Kegging questions

[donald_trub]

Evening lads, I'm thinking about getting into kegging before the silly season is upon us. I've got a few questions I'm hoping you can answer to help me along my way. I'm thinking about a Keg Master 3, with 3 kegs and 3 taps. I'm not against spending a bit of money for a nice setup. I'm thinking of chucking it in my spare bedroom. I have a couple of questions:

1. How often do spills occur? The most likely place for me to put this is in a spare carpeted bedroom. Do leaks/spills happen from time to time, or will the carpet be safe? I'd probably put down one of those plastic mats from Officeworks that protect floors from rolling office chairs, will this be enough? I've heard a few horror stories of leaks and spills that can go unnoticed for a day or two, and this has me worried.
2. I want to have 3 taps. I don't think I'll need 3 different pressures but I was thinking it would be nice to have 2 different pressures across 3 kegs. Is that simply a dual regulator with one of the lines split?
3. How long will beer keep for on tap? Based on what I'm reading, you could probably get a couple of months out of a keg. Is that right?
4. I think I'm down with Perlick taps. Any other brands worth considering?
5. Lagering in the fridge - I've never done a lager but I'm guessing I could primary ferment in my normal bucket/ferment fridge, rack to a keg for secondary conditioning and keep it in the keg fridge for a month or so? If this is right, do I use the normal keg lid or do I use glad wrap or something while it's conditioning?
6. Is there any chance of replicating something closer towards a hand pumped ale from a beer engine, by using a keg with CO2? Anything I can do with lower carbonation or serving pressure to get close to this?

Thanks guys, pretty excited to make the jump!

 

[TheWiggman]

A wise choice to move into kegging. Many benefits.

1. They don't really unless you overfill your glass. A few drips from the bottom isn't uncommon.
2. Spot on.
3. I don't think there's any difference between kegs and bottles in that regard. I keep my lagers for months in the keg and they keep getting better. Ales on the other hand lose some character after about 3 months. An RIS or similar though would keep getting better in the keg and can be stored safely provided it maintains pressure.
4. I have minimal experience but yes, Perlicks are the bee's knees. Andale are well regarded, and I believe Micromatic are decent as well.
5. I personally go straight from the fermenter to the keg. No need for a secondary. Lagering occurs in the fridge as long as you have it cold enough. FYI I leave my lagers in the primary for up to 5 weeks with no ill-effects.
6. If you want the real thing you can't use CO2 reliably. The liquid will readily absorb the gas. There are threads on here discussing it, but you'll want a 70/30 mix of N:CO2 for more authentic ales.

 

[MastersBrewery]

Regarding tap choice I have perlic 545's with flow control, love 'em, if I were to changer I'd probably get the SS version.

With 3 taps you will probably want at least 5 kegs, if your going to use a garden sprayer for line cleaning then you could get away with 4.

other wise what Wiggman said!

 

[leighaus]

i have the perlick 650SS taps, which ive done my maiden pour on tonight. They are awesome. The flow control is amazing.

 

[Moad]

I went perlick ss without flow control, wish I went flow control.

As for mess, the only possibility is if you get a bad leak. I've had half a keg in the bottom of my keezer once!

 

[Edak]

I agree with the crowd here, perlick 545pc and they are great! I would like the stainless version, not that it's necessary. Haven't tried the garden sprayer trick yet but sounds like a great idea. At the moment I only clean lines after a keg blows.

 

[Blind Dog]

Nitrogen for authentic ales. Heathen

Next you'll be suggesting sparklers

I'm sending the lads from CAMRA round...in sandals!

 

[donald_trub]

Yeah the leaks or dodgy connections worry me a little. Don't want to make a mess on the carpet in the spare bedroom. Sounds like it's not much of an issue though, but could happen.

Just looked up the flow control taps and they look pretty good to me, will definitely try to get these.

With 3 taps you will probably want at least 5 kegs, if your going to use a garden sprayer for line cleaning then you could get away with 4.

Can you elaborate on this? I don't think I could really store more beyond 3 kegs (the ones inside the keg fridge) and I figured once one runs low I'd have something ready in the fermenting fridge anyway.

Another question. how often is cleaning the lines necessary? I'm not planning on becoming an alcoholic so would say it's likely some of the taps don't get used for a week at a time.

 

[Kingy]

You can always have extra kegs hooked up to the gas but sitting outside of the fridge. They will still age, when there's room for em just chuck em in chill it down and ready to go.

 

[donald_trub]

Do they even need to be hooked up to the gas? Can't I carbonate them and then disconnect them and they'll still hold their carbonation?

 

[leighaus]

As long as they are kept cool, I don't see it being an issue.. It's just a big bottle essentially.. keep it somewhat cool and a regular temp at least.

 

[Kingy]

Do they even need to be hooked up to the gas? Can't I carbonate them and then disconnect them and they'll still hold their carbonation?

It takes about a week and a bit if I just let my kegs chill and carbonate at the set pressure of 65ish kpa. My understanding is it takes longer at warm temperatures to absorb CO2. So It could be a few weeks before it's fully carbed and be able'd to be disconnected from the gas and just sit there. I'd just leave it hooked up personally that way you know it's always under pressure and the seal on the keg is tight.
When you put it in the fridge/keezer and it chills down it's already carbonated and conditioned like a big bottle that's been sitting at ambient temps.