KegLand Questions and Answers

[KegLand-com-au]

Buy another product then?

Also, the plastic joiners are too short, making it difficult to disassemble.

The push in fittings are touching when using the joiners - making it near impossible to get something thin enough, but sturdy enough, in the gap to disassemble the unit. I certainly didn't have anything readily on hand, nor the time or inclination to persevere with finding something suitable for disassembling it.

Yes we will be extending these plastic joiners. This is something we have new moulds getting made up for at the moment. It just will be a bit of a wait until these are finished.

 

[KegLand-com-au]

That seam definitely looks proud of the ball, how is that going to hold pressure? Unless your lucky enough to send the ball to its seat with the seam in a vertical position.

The seam is fine in this soft plastic. As the ball starts to seal the pressure builds up behind the ball pushing it harder making it seal. With that said if the pressure difference over the ball is not high enough it will never seal. The blowtie needs to be opened up a bit so not so much pressure is held back. This will not allow the float to work as intended.

 

[VicBadgery]

Yes we will be extending these plastic joiners. This is something we have new moulds getting made up for at the moment. It just will be a bit of a wait until these are finished.

Thanks for your responsiveness on this issue.

Is this the third design iteration? Floppy connectors, hard connectors but too short, and now longer hard connectors. Given the product development value to Kegland of user testing and feedback via earlier sales, and assuming that the new connectors may be swapped out for the old will Kegland give consideration to an upgrade to existing users at no or reduced cost?

 

[S.E]

Also one way to reduce the head space is to transfer absolutely everything from your kettle into the BrewZilla including the hops and hot break. This will settle into the cone as it cools.

I think the point desmogod was making above is the hot wort will contract considerably as it cools causing the brewzilla to implode, have they been tested for this?

Cubes are fine as they implode but pop back into shape after they are opened and refilled. However when folk first started using cubes for this they thought why not do it in a corny keg but found either the seal on the keg leaked drawing in air or it didn’t and the keg collapsed and was buckled and damaged.

Will the Brewzilla withstand constant contracting then pop back into shape again when it is opened?

 

[dkril]

Yes we are continuing to expand the range of all the duotight fittings.

I should say that 9.5mm (3/8inch) is quite large for a kegerator system. Are you using a kegerator or an icebank/glycol chiller? What other threaded fittings would you like to see in the 9.5mm (3/8inch) size?

Yep, a kegerator. I don't argue whether it's too big, too small or too old -- it works!

My first priority would be 9.5mm to FFL (preferably in both straight and right angle). You say in the duotight video that 9.5mm OD is usually used for chillers or gas lines, but there's no means to connect it to a gas disconnect (unless using Snaplocks or similar).

Ideally I'd like to see every combination of connections (all the various threads, and different sized push in connections) and configurations (straight, right angle, taps and tees); but I understand that would probably not be economical.

OTOH, it looks a bit silly that the flow stopper doo-dad needs so many connectors and joiners. Why not a 5/8"-FFL right angle for the bottom, instead of 5 separate components? Ditto the blow-tie kit.




Another question: is there another reason besides cost that this range of fittings are made of plastic, instead of stainless? Your previous range if push in fitings was metal bodied. And you can never have too much shiny!

 

[bbqzookeeper]

Love the updated/expanded New Products section.

 

[KegLand-com-au]

Thanks for your responsiveness on this issue.

Is this the third design iteration? Floppy connectors, hard connectors but too short, and now longer hard connectors. Given the product development value to Kegland of user testing and feedback via earlier sales, and assuming that the new connectors may be swapped out for the old will Kegland give consideration to an upgrade to existing users at no or reduced cost?

It should be noted that the plastic joiners can also be replaced with beer line so it's easy to find an alternative and we sell many km's of beer line every month. So there are alternatives to the plastic joiners that were made up. With that said once the new plastic joiners are available we would be happy to give these to you for free when they are available. In the meantime a 5cm piece of beer line also works quite well and most people with a keg setup will already have this available.

 

[KegLand-com-au]

I think the point desmogod was making above is the hot wort will contract considerably as it cools causing the brewzilla to implode, have they been tested for this?

