# 5l Mini Kegs



## Blackened (9/7/12)

Hey all, I'm planning a return to brewing after a long absence. I searched the forums but found no mention of anyone's experience with http://minikeg.net.au. 
Has anyone used these? What was your experience? I want to avoid a dedicated kegging setup ATM and also avoid bottling. I would empty one of these a month I reckon. Natural prime and maintain pressure with the bulb? Might even be worth making an adapter to suit a soda stream bottle. 
Money is an issue of course, as I have plenty more gear to buy yet!!
Cheers


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## Truman42 (9/7/12)

I too am interested in this as a cheap way to get started in kegging. The instructions seem straight forward enough.


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## benno1973 (9/7/12)

I like the idea of these for sours or small experimental batches. Would only be interested if they were reusable however, so not sure if they are one use or many?

EDIT: I see they are reusable, so that's good. To dispense with CO2 you need the party star tap at $95


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## Wolfy (9/7/12)

If you were heavily into beer that is usually keg-conditioned (ie: Real Ale) I'd suggest they could be useful.

However, for the $200 the initial setup costs (PARTY STAR DELUX CO2 TAP SYSTEM) which can hold 20L of beer, you could buy 2-4 Corny-kegs (40-80L beer), and a regulator, needing only need the CO2 bottle, lines and fittings, which IMHO would be a more suitable investment if your main aim is to avoid bottling beer. Otherwise you are out the $200, can only 'mini-keg' one batch at a time, and have to buy a full kegging setup which you will (most likely) want to do in the future anyway.


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## jbowers (9/7/12)

Look up tap-a-draft systems. Better, in my opinion.


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## Blackened (9/7/12)

But then there's a fridge, taps etc. I want to avoid the entire keg tech tree at the moment and focus on a RIMS setup. I'm more worried about how the minikeg setup works, does it dispense ok? Any standout problems? 
Kegging maybe one day. But not today LOL


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## Blackened (9/7/12)

jbowers said:


> Look up tap-a-draft systems. Better, in my opinion.



Ok I'll look it up thanks


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## crozdog (9/7/12)

buy bit burger kegs from dan's - drink em dry for the container.

Buy replacement bumps from minikeg.net.au modify the bungs - a schrader valve for the top & a bike tyre inflator for c02 (can upgrade to soda stream / paintball/ normal keg co2 later if you want). This guy used a presta valve instead of schrader - same same but different... http://justinview.com.au/2011/03/diy-mini-5l-keg-co2-system/

you can reuse the existing tap a couple of times but probably better to replace it with a modified bung, a couple of fittings and a MFL liquid ball lock disconnect with tap. Check this out http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...showtopic=59980

There is quite a bit of info here try goole using "mini keg site:www.aussiehomebrewer.com" B) or minikeg or ......

also http://forum.northernbrewer.com/viewtopic....=894776#p894776

beers

EDIT: forgot to mention - you can find the party star type taps / regs on evilbay for about half the cost of the party star ones.


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## Bada Bing Brewery (9/7/12)

Blackened - I understand your predicament, but I'm with Wolfy all the way - buy once and buy big. If you are going to be brewing long term you will not regret it.
Cheers
BBB


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## Blackened (9/7/12)

jbowers said:


> Look up tap-a-draft systems. Better, in my opinion.



Ok so I've just had a look at this system. Cheaper and I like the fact that you can put a lid back on and tap another different one before finishing off the first. That seems to be a drawback of the keg design? Not sure though. I'm worried about the plastic's oxygen permeability for longer term storage though. I don't expect to get through a batch in a hurry and would expect to have a few different batches on the go.


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## crozdog (9/7/12)

guess it depends on where you are at, what you want to achieve & importantly what you can afford.... I have a keg fridge etc & love it but am currently working away from home.. can't bring my brewery & cornies won't fit in the fridge where i'm staying (don't even mention drilling holes for a tap HAHA) Dan's is costing me a fortune!

I'm setting up with mini kegs cause i can brew at home but bring my own produce away to consume - once this job ends I'll have party kegs! 

