principle.


Would love to see that set up Brad if you get a chance please!


----------



## swampdog (22/8/13)

For those having trouble with those tiny triangle screws, a Torks T6 hex screwdriver bit fits snug and works a treat!

Anybody worked out how many priming carb drops works the best, I know with the 5l mini kegs you prime with less drops than normal.


----------



## Captain Morgan (22/8/13)

I'm no expert but just throwing some potential options around. Just saw this which somebody might be able to do something with here

http://www.velogear.com.au/bike-accessories/pumps-co2/co2-inflators-cartridges/genuine-innovations-microflate-40.html
Here are refills... http://www.bikeexchange.com.au/bike_accessories/innovations/accessories-co2-canisters/innovations-big-air-single-cart/carlton-north/vic/102259138

There are aquarium CO2 setups around too such as this one
http://www.amazingamazon.com.au/fluval-co2-mini-replacement-cartridges.html

But they are expensive refills. Might give people more ideas in relation to the regulator etc tho

Cheap bulbs here too. They look like 8g
http://www.oo.com.au/SodaSparkle-Soda-Chargers-Pa_P128628.cfm

I guess soda stream bottles will be the cheapest overall if we can find a regulator that will do the job?


----------



## Captain Morgan (22/8/13)

100 x 16g threaded cartridges for $83 delivered 

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/CO2-CARTRIDGE-REFILL-16G-THREADED-FOR-BIKE-TYRE-INFLATER-100-PACK-/370873075398?pt=AU_Cycling_New_&hash=item5659c206c6


----------



## Thunderlips (22/8/13)

Gizzmo said:


> G'day Gents
> 
> Got a reply from finewhip about food grade 12g unthreaded bulbs.
> 
> ...


It's a shame you need 12g and not 16g.
You can get a 50 pack of food grade 16g's on Ebay for $47 with free delivery.
I just bought some to use with my 9 litre keg.


----------



## Thunderlips (23/8/13)

Captain Morgan said:


> 100 x 16g threaded cartridges for $83 delivered
> 
> http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/CO2-CARTRIDGE-REFILL-16G-THREADED-FOR-BIKE-TYRE-INFLATER-100-PACK-/370873075398?pt=AU_Cycling_New_&hash=item5659c206c6


Same bloke I bought the 50 pack from.
Those cartidges (if they are the same as what's in the picture) are RAV X which are supposed to be food grade.

http://ravx.com/products/co2-cartridges/

Doesn't look like they would be any good for the Tap King bottles but would suit people with party kegs.


----------



## rockofclay (23/8/13)

Thunderlips said:


> Same bloke I bought the 50 pack from.
> Those cartidges (if they are the same as what's in the picture) are RAV X which are supposed to be food grade.
> 
> http://ravx.com/products/co2-cartridges/
> ...


They're good if you adapt a reg like MrTBeer!


----------



## Captain Morgan (23/8/13)

rockofclay said:


> They're good if you adapt a reg like MrTBeer!


Yes sorry, that was my intent when I posted those. I'm looking for cheap CO2 and i'll do whatever it takes to use it. lol


----------



## Captain Morgan (23/8/13)

mrTbeer said:


> Here's my hack in pictures using 16g bulbs. I had some lying around for my bike.
> MFL fitting ($2.50), 6mm hose (had it?), stainless clip ($1), 4mm hose and plastic (TK $23), mini-regulator ($39)
> 
> 1.Remove 2.Drill 3.Assemble 4.Pour
> ...


Where did you get that mini reg please mrT?


----------



## Thunderlips (23/8/13)

rockofclay said:


> They're good if you adapt a reg like MrTBeer!


I bought one after seeing MrTbeer's post.
Thanks MrTbeer 

I wish that reg was around a few years ago before I bought that expensive mini Leyland reg.


----------



## Thunderlips (23/8/13)

Captain Morgan said:


> Where did you get that mini reg please mrT?


I think this was the link that he posted, and it's who I bought from.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/281150299353?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

I received mine the next day but I'm in the same state.
It's a good piece of kit and a hell of a lot cheaper than the mini Leyland reg.


----------



## Captain Morgan (23/8/13)

Thunderlips said:


> I think this was the link that he posted, and it's who I bought from.
> 
> http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/281150299353?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649
> 
> ...


Thanks very much. I must have missed that link. Looks good, i'll grab one I think. Not so much because I want to save money on the co2, but because I'm not sure how often you'll be able to take the parts out of the TK lid to replace the bulb without killing screws and seals. A learning experience huh


----------



## Captain Morgan (23/8/13)

As i've said, im really no expert, but am just trying to give options to see what people can do with them. People smarter than I am of course. haha

Here's another option that MAY or MAY NOT fit a soda stream bottle?

\\http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Aquarium-CO2-Carbon-Dioxide-Regulator-22mm-Adjustable-Solenoid-VALVE-for-plant-/281153228345?pt=AU_Pet_Supplies&hash=item417609ce39


----------



## Thunderlips (23/8/13)

Captain Morgan said:


> As i've said, im really no expert, but am just trying to give options to see what people can do with them. People smarter than I am of course. haha
> 
> Here's another option that MAY or MAY NOT fit a soda stream bottle?
> 
> \\http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Aquarium-CO2-Carbon-Dioxide-Regulator-22mm-Adjustable-Solenoid-VALVE-for-plant-/281153228345?pt=AU_Pet_Supplies&hash=item417609ce39


Would be nice if it did but I don't know the sizes either.
I have in the past just used a full sized Harris regulator with a sodastream adaptor but then it's not so portable.
Then there is the mini Leyland reg but the 74gm bulbs are expensive.


----------



## bradsbrew (24/8/13)

Captain Morgan said:


> Would love to see that set up Brad if you get a chance please!


Just got to grab some small bits and pieces today. This should work for taking to a BBQ or work, not designed for long time storage or natural carbonation.


----------



## MastersBrewery (24/8/13)

bradsbrew said:


> Just got to grab some small bits and pieces today. This should work for taking to a BBQ or work, not designed for long time storage or natural carbonation.


any tips on what you altered and what fittings you used?


----------



## bradsbrew (24/8/13)

MastersBrewery said:


> any tips on what you altered and what fittings you used?


Once I get it finished I will post up some more pics and parts list. That's if it works.

Cheers


----------



## Captain Morgan (24/8/13)

bradsbrew said:


> Once I get it finished I will post up some more pics and parts list. That's if it works.
> 
> Cheers


Thanks very much for the pic. Looking forward to seeing how it works out. Looks great so far.


----------



## Captain Morgan (24/8/13)

I'm wondering if I should just stop drinking so many of these little kegs (trying to stock up empties) and just go the kegerator


----------



## TJP (26/8/13)

Captain Morgan said:


> As i've said, im really no expert, but am just trying to give options to see what people can do with them. People smarter than I am of course. haha
> 
> Here's another option that MAY or MAY NOT fit a soda stream bottle?
> 
> \\http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Aquarium-CO2-Carbon-Dioxide-Regulator-22mm-Adjustable-Solenoid-VALVE-for-plant-/281153228345?pt=AU_Pet_Supplies&hash=item417609ce39





Thunderlips said:


> Would be nice if it did but I don't know the sizes either.
> I have in the past just used a full sized Harris regulator with a sodastream adaptor but then it's not so portable.
> Then there is the mini Leyland reg but the 74gm bulbs are expensive.


I dont know if this page helps.http://www.teamonslaught.fsnet.co.uk/co2_info.htm
you would probably need one of these http://www.ebay.com/itm/251294856756?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649
But I am then still not sure it would fit, I am sure someone on here would however know.


----------



## TJP (26/8/13)

Just wondering if anynone on here has had any more successes or falures they could share. I went away from home brewing many years ago due to not liking bottling and not drinking enough to warrant a full keg setup but this looks like it could be the solution.
I assume people are naturally cabonating beer in them, would forced carbonating be possible like with the tap-a-draught or would the tap king not work with the higher pressure to forced carbonate.


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## Crispydude (26/8/13)

Hey Guys

Did anyone have success with the 8g bulbs? i have some 8g ones lying around so i would like to use these up prior to getting some 12g


Cheers


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## Sydneybrewer (26/8/13)

good work all. a little birdie told me I have one of these coming for fathers day. had 2 years away from homebrewing now. but looking in to this has wet my apetite to get back into homebrewing. was doing 10l allgrain batches before i quit due to the pita of bottling and the expense of getting in to kegging. but this looks like a happy medium. my first thoughts when i found out about this was could it be used for hb, and you guys have started the ground work, cheers.


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## barls (26/8/13)

Captain Morgan said:


> Hi All,
> 
> I'm new around here but following this one with great interest. This looks like it should do the trick I think to undo these screws?
> 
> http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Antislip-Plastic-Handle-Triangle-Screwdriver-Repair-Tool-2mm-x-80mm-/161026124589?pt=UK_Hand_Tools_Equipment&hash=item257de7ab2d


anyone confirm that this is the right size.
just checked all my bits and found im missing that one.


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## Captain Morgan (26/8/13)

barls said:


> anyone confirm that this is the right size.
> just checked all my bits and found im missing that one.


Mine is still on its way (hopefully!) but I will report straight back here regarding the fit once it arrives.


----------



## mwd (26/8/13)

Saw the Lionel Ritchie advert for the first time on TV Channel One during the Formula One GP. Seen the kits in Dans.


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## pressure_tested (26/8/13)

I have to say despite Squire being the only decent beer and using the term decent lightly, I am loving having this amount of beer on tap in my fridge. Tonight with dinner I just poured myself about 200mls because I have futsal on later. Can't wait to work out how to have my much better beer in there!


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## browndog (26/8/13)

TJP said:


> Just wondering if anynone on here has had any more successes or falures they could share. I went away from home brewing many years ago due to not liking bottling and not drinking enough to warrant a full keg setup but this looks like it could be the solution.
> I assume people are naturally cabonating beer in them, would forced carbonating be possible like with the tap-a-draught or would the tap king not work with the higher pressure to forced carbonate.


TJP, they are not for force carbonating, they are designed for dispensing. They are only good for filling with already carbonated beer.


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## Hwkdog (26/8/13)

barls said:


> anyone confirm that this is the right size.
> just checked all my bits and found im missing that one.


I'm just using a 2.0mm flat screwdriver fits fine, doesn't strip at all,

So how many carb drops should I use for the 3.2l keg? 4 or 5? Don't want to put to much ,

I just cleaned put and sanitized keg , no leaks so far


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## Adr_0 (26/8/13)

Hey guys,

So I got my TapKing today, with 2 x bottles of Qld's finest. It seems like mrTbeer has done some awesome research and figured out how to hook up a minireg so that we can put in our homebrew, use 16g cylinders (threaded) and set our own volumes of CO2 (presumably).

I wanted to find out two things:
- the vol of CO2 that the beers come with; and
- the pressure of the regulator

So, sure you've all seen the front tap thingy down:





this tap thingy has a bit of tube in it, and when the TK bottle is engaged, a press on the TK tap lever thingy (not pull) pours out the beer. This tap elbow/nozzle I have removed to test, and connected some 3mm tube from Bunnings (pic below) to the tube from my regulator; see below:





Note that I cut the ball lock off this tube. This tube is 5/6mm PVC but I don't know much about it.

Pushing the nozzle down into the bottle allows the inside beer to flow, compresses the air in the tube and the regulator reads the pressure, which is...

...dammit, my regulator is shot. Can't remember the last time it was used, and I didn't test beforehand. Bugger.

But, the good news is this combination of tubing seals pretty well, even with only about 1" pushed into the tap nozzle and about 30-40mm pushed into the reg tube. The beer came down about 30-40cm, but there was plenty of air between the beer and the reg so no dramas about damage. So, you should be able to use the keg-side gauge of a regulator to find the pressure in these bottles. The temp they are at will then give you the volumes of CO2... cool.

This is the tubing from Bunnings. They also have 5mm tube, which appears to be the same stuff used from the regulator back into the beer within the TK head unit thingy:






5mm tube as seen through the cutaway:





So the plan was to pull the bottom bit of this out, insert 5mm Bunnings tube, insert 3mm tube as joiner into 5mm reg tube, connect a TK bottle (half empty or so) and read the pressure that the reg is set to. But again, reg stuffed.

I'll order another and update in the next week or so hopefully. Bugger. 


actually - just realised... - before you try this at home, you should probably use a t-piece for the cutaway pic above so that something is still connected to the beer side and it doesn't just piss out when you engage the TK.


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## Adr_0 (26/8/13)

actually, the nozzle has a tube inside that is very loosely fitted over the nipple of the white plastic nozzle thingy, and won't hold pressure. I gave it another go and it pushed itself off.  fixable (ugly...) but will have to find another way for now to test the volumes of CO2 in the bottle prior to cracking the CO2 cylinder. bugger, will have to try plan B.


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## mrTbeer (26/8/13)

Keen to see results of pressure tests for PET bottle and inbuilt reg. The mini reg doesn't back off when you turn pressure down, it also doesn't have any markings between 10psi and 20psi. That's the sweet spot but not sure of optimum pressure exactly. I've only had 1 TKeg of my homebrew decanted from bottles so CO2 volumes unknown, now on TKeg of Boags using my CO2 not theirs. A few glasses of foam so far but will get there in the end. Next test will be filling TKeg as a growler from Brewbake.


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## OneEye (26/8/13)

so once i have the screws out how do i get the lid off the bottle? It doesn't seem to screw off or just pop off


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## Hwkdog (27/8/13)

moosebeer said:


> so once i have the screws out how do i get the lid off the bottle? It doesn't seem to screw off or just pop off



Once 3 screws r out just twist the lid like any normal bottle, it might be a ill tight as there will still,be a ill pressure in there .


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## Mattwa (27/8/13)

Hwkdog said:


> Once 3 screws r out just twist the lid like any normal bottle, it might be a ill tight as there will still,be a ill pressure in there .


You don't need to remove any screws to remove the lid from the bottle, just use the tool that came with the dispenser to twist it off.


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## Captain Morgan (27/8/13)

Sorry, can we just quickly summarise the "unmodded" situation? Are the 12g bottles from here http://www.ezychargers.com.au/index.php?cPath=51&osCsid=3gs4j5nr9pfvs9fupn4s6q8991currently working to dispense HB?

I want to mod mine to take 16g but I have a batch that desperatly needs bottling so I'm hoping to just go unmodded initially and want to make sure those ezy chargers work.

Thank you!


----------



## bradsbrew (27/8/13)

Have not got around to grabbing the extra bits I need but have discovered another lid that fits perfectly. Next time I am at bigW I will be going through the water bottle lids. This one does not leak even with me squeezing the crappers out of it. Might put some juice in this one with some bakers yeast to see how it handles pressure. If all else fails at least I have a good size water bottle.


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## Bentnose (27/8/13)

Captain Morgan said:


> Sorry, can we just quickly summarise the "unmodded" situation? Are the 12g bottles from here http://www.ezychargers.com.au/index.php?cPath=51&osCsid=3gs4j5nr9pfvs9fupn4s6q8991currently working to dispense HB?
> 
> I want to mod mine to take 16g but I have a batch that desperatly needs bottling so I'm hoping to just go unmodded initially and want to make sure those ezy chargers work.
> 
> Thank you!


I thought driftdaddy was successful with the 12g units. I'm looking at ordering 10 from Ezycharger this week and will hopefully brew next weekend and will bottle 4 x TK's, so I won't know the results for a couple of months yet.


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## TJP (28/8/13)

browndog said:


> TJP, they are not for force carbonating, they are designed for dispensing. They are only good for filling with already carbonated beer.


Yes I realise they are only designed for dispensing but as the bottles are only designed for single use and we have already gone past that I am just wondering where the limits are, by the sound of it some people are already using them for natural carbonation and as the way people are setting them up appears to be with an external co2 source and a mini regulator I were just pondering the possibility of also being able to force carbonate, obviousley you would have to bypass the inbuilt regulator but apart from that and pressure issues I were wondering if there were anyother reasons why it couldnt be done.


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## MastersBrewery (28/8/13)

Force carbing at serving pressure shouldn't be a problem other than waiting the week or so for it to be ready. You've already waited 2 weeks for your beer to ferment then another week or two of cold crashing, patience people!! It's the last hurdle


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## mrTbeer (28/8/13)

No reason you can't force carb with ext reg.
Might be possible with inbuilt reg. but still don't know what pressure it's dialled at? I'm guessing you'll run short of gas with 12g.


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## jorni (28/8/13)

Captain Morgan said:


> Sorry, can we just quickly summarise the "unmodded" situation? Are the 12g bottles from here http://www.ezychargers.com.au/index.php?cPath=51&osCsid=3gs4j5nr9pfvs9fupn4s6q8991currently working to dispense HB?
> 
> I want to mod mine to take 16g but I have a batch that desperatly needs bottling so I'm hoping to just go unmodded initially and want to make sure those ezy chargers work.
> 
> Thank you!


Got the 12g cartridges from ezycharges. So far it seems to work ok. Poured a few bottles of my HB into an empty TK, and I've attached some photos. Hope to carb my next brew in a few of these bottles in the coming weeks.


