KegLand Questions and Answers

[fifis101]

This is how I have mine set up - no leaks no problems.

Awesome stuff. Same way I'll do mine I reckon. Are the check valve necessary? What's your reasoning for them?

 

[duncbrewer]

What's the pink brew?

I just used the ball lock connectors with the NRV built in. The idea is that only gas can go in and no liquid or gas can come out. So no siphoning up the gas tube if keg full, or balancing your system using keg pressure rather than injected CO2.
Not sure if the inline regulators act as non return valves, I have only one after my sparkling water keg which the regulator controls to 30psi and then beer is at 12 psi after the inline regulator.

 

[Jayvan90]

Awesome stuff. Same way I'll do mine I reckon. Are the check valve necessary? What's your reasoning for them?

Probably not but I do stupid things sometimes - they are a cheap enough for the extra bit safety they offer from me doing dumb things

 

[Jayvan90]

What's the pink brew?

I just used the ball lock connectors with the NRV built in. The idea is that only gas can go in and no liquid or gas can come out. So no siphoning up the gas tube if keg full, or balancing your system using keg pressure rather than injected CO2.
Not sure if the inline regulators act as non return valves, I have only one after my sparkling water keg which the regulator controls to 30psi and then beer is at 12 psi after the inline regulator.

Red lemonade for the kids of course !
My young fella likes to “brew” stuff for his own tap while dads making beer.

I wasn’t sure if the inline regs act as nrv either so put extra in since I do dumb things - I already had all of the other bits so instead of buying new gas disconnects I just got the in-line nrvs

 

[duncbrewer]

Didn't think it would be sparkling Rose.
Best thing I did was spurred a low pressure gauge to the top part of my keg fridge so that I can see the pressure without opening it up and getting a magnifying glass out to read the pressure on the inline regulator. Also fitted an old STC 1000 ( that broke as a controller) as a temperature display.

 

[Jayvan90]

Didn't think it would be sparkling Rose.
Best thing I did was spurred a low pressure gauge to the top part of my keg fridge so that I can see the pressure without opening it up and getting a magnifying glass out to read the pressure on the inline regulator. Also fitted an old STC 1000 ( that broke as a controller) as a temperature display.
View attachment 120140

Do you need to be able to read what pressure they are at? .. I just got them because I thought it would be handy to dial in the pour for each individual tap - even with my 2x reading glasses I can’t read those things !

 

[duncbrewer]

As you say very difficult to read those regulators. As I'm a one inline regulator onto 4 kegs it does let me know what's going on inside. But not that necessary. It is good to see the needle going up and down as the NRV lets gas into kegs. I think that the non return valves and the inline regulator do mean that I have to run a few more psi than if they weren't there. Do you have an opinion on that?
I will get another inline regulator if I modify the fridge a bit so that I can fit 2 more kegs in ( just a bit of trimming of the shelf supports is needed ) and then I'll put a wheat beer in.

 

[DazGore]

The inline non returns take about 1.5 psi (0.1 bar) extra pressure

 

[duncbrewer]

Thanks that seems to explain why my system works nicely at 13 psi with the inline regulator and NRV on the kegs.

 

[Jayvan90]

As you say very difficult to read those regulators. As I'm a one inline regulator onto 4 kegs it does let me know what's going on inside. But not that necessary. It is good to see the needle going up and down as the NRV lets gas into kegs. I think that the non return valves and the inline regulator do mean that I have to run a few more psi than if they weren't there. Do you have an opinion on that?
I will get another inline regulator if I modify the fridge a bit so that I can fit 2 more kegs in ( just a bit of trimming of the shelf supports is needed ) and then I'll put a wheat beer in.

Honestly haven’t looked at the pressures that closely- I have the regulator on the bottle set to 15psi then just use the minis to dial in the pour .. too much foam I trim it back - no foam and slow pour dial it up a bit. Usually find the happy spot with a couple of pours but generally start around 11psi on the mini

 

[duncbrewer]

Next question is why is the EVA barrier tubing in 39 foot lengths?

 

[GrumpyPaul]

Hey @KegLand-com-au

Saw your email with the cheapy $2 hydrometers.

Have you ever thought of making plastic ones like the Coopers ones. They certainly don't break when dropped.

