# How To Keg



## beerlover (2/2/07)

Anyone have any info on what is need to get a keg system going? how to set it up and to work it?

Any info is appreciated as I really, really want home brew on tap.  

Thanks


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## Ross (2/2/07)

beerlover said:


> Anyone have any info on what is need to get a keg system going? how to set it up and to work it?
> 
> Any info is appreciated as I really, really want home brew on tap.
> 
> Thanks



Sent you a pm...  

cheers Ross


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## kfarrell (2/2/07)

beerlover said:


> Anyone have any info on what is need to get a keg system going? how to set it up and to work it?
> 
> Any info is appreciated as I really, really want home brew on tap.
> 
> Thanks



You know I've in a round about way asked that same question, and never had an answer. It's one of those questions someone should write a sticky for, because it's one of those questions that people just assume you know the answer to.

From what I gather you obviously need a keg (der). From said keg you need a line to a regulator connected to a bottle of CO2. The regulator I think keeps a constant pressure in your keg. So as you draw out beer (and pressure) the regulator replaces that lost pressure with CO2. This is quite a miracle of engineering, and as such regulators are quite expensive. 

Too much pressure makes for frothy icecream, not enough and it looks like the 50 y/o barkeep with a fag out her gob has poured a flat headless beer.

On the other connection you have a beer line that connects to a tap. 

Now a pub has a kick ass fridge system that cools beer as it's going through a copper chiller in real time. ie as the beer is pouring, it's being cooled to about 1C. This is called a temprite, the kegs are stored at cellar temps, about 15C I think. Party kegs have a box that you fill with ice, and that works the same way, chilling the beer as you pour. But from what I can gather, the homebrewer just shoves the keg in the fridge, gets it a low as they can and pours straight to the tap. 

So you need a fridge to store kegs ready for pouring. (about 1C)
A Tap
Two lines, one for gas, one for beer.
A CO2 tank, (hire these, or you can buy sodastream convertors)
Regulator. 

I think that's the basics. Hopefully someone can add the facts to this fictional rant.


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## stoutdrinker (2/2/07)

Hi Ross,

Could you send me that pm too, with rough costs.

Cheers,

Stout


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## lonte (2/2/07)

stoutdrinker said:


> Hi Ross,
> 
> Could you send me that pm too, with rough costs.
> 
> ...


Ross, maybe "that PM" might be the start of the "sticky" mentioned above?


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## Wortgames (3/2/07)

OK, I'll have a stab at it...



_*A BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO KEGGING*_

_*You know you want to...*_






_*SHOPPING LIST*_

As a bare minimum, you really can't get away without the following gear (prices are approximate):

1 used postmix ('corny') keg ($75)
1 beer-out 'quick disconnect' (QD) ($15)
1 gas-in QD ($15)
beer line ($5)
gas line ($5)
beer tap or gun ($10-$150)
CO2 regulator ($100)
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TOTAL: $200-$350.
(not bottling any more - priceless).

You'll also need a suitable fridge and a supply of CO2 (more on this in a minute). You may of course want to consider getting more than one keg - at the least you will probably want to be drinking one while another one is conditioning. You may also decide to get additional serving parts at the same time - perhaps a second tap, a drip tray etc - but that's all up to you. I'll just go over the basics here.

There are a number of places where this gear is available. The online suppliers that sponsor this forum (see the banner ads above) are a great start, and are hard to beat in the price department. If you are in a hurry you could probably walk out of your friendly neighbourhood homebrew shop today with everything you need in your arms. Alternatively you could scour the online auctions and classifieds for a mix of new and secondhand deals.

Before you buy anything though, you should first have a good idea of what sort of system you want to put together - hopefully the following will give you an understanding of what it's all about. Also be aware that not all of this stuff is idiotproof - QD's can be supplied without hose barbs, kegs and QD's can be found with 'pin lock' rather than the more common 'ball lock' connection we generally use, foreign regulators can have different threads, 'reconditioned' kegs often aren't, taps may be supplied without the necessary mounting and plumbing hardware. So if you are scraping a system together yourself, research lots and assume nothing.






