# Portable Co2 Keg Charger



## Spartan 117 (12/1/09)

Hey Guy's, 

Was looking on ebay for some regulators, connnections etc. and i came accross a portable CO2 charger, looks pretty nifty ut does anyone know if they work well? 

Aaron 

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/HOME-BREW-BEER-PART...%3A1|240%3A1318


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## Ronin (12/1/09)

Spartan 117 said:


> Hey Guy's,
> 
> Was looking on ebay for some regulators, connnections etc. and i came accross a portable CO2 charger, looks pretty nifty ut does anyone know if they work well?
> 
> ...



Hi Aaron,

Yeah I bought one of them for my work christmas party last year (nothing like going to the brew store for work) and it worked fine. Needs several bulbs to dispense an entire keg (I used 3).

Not as flash as some of the mini regulators out there, but it kept the beer flowing nicely.

James


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## wakkatoo (12/1/09)

yup, got that and a bronco tap from Craftbrewer last year to make the kegs portable. Works a treat. Keep your keg gassed up then when it get a bit low attach the charger and give it a squirt


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## camedmeades (12/1/09)

Will it have any affect (positive/negative) on carbonation?

I would assume you would need to have the beer already carbonated and the charger used to just push the beer out.


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## wakkatoo (12/1/09)

SpeedMeades said:


> I would assume you would need to have the beer already carbonated and the charger used to just push the beer out.



Spot on. Its only used for dispensing. I guess you could carbonate with it but that would be a waste of time, $$ and gas bulbs!


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## Thunderlips (12/1/09)

They work fine, you just need to squeeze the trigger every now and then to keep the pouring pressure up.
You've also got to watch out for people, mainly drunk ones, that squeeze the trigger too long.

A better idea, but much more expensive, is one of these...
http://morebeer.com/view_product/18311/102...2_Regulator_Kit

Or 

http://www.craftbrewer.com.au/shop/details.asp?PID=1090


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## Florian (28/9/10)

digging up an old thread here....

If you have a fully carbonated keg, would you really need several bulbs just to dispense that one keg as Ronin said earlier in the thread? 
I thought I had seen somewhere that a bulb lasts for a few kegs (dispensing only), but can't remember exactly and can't find it anymore.

Florian


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## barls (28/9/10)

when i pour from my carbed kegs it normally takes 2 bulbs for my 9L and 3 for my 19Ls.


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## Florian (28/9/10)

Cheers Barls, don't know where I read that then, must have just been wishful dreaming...
Thought I'd found an easy way into kegging, with natural carbonisation and the dispenser, but seems like I better get a gas bottle and regulator straight away.


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## joshuahardie (29/9/10)

I survived on naturally carbonating in the keg and dispensing with the portable c02 for a few years.

I have found it is possible to dispense an entire keg with a single bulb, but it requires that when you tap the keg you use the inbuild pressure of carbonation to dispense the first 1/3 of the keg and then you up the pressure with the portable charger to dispense the rest. 

The catch is doing this will result in a beer that is less carbonated by the time you reach the bottom of the keg. This didn't bother me.

To keep the carbonation up to spec for the entire keg, I would think a minimum of 2 is needed.

I found that going to your local bike shop and buying the bulbs in bulk was many times cheaper than buying through the local home brew store. I think I was saving $3.50 per charger by buying in lots of 10-30


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## brettprevans (29/9/10)

joshuahardie said:


> I have found it is possible to dispense an entire keg with a single bulb, but it requires that when you tap the keg you use the inbuild pressure of carbonation to dispense the first 1/3 of the keg and then you up the pressure with the portable charger to dispense the rest.
> 
> The catch is doing this will result in a beer that is less carbonated by the time you reach the bottom of the keg. This didn't bother me.



yup. ales etc are great beers for this. I was doing it went i went away recently with an irish red. its a low carb beer anyways. a lager wouldnt be so great but you can live with it.



joshuahardie said:


> I found that going to your local bike shop and buying the bulbs in bulk was many times cheaper than buying through the local home brew store. I think I was saving $3.50 per charger by buying in lots of 10-30


buying form a bike shop it wont be food grade CO2 though. buy in bulk yes. but go to a catering store and buy in bulk.


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## joshuahardie (29/9/10)

Assuming that the non food grade C02 debate actually has some legs, looking at somewhere like

http://finewhip.com.au/

might be a good source.


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## QldKev (29/9/10)

Remember too, if you plan of drinking an entire pre-carb'd keg at a party you don't have to use CO2 to push it out. Air will do fine; it won't cause problems over 1 night. Get a Bunnings sprayer and hook a gas in connect to it. Pump it up and pull the trigger as needed.

QldKev


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