Building And Using Garden Sprayer Party Kegs

[mxd]

could some one send a picy of there "spacer" and "bulk head holder" in the green lid with the o-ring that originally came with the bottle.

the instructions say the o-ring should hold every thing in, but mine just falls out ?

cheers
Matt

 

[mxd]

heres the pics of mine, might stand out for what I have done wrong.

cheers
Matt

 

[SpillsMostOfIt]

I can't fault what mxd has shown pictorially (disc-wise). I tried putting a disc on the inside to stop the black rubber washer deforming, but that only works for me occasionally. I sometimes get a leak around the bulkhead fitting, but a rubber/silicon washer usually fixes that, as does a liberal application of keg lube sometimes.

I think it needs to be noted that these things are not industrially bomb-proof; you do need to show them a little bit of care when you're screwing them all together to get best value out of them, but that is part of the price-performance trade-off, I think.

Paul Sorenson also needs to get splattered with a little credit as he pushed the idea forwards a little after GLS and before Thirsty Boy and me. RTFB

 

[mxd]

Paul Sorenson also needs to get splattered with a little credit as he pushed the idea forwards a little after GLS and before Thirsty Boy and me. RTFB

I actually worked with Paul, well sort of (3.5 yrs ago), we were in the same building but sister companies, when he left the sister company I joined the sister company, so kicking myself for not getting into homebrew/kegs years ago as he looked like he would try lots of things.

 

[Carbonator]

heres the pics of mine, might stand out for what I have done wrong.

You can't press and hold the camera button half way down to examine the focus before deciding to either capture that image or let go, move the camera back and try again for focus on the actual subject? h34r:

 

[mxd]

You can't press and hold the camera button half way down to examine the focus before deciding to either capture that image or let go, move the camera back and try again for focus on the actual subject? h34r:

yeah, thanks.

 

[boybrewer]

I am currently making one of these and I am quite excited about it and have a question or two ;

1. The ss tube from the wand , will it fit the John Guest bulkhead as a dip tube?
2. How long does the beer out line have to be ?


Thanks in advance .


Cheers
Beerbelly

 

[mxd]

I am currently making one of these and I am quite excited about it and have a question or two ;

1. The ss tube from the wand , will it fit the John Guest bulkhead as a dip tube?
2. How long does the beer out line have to be ?


Thanks in advance .


Cheers
Beerbelly

for the dip tube I used beer line.
For the beer out I have about 1 mtr of hose.

 

[mxd]

OK, I think I have discovered my problem (stupidity).

did you know if you want a 55 mm circle (the part the bulkhead adapter goes through) a 55 mm holesaw will create a 55 mm hole but the circle will only be 50 ish mm.

So I will try again, now I just need to find a bigger hole saw.

cheers
Matt

 

[SpillsMostOfIt]

I am currently making one of these and I am quite excited about it and have a question or two ;

1. The ss tube from the wand , will it fit the John Guest bulkhead as a dip tube?
2. How long does the beer out line have to be ?


Thanks in advance .


Cheers
Beerbelly

1. Yes, it will, nicely. But what a horrible waste of a perfectly good bottle filler, etc. I reckon a short lump of BEVA tube.
2. Think of it as a piece of string... It's about carbonation and stuff which is generic to kegging and there is an article around here somewhere...

 

[Carbonator]

did you know if you want a 55 mm circle (the part the bulkhead adapter goes through) a 55 mm holesaw will create a 55 mm hole but the circle will only be 50 ish mm.

So I will try again, now I just need to find a bigger hole saw.

It's a bit hard to re-drill large holes without there being a centre alignment. They will be come oval and the saw teeth with snag on the edges, with risk of injuring yourself and the subject. Do a test hole before committing in scrap timber first

 

[SpillsMostOfIt]

OK, I think I have discovered my problem (stupidity).

did you know if you want a 55 mm circle (the part the bulkhead adapter goes through) a 55 mm holesaw will create a 55 mm hole but the circle will only be 50 ish mm.

So I will try again, now I just need to find a bigger hole saw.

cheers
Matt

It was because of this that I ended buying a cheap adjustable hole-saw just to cut out that disc. Of course, if you went into a shop and asked for a disc saw rather than a hole saw, you might get a blank look or a response like Carbonator gave...

 

[Carbonator]

you might get a blank look or a response like Carbonator gave...

I get it now, still hung over a bit.

To make a disk, I would get a thin blade for the small angle grinder and do a rough cut-out, then work it down to the right size with the bench grinder.

 

[SpillsMostOfIt]

The idea behind using a cordless drill and hole saw, etc is that we are using low-speed, comparatively common and easy to use tools, keeping it safe-ish for the average 'Not Excessively Handy' level of skill, which I think represents the majority of people who have been building these things. Certainly the people who turned up at the original workshop and have more recently been asking for assistance seem to fall into this category.

Angle grinders and bench grinders, turning at 10,000RPM or more can be very dangerous in the hands of someone who doesn't possess the proper skills - particularly when you are working on very small pieces of material like a 50mm disc. I do not believe that the sort of people who own and are comfortable using such tools would be seeking assistance to construct one of these kegs.

The specified tool set has been more than sufficient for the two dozen or more keg sets I've built. You just need to take it slowly and carefully and apply the proper amount of stupidity.

 

[dent]

Back when I had this same stupid idea I got from Rema Tip Top some schrader valves for tubeless tyre rims for something like $1.50 each and used those in the round plates as built above as the 'gas in' side. Simple to install, just drill a 12mm or so hole and shove the valve in - the pressure keeps the seal tight just as it does on your car.

Then I just went to the local pushbike store and bought some hand pump threaded tube extensions for cheap, cut the pump ends off and fitted them to barbs - and it was good to go.

 

[boybrewer]

Well I have cut all the pieces out . What I did find was the same thing as mxd the hole saw not big enough @ 54 mm .So I went down to my mates workshop and cut out a 64 mm disk and then filed it down to fit . Now there is even pressure sitting on the O-ring . :lol:

 

[mr_cat]

G'day - I'm from over west and just wanted to say cheers for taking the time to write those guides!

Really appreciated

 

[boybrewer]

Well I built the parts for the party keg . I even made the piece for the bulkhead with a diameter if 64mm and then filed it down to fit inside the lid . It did seal once and then I couldn't get it to seal after that for the lid would start to cross thread so I thinned it down and still couldn't get it to seal . I showed a friend of mine and he filed the boss off the lid and used the plastic off an orange juice bottle to fit the bulkhead and now the lid screws on tightly and when he brought it around it was holding at 20psi which was the pressure that he put in it . I just poured some hot water on it with steriliser and it just curled up and now its f%#@*ed . :angry: So back to the drawing board .

Beerbelly

 

[mxd]

yeah. I went for sikaflex or some name like that, 1 holds pressure well the other I didn't seal so I took the sikaflex out and gong to do it again.

cheers
Matt

 

[boybrewer]

Well after taking out the rim on the inside of the lid I cut up another bulkhead fitting for the John Guest I then thinned it down to just a few millimeters thick and now it is holding except for one small leak which is around the JG bulkhead where the 2 nuts screw together . I figure now this will be easy to fix .


Beerbelly
Mike