# Party Pig Beer Dispenser (pet Mini Keg Thingy)



## applecracle (7/5/07)

Anybody seen one of these devices ? would be cool to take with you to party's kinda like one of those 9litre kegs

http://www.homebrewing.org/Party-Pig-Beer-...r_p_21-845.html

Applecracle


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## reVoxAHB (8/5/07)

applecracle said:


> Anybody seen one of these devices ? would be cool to take with you to party's kinda like one of those 9litre kegs
> 
> http://www.homebrewing.org/Party-Pig-Beer-...r_p_21-845.html
> 
> Applecracle



Yeah man, I own one and have used it happily for the better part of 10 years. They are super handy at bottling time (I believe they hold approx. 32 standard beers), and as you say, cool to take with you to parties. Oh, and they fit well on the top shelf of most standard fridges. 

I generally order the replacement pouches from the States once a year, in bulk.. last few I've used were dead (!) must've let them sit too long. I might start ordering twice a year, will also contact the manufacturer direct to advise on proper storage/shelf life of pressure packs.

The nicest aspect of the Pig, in relation to your beer, is that it's dispensing it naturally in one single unit, without the need to force-carbonate/dispense using C02.

$52.62AUD (not incl. shipping) for 12 pouches. All replacement parts are sold separately, as well. 

PartyPig Homepage
FAQ's here

Overall, probably a good choice for someone lacking space or not wanting to take the leap into Cornys for whatever reason. Or just for the novelty factor alone, rocking up to a party with a slab and then some, of your own brew.

reVox


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## Wardhog (8/5/07)

reVox said:


> Yeah man, I own one
> 
> reVox



Where did you get it from? I was looking for one of these a while back, and no one had them.


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## boingk (8/5/07)

Oh...my...sweet...god of beer! That is seriously one of the best things I've ever seen - I'm stumping up for one no worries! Being at uni and all, that thing is perfect for the odd larger-sized party as well as just having beer 'on tap' with minimal effort and outlay. 

I was thinking before of using a demijohn, but was told the pressure from secondary would be too great - but I guess now I've got my solution. Thanks for the link applecracle.


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## reVoxAHB (8/5/07)

Wardhog said:


> Where did you get it from? I was looking for one of these a while back, and no one had them.



I worked at a place called Liberty Malt Supply in downtown Seattle, some years ago. Picked it up with my employee discount. Carried the pig over (including most of my brewing gear) when I moved to Australia. 

Grain and Grape sell a similar unit in concept, but I believe it's a bit smaller and it may actually be a cask dispensing system (no pressure pouch required) but as I say, it's similar (and ironically, also manufactured in Golden, Colorado as is the Pig). 

I've just checked morebeer.com (who ship internationally) and it doesn't appear they carry the Pig, fyi 

I'm running numbers with bringing these over in bulk; looking at import fees and charges. Have also considered manufacturing something similar to the Pig (with personal modifications to potentially improve a couple of areas, from my years of experience in usage). I'll keep you posted as I have more information. It won't be overnight, and no, I'm not looking to make a killing on these babies (import or otherwise); wanting them for a separate installation (also pending). I don't mind bringing a few extras in for AHBers, if import is what I settle on.

reVox


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## geoffi (8/5/07)

The one I've seen advertised in Oz is Tap-a-draft. Looks OK, but it's more expensive and doesn't hold as much. This one seems better value and simpler in concept.

Amazing the brewing goodies our friends across the pond have access to.


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## jimmylt (9/5/07)

love the website guys, ive just registered, and i'm new to all this. first post.

gee that looks great. one question: how/when is the beer carbonated?


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## geoffi (9/5/07)

jimmylt said:


> love the website guys, ive just registered, and i'm new to all this. first post.
> 
> gee that looks great. one question: how/when is the beer carbonated?



You prime it with sugar etc. just like you would a bottle, so you need to wait a few weeks for carbonation. The Tap-a-draft lets you do either natural or forced carbonation.