_*CHILLING*_

Here in Australia, some kind of chilling system is an essential part of the process. How you choose to do it will affect what kegging gear you need. The two basic options are:

1. Keep the keg cold;
2. Keep the keg warm, and chill the beer as it is served.

The first option suits most home brewers well. Used fridges are pretty easy to come by most of the time, and most fridges can take at least 2 and often 4 kegs (perhaps with the removal of the moulded plastic door lining). It is also generally better for the beer to store it cool, and the majority of homebrewers are content with 4 or less beers on tap, so this is a pretty practical solution. If you need more space than that, you could get a second fridge or convert a chest freezer. There is more information regarding the conversion of a fridge or freezer to kegerator duty in the 'Building A Kegerator' wiki article.

The second option, chilling the beer at the time of serving, is probably best suited to those who have a large number of kegs in fast rotation (like busy pubs) who can justify the expense of an electric 'temprite' inline chiller - as well as those wanting a more portable setup that can use bags of ice for chilling beer (which may or may not already be cold). It is probably worth noting that it takes quite a bit of 'chilling power' to serve nice cold beer from a warm keg - it is fine to get through a few bags of ice during a barbecue or camping trip for example, but you don't want to be buying it every day of the year - and your average freezer just isn't going to produce it fast enough.






_*BEER OUT*_

To get the beer out of a keg, you need at the very least a beer QD (quick-disconnect) - basically a black plastic wotsit that plugs onto the 'beer out' post on top of the keg. This post is attached to a tube that goes to the bottom of the keg, so when you open the valve (by connecting a QD) any pressure inside the keg will push beer up the tube and out through the QD. You could just open your mouth and drink the beer that spurts out of course - but this is going to get pretty messy. So you probably want a tap (or gun) of some description. Again, you have a decision to make - whether you want to open the fridge each time you want a beer; put your glass to a tap mounted on the keg or use a gun (known as a Pluto gun) or a cheap plastic 'picnic' tap inside the fridge; or whether you want to mount a tap in the fridge exterior or perhaps a bit further away. 

Which you choose is entirely up to you of course. There is nothing wrong with opening the fridge every time you want a beer, this is exactly what most 'normal' people do after all. There are even advantages with having a self-contained system inside the fridge - you don't experience problems with warm taps creating foaming, and you can easily relocate the keg and gun into a bin of ice for barbecues etc. Having said that, there is something very satisfying about having a couple of mounted taps and maybe a drip tray. It is more convenient, obviously, but it also feels more like having your own real pub at home. External taps (and especially fonts) can experience problems with foaming due to the beer warming as it passes through them, but this usually only creates a few mls of foam at a time and isn't a major issue. 'Flooded' fonts can be chilled with a separate coolant system and this helps to reduce or eliminate the problem altogether.

The only option I would really avoid is having a tap which attaches directly to the keg post. These are a convenient solution for portable dispensing, but they require you to adjust your regulator and vent pressure in order to avoid making a mess, and they aren't a good full-time solution. Having some beer line between the keg and whatever the beer comes out of is a good thing - more on this in the wiki article 'Balancing A Draught System'.






_*GAS IN - the basics*_

When you bottle beer, you add some more sugar so the yeast starts to ferment again. However, instead of letting the gas escape through the airlock, this time it is trapped in the bottle and forced into solution in the beer, carbonating it.

When you keg beer, you can do exactly the same thing - ie, add more fermentables and trap the gas. However, as you take beer out of the keg, the overall pressure within the keg will drop - so you need to replace the beer taken with the same quantity of gas. You could use air to do this, but your beer will go stale after a day or so because of the oxygen (and bacteria) present in air. So if you want your keg to last longer than that, you'll need a supply of clean CO2, as well as a regulator to control the pressure (a bottle of liquid CO2 contains around 1000psi of pressure, something like 100 times greater than the pressure you need to keep your beer fizzy - and 10 times the pressure it takes to explode a corny). You also, obviously, need some gas line (PVC hose or beer line is fine for this) and a grey 'gas' QD. Remember, the main job of the gas is to keep the beer carbonated, NOT to 'push' the beer. It does both, of course, but the pushing is a side-effect.

