KegLand Questions and Answers

[djebel]

@KegLand-com-au I have one of these mini-regs, but I've somehow lost the washer that sits in there. Ergo, leaking CO2. Is it possible to get a spare? (preferably a few - if I can lose one, I can lose more than one )

 

[bobsledboy]

That's a good point. We should probably stock the three way ball valves in the 1/2inch size. I will get that sorted out.

T-port and L-port options if possible please.

 

[camNZ]

Yes we already have these carbonation caps that you can see here:
https://www.kegland.com.au/plastic-carbonation-line-cleaning-cap-fermzilla-cap.html

We also have this new product coming into stock in about 4 weeks:
https://www.kegland.com.au/pco-1881-carbonation-cap-tee-piece.html

So this will enable to to build the worlds cheapest keg system if you want to. You would have to make it up using coke bottles and this would be ideal for a mini keg system that could fit into an esky.

I would not keep beer in these types of plastic bottles for long term storage as coke bottles and most soft drink bottles do not have sufficient oxygen barrier properties to store beer for extended period. With that said for storing beer for 1 month they should be fine.

Can I ask whats the point? Cheaper alternative to a counter pressure filler? If you already have a counter pressure filler wouldn't you just fill a PET bottle with this screw the original cap back on tight, then remove the cap and pour beer into glasses? As you say soft drink bottles aren't appropriate for long term storage of beer.

 

[theSeekerr]

Can I ask whats the point? Cheaper alternative to a counter pressure filler? If you already have a counter pressure filler wouldn't you just fill a PET bottle with this screw the original cap back on tight, then remove the cap and pour beer into glasses? As you say soft drink bottles aren't appropriate for long term storage of beer.

Removing the cap is a perfectly good way to handle it if you're drinking immediately.

Stainless kegs are a good way to handle storage for months.

This seems a reasonable approach for handling storage for anywhere between a long day through a week or two. A weekend out camping, perhaps, or a beer share barbeque.

The other use that jumped into my head is for non-beer drinks that I want to dispense on tap but don't have 20L of - Kombucha, pre-mixed cocktails, nitro coffee etc. Sure, you could use a mini-keg but these will be far cheaper and more than good enough for a few days.

 

[KegLand-com-au]

Hi Kee, any plans to sell locks for faucets? These look pretty good -

We did not have plans to do this. This is something that is generally needed for commercial premises. Having used a few of these in the past they do not seem to be very effective and normally there is enough flex in the mechanism to still open the tap slightly allowing beer to still be poured. (not particularly well but well enough for someone to pour).

For most of our commercial customers they already use k-lok fittings like this fitting on the tap:

https://www.kegland.com.au/k-lok-male-x-tap-shank-adaptor.html

and this type of shank on the font:

https://www.kegland.com.au/quick-di...tight-ss-short-shank-duotight-compatible.html

So the combination of these two fittings enables you to remove the taps from the font all together then lock them in a drawer or safe or something. So we tend to think this is a better solution.

Or the best solution if you can be bothered is lock the area where the kegs are and disconnect the keg coupler.

 

[camNZ]

The other use that jumped into my head is for non-beer drinks that I want to dispense on tap but don't have 20L of - Kombucha, pre-mixed cocktails, nitro coffee etc. Sure, you could use a mini-keg but these will be far cheaper and more than good enough for a few days.

Also this would make an excellent line cleaner! Fill PET bottle with Beer line cleaner and charge the lines as needed. Think I'll get one actually.

 

[The Mack]

Any ETA on the Citra Cryo hops? It seems no one has any available in Australia at the moment!

 

[Josh Dodd]

Can I ask whats the point? Cheaper alternative to a counter pressure filler? If you already have a counter pressure filler wouldn't you just fill a PET bottle with this screw the original cap back on tight, then remove the cap and pour beer into glasses? As you say soft drink bottles aren't appropriate for long term storage of beer.

Like others said this is handy for a small serving situation where you don't necessarily want to deal with the more expensive stainless steel mini-kegs.
You used to be able to buy Coke in 3 litre bottle which would make this a little more interesting. NOt sure if it;s still readily available? As it stands, 2 litres won't go very far but a few of them in an Esky would be cool. If you're able to find 3, 4 or even 5 litres container with a standard soft drink opening, this would be pretty interesting. I suppose filling half a dozen 2 litre bottles with various beers and shoving in your esky could make a camping trip or weekend away a little more fun. A lot cheaper than steel mini-kegs, a lot less fiddly than counter-pressure fillers etc.

Also this would make an excellent line cleaner! Fill PET bottle with Beer line cleaner and charge the lines as needed. Think I'll get one actually.