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## jimmylt (9/5/07)

Geoffi said:


> You prime it with sugar etc. just like you would a bottle, so you need to wait a few weeks for carbonation. The Tap-a-draft lets you do either natural or forced carbonation.




thanks. also, with the Tap-a-draft sytem, how does the beer come out of the tap once it drops below the level of the tap. is there a tube running down to the bottom side of the horizontal bottle?


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## geoffi (9/5/07)

jimmylt said:


> thanks. also, with the Tap-a-draft sytem, how does the beer come out of the tap once it drops below the level of the tap. is there a tube running down to the bottom side of the horizontal bottle?



I believe there is a tube, judging from photos of the valve system. I've never seen either of these in action.


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## Wortgames (9/5/07)

jimmylt said:


> thanks. also, with the Tap-a-draft sytem, how does the beer come out of the tap once it drops below the level of the tap. is there a tube running down to the bottom side of the horizontal bottle?



They have a length of narrow plastic tubing, with a little weight on the end to keep it at the bottom.


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## boingk (9/5/07)

I was thinking that as well - good work on the photo WG! I swear, this thing is looking better and better. Just wondering if it'll fit into my bar fridge...which is all I have in the way of refridgeration at the moment haha. 44cm with tap they quote...might have to go measure I think.

Also, 10 to 15psi seems pretty high for a pouring pressure - I've heard a lot of people prefer something around the 5 to 7psi mark. Those who own a TAD system...how goes the pouring?


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## Wortgames (10/5/07)

I have to confess I've never actually used one, but I did look into them a while back with thoughts of buying one, so I might as well share my thoughts for the point of discussion.

Firstly, the bottles are insanely expensive. Actually, the whole thing seems insanely expensive, but given that each bottle holds 6 litres and you would therefore need 4 of them to hold a standard brew, plus a few extras so you can bottle the next brew, and you are looking at quite an investment in PET bottles alone. The sparklets bulbs aren't as common or as cheap here as they are in the UK and the US either, so the running costs are going to mount up pretty quickly - it would probably be cheaper to get a full corny system, and have something rugged and standardised with the ability to force-carbonate.

If you are just planning on using it as a party dispenser and you already own a kegging setup, then you'll need to find a reasonable amount of fridge shelf real estate at your party, or you've got to work out some aother way to keep it cold. The $90 ($90!!!) insulated bag MAY cut it at an Aussie summer barbecue, but I doubt it, and for that price you could buy 3 eskies. Also remember that a single bottle is 6 litres, or 8 longnecks, and if you want to take more than that you'll need a second bottle and esky space for that. But if you are using an esky for it, you need to remove it every time you want a beer or butcher the esky to allow it to poke out, which sounds kinda ugly, and for the amount you're spending you could do better.

For the price, if you've already got a keg setup, you would be better off adding a sodastream adaptor and a 3gal keg or two to your standard corny rig. For that matter, if you've already got a keg setup and you just need to take some already-carbonated beer along to a party, then a few large grolsch bottles or swing-top flagons is all you really need. I can't see any real reason to need to 'preserve' 8 longnecks at a party with an expensive CO2 system.

Next there's the issue of sediment - if the bottles are naturally primed, stored upright until serving, then laid down - and there's a bit of tubing with a weight on it to draw off the beer, my guess is that the chances of ever getting clear beer out of the thing are fairly slim - especially at a party.

Finally, it seems very plasticcy and gadgety. I love gadgets, but I also like to be able to repair them when they screw up, or to use them with other gadgets. These things are a bit too stand-alone, and not all that useful, and they seem like they could be easily busted. I don't think I'd be comfortable leaving it unattended around drunken, fiddling hands.

So I decided against it, it looked like a cool gadget and I figured if anyone needs more cool beer gadgets it's me, but I honestly couldn't see it justifying its existence in any great way.

I'd be interested to hear what owners and users have to say in its defence though.

:beer:


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## ozpowell (10/5/07)

Hi WortGames,

I have been using a TAD system for a couple of years now and am really quite satisfied with the unit(s). I actually own 4 of the valves (heads) that I purchased from MoreBeer, the PETs and bulbs I buy locally.