That's my interest in mini kegs - yours will be different. you need to determine what works best for you. That said I agree with the others that cornies are a great place to start, but not everyone can afford to... like i said, buy bit burger & you'll get the keg for free (don't get the heinekin ones - they have a different tap setup thats harder to adapt)

good luck with it


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## Silver (9/7/12)

I was keen to get away from bottles to kegs and did so via 5 ltr party kegs/ garden sprayers. If you like tinkering then party kegs is a good way to go. Eventually bit the bullet and bought some cornies. But this is a real answer to your question as i used to naturally carb and force carb these little kegs. Used a soda stream CO2 gas cannister for dispensing. Do a search on 5 ltr party kegs. Hope that helps.


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## Wolfy (9/7/12)

Blackened said:


> But then there's a fridge, taps etc.


My beer fridge was free (curbside pickup) and (under $5ea) plastic 'jocky' taps pour more than adequately for a cheap setup.


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## Lord Raja Goomba I (9/7/12)

Wolfy said:


> My beer fridge was free (curbside pickup) and (under $5ea) plastic 'jocky' taps pour more than adequately for a cheap setup.


+1 - I'm using black plastic taps with a curly hose, that holds it close to the keg. Fridgeis old, holds 3 kegs, about 1.5kg of hops, and meat that we get cheap to freeze - keeps SWMBO onside.


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## DarkFaerytale (9/7/12)

i'v seen those co2 taps on ebay for $50 (alot better than $95!) and apparently can be used in the party kegs you can buy, Heineken ect.

i'll keep watch on this thread as i'm thinking about getting one for taking to parties ect.

edit to add : sorry just repeated what was already said, carry on.


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## JaseH (10/7/12)

Personally I would go with this: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/251084961020?ss...984.m1423.l2649

A little more expensive for the keg but it will last forever and will also compliment a future upgrade to a proper kegging setup using 19L cornies.


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## aroo75 (10/7/12)

I'm doing what crazydog suggests, I have the 5 ltr minikegs from heineken and a Lowenbrau. All have been great as a replacement for bottles. Things to consider are that these kegs rust out in about 6 months as I live couple km's from the sea. The bungs do ware out but are cheap. I've used maybe 10-12 co2 cartridges in the last 8 months, then again I use only one keg/ mixed with bottles per 18Ltr Ag batch I make. 

I've had a hard time getting replacement kegs from dan's (not heineken kegs), having seen the silver kegs in the post here for $20 bucks I may get a couple more.

The obvious step is to move from these to full keg setup. I just dont have the fridge space. 





crozdog said:


> buy bit burger kegs from dan's - drink em dry for the container.
> 
> Buy replacement bumps from minikeg.net.au modify the bungs - a schrader valve for the top & a bike tyre inflator for c02 (can upgrade to soda stream / paintball/ normal keg co2 later if you want). This guy used a presta valve instead of schrader - same same but different... http://justinview.com.au/2011/03/diy-mini-5l-keg-co2-system/


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## Blackened (10/7/12)

Thanks heaps for all the replies everyone 

My aim is to avoid bottling (with the odd exception), maintain quality, use our kitchen fridge, and also avoid bodging something up. So it seems the entire kit from http://minikeg.net.au/ is ticking all the boxes.

One reason I want to avoid kegging, is that there is no room inside the house for a beer fridge, and I don't want to have to go out to the shed every time I want to pour a beer. Secondly I will need at least one more fridge in the shed just for secondary/keg conditioning/bottle conditioning etc and I'm pressed for space out there too. Thirdly I want to focus on the RIMS and not get bogged down on this side project.

The tap-a-draft system looks good with the only problem that I can see being storage over time. I'm hoping to measure storage time in months rather than weeks.

The various DIY mini keg ideas look very promising and I suspect I'll slowly evolve my setup to include more of these to expand my capacity but for the moment it's more about something that works straight out of the box.

Thanks again all!


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## jbowers (10/7/12)

Plastic is fine for at least 6 months, in my experience. You can buy a cheap adapter which allows the tap-a-draft system to fit on to a mini keg instead of plastic bottle. This means if you had a beer you wished to age for a year or so, you could put it in a metal mini-keg sealed up with a bung, and then use the tap-a-draft to tap it when ready.