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## Hwkdog (28/8/13)

jorni said:


> Got the 12g cartridges from ezycharges. So far it seems to work ok. Poured a few bottles of my HB into an empty TK, and I've attached some photos. Hope to carb my next brew in a few of these bottles in the coming weeks.


Hey jorni,

How many carb drops do you think I'll need for the 3.2 l tk bottle,, I've got a cooper pale ale in fermenter waiting to go, It's my first go so I'm unsure,


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## Captain Morgan (28/8/13)

jorni said:


> Got the 12g cartridges from ezycharges. So far it seems to work ok. Poured a few bottles of my HB into an empty TK, and I've attached some photos. Hope to carb my next brew in a few of these bottles in the coming weeks.


Oh, that made me thirsty! haha. Looks good


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## jorni (28/8/13)

Hwkdog said:


> Hey jorni,
> How many carb drops do you think I'll need for the 3.2 l tk bottle,, I've got a cooper pale ale in fermenter waiting to go, It's my first go so I'm unsure,


Coopers recommends 2 drops per 740/750 ml, which is about 8 or 9 drops for 3.2 L. I'd start with that. But the beauty of home brewing is experimenting. I plan to try different dose rates with the TK. Good luck!


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## keg guy (28/8/13)

Hi Guys,
Totally new to this or any other forum so please be patient while I catch on.

I have been reading with interest the comments related to the 3.2 L Tap King.

In the factory where these bottles are made they are known as “Kegs”

Some info that may be of interest, as I understand it
The bottles are filled at the brewery between 2.8 and 3.2 volume, dependant on variety and how close they can hold there targets.

Dispensing pressure is between 10 and 12 PSI

The on board CO2 is to keep the head space in the bottle stable during dispensing only.

Are the bottles suitable for reuse?
Can they handle forced carbonation pressures?

I'm sure some of you intend to find out.

Another interesting point is, the bottles are multi layered; that's to say they are PET on the inside and outside surfaces but nylon is sandwiched between. Nylon has much better barrier properties against oxygen and CO2, this is good news for HBer's

Personally I struggle with the idea of HB in PET, it's fine if the turnover is high but.....

The Keg Guy


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## swampdog (28/8/13)

Also got my 12g chargers from ezycharges today. Tested 1 on an empty bottle and it gassed the bottle fine. I have 6 TK bottles to use so I am going to try different amounts of carb drops (4-8), will let you guys know how it went.


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## browndog (28/8/13)

TJP said:


> Yes I realise they are only designed for dispensing but as the bottles are only designed for single use and we have already gone past that I am just wondering where the limits are, by the sound of it some people are already using them for natural carbonation and as the way people are setting them up appears to be with an external co2 source and a mini regulator I were just pondering the possibility of also being able to force carbonate, obviousley you would have to bypass the inbuilt regulator but apart from that and pressure issues I were wondering if there were anyother reasons why it couldnt be done.


As others have said force carbing them at serving temp would be the best idea if you are prepared to wait, but then you would need to change the bulb at some stage prior to serving.


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## barls (29/8/13)

just rebuild my two with the 8g cartridges, will see how it goes planning on carbing to around 2.7 volume roughly.
worst comes to worse ill squeeze the bottle to get it out.


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## jtsteel (29/8/13)

Triangular 2.0mm screwdriver from evil bay works a treat. Fits like a finger in a bu..... Bottle!


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## barls (29/8/13)

cheers mate will be ordering one then. got away with the 1.5 mm allen key this time around.


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## Beerisyummy (29/8/13)

Just bought one and want to keep up to date with peoples progress.

Some points I can add;
-The unit works well at holding temp for an hour or so if you use a decent insulator around the exposed bottle part.
- The recommended temp for serving preparation is similar to using yeast. Err on the low side for less funky results.
-Measure your fridge before you buy one on that premise. Mine doesn't fit in the kitchen fridge as it is too long.

HTH.


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## Hwkdog (30/8/13)

Just filled to tapking kegs with coopers pale ale that I made, wait two weeks and ill let you know how it goes, changed the c02 cartridges no problems, just gotta be careful with the o rings, so far no leaks, let the countdown begin


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## Beerisyummy (30/8/13)

After drinking the whole bottle last night just so I could pull it apart, I have a few questions ( and some advice I suppose).

Let me just start by saying that I don't advise drinking the whole 3.2L bottle in one sitting. I got up for an early morning training session at 5:00 and was onsite wearing my tool belt at 7:00. The hangover was fairly noticeable.

This got me thinking about the whole idea behind these bottles as a money spinner for Lion Nathan.
If they are a success short term, the marketing department has just worked out a way to charge more for less without the average punter feeling ripped off. Job done.
Further down the track it beats a path for larger session bottles for alcoholics. People that live day to day and have no sense for long term planning.
$18.50 for a 3.2L bottle of beer is an obvious winner for a pisshead looking for a quick fix ( as a six pack for $16-18 won't quite cut it) and this way the brewery can call on sensible drinkers for support. They just paid $30 odd dollars for the head unit and don't want the investment to go to waste.

Sorry, I forgot to mention that you can just unscrew the cap and pour a glass or seven. Heck, you could even just swig it from the bottle.

My gut feeling is that this is a very smart way for the breweries to get around many of the regulations that stop them doing what they want.

I remember when the Dry Dock in Balmain had happy hour for 2 hours, starting at 2pm, a couple of years back. $2 schooners and similar spirits prices.
It took 2 months for the licencing board to put a stop to it, but before then it was like Balmain used to be. People were knocking off of work early to get smashed and fights were pretty common, as was drink driving.
Good fun, but not allowed even though business was booming.

Moving on from my conspiracy theories, I'm still keen to adapt this system to a HB setup that keeps me stocked with fresh beer on tap for the average glass or two after work.

Questions;
- Which ezycharges bottle did people order? The Liss or Mosa?
-Can you buy these types of cartridges from a local shop, or are they a specialty item?
- Is 12g of CO2 enough to carbonate 3.2 litres of beer over a week at 1c? ( I would love a link to a calculator that can help here)
-Is there any reason why you couldn't just use one head unit for carbonating bottles and another for pouring?
-Has anyone pulled apart the regulator and can it be adjusted?


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## mwd (30/8/13)

Looks like Lion maybe onto a winner with Tap King. Just been into my local Liquorland and noticed they had the refill bottles including JS Chancer. The girl at the counter said they were going really well.


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## rockofclay (31/8/13)

Beerisyummy said:


> Just bought one and want to keep up to date with peoples progress.
> 
> Some points I can add;
> -The unit works well at holding temp for an hour or so if you use a decent insulator around the exposed bottle part.
> ...


Yep, you can even get tap king stubbie holders on ebay
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Tap-King-Stubbie-Holder-/271267125669?pt=AU_Breweriana&hash=item3f28c7d9a5&_uhb=1


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## Beerisyummy (31/8/13)

rockofclay said:


> Yep, you can even get tap king stubbie holders on ebay
> http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Tap-King-Stubbie-Holder-/271267125669?pt=AU_Breweriana&hash=item3f28c7d9a5&_uhb=1


And all for the bargain price of $50. How does that line go?

"tell him he's dreaming".


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## ash2 (1/9/13)

Have only pulled one of this bottles apart .1 I got from a friend who bought a TK but I found the needle plunger was stuck in the co2 cartridge & was bent was that just poor trademanship on my behalf or does this happen?


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## drchickins (2/9/13)

hi fellas,

happay fathers day!.

ok so yes. i got myself a tapking. happy. not sure! but i managed to pore myself a glass of fome first up like most people i realise have reported. got alot of guggeling and thought something was wrong.......
of course i thought id see was wrong myself! and momentarily undetached the key STOPPP!(yes i know your thinking!. oh what a dumb ass! but 4 beers in we thought it was a good idea...and not knowing how the unit worked!.. look i know my way around a key! thought there was a leak............only to find 2 beers into the tapKing i couldnt pore anymore). not to worry us! beer lovers know how to get into a bottle like a monkey knows how to steal a torists wallet. still i felt alittle pissed. but now i got it sorted! all good.

now id like to point out i have a full home brew setup, korney keys and a keg king fridge for my full grain setup. so its not like i'm a total noob. but man i tell ya. reading this forum.. and wading through the posts........plenty of people doing the old whining about this product! but on the up side good to see people are inbracing this. love the old beer geeks hacking this stuff.
personally if i'm doing a 22 ltr brew, 19ltr in the corny and the 3ltrs in the tapking that i could bring to my mates to whann-kin off about how good my HB is. id say the small outlay for the tap is way worth it.

i think the disapointing thing is having to read the heap of beer snobs saying. "Oh golden ale isnt good enough for my plete" so what!. becuase i only drink something with and ibu of 25-60 or higher, becuase i you know what hops are, and you drink your beer in wine glass and sniff it alot....... give us a break you hipsters. grow a beard and havest your yeast from it. its still a good premis.
Id like to congratulate Lion for putting themselves out on the line for this product! look in a world where coles and woolies own 90% of pubs and there trying to make somthing we can bring home, and hack for homebrew. hell yeah! (oh wait Lion! evil corperation that forces us to drink bad beer! oh your probably blogging from you iphone but i guess thats fashionable) i can see this going britty far if people imbrace this. sure beer selection is limited ATM but i'm sure that will grow. if homebrewers can use this its a bonus for us. look i know lion are part of a huge food group but i think this is a great move for home brew. and if your from Lion reading this blog! dont worry i'll still by your beer espessially in this format. even if it dosnt meet the sleave tatoo hipster requirment of hoppyness. just give us some wider selections. and like Coopers did! invest in the homebrewing comutity because there the ones that really push the beer market. we dont all homebrew 100%!

anyway happy dday..

look forward to the upcoming post to see what people have done with this.


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## pressure_tested (2/9/13)

Read your whole rant. Happy Father's Day mate!


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## Guysmiley54 (2/9/13)

I read it all too, sounds like you've been emptying a few Lion Nathan filled TK kegs to make room for your own HB. Nice one


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## ash2 (2/9/13)

jorni said:


> Got the 12g cartridges from ezycharges. So far it seems to work ok. Poured a few bottles of my HB into an empty TK, and I've attached some photos. Hope to carb my next brew in a few of these bottles in the coming weeks.


Hi jorni,Like your idea of just replacing the cartridge,instead of the other options I've seen.But have you had any problems with the pin that punchers the cartridge?


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## Guysmiley54 (2/9/13)

Has anyone actually confirmed that the Ezychargers are foodsafe? The site claims that they are 100% pure, is that reassurance enough?


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## Guysmiley54 (2/9/13)

Just got this response back from Ezychargers:



> Hi there,
> 
> They are not food grade. They are made for air pistol and bb guns or
> inflating tires. However, that has not stop people from buying it for
> ...


How do you guys feel about that? Is there any real concern here?


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## ash2 (2/9/13)

Guysmiley54 said:


> Just got this response back from Ezychargers:
> 
> 
> How do you guys feel about that? Is there any real concern here?


Why do they use Co2 for inflating tyres,could be a difference in written English here between Australia & china .  Just as a tangent here, 1 of my workers suggested using nitrogen cartridges as they do with Guinness.Should produce a creamier longer lasting head.( WHO DOESN'T LIKE A CREAMIER LONGER LASTING HEAD )


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## keg guy (2/9/13)

Hi All,
Been playing with the TK dispenser and some of you may be happy to know the internal regulator is adjustable, by how much I'm unsure. A reliable source informed me they are factory set to around 11 PSI, yet to test this with a descent gauge.

Remove the top cover (4 screws underneath) and the regulator is clearly visible, the white device at the top.


Regulator

The adjustment cap is the part with the vertical ribs, finger grips.
The locking device hooks onto a short shaft sticking out of the top centre of the adjustment cap and when in place clips into the under edge of the adjustment cap.
To adjust the regulator take a small blade screwdriver and GENTLY force / lift the the top of the locking device off the short shaft. Place the tip of the screw driver between the parts and apply a twisting motion to separate them, seemed to do the trick for me. Be careful it can launch off, put you hand over it to keep it contained.


Dismantled reguator


This opens up some interesting options...
Can you set-up one TK at carbonation pressure and a second one for dispensing, click click ready to go??
I have a kegerator so I can just fill from the tap, change the CO2 cylinder and head for the BBQ.

For those of you less fortunate, if you have to use those pesky little cylinders for charging they simply have to be attached from the outside and preferably 2 at a time.
We need someone's help with the internal CO2 plumbing, come on you engineering types get involved. How do we get CO2 hopefully from a decent cylinder into the system.

A second project I'm looking at is a disk that can go inside the cap after removing the current innards.
It mounts at the 4 small screw holes (with 3 mm SS cap screws not the triangle ones) and has a ¼ BSP tapped hole where the internal gas gas bottle would normally be seen, hook up the gas and charge in the bottle.
The underside has a step to allow reuse the current rubber seal.

There seem to be some questions related to the pressure these bottles can hold. Firstly they are made for single use but so are twist tops and look how many of those are in faithful service for the HBer.
All I can say is sample bottles are regularly pressure tested at manufacture and are taken well beyond normal HB charging pressures. Keep in mind internal carbonation pressure is directly related to temperature so don't leave them in a hot location.

Keg Guy


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## pressure_tested (3/9/13)

Guysmiley54 said:


> Just got this response back from Ezychargers:
> 
> 
> How do you guys feel about that? Is there any real concern here?


are the 16 gram food grade ones too big??


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## Beerisyummy (3/9/13)

Guysmiley54 said:


> How do you guys feel about that? Is there any real concern here?


I'm interested to know why the Finewhip site lists the same brand as food safe? They do seem to cost a fair bit more.

http://finewhip.cart.net.au/store/12g-un-threaded-keg-chargers-x-5-strong-food-grade-strong.html


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## jorni (3/9/13)

Beerisyummy said:


> I'm interested to know why the Finewhip site lists the same brand as food safe? They do seem to cost a fair bit more.
> 
> http://finewhip.cart.net.au/store/12g-un-threaded-keg-chargers-x-5-strong-food-grade-strong.html


Good catch! I looked up the Mosa website and it seems that all their cartridges are food grade...


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## jorni (3/9/13)

jorni said:


> Good catch! I looked up the Mosa website and it seems that all their cartridges are food grade...


http://www.twmosa.com/products.php?level1_id=1&level2_id=36

forgot the link


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## jorni (3/9/13)

ash2 said:


> Hi jorni,Like your idea of just replacing the cartridge,instead of the other options I've seen.But have you had any problems with the pin that punchers the cartridge?


Hello ash2, actually it was driftdaddy who first took it apart and replaced the cartridge. He inspired me...

Anyways, so far no problems with the pin that punctures the cartridge. Just have to remove it from the punctured cartridge and reuse.


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## Hwkdog (3/9/13)

Beerisyummy said:


> I'm interested to know why the Finewhip site lists the same brand as food safe? They do seem to cost a fair bit more.
> 
> http://finewhip.cart.net.au/store/12g-un-threaded-keg-chargers-x-5-strong-food-grade-strong.html


I think they r same as the other ones , it says nothing about food grade in description , only in the title, description talks about paintball guns an re filling bike tyres, why the hell would u need food grade for that? 

I'm guessing the site is cashing in on tap king folk,

Happy to be proven wrong


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## Beerisyummy (3/9/13)

Hwkdog said:


> I think they r same as the other ones , it says nothing about food grade in description , only in the title, description talks about paintball guns an re filling bike tyres, why the hell would u need food grade for that?
> 
> I'm guessing the site is cashing in on tap king folk,
> 
> Happy to be proven wrong


The Finewhip site does list some other 12g cartridges as industrial grade only. The Mosa ones all seem to be made for making soda primarily.


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## mrTbeer (4/9/13)

keg guy said:


> We need someone's help with the internal CO2 plumbing, come on you engineering types get involved. How do we get CO2 hopefully from a decent cylinder into the system.


This is pretty easy. The existing reg has a 6mm OD hose that takes CO2 from regulator does a quick U-turn and injects straight into lid using another little plastic 'needle.'
That hose is held on by 2 black plastic fittings which are easily slipped off. The hose end can then be pushed into a 6mm ID pipe and a little stainless clamp 7-10mm goes around that making a simple reducer.
The 6mm ID hose can then be connected to any CO2 regulator. My regulator used 6mm ID hose anyway so didn't require any other adapters. I drilled a hole in side of tap king and threaded hose through.
This way you can set dispense pressure at 11psi or carb pressure higher say 30psi? And you can remove bottle from tap without wasting all the gas as happens with the bulbs, just remember to turn gas off before disconnecting bottle.
The other upside is you aren't reliant on the O-rings in TK which are made for single use.

driftdaddy got there first with reusing bulbs, I tried this but found it frustrating dealing with tiny screws and sourcing replacement bulbs. I still remove the empty bulb and reseal lid just so I can identify if it's used or not.
p.s. I am an engineering type but more familiar with 18t bulldozers than 2mm triangular screws.

That'd be cool if you could just alter the existing reg to force carb pressure, I naturally carb the bottles and was worried that sediment would clog small inlet hose but no issues so far?