 

[Jayvan90]

Next question is why is the EVA barrier tubing in 39 foot lengths?

When I was reading up on balancing lines and line lengths a lot of people giving advice said to start around 10 feet tube length (start long you can always trim back if too slow) and the lower the ID the better. I chose 4mm ID and started with 3m lengths - I was getting good pours at that without asking myself what I was doing wrong and settled there since i have seen a lot of people having difficulty and asking for help on balancing their systems so they don’t end up with just glass after glass of foam.

 

[duncbrewer]

I'm getting good pours with about 5 foot lengths.
I actually just wondered why the 39 foot length was settled on, not 50 foot or 10 metres but nearly 12 metres.

Perhaps it comes in 120 metre rolls and is cut down. I found that 39 foot was enough for a 6 keg refrigerator and the gas lines.

One of lifes' little puzzles.

 

[Jayvan90]

I'm getting good pours with about 5 foot lengths.
I actually just wondered why the 39 foot length was settled on, not 50 foot or 10 metres but nearly 12 metres.

Perhaps it comes in 120 metre rolls and is cut down. I found that 39 foot was enough for a 6 keg refrigerator and the gas lines.

One of lifes' little puzzles.

Hahahaha! I am an idiot ... I thought you asking why my liquid lines were so long - think I was a roll and a bit for this one 12m on liquid line and 3 - 4m gas

 

[donald_trub]

Kegland, about these upcoming cask bladders. They sound like a bloody fantastic idea, very clever. I was thinking maybe an extra gas port on the corny keg lid might be a good idea, so we could lightly carbonate the beer and then put a higher pressure on the regular gas post for dispensing. Would that work?

 

[theSeekerr]

Kegland, about these upcoming cask bladders. They sound like a bloody fantastic idea, very clever. I was thinking maybe an extra gas port on the corny keg lid might be a good idea, so we could lightly carbonate the beer and then put a higher pressure on the regular gas post for dispensing. Would that work?

I don't think it entirely works out, though there might be a small benefit. The pressures inside and outside the bag are going to be equal, so if there's any gas headspace in the bag (and if you carbonate it, there will be, since it will come to equilibrium with some gas not in solution) that CO2 will get pressurised to the same pressure as the gas outside the bag.

 

[BrewLizard]

They do sound like a great idea. I think they would be even more amazing if able to be used in portable growlers for friends that don't have CO2 gear. Having to buy tiny 8-16 g CO2 cartridges is painful.

 

[duncbrewer]

How about sterilising a small wine bag ( deflated no contents ) and fitting connectors and tube to it and onto the gas post inside the growler. Then fill remaining space with beer, seal up growler. Then just pump air or water into the bag via the gas in on growler and the beer is forced out.
No need for CO2 that way, as short term solution.

 

[BrewLizard]

Wouldn't it be a lot easier to have the beer in the bag and the air pressure externally? That mitigates the problem of having a perfectly-sized bag that has to physically displace every part of the keg.

 

[duncbrewer]

That's the other way to go, as long as the bag is bigger than the growler capacity it would fill all the spaces as it inflates.
It is the way things like keykegs work so the beer gets squeezed out. I suppose you want the pressure outside the beer filled bag to match the pressure inside to stop the gas coming out inside the bag and getting flat beer.

 

[KegLand-com-au]

Hey KL team, any plans for a beer engine/hand pump?

We are in the process of making bladders to fit into standard corny kits. I think we are getting really close with this now. Once the bladders kits are available for this application there should be no reason to use a beer engine/hand pump from a practical standpoint as you will be able to use CO2 or even compressed air to dispense a low carbonated or flat beverage through a sparkler and then get the same results as a hand/pump. the cost of the setup will be less and also will not require significant changes to the bar area or tap system.

So we would like to release these bladders first and then see what guys like yourself think. If you guys really want the "romance" of having a beer engine looking device we might look at it again after the bladders are released.