_At this point it would be remiss of me not to point out that highly pressurised gas is really, really dangerous. Please don't take risks with old cylinders, mismatched threads, or plumbing fittings that aren't designed for high pressure gas work. Don't use PTFE tape (high pressure fittings don't need it, it can actually impede the proper sealing function of the thread and if a fragment gets into your reg it will kill it). Don't put your face near the regulator - especially while making adjustments or connecting / disconnecting anything. Failures are rare but nasty. If you have kids, make sure they can't get anywhere near it - as homebrewers we are kind of stretching the boundaries of what you should have sitting around in the family home here. 1000psi is a huge amount of stored energy and it deserves some respect._

_*GAS IN - choosing the right gear*_

A standard regulator provides a single pressure output. If you want to run more than one keg, the cheapest way to do it is to simply get a plastic T-piece to split the gas line to each keg. Slightly more elaborate is a 'manifold', which is just a brass splitter with a few outlets. A manifold will often have a non-return valve on each outlet, which protects the other kegs from receiving gas (or worse, beer) if there is a sudden accidental pressure differential. There is nothing wrong with using this method to run multiple kegs, except that all of your kegs will be at the same pressure, and will therefore end up being equally fizzy. If you want to have different carbonation levels in your beers (for example, you want to have British ales as well as Pilseners) then you need to think about using multiple-output regulators. These are usually just 2 or more separate regulator bodies joined together into a single unit so that they connect to a single bottle. Another option is to use a single 'primary' regulator to reduce the bottle pressure to your maximum beer pressure, and then use cheaper low-pressure 'secondary' regulators to further reduce the pressure for additional lower pressures. These options all increase the cost though, and most brewers are happy with a single regulator - at least for a while.

What sort of bottle you get will depend a lot on your location. The only CO2 source you can really count on in Australia is a cylinder from BOC, Supagas or Air Liquide, at something like $120 a year for cylinder rental, plus the cost of refills. The refills last for ages and are relatively cheap, but that $120 a year hurts. So people look for other options. It may or may not be possible to get a privately-owned cylinder refilled - it depends on the refillers in your area and many of them are a bit paranoid about doing it. Search the forum or ask around to find out what's available in your area. If you can find a refiller, cylinders can be purchased new, used, or refurbished, or you may be able to get hold of a suitable fire extinguisher. There is a lot of info on this site about getting fire extinguishers converted for gas dispensing, try doing a search for 'extinguisher'. 4.5Kg and 6.8Kg cylinders can be purchased new from http://www.mykegonlegs.com.au, who have a network of local refillers. Sodastream cylinders are used by some folks, but the refills are a bit pricey at $11 a time, so they tend to be used mostly for occasional mobile setups. Basically, you need to work out where you will get your gas from first, then worry about the cylinder.

_*GAS IN - choosing and using the gas*_

An important point to be aware of is the issue of 'food-grade' CO2. Gas which is produced for the food industry, and the people that handle it, must meet certain standards to maintain the food-grade status throughout the supply chain. Other, usually cheaper, 'industrial' grades of gas are available, and they may even be supplied from the same tank in some cases (presumably where it suits the supplier to do so). However, there is no obligation on suppliers to ensure the safety of gas which is not designated as food-grade. So while it is quite possible that industrial-grade gas is exactly the same as food-grade gas, it is also possible that industrial-grade gas may contain traces of contaminants which would render it unsafe for human consumption - from the use of different production techniques, from a lack of appropriate purification, from being handled by contaminated equipment (such as pressure tanks used for other gases) or from a general failure to meet the requirements for food-grade gas at some point in its distribution. If you decide to use industrial-grade gas in your setup then you assume that risk.

So now that you have a supply of CO2 and a regulator, something else becomes apparent - you don't really need to add more fermentables and wait a couple of weeks just to get some gas into the beer - you've got nice pure CO2 just sitting there ready to go. So you can now 'force carbonate' rather than 'prime' or 'naturally carbonate' - this way the beer can be ready to drink within seconds of it leaving the fermenter if you want. It will still improve over a week or two, but it's nothing like having to wait for a whole new fermentation cycle to complete and clean up. If you are using a more expensive option like Sodastream cylinders, then you could still naturally carbonate to save on gas and just use the SS cylinders to dispense with. A Sodastream refill will dispense about 5 or 6 (carbonated) 19L kegs.