I agree that a full kegging system would be better, but in my case I don't have the space (my wife already gripes about the space my tiered AG setup takes up in the garage)  

Anyway, see below for a couple of specific comments.



WortGames said:


> I have to confess I've never actually used one, but I did look into them a while back with thoughts of buying one, so I might as well share my thoughts for the point of discussion.
> 
> Firstly, the bottles are insanely expensive. Actually, the whole thing seems insanely expensive, but given that each bottle holds 6 litres and you would therefore need 4 of them to hold a standard brew, plus a few extras so you can bottle the next brew, and you are looking at quite an investment in PET bottles alone.



Agreed - the PET bottles are really expensive. I buy mine from www.ibrew.com.au here on the Gold Coast and, from memory they're around $17.00 each. But they are pretty durable and last a long time (I haven't had to toss any yet).

However, I would definitely suggest importing the valve units from the USA. With the current AUD/USD exchange rate, you can easily buy 2 valves + shipping from the US for the price of one here.



WortGames said:


> The sparklets bulbs aren't as common or as cheap here as they are in the UK and the US either, so the running costs are going to mount up pretty quickly - it would probably be cheaper to get a full corny system, and have something rugged and standardised with the ability to force-carbonate.



Interesting... I've never had any problems buying the bulbs here. Every kitchenware shop I've every tried to buy them from has stocked them (and there's been quite a few). The Nitrogen charges are easy to get too if you choose to use one of those in conjunction with the CO2 charges. This is one big advantage that I can see the TAD system has over the Party Pig - you can buy the charges here, can opt to use Nitrogen for a creamier head, and aren't relying on a proprietary CO2 system.

Not sure how much they cost in the UK or US, but I pay around $8 for a pack of 10 which, if I'm not force carbonating, lasts at least a brew (4 PETs). If you force carbonate, you'll use at least double that.



WortGames said:


> Next there's the issue of sediment - if the bottles are naturally primed, stored upright until serving, then laid down - and there's a bit of tubing with a weight on it to draw off the beer, my guess is that the chances of ever getting clear beer out of the thing are fairly slim - especially at a party.



I was also concerned about the sediment problem. Surprisingly all my beers are crystal clear. The only thing I have to do is leave the bottle sit vertically for about 24 hours after I attach the valve to a new PET bottle (which is fine since it has to chill anyway). Once that's done, I can even transport the PET bottle (taking care not to shake too much) without affecting the clarity. The layer of sediment is fairly thin due to the fact that the surface area of the bottom of the PET bottle is quite large. In addition, the little weight appears to hold the tube just a fraction off the bottom of the bottle.

In summary, I would definitely recommend the TAD system for someone who, for whatever reason, can't/isn't ready to move to full-on kegging.

Hope this helps!

Cheers, 
Michael. :beer:

PS - is this post long enough for an honourary PistolPatch award


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## Wardhog (10/5/07)

Just ordered my Tap-A-Draft today. It'll come just in time for this Saturday's planned AAA.


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## Wortgames (10/5/07)

ozpowell said:


> PS - is this post long enough for an honourary PistolPatch award


We're probably about neck-and-neck  

All good points, although nothing there to sway me personally I'd have to say. $8 per brew just for dispensing gas seems a bit steep (hope you're recycling those empty bulbs h34r: ) - It would be nice if you could adapt it to use a sodastream bottle, which would dispense about 5 times as much for $11 refill. My point about price and availability of bulbs is that in both the UK and the USA they are really common - heaps of UK homebrewers have been using them for years, and in the US they fit toys, hobby guns and all sorts of odd things like cream whiskers and who knows what else. You can get them in just about any high street shop or supermarket for probably half of what you pay here, cos we just don't use them as much.

The space issue is probably one that I hadn't really considered, and that may well be significant to some people. Interesting to hear about the lack of sediment too.

I guess you could also look at using smaller cubes / jerries for secondary, so you wouldn't necessarily have to bottle the entire batch in one go.

