Kegging Setups

[caney]

Love the use of structural timber beams as the collar. That lid isn't going to collapse on the collar is it! hahaha

Adds some charm to the aesthetics. There was some method to my madness, I did plan on using a flooded font on the top of the freezer, but the freezer lid itself was far to flimsy to support the weight of the font.

 

[KegLand-com-au]

Hey Brewpeeps,
Thought id share an update on my new keezer build. Struggled with a 6 keg fridge, and the mrs drinks a **** tonne of soda water, so bit the bullet and upscaled.

Westinghouse 700L freezer, with a custom steel frame underneath on wheels so I can move the behemoth around.

Designed to take 2 x 50L kegs, 6-8 x 19L & 2 x 9.5L cornies.

Micromatic secondary regs to control each 50L keg and the larger cornies all setup through a main line system.

5 of Perlick 650SS flow controls to finish off.

Just need to arrange a drip tray, thinking of running a 1500mm shower drain across the front. Any other suggestions?

Cheers
Caney

It's quite unusual to see home brewers using the 50L kegs. Do you really like using them? One particular concern I should point out is that with the commercial keg couplers if you accidentally have the handle down while the keg is disconnected the your gas leaks out the handle. So I really prefer to use ball lock disconnects on the keg couplers so you can easily detach the keg coupler from the gas line. Generally speaking I would just use corny kegs only.

 

[fdsaasdf]

It's quite unusual to see home brewers using the 50L kegs. Do you really like using them? One particular concern I should point out is that with the commercial keg couplers if you accidentally have the handle down while the keg is disconnected the your gas leaks out the handle. So I really prefer to use ball lock disconnects on the keg couplers so you can easily detach the keg coupler from the gas line. Generally speaking I would just use corny kegs only.

I've used 50L kegs for catering events but as they're too heavy to lift when full I stick to 19L and 9L kegs for beer. Like @caney I have used 50L kegs for sparkling water but only when I have enough spare room, in that case I only fill in place.

I leave my coupler on the 50L keg all the time and I've never had a problem with leaks, through half a dozen events and plenty of water fills.

 

[caney]

50L kegs are ****. Just waiting for my snaplok couplers, then there will be no leaks. Disconnect the fitting, remove keg and coupler.
Plus I also have my partay setup, it was designed for 50's.
Fits like a finger in a bum.

 

[eyeofthebeerholder]

I went ahead and ordered a Westinghouse WCM2900WD (not the same as above). After measuring, it appears it will hold 6x 19L kegs.

I'll report back here on how it goes!

So here's the update. It will hold 6x 19L. I've only got 3 kegs right now (not all connected up yet). Also used my old fridge for fermenting. Both temp controlled.

 

[Ben Davies]

Nice work that is some cold storage space there plenty room to lager. You reckon them castors are up to the task?

 

[caney]

Nice work that is some cold storage space there plenty room to lager. You reckon them castors are up to the task?

Hope so, they are good for 40kg each x 6. I gave them a good lube before taking weight, though I must admit it is difficult to maneuver, but I would say alot easier than no castor and trying to lift or drag.

 

[Ben Davies]

Hope so, they are good for 40kg each x 6. I gave them a good lube before taking weight, though I must admit it is difficult to maneuver, but I would say alot easier than no castor and trying to lift or drag.

YEP I use castors on my brew stand and ferm chamber you can move if need for cleaning purposes.

 

[devoutharpist]

Hopefully this is the right thread....

Looking at moving from bottles to kegs. Been fine with bottles for years but lately my priming has been inconsistent for unknown reasons.... and i'm not sure if i cbf spending all that time bottling anymore.

So i've done some very rough sums and for a 2 keg system, i think i might just buy a "pre-built" fridge instead of trying to get a good deal on a second hand fridge of freezer (despite this going against my DIY beliefs).

Any opinions on the keg king and kegland 2 tap kegerators? I've tentatively narrowed it down to one of these two. They look essentially the same so i guess they might be coming out of the same factory? I also don't want to turn this into a KL or KK fight as i have seen happen here before, just interested in experiences with these keg fridges. Or, any other alternatives around the same price range?