Another option you may come across is a blend of carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen (N), sometimes called 'cellarmix'. It has two main purposes in life. Firstly, nitrogen produces smaller bubbles and comes out of solution faster than CO2 - that's what gives Guinness it's famous creamy head. The beer is carbonated & nitrogenated in the keg, and served with the mix. Secondly, the lower concentration of CO2 allows pubs to use higher pressures, for longer serving lines, without risking overcarbonating a beer over time. In this case the beer is first carbonated normally at the brewery, and the CO2/N mix is used in the venue to apply pressure for serving. Most home brewers use pure CO2, as it is the most universally-suitable gas for all beer styles.





*SETTING UP YOUR DRAUGHT SYSTEM*

Hopefully this article has given you enough information to decide whether kegging is something that you want to do, and what sort of equipment you will need in order to do it.

Once you have all the gear, setting up the actual system is pretty simple, although it is important to understand the principles of carbonation and 'balancing' a draught system, so that you can do it properly from the start and minimise any problems.

There is more information about correctly setting up and balancing a draught system in the wiki article 'Balancing A Draught System'.

There is more information regarding the conversion of a fridge or freezer to kegerator duty in the wiki article 'Building A Kegerator'.



I hope this helps :beer:


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## Adamt (3/2/07)

Just awesome.

This needs to be moved to the Wiki.


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## bugwan (3/2/07)

Post of the month Wortgames! Definitely a candidate for a sticky/wiki.

Hmmm, sticky/wiki......almost sounds rude <_<


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## randyrob (3/2/07)

Nice work, i learnt a thing or two!

on second thoughts how about a column on cleaning system?

Rob.


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## Simon W (3/2/07)

Onya Wortgames!
Thats taught me a hell of a lot.
Cheers,
Simo

Edit: spelin


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## kfarrell (3/2/07)

Hats off mate, just awesome.


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## Ross (3/2/07)

Top work Neil :super: 

cheers Ross


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## domonsura (3/2/07)

Best explanation I've yet seen. That's a really good effort WG, brilliant work. With such a concise explanation of sometimes potentially confusing subject, hopeful keggers will be referring to that for years to come I'm sure.


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## stoutdrinker (3/2/07)

Hi Wortgames, thats a great explanation for future keggers like me, not to mention a lot of work putting a post that long together.

I knew the basics but hadnt seen anything that explained kegging so completely & clearly.

Great effort, 

Stout


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## warrenlw63 (3/2/07)

That's tops WG. I reckon most kegging newbs will be on their way in no time.

Also I just saw the first pic with crates of champers bottles. Think I better give you a hoy tomorrow. Hopefully you're home.  

Think you need the room. :lol: 

Warren -


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## Wortgames (3/2/07)

Thanks guys - was enjoying a few Cervesas last night and just got stuck into it. I've given it a bit of a tweak today, hopefully for the better. I might add another section on filling and cleaning when I get inspired...

:beer:


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## Kingy (3/2/07)

im getting kegs asap!!

finally a read that explains clearly,now i understand it all, time to order a keg system


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## jdsaint (8/2/07)

as I am not the richest man in the world I will have to buy parts separatley to get one started although I have a fridge but seems to not get as cold as it once did I will definently come back to this thread though


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## discoloop (15/2/07)

Thank you for putting this together, Wortgames! You've just made kegging seem kind of achieveable!

I have a query about the size of the kegs. By the pictures, I'm guessing they're about 20L? What are the approximate dimensions?

If I were to convert my bar fridge to hold a keg (just the one), would the lady of the house still have room to store her bottles of wine etc? Are there different shape/size option available?


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## Ross (15/2/07)

discoloop said:


> Thank you for putting this together, Wortgames! You've just made kegging seem kind of achieveable!
> 
> I have a query about the size of the kegs. By the pictures, I'm guessing they're about 20L? What are the approximate dimensions?
> 
> If I were to convert my bar fridge to hold a keg (just the one), would the lady of the house still have room to store her bottles of wine etc? Are there different shape/size option available?



Standard 19L kegs are 610 mm high by 210mm diameter.

