Kegging Advice Needed Pls?

[Spiderpig]

Greetings all,

A mate of mine and I have been brewing since the start of the year, so still really new at this. Together though we have made a few brews, all k&K but I have got into experimenting with Hops and Grain of late and loving it. Hoping to take this further of course.

My mate is looking at his options as he really wants to get into kegging and do away with bottles. In our research, one of the more expensive aspects of this stage is getting CO2 bottles, renting them or buying them seems really expensive. Do any of you guys have any suggestions as to how we can do this cheaper? What are most of you doing out there? There has to be a better way.

Cheers.

 

[jayandcath]

Hi Guys, In my mind of thinking there a couple of ways you can go.
1 - Buy a My Keg on Legs/Air Up cylinder outright (Expensive outlay, but great in long term)
2 - Hire a cylinder from BOC/Air Liquide etc (Absolute F$#king rip off, as far as I'm concerned)
3 - Get a Sodastream adaptor and head to Kmart (Cheap outlay, expensive in the long term)

Now all of these solutions have their own merits, but for my money you need to look at where your heading. A bit of a cash outlay now can say you cash, time and frustration later.

 

[chris.taylor.98]

If you are not planning on moving your CO2 cylinder around you can still hire the 22kg bottles for only $22/pa (in Melbourne anyway).

I got my CO2 cylinder complete with 22kg of gas for $92 just last week (including the $22 rental) from Brewer's Den in Boronia, Vic. (Note it weighs 60kg full)

I know that both Greensborough and Narre Warren HBS can also get them in.

 

[Barramundi]

If you are not planning on moving your CO2 cylinder around you can still hire the 22kg bottles for only $22/pa (in Melbourne anyway).

I got my CO2 cylinder complete with 22kg of gas for $92 just last week (including the $22 rental) from Brewer's Den in Boronia, Vic. (Note it weighs 60kg full)

I know that both Greensborough and Narre Warren HBS can also get them in.

might have to look into that myself , saves paying the $10.50 a month im paying at the moment , my bottle never moves a lot so a bigger one wouldnt hurt at all .. wonder if grain and grape can get them at that cost too

 

[Kleiny]

might have to look into that myself , saves paying the $10.50 a month im paying at the moment , my bottle never moves a lot so a bigger one wouldnt hurt at all .. wonder if grain and grape can get them at that cost too

You would want to hurry
ive been told by a local supplier. air liquide is not happy about this mistake and is working to fix it asap
some places might not know about the f#@k up yet and they are your best bet
however when your first yearly contract runs out they will up the monthly rent to what it is meant to be


Spiderpig
some blokes use old CO2 extinguishers if you can get one in date, not sure that a reg fits straight on but somebody will be able to tell you.
Only thing is you have too find somebody who will fill it for you.

 

[itguy1953]

Greetings all,

A mate of mine and I have been brewing since the start of the year, so still really new at this. Together though we have made a few brews, all k&K but I have got into experimenting with Hops and Grain of late and loving it. Hoping to take this further of course.

My mate is looking at his options as he really wants to get into kegging and do away with bottles. In our research, one of the more expensive aspects of this stage is getting CO2 bottles, renting them or buying them seems really expensive. Do any of you guys have any suggestions as to how we can do this cheaper? What are most of you doing out there? There has to be a better way.

Cheers.

To get started, buy a converter to hook a soda stream gas bottle to your regulator. These are available on ebay for around $35. Later on you can use this system as a back up, or for taking to parties.

When you put your beer into the 18l cornie keg, put in 1/2 cup of Dextrose (dissolve in a cup of boiling water first, otherwise it will cause the green beer to foam up in the keg) in with it. Then leave your keg for a week or so at fermentation temp before cooling it for drinking. The Dextrose will ferment and prime the beer with approx the right amount of gas for you to drink it. This way you only need the soda stream gas bottle to push the beer out, and a bottle should last 20 or more kegs.

Another tip is to put off the bottom of your cornie's liquid tube so that it is 2cm off the bottom of the keg. This way, you will not suck up the yeast when you first pour your beer.

After you empty your keg, a simple swirl around with cold water and the residual yeast will move off the bottom, and you can rinse it out. If this does not work, you can use a rag on a stick and scrub the bottom of the keg. Finally soak with some Iodophor solution until you are ready to use the keg again. Some of my mates put 4-5 literes of boiling water into the keg after removing most of the crud, and this will kill off any yeast if you leave it in there for 1/2 hour or so, then use your Iodophor.

Best of luck. Kegging is much quicker than bottling, but be sure that you keep the keg internals clean and sanitised, otherwise an infection can wipe out 18 litres of beer in one hit. It is a good idea to sanitise the posts and tubes etc on a regular basis.

Barry

 

[crozdog]

Spiderpig
some blokes use old CO2 extinguishers if you can get one in date, not sure that a reg fits straight on but somebody will be able to tell you.
Only thing is you have too find somebody who will fill it for you.

They don't have to be old

Some of the heads on the extinguishers have the correct thread for a reg to screw straight on. Search AHB & you will find out more info as this has been covered before.

Any fire / co2 refiller will refill em.

Some say you need to remove the dip tube. I initially used mine upside down, but haven't bothered this refil. Still works fine.

 

[chris.taylor.98]

You would want to hurry
ive been told by a local supplier. air liquide is not happy about this mistake and is working to fix it asap
some places might not know about the f#@k up yet and they are your best bet
however when your first yearly contract runs out they will up the monthly rent to what it is meant to be


Spiderpig
some blokes use old CO2 extinguishers if you can get one in date, not sure that a reg fits straight on but somebody will be able to tell you.
Only thing is you have too find somebody who will fill it for you.

The story that I heard from the homebrew shop was that they where running out of 5.5kg cylinders and could not replace them with the old steel ones. The new 5.5kg cylinders are aluminum and are a lot more expensive, hence the hike in yearly rental.

 

[KGB]

Another vote for extinguishers, search on here. There is PLENTY of info.