I used the Tap-A-Draft and really enjoyed it. I've since switched to kegging, however. If you have the space, it's better than any of the small scale set ups.


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## barls (10/7/12)

jbowers said:


> Look up tap-a-draft systems. Better, in my opinion.


id pass on the tap a draft. look up tap a boom on here. the bottles have an even more limited life span tan the mini kegs.


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## super_simian (10/7/12)

Silver said:


> I was keen to get away from bottles to kegs and did so via 5 ltr party kegs/ garden sprayers. If you like tinkering then party kegs is a good way to go. Eventually bit the bullet and bought some cornies. But this is a real answer to your question as i used to naturally carb and force carb these little kegs. Used a soda stream CO2 gas cannister for dispensing. Do a search on 5 ltr party kegs. Hope that helps.



And you haven't had any issue with plastic taint? Some people have said the sprayers can leave a soapy taste in the beer.


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## Blackened (11/7/12)

So after reading up everything I could find I've reluctantly given up on the whole minikeg idea. Looks like I'll be bottling . 
Need to keep the cash for other bits n bobs.


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## HoppingMad (12/7/12)

> I have heard the cans will last for 10 or more uses, it all depends on how you store them in between uses. I am looking after mine and hope to get more. They must be kept completely dry on the inside with the dust cap on. The rubber bungs will last for years, too, as long as you treat them well.



This above quote from the mini keg 'About us' page. Seems like a lot of hassle compared to a proper mini cornie keg which will last forever (or close to it)? Only 10 uses? 

Hopper.


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## Truman42 (12/7/12)

Anyone know of a source for second hand 9.5L mini kegs? Ive only ever seen them at KK and ebay but they are band new and around $150.00


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## kenlock (12/7/12)

Truman said:


> Anyone know of a source for second hand 9.5L mini kegs? Ive only ever seen them at KK and ebay but they are band new and around $150.00



German Ebay. Link to thread. Seems to be the only place to get 2nd hand, otherwise wait very patiently for someone to give up brewing and be very quick.


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## brad81 (18/7/12)

Does anyone have any firsthand experience regarding contact with minikeg.net.au? I've sent a couple of queries and placed an order and have no response so far.


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## crozdog (18/7/12)

brad81 said:


> Does anyone have any firsthand experience regarding contact with minikeg.net.au? I've sent a couple of queries and placed an order and have no response so far.



I've bought some replacement bungs from them. they were delivered in about a week.


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## brad81 (18/7/12)

Did you get anything aside from the automated emails??


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## crozdog (19/7/12)

not for the order. i did when i told him about a problem with his site


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## brad81 (19/7/12)

crozdog said:


> not for the order. i did when i told him about a problem with his site



Thanks for that crozdog


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## Truman42 (19/7/12)

Brewers Choice have the 12 litre mini kegs on special for $125.00


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## brad81 (19/7/12)

Thanks mate, but already placed the order with minikeg. Got Ordered 8x5L kegs, bungs and a tap and gas for a touch over $300 delivered. Will allow me to rotate at least 2 brews and it'd be easy enough to give 4x5L kegs a shake every couple of days while they're conditioning.

Pretty pumped, have another 3 weeks until my next batch of Smurtos ale ready, hopefully they're here before then


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## michaelcocks (19/9/12)

brad81 said:


> Thanks mate, but already placed the order with minikeg. Got Ordered 8x5L kegs, bungs and a tap and gas for a touch over $300 delivered. Will allow me to rotate at least 2 brews and it'd be easy enough to give 4x5L kegs a shake every couple of days while they're conditioning.
> 
> Pretty pumped, have another 3 weeks until my next batch of Smurtos ale ready, hopefully they're here before then



Any feedback on these mate ?


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## brad81 (19/9/12)

Yeah they aren't too shabby. Might make a list.