Hopefully some good info for anyone thinking of going down this path anyway :beer:


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## delboy (10/5/07)

party pigs :blink:


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## geoffi (10/5/07)

WortGames said:


> We're probably about neck-and-neck
> 
> All good points, although nothing there to sway me personally I'd have to say. $8 per brew just for dispensing gas seems a bit steep



Good point. $8 a brew does seem a lot. But then what's your time worth when it comes to the onerous task of bottling?

To put it in perspective, here's a question for the keggers: how much does the gas for a full-blown keg setup cost? Do you buy the cylinders or rent them, what does a refill cost and how many kegs can you get out of them?


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## ozpowell (10/5/07)

Further to my statement earlier about the clarity of beer using TAD. Here's a beer I just pulled from the system. Granted, it's not the greatest beer style for demonstrating beer clarity (I've only got a Brown Ale on tap at the moment), but I think you can see that TAD can be used to dispense a clear beer.




Now to finish my beer :chug: 

Cheers,
Michael.


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## Wardhog (16/5/07)

ozpowell said:


> if I'm not force carbonating, lasts at least a brew (4 PETs). If you force carbonate, you'll use at least double that.



My Tap-A-Draft arrived yesterday, I'm all set to go, I even have an All Amarillo Ale halfway through fermenting. I'm thinking I'll fill the two PET bottles I've got with this brew, force carbonate the first, and put some carbonation drops in the second and hope it takes me a few weeks to drink the first bottle.

I'm wondering if you can answer a few questions I have.

Can you give me a quick guide to force carbonating with the TAD? 
How many CO2 bulbs can I expect to use? Do I need to shake/rock and roll it around when cold? How long will it take to carbonate?


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## ozpowell (16/5/07)

Wardhog said:


> My Tap-A-Draft arrived yesterday, I'm all set to go, I even have an All Amarillo Ale halfway through fermenting. I'm thinking I'll fill the two PET bottles I've got with this brew, force carbonate the first, and put some carbonation drops in the second and hope it takes me a few weeks to drink the first bottle.
> 
> I'm wondering if you can answer a few questions I have.
> 
> ...



Hey Wardhog,

Force carbonation with TAD is pretty simple. Be sure to fill your PET to within only 1 to 1.5 centimeters from the lip on the neck - don't leave too much head-space. Attach the valve unit. NOTE - when cleaning, don't submerge the valve unit in any kind of sanitizer, it will dry up the lubrication inside the pressure valve, just run the bits exposed to the beer under hot water for a minute of so and then attach to the PET bottle. Insert two CO2 bulbs and place in the fridge. You will notice that the PET bottle become very firm once you've attached the bulbs. Check the bottle every few hours and, when you notice it is no longer firm, replace ONE of the bulbs. Repeat this procedure until the bottle no longer loses it's firmness. I usually alternate the bulbs that I replace (ie. left then right then left etc.), but that's probably not necessary.

I haven't ever actually force carbonated from scratch. Whenever I force carbonate, I usually still prime each PET bottle with 4 to 6 carbonation drops (ie. 15 to 25 grams of priming sugar) and leave the bottles for a few days before force carbonating as per above. Using this method, I usually go through about 4 bulbs to carbonate the 6L. So, at a guess, if you're doing it from scratch, I'd say you'll need probably 6 bulbs. Probably a day or two required all up.

I've never tried shaking/rocking the bottles to increase the CO2 absorbsion. If you try it, let me know how it goes.

Note also, if you're naturally carbonating, don't use the same proportion of priming sugar/malt extract that you would normally use for bottling into 750ml bottles. I would suggest no more than 40g of priming sugar per 6L.

Finally, I find that it takes a good 3 or 4 days for all of the sediment to settle out and I'm pulling crystal clear beers.

Let me know if you have any more questions.

Cheers,
Michael.