Did some searching on the forums, but couldn't easily find the info i was after.

Cheers

 

[Ben Davies]

Hopefully this is the right thread....

Looking at moving from bottles to kegs. Been fine with bottles for years but lately my priming has been inconsistent for unknown reasons.... and i'm not sure if i cbf spending all that time bottling anymore.

So i've done some very rough sums and for a 2 keg system, i think i might just buy a "pre-built" fridge instead of trying to get a good deal on a second hand fridge of freezer (despite this going against my DIY beliefs).

Any opinions on the keg king and kegland 2 tap kegerators? I've tentatively narrowed it down to one of these two. They look essentially the same so i guess they might be coming out of the same factory? I also don't want to turn this into a KL or KK fight as i have seen happen here before, just interested in experiences with these keg fridges. Or, any other alternatives around the same price range?

Did some searching on the forums, but couldn't easily find the info i was after.

Cheers

Hey I'm in the same route at the moment. My story gotta give the Bro his 3 keg Keg king keggerator back. Now I cut my teeth on this unit so to speak and it is a great first step unit I into kegging as all is done and dusted all you gotta do is brew the beer keg it then connect it carb it and serve it.

Now I to the details..
A 3keg unit locally was looking at $700 from local retail store I think it's a bit cheaper to get a deal from the suppliers. But ...
Limitations only max 3 kegs
The supply line coils getting in the road above kegs.
If back keg kicks the 're shuffleing of settled kegs to get back empty keg out.
Just a few loose points of reference.
For a little DIY you can source a cheaper deal I know but you gotta put the time in. It's up to you. See what comes up. Cheers another keggerator build.

 

[beer gut]

As far as I researched they are exactly the same model fridge (apart from the branding), but kegland has higher quality taps (intertap), a better spec regulator (mk4) and better quality beer and gas lines (eva barrier with duotight fittings). Another thing was keg king had cheaper product prices but after shipping to Perth they were more expensive than kegland. I am eagerly waiting for Tuesday when my 3 tap kegerator arrives from kegland.

 

[Timbo]

As far as I researched they are exactly the same model fridge (apart from the branding), but kegland has higher quality taps (intertap), a better spec regulator (mk4) and better quality beer and gas lines (eva barrier with duotight fittings). Another thing was keg king had cheaper product prices but after shipping to Perth they were more expensive than kegland. I am eagerly waiting for Tuesday when my 3 tap kegerator arrives from kegland.

Yeah, I believe they’re the same. My one has been in getting repaired, pinched cable stopping the font fan from working properly which I discovered a week after setting it up. Frustrating but otherwise seems to work well. Picked mine up from Keg King but only because I’m local and didn’t want to pay delivery. Touch wood it’s smooth sailing from here.

 

[Timbo]

This is my humble garage setup:

Basic kegerator rig with triple font, temp controlled bar fridge for fermenting, gas stored in cupboard with other gear. 6kg & 2.3kg. Ran to fridge via hole in back of cupboard. 3 kegs in total with more on the way. Running a four way manifold inside fridge.

Scored the cupboard for 95 bucks from ikea - added another shelf for storage made out of timber left from our backyard landscaping. Bar fridge have had for years, hacked out some door trim to fit a 30L fermenter - planning on pulling the average looking stickers off it and making it look nicer. Artwork of retro beer coasters above cupboard. Keen to deck it out a bit more in the future as we’ve built a new home and only just managed to find the odd hour to tend to this as other jobs like landscaping are apparently more important Few nice beer signs/posters/clock maybe...?

I’m super jealous of some of the awesome setups I’ve seen in this thread, but considering the missus will only let me do this in the garage away from our "nice" things in the house, I’m pretty happy with it. To be honest, I’m actually surprised she let me set this up at all.

A big thank you to the countless inspirations in this thread. Just having a dark ale - cheers!

 

[devoutharpist]

So an update, which is mainly a question

I put together my new kegging system on the weekend (v4 with two taps). Did a pressure test last night, hooked it all up as if i was serving with kegs 3/4 of tap water. Put 20psi on, checked water came out the taps, then left it a few minutes and closed off the bottle, then wound back the regulator. Still sitting at 20psi.