Pros:
No more bottling
Look pretty cool
Quick setup
Reusable
Easy to store/stackable
Portable

Cons:
Bit of a bugger to clean (soak them in napisan)
The drying. They are a right royal pain in the arse to dry. Takes about 3 days (Melbourne weather) for me to be happy enough to store them. 
Sourcing cheap non threaded 16gm CO2 bulbs. Was going to grab a threaded one at KegKing the last time I was there to test it, but I totally forgot....
5L can go pretty quick (jeans are now a bit tighter around the waist)

The inbetweeners:
Gas usage varies, but I reckon I could get about 1-1.25 kegs out of one bulb
Initial cost - varies on what you want to get out of it I guess. The portability and space saving were drivers for my decision.

In terms of the communication I had with the provider, it wasn't what I was used to getting, but the items were delivered quite quickly and he does respond in time. I guess he just doesn't sit at the computer all day like I do


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## aussiedrifters (3/1/13)

Hi Brad, I was wondering how those 5L kegs were working out for you? 
I can see some drawbacks but everything in life is a compromise.
I used to brew for many years in Melbourne using 50L CUB kegs in a fridge with tavern gas.
Now I live on the road in a motor home traveling Aus, not so much space for fridges and big kegs now! I have tried bottling using 750ml PET bottles... too much misery! :angry: 
I have been considering a keg system again but there are too many things to buy ( and then store) 
The 5L system seems to be a good compromise. 
Some of my thoughts that could make things easier are to use the Morgan's Sanitize solution to wash your kegs, I have found it to be very good.
You could try using a Methylated spirit rinse to remove moisture from your keg to help the drying problem.
And I was thinking when I experiment with this system is to work out a way to substitute the CO2 bulb with a SodaStream canister?
I figure you need at least 100L of beer in the system to effectively home brew, I have been contemplating the possibility of storing brewed beer in 20 L food grade jerry cans with a small sugar charge to give a bit of CO2 head, awaiting the kegs? 
I am interested to hear any ideas or comments. 

:drinks:


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## brad81 (4/1/13)

Still going strong  No visible rust as yet, have taken to shaking them out as much as I can stand after they have been soaking and they seem to dry eventually. I recently purchased one of these: http://www.princess.nl/en/producten/158-si...tap-cooler.html Should do the trick for camping etc. Also 12V, so should be able to chill in the car or said motorhome.

Cheers for the info on the Morgan's sanitiser and the metho. I'm using unscented napisan from Aldi for the hot soak (about $3 for 1kg) and a big bottle of starsan before refilling/filling which should last me another 100 years.

I'd like to see/hear more about how you'd go about fixing the sodastream canister, I'm not visualising it at the moment. If you have the cash to spare, you can grab some 9L party kegs, sodastream adaptor, and a pluto gun. The 5L system only allows the gas bulbs to serve, not carbonate. I use about 20g of dex per keg to carb.

100L?! You sure you should be in a motor home??  I tend to have about 25-30L fermenting and about 20-40L conditioning and sampling, this also caters for anyone else who comes around to sample and any visits/parties/etc I attend.

I'm not sure how you'd go about transferring that brewed 20L to your mini kegs without damaging your beer. Maybe you could investigate the no chill method quite often discussed on this site. In essence it is making your own fresh wort kit and storing until you are ready to ferment. I use this method when I have little time to spare when brew day/night arrives, I can knock out a batch and have everything cleaned up in an hour.

Drop into a 1st Choice Liquor outlet and start collecting the 2L Altenmunster swingtops as a potential alternative. I have 5 already and hoping to grab another 5 soon.


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## aussiedrifters (4/1/13)

Thanks for the quick reply Brad,
I sent an email to Minikegs yesterday asking a few questions and I had a reply this morning, so you can't complain about the comms.
I have seen those little beer chiller/servers online and they look good! Saves having a whole fridge extra! I know they are designed for the Heiny kegs, will they couple up with the mini keg though?

Ideally I would store beer in a 50 l keg but my main problem is fridge space as the biggest fridge I could have in my underbelly compartments would be a bar fridge and even that would encroach on my storage space for tools etc. I have a Waeco fridge going down there for my beer and that's fine.
I also looked into storing hot kegs and cooling with a temp-rite but after a lot of searching forums there doesn't seem to be any real positive feedback on that, especially in a hot climate.

Even Corny kegs work out to be better value all up, I can buy brand new 19l kegs for $110 but again I would need a dedicated fridge.