----------



## treefiddy (4/9/13)

mrTbeer said:


> That'd be cool if you could just alter the existing reg to force carb pressure, I naturally carb the bottles and was worried that sediment would clog small inlet hose but no issues so far?


Where does the dip tube actually sit? Are you getting sediment the whole time, or is it just on the initial pour?


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## mrTbeer (4/9/13)

The tap king pops the end of the bottle up about a 1cm. The dip tube sits at the very bottom where curve meets face if that makes sense.
First glass seems to cop all sediment and foam.


----------



## mrTbeer (4/9/13)

ash2 said:


> Why do they use Co2 for inflating tyres,could be a difference in written English here between Australia & china .  Just as a tangent here, 1 of my workers suggested using nitrogen cartridges as they do with Guinness.Should produce a creamier longer lasting head.( WHO DOESN'T LIKE A CREAMIER LONGER LASTING HEAD )


Co2 common for tyres especially MTB but also motorbikes. Smaller/lighter to carry than any other bike pump.
I'd be surprised if Lion don't start selling Guiness in 3.2L tapking, they own Aussie rights so it seems logical.
Fully agree on last comment.


----------



## keg guy (4/9/13)

Playing with a dispenser today and started wondering if I could get the Tap King regulator out side the unit would that be useful.
One thing lead to another and its in pieces again.
What I discovered is a well placed hole drilled under the tap handle gives access to the single phillips head screw that holds the regulator in position.
Pull the handle forward and remove the spout as though for cleaning. Drop the handle all the way to the bottom exposing the whole front face. Use a ruler and mark a point on the vertical centre line 14.5 mm above the top of the spring, note only the end of the spring is visible.
On my dispenser if I look very closely at the surface around this location, by changing the light angle, there is a slightly raised bump surrounded by an indentation. The screw head is directly below the slightly raised bump.
I used an 8 mm drill but go slowly you don't want to damage the screw head.

To remove the regulator slide back the black retainer at the hose end and release the hose from the regulator.
In order to get the regulator out I had to be sure the unit is in the open position (lever on the side all the way towards the front) and remove the locking device from the regulator and now feed it out through the centre where the bottle cap would go. Just could not manage to get it through as a complete unit. I suggest you mark the location of the regulator cap and body before disturbing it, refit the locking device once the regulator is removed.

If your really brave you can dismantle the mechanism and take the screw out without the hole in the front, this also gives access to replace the PVC hose rather than joining to the original piece

Can the regulator be mounded some where outside and be adjusted to a reasonable charging pressure???

One might assume most small CO2 cylinders would be charged to similar pressures, the size seems to change as the volume does, 8,12 and 16 g.
Given the above I guess a 16 g cylinder connected to the regulator would be no more stressful than the 8 g cartridge already being used.

Have fun, the Keg Guy.


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## Captain Morgan (4/9/13)

mrTbeer said:


> The tap king pops the end of the bottle up about a 1cm. The dip tube sits at the very bottom where curve meets face if that makes sense.
> First glass seems to cop all sediment and foam.


The tap a draft comes with a little plastic thingo that goes over the intake tube in the bottle to keep it a few mm off the bottom of the "keg" to reduce sediment.

Wonder if a similar mod would help us?

http://buyfreshgrapes.beer-wine.com/sites/default/files/images/products/Tap-a-DraftRegulator_0.jpg


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## mrTbeer (4/9/13)

Keg guy you can get access to that same screw by undoing all screws inside, the mech comes apart and can be reassembled with a bit of patience. I too think all bulbs are probably same pressure ~900psi regardless of size. The problem is with TK reg. out it doesn't have a good connector on HP side ie. no threads, no piercing dart.


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## keg guy (4/9/13)

mrtbeer, what about the ones they use for 19L kegs, I think they are 16 g, coluld they be adapted? Are they discharged completely the first use or can they be removed from the bottle without gassing out. I have never played with with these little bottles before.
the keg guy


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## barls (4/9/13)

they discharge completely.


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## mrTbeer (5/9/13)

The 16g can be used externally, see my pic a few pages back.

The 16g won't fit inside standard TK lid which is made to accommodate a 12g without a thread.
The 8g will fit inside standard TK lid but the unthreaded part is a different size.
When pierced on TK lid the bottle cannot be removed without discharging all gas.


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## swampdog (5/9/13)

Completed my first Tap King homebrew:

Method:

Replaced 12g CO2 bulb with one from ezycharges (some people say you don't need to use a cartridge). I have a bottle waiting to be tested without a co2 bulb, will post the result later but didn't want to risk it as I am thirsty :icon_drool2: .
Used 7 carb drops, probably could have used 8 in retrospect as the beer is carbonated but could of used a little more gas.
Connect and :drinks: , image is of the first beer I poured with very little froth.
Beer: was an imitation Little Creatures Pale Ale that my local home brew shop supplies the hops etc for.

I think eventually I would like to do a mod to be able to use larger CO2 bottles and avoid the hassle of replacing the screws etc on the lid.


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## Beerisyummy (5/9/13)

swampdog said:


> Completed my first Tap King homebrew:
> 
> Method:
> 
> ...


7 carb drops? Maybe bulk priming would work better?

I think it's great that TK has brought a little excitement to everyone. Love your work mate!


I have a question about filling the bottles for everyone.

When naturally carbonating, how far do you fill the bottles from the top?


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## Amph (6/9/13)

My main problem with this tap king setup, is all those times i've yelled at the kids "don't stand there with the bloody fridge door open" is going to come back and bite me in the arse..


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## mrTbeer (6/9/13)

Beerisyummy said:


> I think it's great that TK has brought a little excitement to everyone.


I used the 3.2L bottle as a big growler fill for a Honey-Porter today. Caused some "mild euphoria." The bartender had a few questions, 2 other blokes passing by asked about it, and the next customer asked "how much for the big bottles?" Plus another couple questions on the walk to car. Cheers H.


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## Captain Morgan (7/9/13)

swampdog said:


> some people say you don't need to use a cartridge


I've had two fail to fire now which have been store bought ones, not HB. After the first glass, it barely dribbles out so I'm not sure how far you'd get with no cartridge.

I just opened up one that failed and the CO2 had been pierced and emptied. I didnt notice any gas escape when I first inserted the bottle into the tap so its got me beat. I've had successful firings between the 2 that have failed so I'm stumped!

I replaced the cartridge with one that i've ordered for my HB and inserted it again. There was a big "whosh" but I'm not sure if that was just the CO2 filling the bottle or escaping. I managed to pour a glass and the bottle is now hard again (it was soft by the time it stopped pouring properly before i changed out the cartridge) so I'll try another few glasses this afternoon and see if it holds a gas charge.


----------



## Bentnose (7/9/13)

I've just replaced the cartridges in 3 x Tap Kings, relatively painless. I think if you decided to go ahead with the external CO2 idea you still need to pull the lid apart every brew as beer gets into the various parts of the lid and would lead to an eventual infection. It wouldn't be a big deal if the screw threads started to wear out as when the lid is on the screws aren't doing anything and could even be taken out without any problems.


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## Captain Morgan (7/9/13)

Captain Morgan said:


> so I'll try another few glasses this afternoon and see if it holds a gas charge.


Nope, its empty and flat again. I have a leak somewhere and of course, I didnt keep my receipt.

I'm ebarrased to say that I'm even having trouble pulling apart the tap to see whats going on in there ... -_-


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## Beerisyummy (7/9/13)

Captain Morgan said:


> Nope, its empty and flat again. I have a leak somewhere and of course, I didnt keep my receipt.


Where are you? I have a receipt for Dan's @ Willoughby.

Then again, you might just be able to pull the unit apart and stop it leaking.
6 screws and the whole thing is in pieces.


----------



## Captain Morgan (7/9/13)

Beerisyummy said:


> Where are you? I have a receipt for Dan's @ Willoughby.
> 
> Then again, you might just be able to pull the unit apart and stop it leaking.
> 6 screws and the whole thing is in pieces.


Oh thats very kind of you, thank you. I'm in Hurstville.

I pulled out all the screws I could see, but it still seemed quite well stuck together still. haha. I'm usually quite mechanically minded so perhaps I haven't had enough beers today.


----------



## Beerisyummy (7/9/13)

Captain Morgan said:


> Oh thats very kind of you, thank you. I'm in Hurstville.
> 
> I pulled out all the screws I could see, but it still seemed quite well stuck together still. haha. I'm usually quite mechanically minded so perhaps I haven't had enough beers today.


Don't be a pussy. Crack a beer and get the screwdrivers out. :beerbang:




It takes around 5 minutes to dismantle the unit and put it back together.


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## Captain Morgan (7/9/13)

Haha.. iTs apart, but I cant see anything out of the ordinary. Nothingt to suggest it should leak


----------



## Beerisyummy (7/9/13)

Looking closely at the unit, I would guess the regulator and gas line would be the culprit in 90% of faulty units.
If the regulator is leaking I'm pretty sure you're stuffed.

Like I said, I've got a spare receipt I can send you if you PM me your details.

After stripping down the unit a few times I can appreciate just how well thought out this design is. Yeah there are a few things that could be better, but some parts are just brilliantly simple.
The valve system on the lid is my favourite.

At this stage I'm going to do away with the top part of the faux keg and leave the regulator where I can adjust it. The next trick is to set up a mini reg/charger with a spear for carbonating the bottles.

Next stop, full keg system.......one day.

PS.
Just hooked up a new bottle to test the adjustment on the regulator. So much better at pouring when you dial it down a quarter turn.
My plan is to dial it back up to the normal position when I'm done drinking and let it maintain the factory bottle pressure while sitting idle.
Perfekt!


----------



## keg guy (7/9/13)

Hi Guys, Can someone give me the details as to how you post images? what the trick?
Thanks the keg guy


----------



## Yob (7/9/13)

Next to the post button is the "more reply options" go into the full editor and you'll see where


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## Captain Morgan (7/9/13)

Beerisyummy said:


> Like I said, I've got a spare receipt I can send you if you PM me your details.


You're an absolute champion! I've worked the old credit card a bit lately so I wasnt looking forward to the eye rolls from the wife when I had to tell her I needed another tap. PM on its way. Thanks again, its very kind of you. :beer:


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## Bentnose (9/9/13)

I've been promised 7 empty tap kings, I'll have at least 11 by the end of the year, I'll have three bottled in the next two weeks, brilliant.


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## Diggs (9/9/13)

So the thing I'm most interested in is refilling the bottles and priming for self carbonation, leaving the standard carbonation in place. 

Keeping it really simple, am I missing something here? Everything I am seeing is around pimping it use bigger cartridges or SodaSrtream bottles.


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## Diggs (9/9/13)

Ok I think a little extra reading has cleared this up for me. Going to grab one and just refill the bottles with my HB for now - maybe look at bigger cartridges as well. 

I have a spare Soda Stream bottle that I might add to the TK later down the track.


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## barls (9/9/13)

got one fitted with an 8g cartridge and natural carbonation but have yet to tap it soon though


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## Beerisyummy (9/9/13)

At 2/3 the co2 I don't think it will pour the whole 3.2L. The standard 12g cartridge runs out just after you finish the bottle.
Pretty keen to hear just how far it gets you though.


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## mrTbeer (9/9/13)

Diggs, simplest way is to make a triangular screwdriver and order 12g cartridges online.
Fiddle around swapping new cartridge into old bottles with your beer.
Next, if you get tired of that is to adapt so it can use external gas. The lids are just used as a regular lid and you'll use fewer gas bulbs overall and cheaper ones that are more easily available.
I've already got a couple of sodastream bottles 330g which are cheaper again and available at Woolies etc. but so far finding the fittings to adapt from one size to another has been a pain in the neck.


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## barls (9/9/13)

Beerisyummy said:


> At 2/3 the co2 I don't think it will pour the whole 3.2L. The standard 12g cartridge runs out just after you finish the bottle.
> Pretty keen to hear just how far it gets you though.


strange cause all the one i played with still had pressure in the cylinder when i finished
will try it maybe over the weekend.


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## Diggs (9/9/13)

I Thanks for that mrT.

Going down to the WRC this weekend, sounds like a great excuse to grab a TK with a couple of bottles of JSGA.


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## Beerisyummy (9/9/13)

barls said:


> strange cause all the one i played with still had pressure in the cylinder when i finished
> will try it maybe over the weekend.


I hope it goes well with an 8gm cartridge.
All four of the bottles I've polished off have had maybe an extra glass of gas left once empty.

Unfortunately I have to wait another couple of weeks before my refills are good to go.
until then I'll have to live vicariously through this thread.


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## barls (9/9/13)

worst come to worst ill open the bottle and just pour it out. the bottle im looking at only was filled 2 weeks ago but already is about the same pressure as the ones in the store.


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## mdav (10/9/13)

mrTbeer said:


> Here's my hack in pictures using 16g bulbs. I had some lying around for my bike.
> MFL fitting ($2.50), 6mm hose (had it?), stainless clip ($1), 4mm hose and plastic (TK $23), mini-regulator ($39)
> 
> 1.Remove 2.Drill 3.Assemble 4.Pour
> ...


Where you get the hose connector to fit to the mini reg I think it's 5/16 to 6mm barb?


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## mrTbeer (10/9/13)

It's 1/4" (JIC or MFL) to 6mm barb.

I had one lying around, had a hard time getting a second though.
Started a thread called "Flare Fitting" and ordered one on ebay for $2.50
It took nearly a month and arrived yesterday, they sent 1/2" for some reason, d'oh!

The thread is the same as the black and grey QD's so that may offer a workaround.
Let me know if you find one somewhere?


----------



## Langford Brewer (10/9/13)

I was put onto TK by a work collegue just after they came out, I quite like the JSGA.

Straight away I wondered if they would be suitable for doing a HB in, though I have never home brewed before.

After finding this forum and thread, am very keen to give it a go, thanks for the great posts!

Have 8 TK kegs to fill!


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## Khellendros13 (10/9/13)

Great thread, but it has me asking myself " Why modify a Tap King when I could just buy a Tap a draft?"

Seems you save a small amount on the Tap King but then have to spend time/money modding it anyway.

Also hanging out for the "Tap it", tap and co2 regulator to fit on growlers. Kickstarter project took off, just waiting for production.


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## swampdog (10/9/13)

Khellendros13 said:


> Great thread, but it has me asking myself " Why modify a Tap King when I could just buy a Tap a draft?"
> 
> Seems you save a small amount on the Tap King but then have to spend time/money modding it anyway.
> 
> Also hanging out for the "Tap it", tap and co2 regulator to fit on growlers. Kickstarter project took off, just waiting for production.


If you don't have a man cave, I think the Tap King looks a lot better in the family fridge then the tap a draft system. Also my wife saw one on tv and said "ooh honey you should buy one", I learnt along time ago never to turn down anything to do with buying beer when you can! :lol:


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## Beerisyummy (10/9/13)

swampdog said:


> Also my wife saw one on tv and said "ooh honey you should buy one"


Was that the Tap King, or Lionel?


----------



## ash2 (10/9/13)

So what is the consensus,8g Co2 or 12g Co2 cartridges ?. :beerbang:


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## Beerisyummy (10/9/13)

mrTbeer said:


> The 16g can be used externally, see my pic a few pages back.
> 
> The 16g won't fit inside standard TK lid which is made to accommodate a 12g without a thread.
> The 8g will fit inside standard TK lid but the unthreaded part is a different size.
> When pierced on TK lid the bottle cannot be removed without discharging all gas.


I was under the impression they didn't fit as well as the 12g.


----------



## mrTbeer (10/9/13)

Khellendros13 said:


> Great thread, but it has me asking myself " Why modify a Tap King when I could just buy a Tap a draft?"
> 
> Seems you save a small amount on the Tap King but then have to spend time/money modding it anyway.
> 
> Also hanging out for the "Tap it", tap and co2 regulator to fit on growlers. Kickstarter project took off, just waiting for production.


Tap-a-draft cost $138 vs. TK $23+ $50 parts. Bottles come free.
12g inside, 16g outside


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## ash2 (10/9/13)

:icon_offtopic: Does anybody here use Tap-a- Draft,i havn't heard of it before now ? :unsure:


----------



## mdav (10/9/13)

Found one http://midwestbev.com/3016.aspx

Took a while to find that and it must be the only place in the world to get them. I'm off to the gas guy tomorrow might be able to make one up with some bits.


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## Bentnose (10/9/13)

I've noticed the best before dates on all my Tap King bottles are 3 months, I guess oxidisation starts to really kick in around that time. Limits the amount you should bottle into a TK when you factor in bottle conditioning. Would like to do some session beers in a fair few bottles, they mature fast and you can drink large quantities.


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## Screwball (10/9/13)

First post here but what an awesome thread!

Got a Tap King for my birthday the other day and between my neighbor and myself we now have 7 empty bottles. I have 1, he has 6!

Boag's wasn't a bad drop either.

Just put a Munich Larger down tonight and I will try the krausening method to try and get the carbonation going in the beer. Have always preferred it as it leaves a much finer head of beer.