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## Uncle Fester (16/5/07)

Wardhog said:


> My Tap-A-Draft arrived yesterday, I'm all set to go, I even have an All Amarillo Ale halfway through fermenting. I'm thinking I'll fill the two PET bottles I've got with this brew, force carbonate the first, and put some carbonation drops in the second and hope it takes me a few weeks to drink the first bottle.
> 
> I'm wondering if you can answer a few questions I have.
> 
> ...




Fester's guide to TAD force carbonation:

Fill bottle as normal, add tap and chill. once cold, add 2 x CO2 charges. Whilst keeping the bottle the right way up, shake the crap out of it for 5 minutes, or until your arms give out. Put back in fridge and leave overnight.

It will be ready the next day (It may be slightly under carbonated, but the internal pressure of the bottle is 15psi, so it will soon balance out nicely). You will start to lose dispensing pressure some way through the keg. add 1 new CO2 charge, and keep drinking. Most of the time that is all that is needed. however, if the beer absorbed heaps of CO2 during the shaking phase, you may need a second extra charge to push out the last 25% of the contents.


Festa.

[EDIT] Your'e a made of far stronger stuff than me if you can make a TAD of Amarillo Ale stretch 2 weeks whilst waiting for another to carb up naturally  [/EDIT]


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## Wardhog (16/5/07)

Uncle Fester said:


> Your'e a made of far stronger stuff than me if you can make a TAD of Amarillo Ale stretch 2 weeks whilst waiting for another to carb up naturally



Note the inclusion of the word 'hope'. I also hope I'll win the lottery.

Thanks for the replies, guys. With any luck, I'll be able to pour the first on Saturday night.


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## Uncle Fester (16/5/07)

Wardhog said:


> Note the inclusion of the word 'hope'. I also hope I'll win the lottery.
> 
> Thanks for the replies, guys. With any luck, I'll be able to pour the first on Saturday night.




Good luck - FWIW, I would force carb 1 TAD, naturally carb a second and have a third sealed in the fridge waiting for the first to die a noble death. then I would force carb the second and by the time it has met it's maker, the naturally carbed one will be ready.

Be aware that the naturally carbed TAD will have more sediment in it due to the fermentation process.

one little trick I devised was to leave the sit the bottle in a CD spindle cover like a giant egg cup. That way all of the sediment accumulates at the base of the bottle. When you are ready, chill it upright, and when you put the tap on it, carefully place it on it's side. the vast majority of the sediment will remain at the back of the bottle, away from the pickup tube.


Cheers,


Festa.


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## yeungnut (16/5/07)

Interesting post!

I have been using both Corny kegs for 3 years and TAD for aproximately 18 months. The reason I got both is that if you are doing a 23-25L batch you have those extra litres to bottle which is a PITA. It's nice to have a 17L -18L keg and 5-6L keg which is a lot easier to transport or store in a kitchen fridge rather than having to go out to the shed where I have my kegging system. I also purchased the insulating jacket which is great for barbies and keeping your beer cold outside on hot days.

Some observations which maybe of interest:

The white screw cap with O ring from i-brew.com.au are heaps better than the plastic or metal caps which come with the PET bottles and are better for natural carbonation. I picked up half a dozen while on the Goldcoast last year.

I now naturally carbonate in the TAD bottles and force carb the corny keg straight from fermenter. No problems with clarity. There is a perceptible difference between the two in that the TAD conditions alot better and the resultant beer tastes better and alot smoother in my opinion. This maybe due to the forced versus natural carbonation issue as the yeast still being active clean up some of the harshness which takes longer to resolve in the corny keg if your not filtering.

The ability to use nitrous bulbs with the TAD is a plus if you like a creamer tightly packed head such as with Stouts. Nitrous is also good to experiment and compliments many other styles.

If your looking to get a TAD system Grain and Grape are considerably cheaper than I brew and also have a couple of 20% of sales per year which helps if you can wait until then.

All in all a good alternative to Corny Kegs in my opinion

Hope this helps

Phil


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## ozpowell (16/5/07)

CILA Brews said:


> If your looking to get a TAD system Grain and Grape are considerably cheaper than I brew and also have a couple of 20% of sales per year which helps if you can wait until then.