 

[KegLand-com-au]

Bump please

Using StarSan or Stellarsan is the best way to store the jockey box as this type of acid based sanitiser will prevent microbes from growing in the lines. As we only use stainless steel tapware in our jockey boxes it's fine to leave acid in the lines and taps for extended period. (Please do not do this if you get brass taps but pretty much nobody buys brass taps these days)

I should also mention for you guys looking for some great portable options we are in the process of making some new Benchy units that have double tap and carbon heat sink and run on 12 or 24v. These are in the pipeline too and I think for a portable keg dispenser that you can run of your car or caravan kit this is an awesome solution so look out for these in future. They are way more compact and the carbon heat sink means you don't need to fill the unit with glycol or worry about the glycol spilling out in transit. I think for guys who like camping (like myself) or 4WD this is going to be awesome.

 

[KegLand-com-au]

Wouldn't it be a lot easier to have the beer in the bag and the air pressure externally? That mitigates the problem of having a perfectly-sized bag that has to physically displace every part of the keg.

Yes this is totally the way to go.

 

[KegLand-com-au]

This is how I have mine set up - no leaks no problems.

For our experiences so far we have found that the main issue if we hear of customers having leaks with duotight fittings is:

1. They are using the incorrect beer line type. Some beer line manufactures might say the line is 8mm but it's actually 7.9mm or something and this can cause problems. So either purchase our own Evabarrier beer line or some other brand designed for push in fittings.
2. We are getting some customers not push the line in far enough. It must push all the way to the back of the bump stop. One thing we are in the process of doing is putting marks on every duotight fitting to specify on each fitting how far the beer line needs to be pushed in. For instance if you look at these new duotight ball lock disconnects they have and arrow and line marking circled below:

I think quite a few customers do not realise how far the line is required to push in to get a good seal.

If you follow these two points we are quite confident that you will get a really good leakproof seal.

 

[duncbrewer]

That push in distance would be good to know please for the majority of us. Then I could mark the tube with a pen line before shoving it in and would be aware if not in enough or if later it moved out.

 

[KegLand-com-au]

That push in distance would be good to know please for the majority of us. Then I could mark the tube with a pen line before shoving it in and would be aware if not in enough or if later it moved out.

This does vary a little depending on which fitting design we use. So if you want to be sure the other way to determine the dept of the seat is to use something like a match stick or similarly sized pies of wire. You can put this into the hole and feel the dept. Then put it against the outside of the fitting and draw the line. So this is another way to determine the exact location of the seat. It's strange that other push in fittings on the market do not have any markings either. It really is something that should be done on all push in fittings. It will take us about 6-12 months to change all the injection moulds to include this marking.

 

[duncbrewer]

Thanks as I only have 8 mm T and the mfl adapters again for 8 mm won't be difficult to get the measure of them. Although I won't be pulling them out to check that I've pushed them in far enough as all okay at the moment and let sleeping dogs lie.
Any answer to the question of why the reels of 8mm EVA tubing are 39 feet long / 12 metres ?

 

[The Mack]

We are in the process of making bladders to fit into standard corny kits. I think we are getting really close with this now. Once the bladders kits are available for this application there should be no reason to use a beer engine/hand pump from a practical standpoint as you will be able to use CO2 or even compressed air to dispense a low carbonated or flat beverage through a sparkler and then get the same results as a hand/pump. the cost of the setup will be less and also will not require significant changes to the bar area or tap system.

So we would like to release these bladders first and then see what guys like yourself think. If you guys really want the "romance" of having a beer engine looking device we might look at it again after the bladders are released.

I thought it was the air (or N2 component of air) that created the tight bubbles/ mouthfeel / carbonation when pushed through a hand pump?

Probably a silly question but what benefits would a bladder provide other that single use/ sanitation?

 

[Ballaratguy]

Using StarSan or Stellarsan is the best way to store the jockey box as this type of acid based sanitiser will prevent microbes from growing in the lines. As we only use stainless steel tapware in our jockey boxes it's fine to leave acid in the lines and taps for extended period. (Please do not do this if you get brass taps but pretty much nobody buys brass taps these days)

I should also mention for you guys looking for some great portable options we are in the process of making some new Benchy units that have double tap and carbon heat sink and run on 12 or 24v. These are in the pipeline too and I think for a portable keg dispenser that you can run of your car or caravan kit this is an awesome solution so look out for these in future. They are way more compact and the carbon heat sink means you don't need to fill the unit with glycol or worry about the glycol spilling out in transit. I think for guys who like camping (like myself) or 4WD this is going to be awesome.

Now this sounds very interesting. Keep me informed on this please