I believe the beer was a Mangroves Jacks Munich Larger. Haven't tried it before. 1KG of Dex, Malt and Maltdex mix for the sugars.

Been a while since I have put one down. The Tap King's have got the brain ticking again on how we can do this without having to use bottles!

Will grab some Mosa 12g threadless bottles, clean it all out and then refill. 

Also *don't* use very hot water in the TK bottles. Buckled one of them tonight when the water was a little too hot.


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## Khellendros13 (10/9/13)

mrTbeer said:


> Tap-a-draft cost $138 vs. TK $23+ $50 parts. Bottles come free.
> 12g inside, 16g outside


So just the price really? Maybe a preference for 3.2L over 6L too.

Bottles are free if you know someone with a Tap King, or like the beer options offered. I know I am nada on both of those.


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## barls (10/9/13)

oxidation would only be a problem on beers with the yeast removed, so home brew beer unless filtered sterile would survive better.


----------



## driftdaddy (10/9/13)

Sorry guys, long time no post... 

I'm onto my second brew in the TK bottles now and loving it so far. I've had no problem naturally carbonating as per you would for bottling into tallies. I've actually got a second TK head so as to have two different brews "on tap" at once. Better still, quite a few mates and colleagues have got onto the TK and as such my bottle collection is going gang busters. 

As for CO2 cartridges, I'm using the Mosa 12g from ezychargers and they work perfectly.


----------



## Screwball (10/9/13)

Driftdaddy., how long are you leaving them to mature/carbonate before drinking?


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## mrTbeer (10/9/13)

Khellendros13 said:


> So just the price really? Maybe a preference for 3.2L over 6L too.
> 
> It fits in the fridge without moving shelves.
> Recycling feels good.
> ...


----------



## driftdaddy (10/9/13)

Screwball said:


> Driftdaddy., how long are you leaving them to mature/carbonate before drinking?


Current batch was left for just over two weeks for carbonation/conditioning.


----------



## EvilTwin (11/9/13)

Khellendros13 said:


> Great thread, but it has me asking myself " Why modify a Tap King when I could just buy a Tap a draft?"
> 
> Seems you save a small amount on the Tap King but then have to spend time/money modding it anyway.


Might be some people have mates supplying with with empty TK vessels so once you've modded it the
'kegs' are free or close enough to it ?


----------



## Beerisyummy (11/9/13)

barls said:


> oxidation would only be a problem on beers with the yeast removed, so home brew beer unless filtered sterile would survive better.


Sorry to side track Barls, but could you point me in the right direction for some info on this? I don't remember reading anything on the subject and am always keen to learn something new.

I guess it's kind of on topic if it's better to retain yeast to avoid oxidisation in the TK bottles.


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## jorni (11/9/13)

driftdaddy said:


> Current batch was left for just over two weeks for carbonation/conditioning.


Hi driftdaddy,

Just wondering how much priming sugar you used? And what were the results?

Cheers!


----------



## driftdaddy (11/9/13)

jorni said:


> Hi driftdaddy,
> 
> Just wondering how much priming sugar you used? And what were the results?
> 
> Cheers!


In my most recent batch (Thomas Coopers IPA kit) I used about 18g of dex for each TK bottle or roughly 6g/lt. Carbonation seems fine.

For the first batch, I bulk primed 19l with 100g of dex


----------



## barls (11/9/13)

Beerisyummy said:


> Sorry to side track Barls, but could you point me in the right direction for some info on this? I don't remember reading anything on the subject and am always keen to learn something new.
> 
> I guess it's kind of on topic if it's better to retain yeast to avoid oxidisation in the TK bottles.


cant remember where i read it could of been the yeast book but its the reason all the megaswill beers have a used by where as most of the craft beers have a best after date due to them having live yeast.


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## Diggs (11/9/13)

Just picked up a TK head for $23 ($33 with $10 discount) - BWS Stafford City Brisbane!


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## pist (11/9/13)

I have been seriously considering the tap a draft system as well as SWMBO wont agree to the purchase of another fridge for a full blown corny setup due to energy costs, which i can unfortunately see her point there, though after seeing the size of the tap king ive decided against the tap a draft as it would be at least twice the size. I have to share the beer fridge to accomodate SWMBO'S cider and rum, so i can see alot of merit in modding a tk unit to run a sodastream bottle for pouring...and carbing as normal in the bottle due to space constraints in the beer fridge (smaller unit). Will cut my bottling more than in half which is a big win...and also get the benefit of a keg system in a small package. Win win if you ask me


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## Mickcr250 (11/9/13)

so i have notice a bit of yeasty left over beer getting left in the valve in the lid, i didn't really want to mess around with little screws so that's why i went for the external reg but it looks like it should probably be cleaned out before bottling into them. I'm thinking about just drilling off the heads of the screws to make it just a screw on lid does anyone see a problem with this? it seems much easier to me


----------



## Bats (11/9/13)

mrTbeer said:


> Diggs, simplest way is to make a triangular screwdriver and order 12g cartridges online.
> Fiddle around swapping new cartridge into old bottles with your beer.
> Next, if you get tired of that is to adapt so it can use external gas. The lids are just used as a regular lid and you'll use fewer gas bulbs overall and cheaper ones that are more easily available.
> I've already got a couple of sodastream bottles 330g which are cheaper again and available at Woolies etc. but so far finding the fittings to adapt from one size to another has been a pain in the neck.


No need to make the tool, you can buy them for under 5 bucks. I got mine in about a week. Link below.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Black-Yellow-Antislip-Plastic-Grip-Magnetic-T2-Head-Triangle-Screwdriver-/160958222263?pt=AU_Hand_Tools&hash=item2579db8fb7&_uhb=1

I've taken the lid apart but haven't refilled a bottle with HB yet. I have some 12g Mosa Co2 from ezychargers on the way as these seem to be the go as stated on this thread. I know it has not been confirmed if they are food grade or note but the add says 100% co2. People seem to use them and not have any problems.

I will update soon.... Hopefully with a success story.


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## barls (11/9/13)

Or a cheaper one
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/161026124589?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649
Got mine in about the same time frame


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## Diggs (11/9/13)

Cheers Barls, just ordered the one you posted.


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## Beerisyummy (11/9/13)

Pretty sure you don't even need the screws in as long as the lid is screwed on.There is a locator pin that keeps the disk aligned.


----------



## pist (11/9/13)

Hmmm thats something i never considered. If im going to have to pull the lid apart and clean it i might as well chuck a replacement bulb in and use it as normal? They are only just over a dollar each if you buy a box of 50. How long would i get out of a sodastream bottle?


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## barls (11/9/13)

Diggs said:


> Cheers Barls, just ordered the one you posted.


got a 30% discount code as well but it expired 1 day after they posted it. Other than that good service.


----------



## Captain Morgan (11/9/13)

Beerisyummy said:


> Like I said, I've got a spare receipt I can send you if you PM me your details.


Got the receipt in the mail today. THANK YOU! You saved me some money, but more importantly, you stopped me from getting in trouble from SWMBO  .

You're a bit naughty leaving your return address off the envelope tho because I was going to send you scratchies as a thank you 

:beer:


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## Diggs (11/9/13)

Bugger! Could have saved $1.60 - no food for the kids this week.


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## Liam_snorkel (11/9/13)

Just saw on faeces book that Brewbake on the Sunshine Coast are doing tap king refills. I wonder if other micro breweries will and if there could be legal consequences?


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## mrTbeer (11/9/13)

That might have been my influence. ;-)
It's not illegal to recycle in Qld yet Liam.


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## Captain Morgan (11/9/13)

mrTbeer said:


> Tap-a-draft cost $138 vs. TK $23+ $50 parts. Bottles come free.
> 12g inside, 16g outside


I've owned 2 tap a draft systems (dont ask) and neither of them performed terribly well. When screwing in the co2 bulbs, it was hit or miss if they'd actually screw in far enought to fire. I bought one for my dad (an avid home brewer and wine maker) , who used it once and didnt bother with again.

I know they've upgraded the system and now use 1 x 16g co2 instead of 2 8g co2's but I dont really see that the tap a draft is worth while financially over the tap king. You pay more for an empy tap a draft bottle than you do for a tap king bottle full of beer...


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## Bentnose (11/9/13)

Bats said:


> I've taken the lid apart but haven't refilled a bottle with HB yet. I have some 12g Mosa Co2 from ezychargers on the way as these seem to be the go as stated on this thread. I know it has not been confirmed if they are food grade or note but the add says 100% co2. People seem to use them and not have any problems.
> 
> I will update soon.... Hopefully with a success story.


On the Mosa site they are listed as food grade.

Anyone notice its hard to get the smell of beer out of the bottles? I rinsed my first few thoroughly with hot water and they still have quite a strong odour. I then washed 4 with detergent and hot water, they seem to have less of an odour, though it may be because they were XXX bottles and the others were Chancer?


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## Beerisyummy (11/9/13)

I've noticed this as well. It's one of the reasons I don't like PET bottles. Someone once described pet bottles to me as lots of tightly packed layers of glad wrap.

The last two I bought had a thin layer peel off when I pulled the labels back.

Then again, I can never quite get the smell out of my fermenters either.


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## Khellendros13 (11/9/13)

Captain Morgan said:


> I've owned 2 tap a draft systems (dont ask) and neither of them performed terribly well. When screwing in the co2 bulbs, it was hit or miss if they'd actually screw in far enought to fire. I bought one for my dad (an avid home brewer and wine maker) , who used it once and didnt bother with again.
> 
> I know they've upgraded the system and now use 1 x 16g co2 instead of 2 8g co2's but I dont really see that the tap a draft is worth while financially over the tap king. You pay more for an empy tap a draft bottle than you do for a tap king bottle full of beer...


Fair enough, that's the sort of answer I was looking for.


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## Kudzu (12/9/13)

Got myself a Tap king last night, think this will be a good interim setup until we do the kitchen renos and I can do a proper keg setup. Will be good for taking to parties/camping once I have the kegs too.

I want to mod it using a mini reg as mrTbeer has. mrTbeer can you (or anyone else) confirm there are no mods to the bottle lid required for this?


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## Hwkdog (12/9/13)

Kudzu said:


> Got myself a Tap king last night, think this will be a good interim setup until we do the kitchen renos and I can do a proper keg setup. Will be good for taking to parties/camping once I have the kegs too.
> 
> I want to mod it using a mini reg as mrTbeer has. mrTbeer can you (or anyone else) confirm there are no mods to the bottle lid required for this?


Is thru head unit, no need to fix bottles


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## mrTbeer (12/9/13)

No need to mod bottle lids, the spent bulb can just rattle around inside.


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## Kudzu (12/9/13)

That's what I wanted to hear. What happens if you insert a new bottle with an untapped lid? Have you removed the needle that punctures the bulb?

Do you reckon you can clean the beer lines adequately without pulling the lid apart?

Didn't manage to get through the first bottle last night, so haven't had a chance to look at the insides in person yet.

EDIT: Just found the post where you said you removed the pin that punctures the bulb. Still interest in the cleaning aspect though.


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## mrTbeer (12/9/13)

Kudzu said:


> What happens if you insert a new bottle with an untapped lid?
> 
> Do you reckon you can clean the beer lines adequately without pulling the lid apart?


New bottle with untapped lid works as per normal, the upside is when done you can simply take lid off, rinse bottle and fill from a real keg and then use it in a mate's TapKing at a party. 
The tap extension gets cleaned, the diptube gets removed and cleaned the lid which is 1" long only gets a rinse. Probably best practice to fill a TK bottle with sanitiser and force it through that 1" so it stays clean.


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## Kudzu (13/9/13)

Finished my first bottle last night.

Would like to re-iterate whoever said don't rinse the bottles with water that's too hot. I rinsed with water straight from the hot tap and the bottle started to deform. Noticed the outside layer of plastic starting to peel as well. Probably not a big deal, but not sure how these bottles will go long term, they certainly don't seem as well constructed as a Coopers PET bottle. Not surprising since they are built for single use.


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## pist (13/9/13)

Kudzu said:


> Finished my first bottle last night.
> 
> Would like to re-iterate whoever said don't rinse the bottles with water that's too hot. I rinsed with water straight from the hot tap and the bottle started to deform. Noticed the outside layer of plastic starting to peel as well. Probably not a big deal, but not sure how these bottles will go long term, they certainly don't seem as well constructed as a Coopers PET bottle. Not surprising since they are built for single use.


This must be common with these bottles. I've only rinsed mine under cold water so far when finished and have noticed the same thing happening.


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## JustAdam (13/9/13)

I just 'tapped' a pilsner that I bottle conditioned in some TK bottles. It's worked out well. I primed the bottles with 21gms of dex, and replaced the CO2 charg with box bought from ezychargers. All seems to be going well.

Also, I plan to use a mini reg (kegking) for an external gas bottle. I bought a MFL to 6mm barb from ebay, but it didn't fit the reg. Apparently there is a difference in co2/o2 1/4in MFL fittings. Sunbury Homebrew Supplies set me up with a 6mm barb that screwed directly into the reg. As I only plan to use that reg for TK, that setup should be fine. 

Now it is time for me to go buy another TK tap and start working on the conversion.


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## mrTbeer (13/9/13)

I've seen 1 bottle delaminate and distort with hot tap water. But I've also put 2 bottles through dishwasher and they came out fine.


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## Hugh Jarse (14/9/13)

I have been following this topic with much interest and have seen the various solutions for modifying a TK for home brew use. I purchased mine the other day due to the marketing. "Fits into fridge" PIGS ARSE it does! I had to move two shelves and even then does not fit into my fridge depth wise as well! Oh well, is helping me make my case to the "Minister of Love and War" for a beer fridge! After all, I just built her a house with no man cave!

Any ways, back on topic, I am happy to report that I have been successful in getting the TK to work with 8g unthreaded soda charges! Want these to work as I can source from local hospitality store and they do not stock the 12's.

I tried inserting the 8g straight into machine, with same result as others: leaking gas in one hit as soon as canister is pierced.

I then hunted in the shed for O rings etc and best I could come up with was an O ring off a roofing screw. Tried to remove O ring from yellow coupler and insert new O ring but is too big to fit inside the housing. Refitted original O ring and then slid the O ring (tight fit) around neck of cartridge. Next had to determine the hight of the canister as 12g are longer, hence the variety of nuts and washers. 

Fit all back together and test run. No gas leak and could feel the charge pressurising the bottle. Dispensed approximately 3.1l of soapy water with a little charge left without missing a beat! 

I think that the screws on top of the bottle are important as they seal the top of the bottle and stop contents from leaking. I will investigate more, was a little too happy from 8g results!

Am yet to try with HB in there. Will bulk prime as normal and try out in the next month or so.


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## greg52 (15/9/13)

hi guys
tried to use 8g bulbs with packing in my tk but was unsuccessful. the pin that pierces the bulb would not pierce
not sure but the bulb may be thicker as i could'nt get it to work so i have decided to use the 12g easychargers and see if i can get that to work.


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## Beerisyummy (15/9/13)

I've done a bit of searching on the air rifle forums for info on this.
Years ago I had a Crossman pistol that I modded to take 8g cartridges from the supermarket, so I'm sure it can't be that hard to do.

The 8g has a shorter 8.6mm neck compared to a 7.5mm neck on the 16g.
a slight mod to the TK collar should work.

Unfortunately, I'm away and can't get into the man cave until tomorrow.


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## Hugh Jarse (15/9/13)

I have found there is a fine line between getting the 8g bulb up high enough and being too high. It has to be high enough that the bulb pierces but not too high and still seal the collar. Takes a bit of trial and error but can find the right combination. There was a post on 8g bulbs on here using a number of 5c coins as packing.

I will try for another O ring for the 8g bulbs at some stage today or tomorrow. I would go 12's but I cannot source locally. May get to the point where I just get some 12's over the net, but I still have some 8's left to try and would like to keep my TK un-modded as much as possible (severe lack of fridge real estate)!


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## Beerisyummy (15/9/13)

Hugh Jarse said:


> I have found there is a fine line between getting the 8g bulb up high enough and being too high. It has to be high enough that the bulb pierces but not too high and still seal the collar. Takes a bit of trial and error but can find the right combination. There was a post on 8g bulbs on here using a number of 5c coins as packing.
> 
> I will try for another O ring for the 8g bulbs at some stage today or tomorrow. I would go 12's but I cannot source locally. May get to the point where I just get some 12's over the net, but I still have some 8's left to try and would like to keep my TK un-modded as much as possible (severe lack of fridge real estate)!


Hi HJ,

I just thought we should move this specific topic elsewhere. http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/75424-using-8g-co2-soda-bulbs-in-your-tap-king/

It's getting too hard to find the posts on using 8g cartridges within the 25+ pages in this thread.

I'm pretty keen to get back home and start working on a way to use the 8g cartridges easily.


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## Hugh Jarse (15/9/13)

Valid point BiY. Is getting a pretty big thread now with lots of useful suggestions and solutions.