Hey CILA - I didn't realize G&G stock TAD! Thanks for the tip. I'm actually on the Gold Coast, but find iBrew WAY too expensive. I'm also not real keen on the guy who owns the business.... <_< 



CILA Brews said:


> All in all a good alternative to Corny Kegs in my opinion



I agree.

Cheers,
Michael.


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## Fents (17/5/07)

For anyone wanting Cheaper C02 Bulbs get them here :

http://www.finewhip.com.au/

No we did not used to buy whipped cream bulbs in bulk and inhale them as kids to get high. h34r:


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## Wardhog (17/5/07)

Fents said:


> For anyone wanting Cheaper C02 Bulbs get them here :
> 
> http://www.finewhip.com.au/
> 
> No we did not used to buy whipped cream bulbs in bulk and inhale them as kids to get high. h34r:



Thanks, Fents. I think I'll get a fair bit of use out of that site.


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## Fents (17/5/07)

As did I


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## Wardhog (21/5/07)

Well, the maiden voyage of the SS Tap-A-Draft was a rousing success. Grain to brain in 7 days. Racked from primary fermenter into TAD bottles Friday night, one went in the fridge, the other had priming sugar added. Saturday morning saw 2 CO2 chargers used along with vigorous shaking. A second set of two was used Saturday afternoon with additional shaking. 
Beer ready to drink by tea time. Mmmm, Amarillo and BBQ ribs.

First TAD bottle empty by the end of Saturday night, with fifth CO2 charger used to push out last half of bottle. 
NB. Had nearly forgotten how to speak English just before bed, drank 2 pints water, and bounced out of bed Sunday morning with no sign of hangover. Commercial beer looking progressively less and less appealing.

Emergency purchase of two more TAD bottles occurring Real Soon Now, and trip to see Dave at Greensborough HBS planned. I think I'm going to be brewing a lot more often now.

Thanks to ozpowell and Uncle Fester for their good advice leading up to a successful first time usage.

I would recommend this bit of kit to anyone.


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## ozpowell (21/5/07)

Wardhog said:


> Thanks to ozpowell and Uncle Fester for their good advice leading up to a successful first time usage.



My pleasure. Glad to hear you had a successful weekend!

Cheers,
Michael.


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## Rons_Place (30/8/08)

Well It's been over a year since the last post on this thread but I thought i would add my 2cents.

I have been using a TAD system for quite some time and think there are great.

Today I just finished putting my keg system together, the TAD will compliment it, as mentioned Fill a corny and the left over into the TAD bottle.

I did try Force carb the TAD once but the tap couldn't handle the pressure and kept opening skirting out of the tap and on to the ceiling, in the fridge etc resolved this problem by adding a rubber band to the tap, it was quite funny but since then now I only naturally prime. 
I have 6 bottles which worked well for me, bottle the first batch ( 4 Bottles) then make the next and by the time that finishes I have finished 2 bottles so can fill 4 again. I still have had to on the odd ocassion fill stubbies so the beer can mature properly in the PET bottle.
Sediment had never been an issue but I only do K&K's

2 co2 bulbs is all i ever had to use to dispence the beer, ( 1 at a time) and @ $8 for 10 that works out about $1.60/6l bottle, so works out about $25/ 23l brew, not cheap but still considerably cheaper than buying 60 stubbies of packaged beer. I have never had trouble getting the bulbs.

Back to my keg system, I purchased 4 corny's and apart from this first brew which I will force carbonate ( hanging out to try it) I still plan to naturally carbonate because beer appears tastes better with some ageing and the co2 bottle should last considerably longer between refills if only used to dispence the beer.

Hope I did the force carb alright, Filled the keg, put a bit of co2 and burped the keg,chilled to serving temp, gunned the reg all the way, turned off the gas backed off the reg and now just letting it settle, hopefully over the next 24hrs it will equalize so I can have a drink from it tomorrow. 

Cheers
Ron


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