Kegging Setups

[doon]

Did you gelatine in keg? Sometime dip tube can gunk up with beer jelly if not done right

 

[MAX POWER]

Hi, I'm new so go easy... Never posted to a forum before. Sorry. Anyway, this may or may not be answered somewhere else but again, I have no idea. I had a bit of a look around and figured "set ups" and hardware may be the general area of what I need help with.

Anyhow, I just newly set up my kegging system tonight. I'm running a small 5lb co2 with a keg king mk2 regulator, standard ball lock corny, proper lines and clamps, no leaks.

As per instructional videos on youtube I decided to force carb my first keg as I was keen to taste it. I followed all the instructions and whacked it on about 25psi for 4 to 5 mins. I gently rocked it back and forth on my knees as I sat down and I could hear the bubbles like you're meant to. Ok, so all good, the 5 mins or so was up I purged my regulator and set it back to about 14psi or so for pouring pressure and alas there's nothing coming out of my tap but a few drops.

Am I not waiting long enough? Should it be flowing properly after this amount of time? What have I not done right? Any help would be great as I have a great brew waiting to be consumed and I can't get that goodness out of the damn tap!! haha

Could it be that you still have the gas and beer disconnects reveresed? I know for force carbing you usually gas through the beer line.

 

[BigT76]

Been over a few things. Taps are long shank with pour flow valves, and yeah they're open ahah. Shouldn't be any hop debris, I had it steeped in cheesecloth so nothing could get out. Only thing there would be is minimal sediment. I'm guessing it's got something to do with the connects because I've just been over the set up starting with the co2 and it's all ok, it's brand new and full so no issue there, all the lines are sealed tight and as I've set it up on a dual manifold gas line but not set up the second keg yet, gas is running through there fine. Anyway, got a pal with a similar set up just got to get hold of him

 

[BigT76]

@ Krausen, no I forced gas through the gas inlet. Was that wrong? Now it seems liquid has come up through the gas inlet nipple and into the connect but not up the gas line though. Is that my mistake?

 

[Camo6]

Are they Kegking flow control taps? I think someone had problems with those if they were tightened onto the shank with the flow lever in the closed position.

Can you see beer in the beer line to the tap?

 

[BigT76]

Yeah beer definitely started coming through the line, just dribbled out drop by drop out of the tap though, no pressure there at all even at like 30psi

 

[Camo6]

You could try disconnecting from the keg, remove the tap from the shank, set the lever to full open so the flow control cone moves towards the spout, then retighten tap to shank. May not fix your problem but I think it worked for another forum member.

 

[BigT76]

Thanks everyone for your help. I can now say that it's working!!! I didn't realize just how frikkin hard you had to push those disconnects down. The gas side was fine but the bev out connector really had to be pushed down quite hard even with lube. Anyway, it's on now and I'm enjoying a glass of my Mangrove Jacks dark brown ale. 7.8%

 

[doon]

You shouldnt have to push them down that hard. You sure you got the right connect on

 

[BigT76]

I'm guessing it's because they are reco kegs and haven't been used in a while, or maybe mine and your idea of hard is different? lol. Yeah I got the handicap connects mate, gray for gas, black for beer.

 

[doon]

Weird only time ive had a hars time with getting them on is when i couldnt see which side was which as keg was at back of fridge and i put them on wrong side

 

[manticle]

Go through the obvious. Make sure you have the correct plugs on the correct sides and the correct disconnects on the correct posts.
With lube, it should be easy enough. Do they come off easily enough?

 

[Camo6]

They're not Kegking disconnects are they? I use these and a couple are a bit distorted and need lube to go on easy.

Like Manticle says, double check your beer and gas posts in case they were previously misfitted. Gas posts should have a notch or groove around the base.

Grey & Grooved for Gas,

Black & Bare for Beer,

Glad you got it sorted in time for Cup Day. I wish I did. All my taps are dry .

 

[Weizguy]

Thanks everyone for your help. I can now say that it's working!!! I didn't realize just how frikkin hard you had to push those disconnects down. The gas side was fine but the bev out connector really had to be pushed down quite hard even with lube. Anyway, it's on now and I'm enjoying a glass of my Mangrove Jacks dark brown ale. 7.8%

I was going to suggest that you ensure the connector is firmly pressed on.