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## Adr_0 (15/9/13)

driftdaddy said:


> Sorry guys, long time no post...
> 
> I'm onto my second brew in the TK bottles now and loving it so far. I've had no problem naturally carbonating as per you would for bottling into tallies. I've actually got a second TK head so as to have two different brews "on tap" at once. Better still, quite a few mates and colleagues have got onto the TK and as such my bottle collection is going gang busters.
> 
> As for CO2 cartridges, I'm using the Mosa 12g from ezychargers and they work perfectly.


I've done exactly this with about 6 bottles today. I totally drained out about 4 x XXXX by sticking the tap nozzle (normally on the outside) straight into the bottom middle outlet on the bottle for a little while, then turning upside down to vent out all the gas. Then just crack the lid. Fairly low risk as we are putting on a bit of the pils for Riverfire.

Another two I've disassembled and used the Ezychargers 12g, carefully. Seem to fit like a glove, and even have the same neck profile as the TK 12g. Fingers crossed.



Beerisyummy said:


> I've noticed this as well. It's one of the reasons I don't like PET bottles. Someone once described pet bottles to me as lots of tightly packed layers of glad wrap.
> 
> The last two I bought had a thin layer peel off when I pulled the labels back.
> 
> Then again, I can never quite get the smell out of my fermenters either.


An earlier thread said they have a layer of nylon on the inside to remain fairly inert, so not sure why this is and I haven't had this problem. Otherwise, you can throw some weak bleach in, rinse, then Starsan and you should not have an issue.

I'm sure you've all figured it out by now, but yes I measured the pressure on the regs of a couple of my bottles. I drained out the swill as per the above, then refilled with water (just to reduce the headspace a bit) and turned upside down. Was *80kPag* using two different gauges and two different bottles, which lines up fairly squarely at *11psi*. Sure enough, at 3°C this is 2.5vol of CO2 which has been reported elsewhere for these beers and would appear to match the carbonation of the beer itself which should give the most consistency.

So, I carbonated the same way - dextrose of around 14.5g (my beer was lagering) and fingers thoroughly crossed. A note on this:
1. If you carbonate to 3-4 vol CO2, you will probably get inconsistent pours from both the pressure changing and having too much pressure and so too much velocity for the little bit of tube you have. I think we should consider line balancing on these if we push up this high but I haven't really looked into it. You will slowly lose carbonation in your beer over a few days as you drain it and as it returns to the 2.5vol or so set by the regulator.
2. If you carbonate at 1.5-2 vol CO2, you will probably initially have a really good pour but you will probably end up running out 2/3 of the way through as you are using additional CO2 to keep everything at 2.5vol (as set by the regulator). So that's a little risky IMO.

Maybe the trick is to see if we can adjust the regulator in the head? I might have a play next weekend. I would love the flexibility of having a wheat beer on tap (one head set to a higher pressure) but this will probably need a longer bit of tube to work. Maybe we just drink it within 2 hrs? 

I'm also going to look into packs of o-rings and see which sizes work.


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## Beerisyummy (15/9/13)

Adr_0 said:


> An earlier thread said they have a layer of nylon on the inside to remain fairly inert, so not sure why this is and I haven't had this problem. Otherwise, you can throw some weak bleach in, rinse, then Starsan and you should not have an issue.
> 
> 
> 
> Maybe the trick is to see if we can adjust the regulator in the head? I might have a play next weekend. I would love the flexibility of having a wheat beer on tap (one head set to a higher pressure) but this will probably need a longer bit of tube to work. Maybe we just drink it within 2 hrs?


 Hi Adr_O,

I did hear about the nylon part and figured it was added for strength in such a large thin bottle. You can see it's effect on the surface of the bottle where it makes it go all wavy.

The regulator can be adjusted pretty easily, and to be quite honest, I think it is better to dial it right down for the pour and then turn it back up in between sessions.

This is the first pour out of a bottle with the regulator dialled down by 2/3 turns. You don't need the top of the keg attached but a couple of brackets would eliminate the need for it all together.




Just be warned that the top of the regulator only has two and a half turns in it before the top comes off. From memory at least.


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## carpedaym (17/9/13)

Hey fellas, I've joined club TK and I have some questions. I have actually given all 25 pages a pretty decent skim, so apologies if I missed something.

1. The box says beer stays fresh for 21 days. What do they mean by this? If there's only CO2 going in it's not oxidizing. Will the CO2 run flat and stop pressuring somehow? Is this why people have suggested dialling down the reg while it's sitting around and only cranking it back on to pour?

I seem to be in the minority of people who are concerned with the EzyCharger representative's response saying their 12g cartridges are not food safe. I'm trying to investigate more into this, but none-the-less am curious by alternative cartridge sized options, given finewhip's 12g is pretty darned expensive and on backorder only. Not having a mini-regulator already, I'm wondering the following...

2. Could the stock TK regulator be hooked up directly to an external 16g cartridge? (Or even the 330g soda-stream? I'm new to all this kegging/co2 jazz so forgive my ignorance about regulators and pressure.)

Thanks, and cheers to the tinkerers for doing the all the guinea pig work!


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## Beerisyummy (17/9/13)

carpedaym said:


> 1. The box says beer stays fresh for 21 days. What do they mean by this? If there's only CO2 going in it's not oxidizing. Will the CO2 run flat and stop pressuring somehow? Is this why people have suggested dialling down the reg while it's sitting around and only cranking it back on to pour?
> 
> 2. Could the stock TK regulator be hooked up directly to an external 16g cartridge? (Or even the 330g soda-stream? I'm new to all this kegging/co2 jazz so forgive my ignorance about regulators and pressure.)


1. 21 days.
I figure there is a lack of sanitation in the head of the CO2 cartridge that can't be avoided, the bottles are PET/Nylon which will not hold pressure indefinitely and they want you to drink the beer.

2. Stock regulator.
Given that the stock regulator is a really cheap plastic jobby I would not recommend this. You can pierce an 8g cartridge in your hand without too much trouble. Don't try this at home and definitely don't try this with a 330g bottle. Lot's more potential energy to blow your face off.

Do not turn the stock reg down in between pours. You will let the beer go flat. Turn it down 1/3 ( I know I said 2/3 before) while pouring and then crank it back up. This works for me and doesn't relate to any information I've read on balancing a keg system.


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## carpedaym (17/9/13)

Thanks for correcting me, I must have misread the earlier instructions.


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## Beerisyummy (17/9/13)

carpedaym said:


> Thanks for correcting me, I must have misread the earlier instructions.


No probs! I've posted a few different methods and I'm still experimenting.

The next problem I've encountered with the TK is that the naturally carbed beer has too much sediment. I don't mind but it needs to please the average punter.

Who has force carbonated in the bottle?


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## Mattwa (17/9/13)

Beerisyummy said:


> The next problem I've encountered with the TK is that the naturally carbed beer has too much sediment. I don't mind but it needs to please the average punter.


I'm thinking a little rubber grommet around the end of the beer tube might solve this by holding the tube end a little bit above the sediment.

Got started on a sodastream setup last night. I'll post pics when I'm done.


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## greg52 (17/9/13)

i normally keg my beer but after fermentation has completed i put the 23L into a food grade jerry can
and then put in the fridge for about a week.( ppl call it a clearing tube ) then i keg 19L and then force carbonate it....then with what's left over i sometimes bottle.
the beer...after it has been carbinated (2 weeks) i have no sediment in my bottles.this will be the procedure i will follow
to fill my TK keg and i should have no or very little sediment
hope this helps


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## Adr_0 (18/9/13)

Hi guys,

I just took Beerisyummy's starting point and decided to record the pressure by adjusting the regulator.

I have butchered my head a fair bit, so hacking it up further was no issue. I basically cut off the retaining latch, leaving the adjuster cap free to rotate. This should probably be hot-glued in place if you wish to set up a head for lagers/pale ales and one for English beers.

So, we have the following:

+0.25 turn - 100kPag
0 turn - 78kPag
-0.25 turn - 60kPag
-0.5 turn - ~45kPag
-1 turn - 20kPag

At 3°C serving temp, we have the following:
+0.25 turn - 100kPag --> 2.8volCO2
0 turn - 78kPag --> 2.5
-0.25 turn - 60kPag --> 2.3
-0.5 turn - ~45kPag - 2.1vol
-1 turn - 20kPag --> 1.7vol CO2

Two things I'm going to next find out: if it's comfortable in the 3-3.5vol range for wheats, etc; and if further restriction needs to be put in the little hose bit on the tap (e.g. 3mm tube) to slow it down at higher carbonation. Even at the existing carbonation it might help?

PS - not sure what the maximum pressure of these units would be. The regulator will obviously be ok, and pretty sure the bottles would be fine with a couple of hundred kPag, but not sure if there is a weak spot somewhere.

Enjoy...


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## Beerisyummy (18/9/13)

Adr_0 said:


> Enjoy...


Thanks for posting your results Adro. Really helpful.

I've also wondered about adding a restriction to the tap in order to get a better pour. It really seems to pour a better glass of beer if you turn it down by a 3rd while pouring and then crank it back up immediately afterwards.

I guess it's time to do another wheat beer and see how she goes. :icon_drool2:


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## Adr_0 (19/9/13)

Beerisyummy said:


> Thanks for posting your results Adro. Really helpful.
> 
> I've also wondered about adding a restriction to the tap in order to get a better pour. It really seems to pour a better glass of beer if you turn it down by a 3rd while pouring and then crank it back up immediately afterwards.
> 
> I guess it's time to do another wheat beer and see how she goes. :icon_drool2:


I will have a bit of a play and see what options are on Friday. There is all of the inner tube and also the last bit. Just have to find something food-gradey that won't make the beer taste like plastic after pickling for 4-8 weeks if the internal tube is lined with another tube.


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## Bentnose (19/9/13)

Don't believe this has been mentioned but I according to Promash, to get 2.5 volumes of CO2 you'll need 21g of priming sugar in 3.2L.


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## Adr_0 (19/9/13)

Bentnose said:


> Don't believe this has been mentioned but I according to Promash, to get 2.5 volumes of CO2 you'll need 21g of priming sugar in 3.2L.


That's probably about right for ~20°C, but will of course depend on temperature of the beer when you close the lid on the bottle (CO2 dissolved in the beer). I threw 14g in for a pils that had been lagering at 1°C as more CO2 was probably dissolved in the beer.

As has been shown above, there is a lot of flexibility to run slightly lower if you want to. The regulator permits you to do this, and it probably suits the pourer spout thingy to come out slightly slower (less foam). So don't be afraid of knocking off half a turn and only carbing to 2.1-2.3.


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## Bentnose (19/9/13)

Should have qualified that, it is 21g of priming sugar at 20°C, at 1°C it is 10.6g.


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## JustAdam (19/9/13)

JustAdam said:


> Also, I plan to use a mini reg (kegking) for an external gas bottle. I bought a MFL to 6mm barb from ebay, but it didn't fit the reg. Apparently there is a difference in co2/o2 1/4in MFL fittings. Sunbury Homebrew Supplies set me up with a 6mm barb that screwed directly into the reg. As I only plan to use that reg for TK, that setup should be fine.


Update to this, the barbed fitting to get to replace the MFL on the mini regulator is a 1/8 BSP male to 6mm tail. Apparently it is an air compressor part, so you can pick it up from a tool store that deals with them for a couple of bucks, or, so I am told from Autobarn for $7.


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## Kudzu (19/9/13)

Adr_0 said:


> That's probably about right for ~20°C, but will of course depend on temperature of the beer when you close the lid on the bottle (CO2 dissolved in the beer). I threw 14g in for a pils that had been lagering at 1°C as more CO2 was probably dissolved in the beer.
> 
> As has been shown above, there is a lot of flexibility to run slightly lower if you want to. The regulator permits you to do this, and it probably suits the pourer spout thingy to come out slightly slower (less foam). So don't be afraid of knocking off half a turn and only carbing to 2.1-2.3.


Wait a second, I thought the temperature variable in priming calculations was based on max temperature once primary is complete (or near complete).

i.e. if I finish fermenting an ale at 18C then chill to 1C, I still need to base my calculation on 18C as simply chilling the beer won't cause CO2 to be dissolved (unless it's under pressure).

Am I missing something?


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## barls (19/9/13)

had this argument before.
it depends on what you believe.
personally i believe that it will reabsorb some but it wont be a huge amount but may put your calculations out if your dont factor it in.

as the solubility of gas is affected by three things time, pressure and temp. 
adjusting one will result in a change of the solubility figure.

saying that it will only absorb whats in the headspace and then out of the atmosphere.


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## Bentnose (19/9/13)

From what I understand cold beer retains more CO2, I'm not an expert so I'm sure someone else will enlighten us further. Just going by what Promash is telling me.


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## Kudzu (19/9/13)

barls said:


> had this argument before.
> it depends on what you believe.
> personally i believe that it will reabsorb some but it wont be a huge amount but may put your calculations out if your dont factor it in.
> 
> ...


I would have thought it depended on science. Not that I'm claiming to know what the science is.


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## Diggs (19/9/13)

JustAdam said:


> Update to this, the barbed fitting to get to replace the MFL on the mini regulator is a 1/8 BSP male to 6mm tail. Apparently it is an air compressor part, so you can pick it up from a tool store that deals with them for a couple of bucks, or, so I am told from Autobarn for $7.


Legend, thanks. I'm going to give this conversion a run at some stage too.


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## Adr_0 (19/9/13)

Not wanting to prolong the OT-ness, but I figured I still had yeasties eating sugars after it had been at a warmer temperature, still generating alcohol and CO2.


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## Beerisyummy (19/9/13)

Adr_0 said:


> Not wanting to prolong the OT-ness, but I figured I still had yeasties eating sugars after it had been at a warmer temperature, still generating alcohol and CO2.


Totally agree with you in that regard. It is kind of off topic, but people need to work out their own priming rates depending on their own expected outcomes.
One size does not fit all.

I just thought I'd chime in with my recent TK adventures.

Today I returned my second head unit in as many days. The first one had a defect with the base plate and drip tray, and the replacement had no tap. Both were in boxes with no damage and the seals were intact.

Even the new one, which is working fine, has two of the TK logo disks in the pack. WTF? Poor form for a new product release.

I've got to say I would've been pretty pissed off if I didn't already have a modified unit that works.

Has anyone else had major problems with the units failing or being incomplete? I already know of a few others.


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## Mickcr250 (19/9/13)

Pretty sure that barb fitting should be jic not bsp thread


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## Beerisyummy (19/9/13)

Mickcr250 said:


> Pretty sure that barb fitting should be jic not bsp thread


Are you guys talking about the thread on the mini regulator that the 16g CO2 cartridges screw into?


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## keg guy (19/9/13)

Hi Guys,
The TK bottles are made with a blend of PET and Nylon on the inside and outsides surfaces with a layer of (just) nylon up the middle.If you can manage to sacrifice an empty, its possible to separate the layers at the just nylon junction.

This blend is the cause of the labels lifting the surface of the bottle when its removed, does not happen with just PET.

Adr_0, love you work on the various pressures from the on-board regulator.

As an experiment I filled a TK bottle with HB and using a cap with a new 12g CO2 bulb in place, attached this to a modified dispenser, one with the regulator outside, popped it in the fridge for a week to slow charge.
Tested after 7 days, got 2 perfect pours before it ran out of gas, we all know where it goes from here, slower and slower pours and flat beer.
What I did learn was that 16g is enough to not only carbonate these bottles but it should, in theory, dispense it as well.
May not be enough for the wheat beer lovers but for the rest of us, it may just work.
Time for some more fun testing the theory, where else can you get an education and an inebriation at the same time?

Food for thought,
The Keg Guy


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## Beerisyummy (20/9/13)

keg guy said:


> Hi Guys,
> The TK bottles are made with a blend of PET and Nylon on the inside and outsides surfaces with a layer of (just) nylon up the middle.If you can manage to sacrifice an empty, its possible to separate the layers at the just nylon junction.
> 
> This blend is the cause of the labels lifting the surface of the bottle when its removed, does not happen with just PET.
> ...


Holy moly Batman! I just cut one up to see what you meant KG.

You have to wonder if Loin Nathan have really made these bottles for one time use only. Once the pressure goes they seem to delaminate internally. Mission impossible style.





I guess time will tell if they'll hold up to HB use for very long. It'll be a damned shame if they don't.


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## Adr_0 (20/9/13)

The delamination is a bit crap, and I guess the bond may fail with temperature and pressure swings. It should be absolutely fine under pressure if it stays intact as any cracks/stresses will propagate in a hoop/circle around the bottle, rather than a long split to another weak point. These are forged after all.... 

I will have a play, admit it does throw the confidence off a bit if we can't just bash them around and treat them rough.


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## Adr_0 (20/9/13)

The delamination is a bit crap, and I guess the bond may fail with temperature and pressure swings. It should be absolutely fine under pressure if it stays intact as any cracks/stresses will propagate in a hoop/circle around the bottle, rather than a long split to another weak point. These are forged after all.... 

I will have a play, admit it does throw the confidence off a bit if we can't just bash them around and treat them rough.


----------



## Beerisyummy (20/9/13)

Fingers crossed it just acts like a bottle/ bag within a stronger outer bottle/casing.

