Cheapest Way To Keg?

[Snow Gun]

Well, all of this discussion on kegging versus bottling has made me wonder, what is the cheapest way to keg?

I'm considering only small quantities so one of those party keg systems may be the go.

How long can you have the beer in the keg for? Does the beer 'go off' if left in the lines? What sort of quantity is left in the lines? Not that that really matters, coz wastage is cheap.....

I would spend the money eventually if I knew I was gonna continue....... but wouldn't mind having a bit of a go with one of those party kegs if I considered it worth it.

Additionally the more space in the fridge the better

The 12L keg that I found with a quick search on the formus HERE also sooms pretty good but I'm not really keen on spending big bucks just yet (I still haven't tried my first brew).

Keen to hear your opinions....

Cheers :beer:
SG

 

[homekegger1]

Snow Gum,
If you are looking at getting into Kegging you need to consider a few things.

First, An 18lt Post mix keg is cheaper to buy than a party Keg. Sounds silly but it is true,

2nd, Make sure you have a fridge big enough for your keg

3rd, you will need a GAs bottle to Carbonate your beer, a Co2 Reg and a tap to pour it.

Costs: 18lt Keg approx $90
Gas Bottle (Rent) Approx $110 a year plus $35 per re-fill(You get heaps and heaps of Kegs per bottle. I have brewed for well over a year and haven't needed a refill. (Buy) $300 plus $40 per refill
Co2 Reg: Approx $100
Tap: Depends on what you are after - A pluto gun can be picked up on E-bay for about $60 - 75 or a tap for the door of the Fridge will cost you about $100.

So the initial outlay can be expensive however the overall quality and ease is well worth it over time.

Beer can be stored in Kegs for a very long time, so long as the keg remains presurized with Co2. So no wastage.

My Set up with 3 Kegs and two taps and Reg cost around $5-600.

Contact GMK he may be able to do you some good prices. I hear he is good that sort of thing :beerbang:

Hope this has been helpful.

Cheers and Beers

HK :chug:

 

[pint of lager]

Cheapest, stick with 3 litre PET bottles. Do they still make these? I know they used to.

To get into kegging, if you can wait a bit, buy your kegs from Brewers Discount in the US, takes anything up to 3 months to turn up and cost about AU$50 each and buy the rest of your gear from GMK. Then hire a CO2 cylinder.

For party kegs, do a search on party kegs on this board, there has been some really interesting posts along the lines of converting garden spray packs into dispensers for beer, Sodastream adapters etc.

 

[James Squire]

Howdy Snow Gun,

Welcome to the addiction...

Good to see you're looking at kegging so early in your brewing days!!! I think it took me two batches worth of bottling before I got jack of scrubbing bottles and headed down the kegging path.

Just a question, where in AUS are you? Reason being that in Victoria the cost to hire a bottle of CO2 is much cheaper, around $18 per year.

Cheers and happy brewing,

JS

 

[chug!chug!]

I would start with something like this ($approx)

$90 keg (HBS)
$80 reg (GMK)
$30 gas & liquid disconnects (HBS)
$35 sodastream bottle (kmart/coles/woolies check sodastream website) refills $11
$25 sodastream adapter (hoops)
$5 picnic tap (grain & grape)
$5 beer/gas line

$270 approx + fridge

Might get closer to $200 secondhand on ebay
Well worth it!

You could stuff around with a 3 litre bottle and this;
http://home.earthlink.net/~jsbrewing/carbo...onation_cap.htm
(air fitting from supercheapauto $10) still need reg, gas.

But it would only be a side road on your destination: corny town

 

[als_world]

I'm considering only small quantities so one of those party keg systems may be the go.

Ah yes, I remember back in the good old days (< 1 yr ago) when I had that same thought. Somehow now the 5 big + 3 small cornies just doesn't seem enough..

I would spend the money eventually if I knew I was gonna continue....... but wouldn't mind having a bit of a go with one of those party kegs if I considered it worth it.

SG, once you start kegging, you'll never look back. I don't think there is 1 single person in the universe who has said "this kegging sucks, bottles are heaps better". Please, anyone, tell me if you know someone that has said this.

If you don't want to commit to rental of a cylinder for a year, you can always start off with a soda-stream bottle as chugchug said. Search AHB and you'll find heaps of stuff on them.

One other thing that is worth keeping in mind is that if you buy your gear at the right price (eg - as PoL said, kegs + bits from US, Reg from GMK, scrounge fridge), if you ever get bored you should be able to sell it either complete or as parts for pretty much the same as (or maybe even a bit more than) you bought it for.

Cheers,

Alan.

 

[Snow Gun]

What's GMK?

 

[Trough Lolly]

GMK is the handle of one of our forum members, Ken Jermey, who flogs brewing equipment out of Adelaide...I'll let him explain to you what the letters stand for..!

He's not a bad bloke, for a splitter - pardon the pun Bro Logge!!

Cheers,
TL

 

[Trough Lolly]

Regarding this topic, I'm gonna flow against the stream a bit.