Cubes are fine as they implode but pop back into shape after they are opened and refilled. However when folk first started using cubes for this they thought why not do it in a corny keg but found either the seal on the keg leaked drawing in air or it didn’t and the keg collapsed and was buckled and damaged.

Will the Brewzilla withstand constant contracting then pop back into shape again when it is opened?

Firstly I should say FermZilla. I think i previously said BrewZilla which is the brewery. The FermZilla is the new model of uni/tank fermenter.

If you are talking about the FermZilla imploding or previous Fermentasaurus units then this was generally due to the fact that you had a large head space of gas and as the gas shrunk the sides of the fermenter would suck in causing it to collapse. The new FermZilla sizes are more suited to single and double batches.

In the past we saw many photos like this:
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/y_RQKeFlwfA/maxresdefault.jpg

If you google Fermentasaurus the vast majority of photos are showing the fermenter with a huge amount of vacant head space in the vessel. As you would know liquid as it cools from ambient to 0C doesn't shrink (well practically speaking). Gas on the other hand shrinks a lot. So in many instances this would cause the Fermentasaurus to implode when it cools and some people would have this issue when crash chilling. If the fermenter is properly sized and no so much head space is in the fermenter this issue is significantly reduced in the first place.

The FermZilla units will get the walls sucked in a bit (especially if you have gas in the headspace). The standard PET vessel will handle this type of buckling and then return back to shape when back up at positive pressure but if you have a large head space you could potentially get crease marks in the fermenter wall. If you use the more expensive temperature resistant co-polyester then the plastic really needs to be abused to get crease marks in it as it's far more robust. Either way these small crease marks dont have much effect on the overall burst pressure but they can effect the cosmetic look of the unit. So the best advice would be try to select the fermenter that is the right size for the batch size that you make or alternatively buy two different tank sizes. One 27L and one 55L.

 

[fdsaasdf]

The FermZilla units will get the walls sucked in a bit (especially if you have gas in the headspace). The standard PET vessel will handle this type of buckling and then return back to shape when back up at positive pressure but if you have a large head space you could potentially get crease marks in the fermenter wall. If you use the more expensive temperature resistant co-polyester then the plastic really needs to be abused to get crease marks in it as it's far more robust. Either way these small crease marks dont have much effect on the overall burst pressure but they can effect the cosmetic look of the unit. So the best advice would be try to select the fermenter that is the right size for the batch size that you make or alternatively buy two different tank sizes. One 27L and one 55L.

Thanks Kegland. I'm personally not interested in a plastic fermenter but do appreciate the effort you go to explaining your product plans. I would be curious (and I guess possible customers would be more so) if you could post a video (even something like a basic time-lapse or before/after shots) that shows the fermenter being used like a no-chill cube where near-boiling wort is put in the vessel before it is chilled to pitching temps and demonstrate the material's tolerance to handling this temperature & pressure change.

 

[KegLand-com-au]

Yep, a kegerator. I don't argue whether it's too big, too small or too old -- it works!

My first priority would be 9.5mm to FFL (preferably in both straight and right angle). You say in the duotight video that 9.5mm OD is usually used for chillers or gas lines, but there's no means to connect it to a gas disconnect (unless using Snaplocks or similar).

Ideally I'd like to see every combination of connections (all the various threads, and different sized push in connections) and configurations (straight, right angle, taps and tees); but I understand that would probably not be economical.

OTOH, it looks a bit silly that the flow stopper doo-dad needs so many connectors and joiners. Why not a 5/8"-FFL right angle for the bottom, instead of 5 separate components? Ditto the blow-tie kit.




Another question: is there another reason besides cost that this range of fittings are made of plastic, instead of stainless? Your previous range if push in fitings was metal bodied. And you can never have too much shiny!

We do currently sell this duotight reducer that goes from 9.5mm to 8mm in size:
https://www.kegland.com.au/duotight-8mm-5-16-x-9-5mm-3-8-reducer.html

We do also have this fitting arriving soon:
https://www.kegland.com.au/duotight...-5-8-to-suit-keg-couplers-and-tap-shanks.html

So I think the only fitting that we are missing is the 9.5mm to the 1/4 FFL fitting. This is something we will have to consider making. Will talk to the others in the office about this tomorrow. We have all the most common duotight fittings available now but I am sure we will continue to grow the range. Especially as these are now being sold in America and Europe now so the volumes are larger meaning we can justify expanding the range.