I thought more about storing beer in Jerry cans, there is no reason I couldn't do it without affecting the beer quality, just sterilize and decant through the tap into the kegs. Of course you would need to do a small prime just to make sure oxygen is not in contact with the beer.
The only problem is as you mentioned that you can't carbonate the kegs any way expect buy sugar priming, so in any case you would still need to let you kegs sit for weeks after filling, so it would defeat the purpose.

I like to store at least five brews ahead, so that you are not always drinking green beer, so therefore the 100L + (also you get thirsty up here in Central Queensland) and you can never have too much beer on hand!

The other option is to bulk store brewed beer in Jerry cans as I said and then modify the keg to allow me to prime with a co2 canister with a Shraeder tyre valve (at serving pressure) and then they would be ready to drink in days, not weeks as well as being aged already.

I think the best option for you Brad, to solve your keg drying problems in not to dry them, just fill em up again!

Oh yeah and I found some guys making their own 5L keg taps on The Northern Brewer Forum. One bloke made one that taps into the existing bung but he has Cornelius fitting for the gas in and beer out.
That way you could hook up to a keg charger or Sodastream or a full size [email protected] bottle

Check it out here.. http://forum.northernbrewer.com/viewtopic....7&start=150

I googled the 2l swing tops, they look good, but I would be at least 300 km away from a 1st Choice, plus you would have to drink them in one sitting otherwise they would go flat.


Thanks for your ideas


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## BadSeed (8/7/13)

I posted this on a 4wd camping trailer forum which I occasionally frequent but it's good info for here too. 

I use corny kegs in a kegerator at home and never want to go back to bottling. I always miss having my own brews with me when I'm away but the half size kegs are so expensive and not as readily available as standard corny's so I did a bit of googling and came across this idea.
All you need:

5l keg
Rubber bung for keg
Presta valve cut from old inner tube
Co2 bike pump
5l minikegs, presta valve, bike pump. Awesome.
I am a cyclist anyway so I have a co2 pump and often have punctured innertubes with presta valves.


I bought a couple of minikegs and bungs from this place (I am in no way affiliated etc) http://minikeg.net.au/ I have also seen them in my lhbs
I have knocked up a great DIY delivery system that fits in an esky or fridge. I know I am not the first one to do this but here are some instructions and pics for any young players.

Take the rubber bung with the intact middle bit.






Drill a 5mm (or 5.5 - takes a bit of trial and error) and push a presta valve through the hole. I pushed it halfway through then put a bit of silicon on the base and pushed the rest through.





I should point out here that I used a threadless valve, in hindsight this was a mistake as the nut would have held the valve in place better. I know for the next time.

I bought a beer line disconnect for a corny key and attached a couple of metres of pvc hose to it.
I connect this to the out of my standard corny and let it fill the minikeg. Simples....





I should also point out that the beer is already carbonated and ready for drinking from the corny. This is just storage/serving. You can use these kegs to carb as well, but I already have a system in place for that,

Once it's full you simply put the bung in and attach a co2 bike pump to pressurise the keg, hardly any gas is needed, just enough to push the beer out.





Result






Great for camping, picnics, barbecue etc or, as I did last night, in front of a film without having to get up.


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## thedragon (8/7/13)

Badseed, great looking set up. Perfect for a picnic with a few mates.


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## petesbrew (8/7/13)

I bought a few of these a year or so ago. I've used one about 3-4 times, and it's started to show small pocks of surface rust. It's full of a beer now, but I think it might be the way of the recycling bin on emptying. Couldn't be bothered with fancy gas taps. It's a perfect size for a small gathering and looks cool on a kitchen bench.


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## matho (12/8/13)

Thought I would share, if anyone wants to connect up a mini keg to a gas bottle and tap an adaptor can be made up with parts from bunnings 








I can post more details at the end of the week if anyone is interested 

Cheers Steve


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## Natdene (12/8/13)

Yes please Matho put them up


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## matho (17/8/13)

here you go

http://www.mediafire.com/view/0kjvkfj1dho4ib3/mini_keg_adaptor.pdf

cheers steve


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