As they're reco kegs, it's possible that the in and out connectors (or posts) are reversed (i.e. on the wrong sides), and that could be why it's a tight fit. I have a similar issue at home with a couple of my kegs.

Good luck and enjoy your kegging.

*Edit - I'll continue editing until I think I'm becoming clear

 

[Offline]

I feel that i'm over due for an update in this thread,
so here goes. Bar setup



Party setup

 

[thuperman]

Posting my setup as a few people on here have really helped me with advice.

Mmmmm... Beer!




Font attached to underside of the lid.


Kegs and Reg.

 

[Sixdemonbag]

So after plenty of research and plenty of procrastination, I've put together a one keg/one tap kegerator.

I went with a fairly inexpensive, slim fit, thermoelectric bar fridge. I was a bit worried about it getting cold enough but its perfect (more on this later).

It fits a 3 Gal keg, co2 bottle, and a few small and large beer bottles in the door and on the rack.

The tower is insulated with roof insulation and i have copper piping running all the way up the tower. This leads down to a T, and has a further 2 feet of copper running into the fridge.


I've also added a small fan to help the circulation. It's running on a timer and cycles every 30 mins. It's running of an old 12v adapter.

Initially, the temps ran at 0 celcius at the bottom and 5c at the top at its lowest setting. But after running the fan it's settled at 0-2c.

I've only just kegged my first beer (an ipa!) so I haven't poured anything yet besides pbw…

Going to try keg hopping for the first time.

 

[rude]

very nice I recon a German Munich Dunkel or Kolsch would fit the scene nicely

 

[H0U5ECAT]

Tidy.

 

[Ciderman]

So I picked up an absurdly cheap gumtree deal on the weekend which included a 6.8kg 'mykegsonlegs' co2 canister. It's that big that takes up the space of a keg. I'm in the process of building a keezer and its thrown a spanner in the works as my chest freezer was on the small side to begin with. My question is can the co2 be on the outside or am I better off just trading in the chest freezer for something bigger?

 

[Liam_snorkel]

yeah put it on the outside, I do.

 

[Ciderman]

So you would just drill a hole through the side and silicon up the gaps?

 

[Liam_snorkel]

yeah through the collar (not through the side of the freezer itself). If you drill a hole the same diameter as your gas line it should be pretty snug.

 

[pk.sax]

Lots of collar builds man. Get on it.

 

[squeaker]

U can also use chalk board wallpaper , I have laminated the top of my freezer with this , I painted my last one but its a messy job this was much easier


http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=281156043531

 

[MaltyHops]

So I picked up an absurdly cheap gumtree deal on the weekend which included a 6.8kg 'mykegsonlegs' co2 canister. It's that big that takes up the space of a keg. I'm in the process of building a keezer and its thrown a spanner in the works as my chest freezer was on the small side to begin with. My question is can the co2 be on the outside or am I better off just trading in the chest freezer for something bigger?

Hope you guys have the following warning (from KegKing) in mind:

SHOULD I GET A LARGER CYLINDER?
No, a 2.6kg is the largest recommended safe size to be used in domestic environments. CO2 is DEADLY in concentrations above 18% in the atmosphere. A 2.6kg cylinder is the maximum recommended size cylinder you should be using without proper extraction fans and CO2 detecting equipment installed in your cellar or closed bar area. A 3kg CO2 cylinder is enough to make a 50cumic meter room a deadly environment. Only ever use a larger cylnder if you are outside or in an area which is well ventilated

 

[Liam_snorkel]

Mine is outside (the fridge, and the house)

 

[jonnir]

U can also use chalk board wallpaper , I have laminated the top of my freezer with this , I painted my last one but its a messy job this was much easier http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=281156043531

I'm about to get a start on my keezer build over the weekend, when you say messy. The paint job doesn't look as good?

 

[Ciderman]

Thanks for the advice. It was essentially free otherwise I would have bought a smaller size to fit the freezer. It will be outside on the deck area once it's finished.

I wasn't planning on building a collar as I was going to put a font on the top and build a bar around it. I may have to by the sounds of it.

 

[Liam_snorkel]

You might be able to just run the gas line under the deal at the back where the hinge is, if you add a small strip of compressible foam it should be pretty close to air tight. Safer than drilling in and nicking a coolant line.