I should say that if you are using the 3/8 beer line on your direct draw kegerator i am surprised you are getting good results. To be able to dispense a keg sitting at about 12 PSI you would probably need about 7 meters of 3/8 beer line to slow the flow down enough to get a reasonable speed pour out of the tap. The only other alternative would be to lower the gas pressure to under 5psi but then you would find your beer goes a bit flat toward the end of the keg. Are you having these issues?

With regards to the "flow stopper doo-dad" we would not be able to have a single elbow to go from 1/4 FFL to 5/8" as it needs to swivel. If we tighten the FFL fitting onto the MFL disconnect the elbow could very well be pointing in the incorrect direction. Also, having two swivelling axis on this part means that you can angle the sight glass vertical irrespective of the orientation of the FFL fitting and it also makes it possible to use both the plastic disconnect where the output is on a 45 degree angle and use the same assembly on the stainless disconnects that are on a 90degree angle. So having a double swivel is an important part of the design.

 

[KegLand-com-au]

Thanks Kegland. I'm personally not interested in a plastic fermenter but do appreciate the effort you go to explaining your product plans. I would be curious (and I guess possible customers would be more so) if you could post a video (even something like a basic time-lapse or before/after shots) that shows the fermenter being used like a no-chill cube where near-boiling wort is put in the vessel before it is chilled to pitching temps and demonstrate the material's tolerance to handling this temperature & pressure change.

Hello fdsaasdf. Firstly I should make it very clear to everyone that once you exceed 45C you cannot use the FermZilla under pressure irrespective of what tank you will use. So it should be noted and it's in the instruction manual that you can never use the FermZilla at pressure while also at temperatures above 45C. With that said there should be no reason why you need to pressurise a hot fermenter in the first place so we cant see any need for this to be possible.

A time lapse video of a cooling fermenter will not be particularly exciting but if we get enough interest for this type of video we would be more than happy to produce this video for you guys. Perhaps a better video on temperature tolerance would be to boil inside the fermenter. We have not done this before but we will look into this and see if we can get a heating element into the fermenter so you can boil the wort in the fermenter. This might make for some more interesting watching. What do you think?

 

[stevodevo]

Ok we will talk with the other guys in development. We are reluctant to make more glycol chillers as we really feel that fermenting fridge is the way to go but as we seem to constantly be getting asked for this stuff it's probably about time we made a specific glycol chiller for this application that you guys can use right out of the box. Are there any other particular features that you would like please let us know and we will look at designing this into the system.

I think I'd be happy with you just supplying the correct size bulkheads to swap the coils out. That could be out of the goodness of your heart, or as an optional extra So long as it's an easy DIY conversion (which it does seem to be), I think I'd rather take delivery of the unit as is with the coils still in place, with the option to swap coils out as and when I require more fermenters connected. That way it's best of both worlds vs the More Beer variant. More Beer offers a pump kit, which could be another good add on sale. I don't need that because I have the FTSs kit, but others might.

Most of the reasons I'm wanting to go glycol over a fridge are conveniences or space saving, so that may be one factor in why you're selling a lot for this purpose. For me, converting a "$20 fridge off gumtree" is a bit of a PITA, especially when factoring in heating as well as cooling (or even just figuring out how to get the thing from the seller's house to my house in the first place). It also takes up a heap of space. So yeah, the idea of having essentially a plug and play way to control temperature is very appealing, if not the most practical solution.

 

[fdsaasdf]

Hello fdsaasdf. Firstly I should make it very clear to everyone that once you exceed 45C you cannot use the FermZilla under pressure irrespective of what tank you will use. So it should be noted and it's in the instruction manual that you can never use the FermZilla at pressure while also at temperatures above 45C. With that said there should be no reason why you need to pressurise a hot fermenter in the first place so we cant see any need for this to be possible.