I can see now that the nylon is used as a barrier, like in other bottles where PET alone absorbs the liquid. Pretty good fun pulling the guts out totally at least.


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## JustAdam (20/9/13)

Beerisyummy said:


> Are you guys talking about the thread on the mini regulator that the 16g CO2 cartridges screw into?


No, I'm talking about CO2 out on the mini reg. I remove the fitting that comes with it, and replace with a barb.


----------



## greg52 (20/9/13)

hi guys
i just filled TK with water and inserted a 12g soda bulb from ezychargers
it emptied 3.2L of the water and there was still gas left over.
it seems to me that this works well enough for me to start filling with hb.
i have just filled TK with HB and added 8 carbonating drops. will see how this goes in 2 weeks?


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## BenH (20/9/13)

JustAdam said:


> Update to this, the barbed fitting to get to replace the MFL on the mini regulator is a 1/8 BSP male to 6mm tail. Apparently it is an air compressor part, so you can pick it up from a tool store that deals with them for a couple of bucks, or, so I am told from Autobarn for $7.


Adam, can you post a picture of your fitting, as I thought the reg needed a MFL fitting not BSP?


----------



## pist (20/9/13)

Beerisyummy said:


> No probs! I've posted a few different methods and I'm still experimenting.
> 
> The next problem I've encountered with the TK is that the naturally carbed beer has too much sediment. I don't mind but it needs to please the average punter.
> 
> Who has force carbonated in the bottle?


Bugger the average punter, if they cant stand a bit of yeast...they dont deserve to drink decent beer lol.
I love it when people complain about that...more for me!


----------



## BenH (20/9/13)

BenH said:


> Adam, can you post a picture of your fitting, as I thought the reg needed a MFL fitting not BSP?


Wait, I see what you've done. Should have looked at the picture of the reg more closely. Thanks for the info Adam!


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## keg guy (20/9/13)

Hi Guys,
The TK bottles are made with added nylon because nylon has far better properties when it comes to oxygen and co2 movement. In short nylon will extend the shelf life of the beer inside.
A down side is the de lamination at the surface.

If sediment is an issue could you use a small elbow at the end of the pipe positioned to point up, or even soften the end of the tube with some heat and bend it up so it does not draw from the very bottom.
Just a thought, The Keg Guy


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## mrTbeer (20/9/13)

First time naturally carbonating in PET (normally glass or kegs or force-carbed TK)
I went 7g/L dex and after a week they're as hard as the hobs of hell! I hope that's normal?? 
Also stuff all head-space as the protruding chamber lid pushed out most of the air. 
If you don't hear from me again something went horribly wrong!


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## Beerisyummy (20/9/13)

mrTbeer said:


> First time naturally carbonating in PET (normally glass or kegs or force-carbed TK)
> I went 7g/L dex and after a week they're as hard as the hobs of hell! I hope that's normal??
> Also stuff all head-space as the protruding chamber lid pushed out most of the air.
> If you don't hear from me again something went horribly wrong!


I filled mine to just above the top of the flat part and gave each one a 19gram shot of castor sugar. 18c all the way from FV to TK bottle with San Fran lager yeast. They went hard pretty quickly, but were by no means overcarbed nor did they go boom.
If you think they're over cooked you could turn them upside down and let a little pressure go using just the tap spear.

And KG, I did think about doing that with the dip tube. The problem is that the bottle is on it's side and you'd have to leave it sitting the right way around for weeks to get a decent result.

Putting down a wheat beer tomorrow to see how it goes with that in a couple of weeks. It tastes wrong without the sediment, although I'll probably still force carb and just give it a swirl before filling the bottles.


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## Dave70 (20/9/13)

I've just been given a tap king by a mate tonite.
Is there a page here that tells me everything I need to know or are you assholes goning to make me trawl through 27 pages?


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## Beerisyummy (20/9/13)

Dave70 said:


> I've just been given a tap king by a mate tonite.
> Is there a page here that tells me everything I need to know or are you assholes goning to make me trawl through 27 pages?


What exactly would you like to know?
Look in the diy section for other threads.


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## Diggs (20/9/13)

Just emptying a Boags now, much prefer my own HB


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## Beerisyummy (20/9/13)

Stating the obvious mate!


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## keg guy (20/9/13)

Hi Beerisyummy, sorry if remarks sounded condescending, not my intent.
Would it be possible to extend the out let tube to allow dispensing with the bottle standing upright?
It may be necessary to extend the inner tube to avoid wastage, but it would allow up right storage and minimise disturbance to the sediment.
The Keg Guy


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## Diggs (20/9/13)

Beerisyummy said:


> Stating the obvious mate!


Actually when I started I'd have been happy to match a commercial brew! It's like I only had half a palette.


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## Hugh Jarse (20/9/13)

Diggs said:


> Just emptying a Boags now, much prefer my own HB



Same here with the Boags Diggs.

Load the bottle and a shit load of gas releases all around the side. Wish I had of worked on Beerisyummy's no tab mod today!

I do find it funny that I am drinking boags that has been bulk shipped to the mainland, bottled and then bought back to Tas...

Will bulk prime my Amber as normal for 750ml bottles and throw some in the empty TK bottles that I have and see how that goes.


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## Diggs (20/9/13)

Hugh Jarse said:


> Will bulk prime my Amber as normal for 750ml bottles and throw some in the empty TK bottles that I have and see how that goes.


Same here, got a Dr Smuto GA fermenting currently. Will bulk prime as per usual for bottles and full as many kegs as I have available.


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## Hugh Jarse (20/9/13)

Diggs said:


> Same here, got a Dr Smuto GA fermenting currently. Will bulk prime as per usual for bottles and full as many kegs as I have available.


Mine isn't a Dr Smurto. Saving his for my first AG batch.... Amber from Palmer's How to book..... Frothing at the mouth now


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## bum (20/9/13)

mrTbeer said:


> I've seen 1 bottle delaminate and distort with hot tap water. But I've also put 2 bottles through dishwasher and they came out fine.


Everyone please link to this post when morons post advice about how good using the dishwasher is for "sanitising" bottles.


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## pressure_tested (20/9/13)

dave70, my understanding is that the easiest and proven method is:

Buy 2mm triangle screwdriver eBay $2-3
Buy 12 gram mosa unthreaded co2 from ezy chargers. About $20 for 10 including shipping or cheaper if you buy bulk.

Unscrew the lid. Take out old co2 bottle. Get the pin that pierces the co2 (it will be stuck In the old one) and replace it into the obvious spot that it came from.
Put in a fresh co2.
Close the lid and screw back together.

Put your homebrew and priming sugar in there. 

Seal lid tight

2 weeks later drink it cold


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## Dogshampoo (20/9/13)

pressure_tested said:


> dave70, my understanding is that the easiest and proven method is:
> Buy 2mm triangle screwdriver eBay $2-3
> Buy 12 gram mosa unthreaded co2 from ezy chargers. About $20 for 10 including shipping or cheaper if you buy bulk.
> Unscrew the lid. Take out old co2 bottle. Get the pin that pierces the co2 (it will be stuck In the old one) and replace it into the obvious spot that it came from.
> ...


Only thing I would add is when in screwing be very careful of o rings , as they stretch and break easy,unheard 2 broken, 2 good ,


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## Beerisyummy (22/9/13)

bum, on 20 Sept 2013 - 11:04 PM, said:

"Everyone please link to this post when morons post advice about how good using the dishwasher is for "sanitising" bottles".


Hi Bum, I get the point you're trying to make, but this post you speak of is quite good. I'll be stuffed if I'm ever going to put stuff in the dishwasher to sanitise it, and I'll be stuffed if I remember this being implied in the post you quoted.

Which post number was it?

This post illustrates something about the way the bottles are made, and how they behave when heat is applied. From my limited experience of playing around with these for a few weeks, I have seen how there is poor adhesion between the PET and Nylon parts of the bottle.


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## Adr_0 (22/9/13)

Beerisyummy said:


> bum, on 20 Sept 2013 - 11:04 PM, said:
> 
> "Everyone please link to this post when morons post advice about how good using the dishwasher is for "sanitising" bottles".
> 
> ...


My spidey troll senses are tingling...

There should be no need to put water warmer than ambient in these bad-boys - either a touch of 1:50-1:80 bleach if you are really concerned then follow up with a rinse and Starsan, or just rinse and Star-san.

If the fittings (CO2, nozzles, screws, o-rings etc) go through one or two uses, soak the lot in a container full of PBW.


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## Diggs (22/9/13)

Dogshampoo said:


> Only thing I would add is when in screwing be very careful of o rings , as they stretch and break easy,unheard 2 broken, 2 good ,


Any word on replacements for the o ring (apart from another bottle)? Broken 1 out of three.


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## Dogshampoo (22/9/13)

Diggs said:


> Any word on replacements for the o ring (apart from another bottle)? Broken 1 out of three.


Either take to burning or a plumbing shop, they will have for sure,


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## Beerisyummy (23/9/13)

> Any word on replacements for the o ring (apart from another bottle)? Broken 1 out of three.


Which o rings are you guys breaking?


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## Dave70 (23/9/13)

pressure_tested said:


> dave70, my understanding is that the easiest and proven method is:
> 
> Buy 2mm triangle screwdriver eBay $2-3
> Buy 12 gram mosa unthreaded co2 from ezy chargers. About $20 for 10 including shipping or cheaper if you buy bulk.
> ...


Cheers mate.
I actually plan on decanting already carbed beer in from the keg to begin with. 
It's really more for a mate who's prepared to shell out for the ingredients if I supply him a few refills per batch. Good thing is he's a big wheat beer fan.

Wheat
Pills
Hallertau
3068
Two weeks

_Bang! _

Sweet.


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## pressure_tested (23/9/13)

Yeah I'm also curious about the o ring breakages. I have changed over three 12g mosa cartiridges without any noticiable issues. Have I been lucky or am I potentially breaking them and not noticing? Have not been overly careful or gentle


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## driftdaddy (23/9/13)

pressure_tested said:


> Yeah I'm also curious about the o ring breakages. I have changed over three 12g mosa cartiridges without any noticiable issues. Have I been lucky or am I potentially breaking them and not noticing? Have not been overly careful or gentle


I'm yet to notice any o ring breakages and I've re-filled and changed the cartridges on more than 12 bottles now....


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## Diggs (23/9/13)

Beerisyummy said:


> Which o rings are you guys breaking?





Beerisyummy said:


> Which o rings are you guys breaking?


I broke the white nylon looking one that sits between the lid and cap of the bottle - approx 3mm thick and diameter of the top of the bottle.


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## Beerisyummy (23/9/13)

Wow,you must be doing something nasty to them.


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## Captain Morgan (24/9/13)

I've blown the little black o ring that is visible from the outside of the lid on the top of the cartridge adapter. I re-primed the keg and put it back on the shelf to see how it goes. I'll have to source those o rings and replace them.


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## Diggs (25/9/13)

Beerisyummy said:


> Wow,you must be doing something nasty to them.


Well unless just opening it (as in the bottle, haven't even gotten around to taking lid apart yet!) is nasty, no!


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## Captain Morgan (25/9/13)

Two little black o'rings in a row now. Thats a tad annoying! I'm having to try and re-carb the kegs and hope that infection etc doesnt take hold. 

I've replaced the co2 but have yet to find replacement o rings. Admittedly, I havent looked yet tho


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## Beerisyummy (25/9/13)

> Two little black o'rings in a row now. Thats a tad annoying! I'm having to try and re-carb the kegs and hope that infection etc doesnt take hold.
> 
> I've replaced the co2 but have yet to find replacement o rings. Admittedly, I havent looked yet tho


Just go into a Bunnings and buy an o ring kit. $2.50 for a heap of them in different sizes. It may also help if you get your self some lube to reduce wear and tear.

I'm still not sure why your breaking them though. Are they slipping out of the groove and down the adapter collar?




> Well unless just opening it (as in the bottle, haven't even gotten around to taking lid apart yet!) is nasty, no!


Well that sucks! I wonder if some beer was spilled during filling and stuck the two parts together. Maybe a little lube would help in this case as well.
That o ring seems to be pretty tough on the bottles I've pulled apart so far.

Another couple of weeks and I can make up a povo CPBF for the Tap King bottles. I do like being able to pour a few beers at my desk of an evening.

Enjoy your night guys!


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## Captain Morgan (25/9/13)

Beerisyummy said:


> It may also help if you get your self some lube to reduce wear and tear.


That's what all the girls say!


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## Captain Morgan (25/9/13)

Beerisyummy said:


> Are they slipping out of the groove and down the adapter collar?


They seem to come out of the tap stretched when I empty a keg. Having said that, It was my old tap that was doing that to them and I'm convinced there was an issue with that one from the start. I'll grab a bunnings o'ring pack and see how it goes. Thanks!


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## lael (26/9/13)

mrTbeer said:


> Here's my hack in pictures using 16g bulbs. I had some lying around for my bike.
> MFL fitting ($2.50), 6mm hose (had it?), stainless clip ($1), 4mm hose and plastic (TK $23), mini-regulator ($39)
> 
> 1.Remove 2.Drill 3.Assemble 4.Pour
> ...


That is awesome. Where / how much are the 16gram bulbs? How many bottles are you able to pour from one?
Where do you get the hose and plastic and stainless clips from?

Thanks!


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## barls (26/9/13)

Adr_0 said:


> Hi guys,
> 
> I just took Beerisyummy's starting point and decided to record the pressure by adjusting the regulator.
> 
> ...


just a quick one is plus clockwise on the reg looking from the top or bottom.


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## Kudzu (26/9/13)

lael said:


> That is awesome. Where / how much are the 16gram bulbs? How many bottles are you able to pour from one?
> Where do you get the hose and plastic and stainless clips from?
> 
> Thanks!


I got mine from this fellow. Though brand was RavX then, which are food grade according to their website. He seems to be selling X-tech now, which I can't find information on (didn't look that hard). Though he does say brand may vary, so probably worth sending a message before purchasing if you're concerned about such things.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/CO2-CARTRIDGE-16G-THREADED-BICYCLE-INFLATOR-PUMP-50-PAK-/370556724679?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_15&hash=item5646e6e5c7&_uhb=1

Haven't set mine up yet, so not sure but I read somewhere you get close to two pre-carbed bottles from one bulb, or you could carb and dispense one bottle.

Haven't got hose and clips yet, but I think Bunning's should have them, or get some beer and gas line from a HBS.


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## Beerisyummy (27/9/13)

> just a quick one is plus clockwise on the reg looking from the top or bottom.


Righty tighty, lefty loosy!

It's just like a normal regulator. Turn the knob clockwise while looking down on it, or facing it, or holding it your hand, or whatever. As it tightens down you'll hear the extra gas releasing into the bottle to bring the pressure up. Pretty sure you'll need to give the tap a quick blast to relieve any excess pressure if you go the other way.


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## barls (27/9/13)

just wanted to check, they do some strange things sometimes.


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## Adr_0 (27/9/13)

Beerisyummy said:


> Righty tighty, lefty loosy!
> 
> It's just like a normal regulator. Turn the knob clockwise while looking down on it, or facing it, or holding it your hand, or whatever. As it tightens down you'll hear the extra gas releasing into the bottle to bring the pressure up. Pretty sure you'll need to give the tap a quick blast to relieve any excess pressure if you go the other way.





barls said:


> just wanted to check, they do some strange things sometimes.


Yeah exactly. Just reach in with a nikko to make a mark on the cap and the base of the white plastic knob and then snip off the locking catch thingy. When you adjust, picture yourself doing it from the top looking down... and also picture yourself skipping merrily through a field of hops, throwing delicious German malts up into the air while skillful and asset-rich ladies bring you litres of delicious O'fest.

If you're into that sort of thing.

On a less serious note, I will probably redo the measurements to make sure they are 100% accurate and use the hexagon pattern on the top as a reference. But if you take the adjustments I made there is not much error in terms of psig, so you should be able to line that up with temperature and get your volumes fairly consistent.

Good luck...


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## Guysmiley54 (1/10/13)

Just opened up my first one to clean and managed to lose one of the little springs down the sink! Can you run with just one? Would you put it on the beer side and leave the gas valve off?

What do you think guys?


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## barls (1/10/13)

pull the trap on the sink and get it back.
you need it.


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## Guysmiley54 (1/10/13)

Don't like my chances... Dishes from dinner have been done already and that spring is tiny. Reckon it has been well washed away by now 

I wonder where you can buy springs from...


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## Beerisyummy (1/10/13)

> I wonder where you can buy springs from...


BWS, Dan Murphy's, First Choice and any of the other big ones. They come in pack of two or four with bonus beer included.


----------



## lael (1/10/13)

how much of the lid needs to be dismantled and cleaned each time?


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## MastersBrewery (1/10/13)

lael said:


> how much of the lid needs to be dismantled and cleaned each time?


If you were filling with carbed beer to be drunk in the next few hours I suggest a quick rinse then soak with star san, otherwise if it's in there for weeks to prime etc, I go the lot


----------



## lael (3/10/13)

Thanks Masters. What are you using to clean them? Any delamination yet?