I'd suggest you don't try to get the cheapest possible keg setup you can buy - why? Well you may regret taking the cheaper options when you get into kegging. As has been mentioned in earlier posts, it's highly unlikely that you'll give away the kegging game, once you start, and you'll look to add to your collection of serving equipment.

Once you've accepted that fact, you really need to consider what it is that you want to do with your kegging setup. If you really aspire to have several kegs on individual taps, within a keg fridge or freezer with beer taps or a flooded font, etc, then don't stuff around buying picnic faucets and pluto guns. You're only adding to the expense of the end goal. Stick to your plans - once you've worked out what they are, and then work towards it by purchasing quality components as you go. Sure, you don't have to buy stainless QD's etc, but you'll be a lot happier at the end of the day when you achieve your goal and do it without going down too many dead ends...

Talk to keggers about what they consider to be quality gear and you'll benefit from the lessons learnt.

Hope this helps...

Cheers,
TL

 

[GMK]

GMK is the handle of one of our forum members, Ken Jermey, who flogs brewing equipment out of Adelaide...I'll let him explain to you what the letters stand for..!

He's not a bad bloke, for a splitter - pardon the pun Bro Logge!!

Cheers,
TL

[post="117357"][/post]​

Very Nicely said TL...hahahaha

Also - my plastic disconnects are 27.50 a pair.

Snowgum - If u send me a pm with your e-mail address i will e-mail you my price list.
Then u can give me ring to discuss kegging - happy to answer any/all questions.

 

[Guest Lurker]

SG, once you start kegging, you'll never look back. I don't think there is 1 single person in the universe who has said "this kegging sucks, bottles are heaps better". Please, anyone, tell me if you know someone that has said this.

[post="117340"][/post]​

It does actually happen, but I know of only one instance. I bought my initial setup, 6 kegs, 3 pluto guns, reg, cpbf etc from a guy who was still brewing but had decided he preferred bottling to kegs. I wont be going back though.

 

[Snow Gun]

Just a question, where in AUS are you? Reason being that in Victoria the cost to hire a bottle of CO2 is much cheaper, around $18 per year.

[post="117298"][/post]​

I'm in Brisbane.

Where do you get the CO2 for $18 a year?


Cheers,
SG

 

[James Squire]

Hey Snow Gun,

Unfortunately its only available for that price in Victoria from a company called Air Liquide. Pretty sure from reading what others have said in previous posts that its a lot harsher on the wallet in other states.

Regards,

JS

 

[robbo5253]

Hey all,
I also am looking at getting straight into Kegging without bottling.

This is my shopping list so far:

Fermenter etc
2 18l Cornys
Gas Regulator
Gas and beer lines with disconnects
Tap for front of fridge (already have fridge at home.)
Still undecided on Gas, whether to go tiny bottle from HBS for $180 that does 10 kegs and is $20 or $35 to fill or to just hire one from BOC

Anything else i need to consider or factor in to my purchase

Cheers

Robbo :chug:

 

[Steve]

gotta have a drip tray Robbo for the front of the fridge!
Cheers
Steve

 

[mikem108]

I agree with those above, once you start to keg you won't want to go back so you might as well set your self up right from the start.
By shopping around for the best prices on the individual components you need you can get yourself a set up fairly cheaply. Once you have all the sundry gear get yourself as many kegs as you can store/afford/fill etc.

 

[hupnupnee]

I love to bottle,

There is something special about beer in glass bottles. I can have any number of beers slowly aging, CCing, lagering what ever out back. I need only a single fridge to hold a dozen or more different brews. If a brew is ready to be drunk but tastes like it could do with another month or six no problems, I don;t have to worry about having a keg out of action for ages. Washing bottles and bottling is all part of the brewing process, and anything brewing is time well spent in my opinion. Bottles are cheap, recycling depots and nights are a great source. There are some beautful bottles around. You can have a set of different types, Grolsh, Malt Shovel, old brownies, the list goes on.

Admitedly I have not kegged, but at the moment I've ot no desires to go down that route.

My 2 cents

Cheers
Tim

 

[pint of lager]

Each to their own, Hupnupnee. But I have never heard a kegger say, "I want to go back to bottling." You are more likely to hear "I wish I had started kegging earlier."

I also like bottles. I brew double batches. House ales go straight into kegs. Some brews are kegged/bottled 50:50. Stronger keeper brews go into bottles. If you can afford it, and the fridge space, a 10 font setup would be nice.

Don't limit yourself to two kegs, buy as many as you can afford. It is easy to swap the beer disconnect across onto another keg and start dispensing a totally different brew. A keg is only out of action if it is empty.

 

[bindi]

Don't limit yourself to two kegs, buy as many as you can afford. It is easy to swap the beer disconnect across onto another keg and start dispensing a totally different brew. A keg is only out of action if it is empty.

[post="122916"][/post]​

[/quote]

Oh so true I have 7 kegs and want more, I also bottle but the above advice is SO true, never enough kegs.

 

[Stickler]

Here is a link to a photo of my keg set-up, probably the cheapest, roughest way to get started - but it works!

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...ndpost&p=120348

cheers