A time lapse video of a cooling fermenter will not be particularly exciting but if we get enough interest for this type of video we would be more than happy to produce this video for you guys. Perhaps a better video on temperature tolerance would be to boil inside the fermenter. We have not done this before but we will look into this and see if we can get a heating element into the fermenter so you can boil the wort in the fermenter. This might make for some more interesting watching. What do you think?

the video suggestion sounds good - plenty of people use immersion elements in HDPE vessels but I’m sure most would be reluctant to do so in a PET (or similar plastic) without someone showing them it was OK.

I also wasn’t suggesting to pressurise the hot vessel, just that pressure (positive and negative) + temperature can stress materials differently, but thanks for the information.

 

[donald_trub]

Email from Kegland 5 minutes ago from new products in stock... click on one of those products and it isn't even in stock. Please don't waste our time like this.

 

[KegLand-com-au]

You can actually buy Nitrogen bottles - no rent but they are pretty exy. From memory Gasweld have them but might be wrong there.

Maybe Kegland can come up with a more affordable option - if so I'll be no2 on the buyers list

You should be pleased to know we now have affordable nitrogen.

The nitrogen cylinders can be purchased as a pack of 4 here:
https://www.kegland.com.au/disposable-nitrogen-n2-gas-cylinder-1-43l-110bar.html

The regulators can be purchased here:
https://www.kegland.com.au/intert-g...-nitrogen-argon-co2-cylinders-m10-thread.html

Alternatively just get the kit here:
https://www.kegland.com.au/nitro-duokit-nitrogen-n2-gas-duotight-push-in-kit.html

More information is in the video that we just uploaded:

 

[altone]

You should be pleased to know we now have affordable nitrogen.

The nitrogen cylinders can be purchased as a pack of 4 here:
https://www.kegland.com.au/disposable-nitrogen-n2-gas-cylinder-1-43l-110bar.html

The regulators can be purchased here:
https://www.kegland.com.au/intert-g...-nitrogen-argon-co2-cylinders-m10-thread.html

Alternatively just get the kit here:
https://www.kegland.com.au/nitro-duokit-nitrogen-n2-gas-duotight-push-in-kit.html

More information is in the video that we just uploaded:

Wait! The description says they will dispense 40l
So just 2 Corny kegs ?
$20 a Corny is just crazy.
Is that right or is it a typo?

I might have to save up and get the Gasweld D size, will pay for itself after 16 kegs at that rate.

 

[awfulknauful]

Email from Kegland 5 minutes ago from new products in stock... click on one of those products and it isn't even in stock. Please don't waste our time like this.

Same thing happened to me this morning, a bit like a willo the wisp, go to grab it and puff, its out of stock.

 

[mashmonkey]

Does the new MK4 regulator come with permanent thread locker on the low pressure outlet? I've just destroyed my practically new MK3 trying to remove the existing fitting so i could replace it with a ball lock post as suggested on the product page for it: https://www.kegland.com.au/ball-lock-post-with-1-4-inch-bulkhead-assembly-gas.html.

Everything has red loctite or equivalent on it and it's impossible to get apart. It has only dispensed one keg and it's already going in the bin since the fitting is now damaged and there's no way it's ever coming off

 

[Grmblz]

Same thing happened to me this morning, a bit like a willo the wisp, go to grab it and puff, its out of stock.

What? exactly went "puff" or was it "poof", went to grab or tried to buy? Thief or friend? Ahhhh the questions are endless, and who art though, noble tatooed warrior, or stab in the back thief at night
The Yanks are gonna have a field with this, too stupid to know the real difference between puff and poof, and too arrogant to check it FOCL

 

[enoch]

Does the new MK4 regulator come with permanent thread locker on the low pressure outlet? I've just destroyed my practically new MK3 trying to remove the existing fitting so i could replace it with a ball lock post as suggested on the product page for it: https://www.kegland.com.au/ball-lock-post-with-1-4-inch-bulkhead-assembly-gas.html.

Everything has red loctite or equivalent on it and it's impossible to get apart. It has only dispensed one keg and it's already going in the bin since the fitting is now damaged and there's no way it's ever coming off

I did manage to do what you were trying with a mk3 double. It was extremely hard and required a touch of heat (blowtorch) on the connector (not the body) to loosen the glue. Blowtorch came out once I was past the point of no return...

Mk4 says it has mfl fitting so you would need mfl to 1/4 bush and good to go.