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## Rocker1986 (8/10/13)

I finally got around to buying one of these things today, just got the JS Golden Ale (best of a bad bunch I guess..) anyway, from having a quick look at it, it seems to be a pretty simple process of removing the lid, replacing the canister, filling with beer and carbing it, then when done chilling and fitting to the dispenser like a new one. Is that right or am I missing anything? Do I have to dismantle anything on the dispenser as well?


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## Dogshampoo (8/10/13)

Only thing ur missing rocker is to clean before you refil with beer, it's that simple!


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## Rocker1986 (8/10/13)

Cheers mate! Now just to get through this bloody way too sweet beer.. and order some CO2 canisters h34r:


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## Guysmiley54 (9/10/13)

I am having a shocking time trying to get mine to work!!

I bought the 12gm bulbs from ezcharger and they fit great. When I put in a bottle with water for testing, it strikes and the gas seems to seal well. It's the liquid side I can't seem to seal... Water Is coming out of the top of the fitting. The big white oring is in place and the bottle and screws are done up super tight.

What am I missing here? Anyone else had a similar problem?


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## Guysmiley54 (9/10/13)

I've tried disassembling and reassembling the lid assembly, different bottles, different lids, the last run I tried was with a "virgin" bottle and lid literally very minimal touching except to change the cartridge. How do I get it water tight?


----------



## pressure_tested (9/10/13)

This is making me nervous. I've got my first 3 tap king bottles carbonating as we speak. Hope they dont leak!


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## Beerisyummy (10/10/13)

You'd know about it if they were leaking by now. My naturally carbed bottles were hard as rocks after a day or two.

I'm sure the leaking bottles are caused by incorrect reassembly. Maybe the valves are upside down or the neck o ring isn't seated fully.
without seeing it in person it's hard to say.

Where exactly is the liquid coming from?


----------



## pist (10/10/13)

Beerisyummy said:


> You'd know about it if they were leaking by now. My naturally carbed bottles were hard as rocks after a day or two.
> 
> I'm sure the leaking bottles are caused by incorrect reassembly. Maybe the valves are upside down or the neck o ring isn't seated fully.
> without seeing it in person it's hard to say.
> ...


x1 my refilled bottles are also hard as a rock, if its leaking you havent put it back together properly. Absolutely verything that comes out of the lid needs to go back in the way it come out...and well cleaned and sanitized.


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## Guysmiley54 (10/10/13)

Ok,

I'm having some progress over here. I have been looking at the lid assembly (I have 4 to play with) and noticing that all but one of of the clear parts (with the tube that holds the gas bulb) is warped. When cleaning the empties, I was very careful not to use hot water on the bottles as I read that they will melt easily. I was not so careful with the lids  I used sodium percarbonate and boiling water to soak the entire lid assembly (except for one which I had already cleaned seperately when I emptied the beer from it. The others I got from a mate in one go)

Here's a pic of one of the batch that got the boiling water:







After using the only part that wasn't warped, I managed to get it to seal and the bottle got rock hard with the gas. Happy days  Still not a 100% success as when I pressed the tap only the gas came out. The plastic tube was attached to the lid and everything seemed in place but no liquid at all came out of the tap itself.

I will come back to this experiment later as I am getting sick of it for now  I am also stripping the heads of the triangle screws by using s 2mm flathead screwdriver. I have a triangular tool coming in the mail (hopefully) soon.


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## Beerisyummy (10/10/13)

So it was good old sexy fingers and the boiling water in the end. 

Glad you got that one sorted. A good warning post for others as well.

Try a small allen key instead of the screwdriver. I can't remember the size I was using but it worked fine.


----------



## zeggie (10/10/13)

Been reading this thread keenly. Worth modding the Tapking or should I buy a system like this http://www.liquorcraft.com.au/afawcs0133827/CATID=0/SUBID=455/ID=6996/SID=484939048/productdetails.html?


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## barls (10/10/13)

zeggie said:


> Been reading this thread keenly. Worth modding the Tapking or should I buy a system like this http://www.liquorcraft.com.au/afawcs0133827/CATID=0/SUBID=455/ID=6996/SID=484939048/productdetails.html?


search tap a boom or tap a draft for feed back on the system you linked

Personally it would be cheaper with the tap king I think


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## Guysmiley54 (10/10/13)

Is it better to have sexy fingers in your end or boiling water? Depends how long your fingernails are I suppose 



So it was good old sexy fingers and the boiling water in the end. 

Glad you got that one sorted. A good warning post for others as well.

Try a small allen key instead of the screwdriver. I can't remember the size I was using but it worked fine.


----------



## jorni (10/10/13)

Guysmiley54 said:


> Ok,
> 
> I'm having some progress over here. I have been looking at the lid assembly (I have 4 to play with) and noticing that all but one of of the clear parts (with the tube that holds the gas bulb) is warped. When cleaning the empties, I was very careful not to use hot water on the bottles as I read that they will melt easily. I was not so careful with the lids  I used sodium percarbonate and boiling water to soak the entire lid assembly (except for one which I had already cleaned seperately when I emptied the beer from it. The others I got from a mate in one go)
> 
> ...


Might be a silly question, but did you reassemble the unit as shown in your picture? You have to put the black cap on first before putting back the screws.


----------



## Beerisyummy (10/10/13)

Midas had the golden touch. We all have sexy fingers once in a while.
Fingers crossed I'm good for now.

I just filled a bottle with a pale wheat beer. It'll be interesting to see how a highly carbed beer goes.

To force carb or to naturally carb?


----------



## jimmyboy_101 (11/10/13)

Beerisyummy said:


> You'd know about it if they were leaking by now. My naturally carbed bottles were hard as rocks after a day or two.
> 
> I'm sure the leaking bottles are caused by incorrect reassembly. Maybe the valves are upside down or the neck o ring isn't seated fully.
> without seeing it in person it's hard to say.
> ...



I had this issue when i refilled mine last night! Turns out i had misplaced 2 circular rubber seal pads that springs push the white plastic "cups" against when the unit isnt pouring,

I lost mine when i was cleaning them, fairly sure they have gone down the sink. but luckily i could remove them from another lid! When i get home ill take some photos. Hopefully ive still got a set of seals in one of the heads. 


I had some issues last night but it was just murphy hanging around being a prick.

First i broke my T6H torx bit so had to rush down to bunnings to replace it. Then i misplaced the rubber seal pads and had a nice fountain moment in my kitchen (dont tell the missus). then the barb broke and i had to pull it apart again to replace it. All practice though I got really good at pulling it apart and putting it back together. My pro tip is have another head for spare parts incase you break something

And now i have a delicious Apple, Pear and Honey Cider in the fridge


----------



## OneEye (11/10/13)

So I lost the white bit from mine down the sink also, talented bunch of lads we are! 

I'm missing the white bit from the gas side but I've modded my TK to use an external reg and gas source. Will this still be a problem? What does that gas side spring do anyway (the one with the blue cap in the bottom)?


----------



## Beerisyummy (11/10/13)

The blue bit is a non return valve for the gas. 
The unit may still work in your situation.


----------



## craigr (11/10/13)

Can anyone point me to the Moss 12g CO2 bottles from Ezychargers? I can only find LISS ones http://www.ezychargers.com.au/product_info.php?products_id=544.
Or can anyone confirm whether or not these LISS ones fit/work to replace the cartridge in the TK bottle?

I've got a Belgian Ale fermenting ATM that I want to trail in these TK bottles.


----------



## Rocker1986 (11/10/13)

It appears the unthreaded ones aren't on there at the moment. I found them the other day and placed an order for a box of ten, so they do sell them. I don't know about the Liss ones, haven't seen them mentioned on this thread as yet.


----------



## jimmyboy_101 (11/10/13)

Shoot em an email they are probably out of stock at the moment


----------



## Beerisyummy (11/10/13)

Liss, Mosa. They are the same thing from different companies.

Just go to your local hospitality store and make some mods to use the standard 8g bulbs. 

Why bother dealing with Ezychargers? Duck Fat!


----------



## Beerisyummy (12/10/13)

> Might be a silly question, but did you reassemble the unit as shown in your picture? You have to put the black cap on first before putting back the screws.


That's quite funny!

At first I thought it was a silly question. Then I realised that the plastic plates don't just sit there like that normally without screws to hold the springs down.

That is one seriously F'ed TK bottle head unit.


----------



## willmaxi (14/10/13)

Hi, I'm only new to home brewing but have just bottled 'some tap king bottles.

I fitted them out with new c02 cartridges, hopefully it works. 

Greg


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## jimmyboy_101 (15/10/13)

Another piece of advise, 

Make sure the syphon tube is pointed downwards when you put it all back together. Mine is at the top of the keg which obviously doesnt work to well. 

Not a massive drama, just need to prop the keg up a bit but still would be better if it was down the bottom


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## mattyc (20/10/13)

There has been mention of LISS carts and so I took a bit of a look.

The attached shows the 12g (use third column) in four different guises. I didn't email the Co yet but I think I might......

Sod it, just emailed them anyway. Also, if you take a look at the chart there are weights and other measurements that may tell us which ones Ezychargers is selling......




Edit: Email and stuff


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## Rocker1986 (22/10/13)

The Mosa ones I ordered from there arrived last week, compared the shape of the neck to the original one from the TK and they are pretty much exactly the same. Unfortunately they didn't arrive in time for me to bottle my latest brew into the TK bottle but will be putting some of the current batch fermenting in there.


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## primusbrew (28/10/13)

Thanks to everyone for the info on how to reuse the Tap King. Has anyone had any success with the Liss cartridges yet? Ezychargers still seem to be out of the unthreaded Mosa ones.


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## barls (28/10/13)

Plenty of experience here using the 8g cartridges. Poured one on the weekend and plenty of gas also cheaper


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## FreeBaseBuzz (31/10/13)

So, has anyone used the 12g Liss cartridges from ezycharges yet? I'm assuming they are the same size as the ones that come with the tapking, but was hoping to get a confirmation before ordering a couple boxes from ezychargers.


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## driftdaddy (31/10/13)

barls said:


> Plenty of experience here using the 8g cartridges. Poured one on the weekend and plenty of gas also cheaper
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


Sorry if this has been covered already, but how are you mounting the 8g cartridges in the TK head?


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## barls (31/10/13)

In the thread entitled. 8g cartridges in the tap king. Sorry can't post a link as can't figure out how to do it in tap talk


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## FreeBaseBuzz (31/10/13)

In the thread entitled. 8g cartridges in the tap king. Sorry can't post a link as can't figure out how to do it in tap talk

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Its at Using-8g-CO2-soda-bulbs-in-your-Tap-King

From taptalk. Hit ... then webview, then hit the link at the bottom right, then open in safari..



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## barls (31/10/13)

Cool knew it was somewhere just hadn't used it


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## FreeBaseBuzz (31/10/13)

Hi guys,

I just took Beerisyummy's starting point and decided to record the pressure by adjusting the regulator.

I have butchered my head a fair bit, so hacking it up further was no issue. I basically cut off the retaining latch, leaving the adjuster cap free to rotate. This should probably be hot-glued in place if you wish to set up a head for lagers/pale ales and one for English beers.

So, we have the following:

+0.25 turn - 100kPag
0 turn - 78kPag
-0.25 turn - 60kPag
-0.5 turn - ~45kPag
-1 turn - 20kPag

At 3°C serving temp, we have the following:
+0.25 turn - 100kPag --> 2.8volCO2
0 turn - 78kPag --> 2.5
-0.25 turn - 60kPag --> 2.3
-0.5 turn - ~45kPag - 2.1vol
-1 turn - 20kPag --> 1.7vol CO2

Two things I'm going to next find out: if it's comfortable in the 3-3.5vol range for wheats, etc; and if further restriction needs to be put in the little hose bit on the tap (e.g. 3mm tube) to slow it down at higher carbonation. Even at the existing carbonation it might help?

PS - not sure what the maximum pressure of these units would be. The regulator will obviously be ok, and pretty sure the bottles would be fine with a couple of hundred kPag, but not sure if there is a weak spot somewhere.

Enjoy...


To ask a really silly question... Which way is down? Clockwise? Or Counterclockwise?


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## barls (31/10/13)

I asked the same question. The answer was about three post after where you got the info from. 
Below is what it was


Righty tighty, lefty loosy!

It's just like a normal regulator. Turn the knob clockwise while looking down on it, or facing it, or holding it your hand, or whatever. As it tightens down you'll hear the extra gas releasing into the bottle to bring the pressure up. Pretty sure you'll need to give the tap a quick blast to relieve any excess pressure if you go the other way.


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## mattyc (10/11/13)

Captain Morgan said:


> Two little black o'rings in a row now. Thats a tad annoying! I'm having to try and re-carb the kegs and hope that infection etc doesnt take hold.
> 
> I've replaced the co2 but have yet to find replacement o rings. Admittedly, I havent looked yet tho


I've just finished my first refill and noticed something once I got the bottle out. 





This is what a "good" one looks like, AFAIK... Yes it's dirty, No I haven't cleaned it yet!! 






This is what's happened to one of the bottles prior to my reusing it. I'm hoping that I can just re-roll the o-ring up into the correct position......





And this is what the one I've just finished looks like.

Any thoughts from the masses?

Chargers were Liss brand, no extra lube used, no loss of pressure whilst inserted (like that doesn't sound bad!!)

And what sort of lube should I be getting? (flame suit on and skin thickening in progress!! Dear Lord, even that sounds bad!  )


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## pist (11/11/13)

MatttyC, it's likely that one is now stretched and will need replacing, or your gas will end up leaking out as soon as you pierce it. I've had similar issues with the O-rings, it seems a bit hit and miss as to whether or not you can reuse them without replacing the O-Rings. This seems to vary between units too from what I can see, as some people have reported issues with this, and others have had none. 

Do yourself a favour, and mod it to run an external reg/gas cylinder/bulbs. They are real easy to pull apart and just as easy to put back together. It didnt take me long to get frustrated with this, and have since hooked up a sodastream cylinder and keg king reg. Im thinking this cylinder is prob going to last me a while too...ive done 5 or 6 bottles on it so far and the cylinder pressure gauge has not moved from its original position.

This is my TK unit, the external bottle makes life so much easier, especially when changing between differenty beer styles, you can dial in your pouring pressure to suit. It's also much easier to get replacement cylinders too, most woolies/coles/big w/Kmart that retail sodastream products will have them:


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## Bentnose (12/11/13)

I found the o ring would be shagged out when the bottle is taken off, in all cases the o ring has returned back to its normal size. Their size seems to be dependant on temperature or something, after a good wash and reassemble a few days later they've always been back to normal. Strangely I was given bottles were the o ring was shagged out, after a full dismantle of the head and wash in hot water, the o ring had returned to normal size by the next day. I've got 16 bottles and no issues so far.


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## FreeBaseBuzz (12/11/13)

according to the post below, the o-ring becomes saturated with gas. Thats what could be happening here

http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/75424-using-8g-co2-soda-bulbs-in-your-tap-king/?p=1090193



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## Rocker1986 (14/11/13)

I just bottled some of my latest batch into my TK bottle, and I noticed when I inverted it that a tiny drip of beer escaped through the hole where the beer line comes from inside the bottle. Will this mean that it isn't sealed completely and therefore won't carb in the bottle? Is the "lid over the lid" when you first buy them some sort of seal against it de-gassing? There weren't any leaks anywhere else in it, just from that hole. :unsure:


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## barls (14/11/13)

No leaks at any of mine that I refilled


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## Beerisyummy (15/11/13)

My guess would be a missing spring or valve in the lid causing the problem.

The only real use for the top cover is to keep muck out of the beer/gas connections.
They are also good for labelling I suppose.


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## Rocker1986 (15/11/13)

Hmm. Well I know there was no missing parts anywhere. I put the two springs in their holes in the part that holds the CO2 canister and put those little plastic things on top and then put the top section over this and pushed down to keep it in place. Maybe I put those plastic things in the wrong way around. I had them in so that the smaller end went into the springs and the larger end facing up. Is that right or does the large end go into the springs? I can't remember which way they were when I took it apart.


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## Beerisyummy (15/11/13)

Sounds like you got it right.
I think maybe something like a hair could cause the same problem. 

Worst case you'll have to by a fresh bottle.


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## Rocker1986 (15/11/13)

Fair enough. Oh well I guess I'll just have to wait and see whether the bottle goes hard over the next week or two and figure it out then. I'm close to Dans so getting a new bottle won't be a problem... drinking the crap in it might be though. :lol:


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## Rocker1986 (15/11/13)

Actually, I take all that back. The bottle is already feeling harder than when I filled it yesterday, tried the invert test again and this time no leaks anywhere. I'm thinking that little drip yesterday might have just been a bit of sanitizer that I sprayed on it prior to filling.


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## redbeard (16/11/13)

Woolworths opp Town Hall Syd have the head unit for $16.50 (1st floor).