Overnight it has dropped about 10psi, sprayed soapy water over the connectors, connections and joins but couldn't see any of the bubbling. Also submerged whatever i could with no bubbling. Any ideas/should i be concerned?

Dare i ask a stupid question, but my knowledge of the physics of gasses is quite low. Could this just be some CO2 going into the water? Like it would go into the beer if i were carbonating?

 

[wide eyed and legless]

If the temperature of the water was dropping the co2 will dissolve into it. Was it in the fridge?

 

[devoutharpist]

If the temperature of the water was dropping the co2 will dissolve into it. Was it in the fridge?

In the fridge, but not turned on. There would have been a drop in ambient temp overnight, maybe 4 or 5C, so maybe i do have some very lightly carbonated water now.

 

[Timbo]

Do your pressure test without kegs hooked up first. That way you’ll know if you have no leaks in the gas line. If that’s sweet after 24hrs, then hook up your keg, spray disconnects with soapy water. Sometimes they don’t mate properly at the post. Beer leaks are pretty obvious, you’ll see beer... Gas can be hard to detect. Use keg lube on rubber o rings on posts, helps seal the connection between the disconnects.

Pressure tests with kegs connected aren’t always a true indication as the liquid will most likely absorb co2, definitely will if cold.

 

[devoutharpist]

Do your pressure test without kegs hooked up first. That way you’ll know if you have no leaks in the gas line. If that’s sweet after 24hrs, then hook up your keg, spray disconnects with soapy water. Sometimes they don’t mate properly at the post. Beer leaks are pretty obvious, you’ll see beer... Gas can be hard to detect. Use keg lube on rubber o rings on posts, helps seal the connection between the disconnects.

Pressure tests with kegs connected aren’t always a true indication as the liquid will most likely absorb co2, definitely will if cold.

Reseated the inlet from the keg and made sure it was done up extra tight, lubed the post on the regulator (swapped the outlet it came with for the post, used some thread sealant) and connected gas lines only. Seems to have held pressure overnight, but i am not going to be optimistic until i see it holding pressure by the end of the day.

A further question though, what difference (if any) does it make leaving the regulator diaphragm open or closed when doing a pressure test like this?

 

[Timbo]

Reseated the inlet from the keg and made sure it was done up extra tight, lubed the post on the regulator (swapped the outlet it came with for the post, used some thread sealant) and connected gas lines only. Seems to have held pressure overnight, but i am not going to be optimistic until i see it holding pressure by the end of the day.

A further question though, what difference (if any) does it make leaving the regulator diaphragm open or closed when doing a pressure test like this?

It does matter, as the regulator will keep allowing pressure to come through if there’s a leak, and you’ll end up with an empty bottle. Doing a pressure test on the gas system, with the co2 turned off at the bottle, with No disconnects connected to any keg, will tell you if you’re losing gas in your gas lines and connections. If you hook the gas disconnect to the keg while doing this, there’s no way of telling whether you’re leaking gas or whatever you’ve got kegged is absorbing the co2. 24hr pressure test on gas side only, no kegs. If that’s good, then soapy water on gas disconnect on when you hook it up to the keg. If no bubbles, then you should be good to leave it. Just be sure to make sure it’s seated well with lots keg lube.

Unless someone else knows, as far as I’m aware, there’s no way to pressure test when a liquid is absorbing co2 in a keg. The pressure will drop as the liquid absorbs it.

Hopefully this helps. It’s what I do. If there’s a better way, I’d love to here it though!

 

[devoutharpist]

It does matter, as the regulator will keep allowing pressure to come through if there’s a leak, and you’ll end up with an empty bottle.

I am assuming that this part only matters if you have the gas bottle itself open at its valve? unless i am missing something major here.

But anyway, good news... so, gas on, no disconnects attached to a keg and pressurised the system up to 30psi. Then i shut the gas bottle off at the valve but didn't touch the regulator, held pressure for 24 hours. Guess reattaching the regulator and lubing the post did the trick.

Many thanks and time to clean up and sanitise one of the kegs to finally keg something.