There are shorter squatter oones that hold 23L, but only available new & I don't know the dimensions.

cheers Ross


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## Kingy (22/2/07)

warrenlw63 said:


> That's tops WG. I reckon most kegging newbs will be on their way in no time.
> 
> Warren -




Was always thinking of kegging but couldnt get my head around it all. WG explained it exceptionally well and in beer drinkers language  

20 days on from the start of this thread = fridge getting picked up on saturday and kegs getting delivered in the coming days

huge thank you to WG for keg set up help and also to Ross at crafterbrewer who make it a smooth process :beerbang:


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## Wortgames (22/2/07)

No worries KVB - glad to have helped. Congrats and welcome to the fold!


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## Stickler (23/2/07)

Hey there kegging fence sitters, this is a link to a pic of my crappy set-up. I challenge anyone here to show me something more basic. It's ugly but it does the job. 

linky

I'm not meaning for this to turn into a "show us your set-up" thread, that's been done, simply showing the absolute basics in action.


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## royourboat (30/3/07)

WortGames, thats the best written guide I have found and I've read a few recently.

I still have questions tho!

If you have 2 kegs (a common scenario) and 1 gas bottle + reg (2 taps also..), then do you have to empty both kegs and fill both kegs together to carbonate simultaneously?

*I have 2 fermenters and wish to stagger my beer drinking so 1 keg empties per week give or take, how do I achieve this in practise? I foresee problems when I want to carbonate 1 keg and maintain another etc.


Damn, I have more questions about this scenario but too tired to remember what they are!

Could you also explain more complicated setups, ie. where you see a Kegerator/Freezer setup with multiple Regulators (which seem to be in series??) and 1/2 dozen kegs.


Cheers (to all that can help!) :beerbang: Ro.


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## Ross (30/3/07)

royourboat said:


> WortGames, thats the best written guide I have found and I've read a few recently.
> 
> I still have questions tho!
> 
> ...



Ro,

If you are happy for your 2nd keg to carbonate slowly over a week, just connect it up alongside the other one, no problem. If you wish to carbonate it quickly, simply disconnect the 1st keg & then force carbonate the 2nd keg using one of the high pressure methods. This should take you all of 10 minutes & you can then hook them both up together again. The beers can then be drank together, or one after the other, your choice.
You can connect as many kegs as you like to the one gas supply, but for varied carbonation levels you are better buying a dual pressure regulator - this will allow 2 different dispensing pressures. i use one of these & have my ales at 70kpa & my lagers at 110kpa.

cheers Ross

Edit: Speeling


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## DarkFaerytale (30/3/07)

Ross said:


> You can connect as many kegs as you like to the one gas supply, but for varied carbonation levels you are better buying a dual pressure regulator - this will allow to different dispensing pressures. i use one of these & have my ales at 70kpa & my lagers at 110kpa.
> 
> cheers Ross



thank you Ross you answered just the question i was about to ask as i usually have english style ales and wits on the go, deffinatly both sitting on either end of the carbonation spectrum

this kegging thing intruges me more and more everyday, perhaps i might leave the washing machine for later down the track and buy a freezer/keg set up instead...who needs clean clothes when you've got beer on tap in the lounge room... right? 

-Phill

PS. bloody great thread :beerbang: keep up the good work Neil and Ross


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## royourboat (30/3/07)

Cheers Ross!

Hopefully getting a fridge and another gas bottle soon and will post up a design for a gas manifold to distribute gas to future kegs aswell as current ones.

Another question on my mind is, how to stop a commercial keg pouring foam.

Last keg party I had a mate whose dad's equipment it was, hooked up keg and it seemed to pour foam for the first 10 L of beer (yes, panic sets in). Was this because it wasnt @ drinking temperature, was @ cool room temperature? Or does it need to be carbonated a bit on high pressure whilst @ a serving temperature (we stuck the 50L keg in a black garbage bag packed with ice) and then returned to pouring pressure and drunk? If it was Carlton Draught, what sort of numbers are we looking at?

:beer: again * Ro.


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## royourboat (2/4/07)

BUMP


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## Wortgames (2/4/07)

The keg may be overcarbonated, quite likely if it had been hooked up to the draught system in a pub.

Alternatively the beer line may be too short and wide, meaning you are having to use a low keg pressure to avoid spraying it everywhere. Low pressure means foam as the gas comes out of solution.

The trick is to have correct (or slightly low) carbonation in the keg, then use correct (or slightly high) pressure to dispense it, with correct (or slightly high) serving resistance to slow down the pour to a manageable level.


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