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## LarryNobb (23/11/13)

This is nicely said! !

my webpage: ผ้ากันเปื้อน


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## Bridges (24/11/13)

I Was in liqourland Wangaratta yesterday they were selling a heap of the tap king bottles at 50% off. 10 bucks for the crappier beers per bottle and 18 bucks for the golden ale or boags premium. They must not be moving as well as lion hoped. At least in Wangaratta anyhow. Haven't seen this elsewhere, not that I've looked.


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## primusbrew (26/11/13)

The ezy chargers website has some new 12g CO2 chargers up. http://www.ezychargers.com.au/product_info.php?cPath=51&products_id=583

Apparently they are the exact same as the ones that come in the Tap King bottles: _"Ezychargers CO2 chargers food grade are filled with 100% pure CO2. This is the same charger, made by the same manufacture for the Tap King system. Ideal for re-gassing your Tap King for your home brew."_

I have just placed an order.


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## Bentnose (26/11/13)

primusbrew said:


> The ezy chargers website has some new 12g CO2 chargers up. http://www.ezychargers.com.au/product_info.php?cPath=51&products_id=583
> 
> Apparently they are the exact same as the ones that come in the Tap King bottles: _"Ezychargers CO2 chargers food grade are filled with 100% pure CO2. This is the same charger, made by the same manufacture for the Tap King system. Ideal for re-gassing your Tap King for your home brew."_
> 
> I have just placed an order.


I just ordered 100 of them.


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## bradsbrew (3/12/13)

At $9.50 I might just stock up on a few of these bottles, tip the contents into a keg then refill with homebrew for Chrissy parties and the lids are new .


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## suchidog (3/12/13)

Wow has anyone seen this stuff going cheap in Townsville? I have looked around without success


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## Bridges (4/12/13)

I saw them cheap in liqourland, the stickers on bradsbrew's one is a liqourland sticker. I'd start at liqourland.


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## bradsbrew (4/12/13)

The ones I grabbed are past their best by date.


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## bradsbrew (4/12/13)

Just got 2 boxes of 2 for $17.50 a box, yep $8.75 for 3.2L bottle. Silly thing is I just paid $5.20 for a schooner at the bar with dinner. The guy at the bottlo was adamant that I need a tap unit to use the bottles. I was so close to showing him that It is just a big stubbie and the lid comes off easily, but I will wait until I grab a few more bottles on Friday before heading home.


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## Rocker1986 (5/12/13)

Well my first foray into using home brew in these things was mostly a success. I did have a couple of minor issues, firstly even though the bottle was rock hard, the beer wasn't very carbonated. Secondly, it did start to spring a bit of a leak through the CO2 canister hole, nothing dramatic and the bottle didn't really lose any hardness. I'm wondering if this was due to too much pressure buildup, though my priming rate for the batch only worked out at about 16g in the TK bottle, a bit over 5g/L.
But next time I use it I am gonna try chilling down and carefully pouring already carbed beer into it and sealing it up, sticking it in the fridge for half an hour or so to get it back to fridge temp then hooking it up to the dispenser to see how that method goes.


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## pressure_tested (5/12/13)

Has anyone had issues with it just dispensing foam after the first couple of beers? I'm using 12g Mosa with all original packaging - just replaced the co2.
Could be that my beer is not very clear and it's clogging the unit?


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## barls (5/12/13)

Did you adjust the reg.



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## Beerisyummy (5/12/13)

> Has anyone had issues with it just dispensing foam after the first couple of beers? I'm using 12g Mosa with all original packaging - just replaced the co2.
> Could be that my beer is not very clear and it's clogging the unit?


I would be looking at temperature and carbonation levels. It sounds like you over carbed the beer as that's pretty much what happens with a normal keg.

Like Barls said, you can adjust the reg to help reduce the foaming. Another trick would be to back the reg right back, turn the on it's head and degas the bottle using the tap. Once you've done that you should be able to give it a shake and get some of the CO2 out of solution.


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## Rocker1986 (5/12/13)

Never had that problem with mine. In fact because the beer was lowly carbed it actually poured a rather creamy head, similar to what you get on a Guinness from the tap. Wasn't complaining about that! Being an English style ale the lower carb level suited it too. Though I would have preferred a bit more carbonation than there was.


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## pressure_tested (5/12/13)

It's literally spitting out a bit of foam only. No beer. (I know the foam is beer but this is so far from liquid). I might try the reg but didn't want to break it apart. I might try that other suggestion as well.
It's possible it's over carbed. Pouring at fridge temps and carbonated 2 weeks with 8 carb drops. (Bulk priming has never worked well for me because I'm impatient.)

Same thing happened to my friend who I gave one from the same batch.


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## Beerisyummy (5/12/13)

pressure_tested said:


> It's literally spitting out a bit of foam only. No beer. (I know the foam is beer but this is so far from liquid). I might try the reg but didn't want to break it apart. I might try that other suggestion as well.
> It's possible it's over carbed. Pouring at fridge temps and carbonated 2 weeks with 8 carb drops. (Bulk priming has never worked well for me because I'm impatient.)
> 
> Same thing happened to my friend who I gave one from the same batch.
> ...


If it's that over carbed I don't think the regulator trick will work very well. Better to do the upside down bottle trick.
By the sounds of it you may actually have an infected batch that has dropped well below the expected FG. Does it taste ok?

To access the regulator you can just cut/drill a hole in the top of the unit. There are plenty of pics in the various TK threads that show how.
I future you can avoid all this trouble and just do it the really impatient mans way. Force carb the bottle with a couple of bulbs.
There should be a step by step in my thread on using the 8gr bulbs.

In th


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## pressure_tested (5/12/13)

Thanks for your help. I just realised I've been a saying foam when I should be saying foam plus heaps of co2. Hence why I feel like it may have jammed.

That said, it does have a funny homebrew flavour that I don't usually get. Maybe diacetal or dms.


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## Beerisyummy (5/12/13)

pressure_tested said:


> Thanks for your help. I just realised I've been a saying foam when I should be saying foam plus heaps of co2. Hence why I feel like it may have jammed.
> 
> That said, it does have a funny homebrew flavour that I don't usually get. Maybe diacetal or dms.
> 
> ...


Could it be that the dip tub has come off?


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## barls (5/12/13)

I'm going with some hop matter partially blocking the nozzle 


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## Beerisyummy (5/12/13)

barls said:


> I'm going with some hop matter partially blocking the nozzle
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


I'd take you up on that bet if I could Barls!

I've got the real cause of the problem figured out now. It's a hard reality, one that we all have to deal with at some stage of our kegging/keglette careers.
Your keg is dry mate, and your probably quite pissed right now.
Yes, you feel like there should be more left, but that bastard tap just keeps on spewing forth foam and CO2. The proof is that you keep on trying to get more, when in fact, the keg is empty.

My advice is to avoid motor vehicles and heavy machinery for the next 24hrs. Spend the time brewing more beer and feel proud to have drained your first keg!


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## pressure_tested (5/12/13)

Guys I've worked it out and feel like a f wit.

I put the bottle standing upright and the beer comes out fine. Down the correct way and I get foam/co2

The fing beer line must be facing up. I was quite careful to do it the same way as it came put but perhaps I didn't tighten it as much when it was originally packed and therefor the line is not in the same position...


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## pressure_tested (5/12/13)

confirmed. I can see it with a torch. Sorry for wasting you time everybody!


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## Mattwa (5/12/13)

I won't lie, that gave me a good laugh!

Glad you worked it out, I was puzzled.


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## Beerisyummy (5/12/13)

pressure_tested said:


> confirmed. I can see it with a torch. Sorry for wasting you time everybody!


Never a waste of time. Now you can work on draining that keglette for real.

Maybe it would be a good idea for someone to start a TK for HB "problems and solutions" thread? Plenty of people on this site to help people along.


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## Bats (13/12/13)

I wonder if there could ever be a way to create a thread adapter to the Tap King bottles so they can be screwed straight into a soda stream unit for force carbonation.

Thoughts?


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## woodynet (16/1/14)

pist said:


> MatttyC, it's likely that one is now stretched and will need replacing, or your gas will end up leaking out as soon as you pierce it. I've had similar issues with the O-rings, it seems a bit hit and miss as to whether or not you can reuse them without replacing the O-Rings. This seems to vary between units too from what I can see, as some people have reported issues with this, and others have had none.
> 
> Do yourself a favour, and mod it to run an external reg/gas cylinder/bulbs. They are real easy to pull apart and just as easy to put back together. It didnt take me long to get frustrated with this, and have since hooked up a sodastream cylinder and keg king reg. Im thinking this cylinder is prob going to last me a while too...ive done 5 or 6 bottles on it so far and the cylinder pressure gauge has not moved from its original position.
> 
> This is my TK unit, the external bottle makes life so much easier, especially when changing between differenty beer styles, you can dial in your pouring pressure to suit. It's also much easier to get replacement cylinders too, most woolies/coles/big w/Kmart that retail sodastream products will have them:



Mate ! this is exactly what I want to do, can you or do you have a link that steps through the process ! would be a great Saturday Afternoon project ! please point us in the right direction on where to get the stuff ! cheers


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## ahmatti (6/2/14)

Hi all,

New to the home brew scene and have following this thread for abit..did me first bottles last light..well let youse know how it tastes..

thanks for info was a great help..cheers..


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## SixStar (16/5/14)

Hello fellow brewers,
Was just DM's and bought a twin pack of bottles and got the tap for free. Great deal! Can't wait to mod it.


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## fdsaasdf (29/5/14)

SixStar said:


> Hello fellow brewers,
> Was just DM's and bought a twin pack of bottles and got the tap for free. Great deal! Can't wait to mod it.


As did I, thought the 2x JS Pale Ale + a free dispenser for just under $50 was worth the cash, seeing as I'm expecting to destroy my original (2nd hand) dispenser with any further modding for home brew. Hope the store-bought pours well, if it doesn't then I guess I'll have to look forward to my home brew...


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## BadSeed (3/7/14)

Now free from liquorland. I got a couple today for some mates. It's legit.

Wasn't sure if it had been posted already, I searched and didn't find anything.

http://files.ozbargain.com.au/upload/76120/23751/image.jpg

Probably should have been the case from the start.


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## Bribie G (3/7/14)

Virtually give away the printer and make you pay through the nose for the ink.


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## Cube (6/7/14)

Bribie G said:


> Virtually give away the printer and make you pay through the nose for the ink.


I read on a tight ass website that you can refill the cartridge with your cum and ink mix. Your refill mileage may vary from s to xxl cartridge depending on other variables. Avoiding coffee helps true colours I think.


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## Barge (31/7/14)

I was about to fill some kegs with hb but the bloke at the hb shop reckons that lion have modified their design to make it impossible to reuse the kegs. 

Can anyone confirm that newly purchased kegs are different than the older ones?


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## barls (31/7/14)

mate your talking about something completely different. we are talking about these
http://www.tapking.com/agegate


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## Barge (2/8/14)

That's exactly what I'm talking about. Apparently the internal design was recently modified so that the kegs can't be refilled. As I have only purchased and taken apart newly purchased kegs/growlers/big arse bottles I have nothing to compare to.

I was hoping someone who has experience with tapking could comment on the differences (if any) between old and new kegs.


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## i-a-n (13/8/14)

Cube said:


> I read on a tight ass website that you can refill the cartridge with your cum and ink mix. Your refill mileage may vary from s to xxl cartridge depending on other variables. Avoiding coffee helps true colours I think.


That's really interesting. Does it work best with or without a vasectomy?

Or maybe it's these people.... 
http://m.yp.com/cumming-ga/mip/cumming-printing-17687606?a_r=0.0&business_id=17687606&c22=5&distance=0.34&geo_locations=San%2520Francisco%252C%2520CA&impression_id=78bb2670-0464-0132-4793-00163ee01f0b&link_type_id=1600&partnerid=OM-00&search_act=%2Fsearch&search_location=Cumming%2CGA&search_term=printer+ink+refill+cartridges&syn_request_id=7628e861-2ba2-4277-b062-2931d07567d7&transaction_id=9a19c97d-c68a-4cd6-8acb-75102ebc1b5a


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## OneEye (13/8/14)

Barge, if they've changed the bottles around then you might have to go down the route of modifying the head unit, which is what I had done from the start. Still working well.


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## barls (13/8/14)

havent noticed any difference on the bottles and ive been pulling them apart for a while now


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## Eagleburger (9/9/14)

https://www.facebook.com/tapkingdom/app_683900045018691


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## klangers (12/9/14)

If anyone wants a real good look at Tapking stuff let me know. Lion is a client of mine and I work on the line.


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## Dazzbrew (15/9/14)

When you bottle a batch of your homebrew into tap king bottles do you need to do anything special with the cap to avoid oxidation during storing before use? Arent there holes in it which need to be plugged? Or do you just reuse the cap as is?


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## barls (15/9/14)

i use as is.


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## klangers (18/9/14)

Dazzbrew said:


> When you bottle a batch of your homebrew into tap king bottles do you need to do anything special with the cap to avoid oxidation during storing before use? Arent there holes in it which need to be plugged? Or do you just reuse the cap as is?


Give it a good soak in sanitiser. If you're being particular about sanitation you should ensure the steriliser makes its way into the dip tube - and out again. When capped, you should also purge the dip tube by poking the beer port with something like a small screwdriver. This lets the air out of the tube and is what happens on the line itself after capping.


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## mattyg8 (22/9/14)

Where can you get the 2mm triangle screw drivers from?


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## TheBigD (22/9/14)

mattyg8 said:


> Where can you get the 2mm triangle screw drivers from?


make your own from an old screw driver and a grinder once there out replace with Phillips head screws


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## barls (22/9/14)

a 1.5mm allen key will take them out though i don't recommend doing all the time. just man up and buy the screwdriver on ebay its 4 bucks delivered. its a ta driver your after.


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## pist (22/9/14)

woodynet said:


> Mate ! this is exactly what I want to do, can you or do you have a link that steps through the process ! would be a great Saturday Afternoon project ! please point us in the right direction on where to get the stuff ! cheers


Woodynet, I got my sodastream adapter from craftbrewer.
Reg came from ebay, and the hose was just a reel of 6mm pvc hose from bunnings and you just need a hose clamp to fit round it.

http://www.tapkinghacked.info/ This link should help you get started.

Cheers


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## Dazzbrew (29/9/14)

Thanks guys, a mate at work got a tk for father's day and has just brought me in some bottles. Now I just need to buy a head unit.


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## Dazzbrew (7/11/14)

BWS Adamstown has head units for $16.50 at the moment, got one yesterday.


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## Barge (13/11/14)

Here's my modded unit with a sodastream cylinder. Works well, high WAF and beats bottling 30 tallies.


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## Johndec (2/12/14)

Went to my local Liquorland in Sydney yesterday. The have a special on. Any tap king bottle, the dispenser head and 2 schooner glasses for $35. I jumped at it as I basically got a spare head and 2 glasses for $7.

BTW, I cracked my first home brew filled tap king bottle today. Works perfectly


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## Barge (2/12/14)

Johndec said:


> BTW, I cracked my first home brew filled tap king bottle today. Works perfectly


Do you use cartridges or sodastream or other? Naturally carbonate or force carbonate?


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## Johndec (2/12/14)

Cartridge (bought a pack of 20) and just chucked 8 carbo drops in it. I looked at doing the full hack but as I keg, it's not really worth the effort. A 23 litre brew fits perfectly into 1 x 19L keg and a tap king bottle.


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## mattyc (17/12/14)

I have this mini reg:

Item: Premium Regulated CO2 Charger for 16g Bottles - Home Brew

URL: http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=281150299353&alt=web

What I would like to know is what adaptor would I need to be able to run a soda stream bottle to this reg? Or would I need another reg?


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## mattyg8 (22/4/15)

MattyC said:


> I have this mini reg:
> 
> Item: Premium Regulated CO2 Charger for 16g Bottles - Home Brew
> 
> ...


Did u ever find an adapter for this?


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## mattyc (18/1/17)

Haha, nope!! There is an adaptor further back through this thread, I'm just going to have to go back and find it. When I tried at the Maitland home brew store (where I bought the reg) they had no idea what I was talking about.

That all said, it appears that TK has dropped right off the boil, to the point I can't even find it any more?


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## huez (18/1/17)

Discontinued at least a year a go buddy


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## mattyc (29/1/17)

Figured that would happen when I agreed with the wife to ditch my bottles at moving time. 

That's what you get I suppose, I'll have to keep my eyes on gumtree and the likes. Otherwise it's onto full kegs (bugger, right?!)


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## barls (29/1/17)

one word
mini kegs


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## damoninja (29/1/17)

MattyC said:


> I'll have to keep my eyes on gumtree and the likes.


If by any chance you're in Adelaide I have a TK head, 3/4 bottles and some CO2 chargers.




MattyC said:


> Otherwise it's onto full kegs (bugger, right?!)


Check out the mini keg bulk buy. Prices on page 13. 
http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/93335-mini-keg-bulk-buy-mkiv/


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## carpedaym (26/2/17)

Excuse the x-post from Buy and Sell, but I'm selling my tap king set up, which has the CO2 regulator hack on it and 8 bottles.

I'm located in Murrumbeena, S/E suburbs of Melbourne.

See ad here: https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/1140288929


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