Damn. That's actually a great idea. I use a standard metal carb cap on a plastic bottle to clean lines but you have to keep swapping lines over to repressurise the bottle or squeeze it to get the cleaner through the lines. A 2 litre bottle with perc solution and another with Starsan, with this T Piece setup on each and you have a quick and convenient line cleaner and sanitiser. $25 for two of the tee piece setups (with caps) and a couple of bucks for some coke bottles (and you get to drink the coke) and you're set.

 

[Abird89]

I just use a small manual pressure sprayer from bunnings with a liquid post screwed onto the spout for line cleaning. Works a treat.

 

[Josh Dodd]

I just use a small manual pressure sprayer from bunnings with a liquid post screwed onto the spout for line cleaning. Works a treat.

You know, I actually bought a sprayer from Bunnings for just that purpose, but totally forgot to ever use it!! It's probably in my garage somewhere. Must look into that.

 

[camNZ]

Like others said this is handy for a small serving situation where you don't necessarily want to deal with the more expensive stainless steel mini-kegs.
You used to be able to buy Coke in 3 litre bottle which would make this a little more interesting. NOt sure if it;s still readily available? As it stands, 2 litres won't go very far but a few of them in an Esky would be cool. If you're able to find 3, 4 or even 5 litres container with a standard soft drink opening, this would be pretty interesting. I suppose filling half a dozen 2 litre bottles with various beers and shoving in your esky could make a camping trip or weekend away a little more fun. A lot cheaper than steel mini-kegs, a lot less fiddly than counter-pressure fillers etc.

@KegLand-com-au this is all abit of mucking around, can't you just make some cheap small PET kegs? Literally a 3L and 5L Flat Bottom Fermzilla?

 

[KegLand-com-au]

Any ETA on the Citra Cryo hops? It seems no one has any available in Australia at the moment!

With all the NEIPA beers that people are making the Citra is unfortunately moving faster than we can get it. We have other cryo hops available. We are trying to get more Citra but already it's simply not easy to get and we might not be able to get any more.

Even our normal Citra pellets are likely to sell out in the next 8 weeks and we will not be able to get any more until next harvest. So if you want Citra I would try and buy what you can while you can.

 

[KegLand-com-au]

Like others said this is handy for a small serving situation where you don't necessarily want to deal with the more expensive stainless steel mini-kegs.
You used to be able to buy Coke in 3 litre bottle which would make this a little more interesting. NOt sure if it;s still readily available? As it stands, 2 litres won't go very far but a few of them in an Esky would be cool. If you're able to find 3, 4 or even 5 litres container with a standard soft drink opening, this would be pretty interesting. I suppose filling half a dozen 2 litre bottles with various beers and shoving in your esky could make a camping trip or weekend away a little more fun. A lot cheaper than steel mini-kegs, a lot less fiddly than counter-pressure fillers etc.


Damn. That's actually a great idea. I use a standard metal carb cap on a plastic bottle to clean lines but you have to keep swapping lines over to repressurise the bottle or squeeze it to get the cleaner through the lines. A 2 litre bottle with perc solution and another with Starsan, with this T Piece setup on each and you have a quick and convenient line cleaner and sanitiser. $25 for two of the tee piece setups (with caps) and a couple of bucks for some coke bottles (and you get to drink the coke) and you're set.

Unfortunately the 3L coke bottles are pretty much non-existent anymore. I would agree that would be nice if these were available. We are looking to make some larger PET bottles though so I think we will have some good economical solutions for you soon. It's quite likely that we will have a larger PET bottle in the new year and these will be 5-10L in size and sell for about $5 each.

 

[Engibeer]

Like others said this is handy for a small serving situation where you don't necessarily want to deal with the more expensive stainless steel mini-kegs.
You used to be able to buy Coke in 3 litre bottle which would make this a little more interesting. NOt sure if it;s still readily available? As it stands, 2 litres won't go very far but a few of them in an Esky would be cool. If you're able to find 3, 4 or even 5 litres container with a standard soft drink opening, this would be pretty interesting. I suppose filling half a dozen 2 litre bottles with various beers and shoving in your esky could make a camping trip or weekend away a little more fun. A lot cheaper than steel mini-kegs, a lot less fiddly than counter-pressure fillers etc.


Damn. That's actually a great idea. I use a standard metal carb cap on a plastic bottle to clean lines but you have to keep swapping lines over to repressurise the bottle or squeeze it to get the cleaner through the lines. A 2 litre bottle with perc solution and another with Starsan, with this T Piece setup on each and you have a quick and convenient line cleaner and sanitiser. $25 for two of the tee piece setups (with caps) and a couple of bucks for some coke bottles (and you get to drink the coke) and you're set.

And dosing biofine into a pressure fermenter!

 

[hotmelt]

You could try this.

Like others said this is handy for a small serving situation where you don't necessarily want to deal with the more expensive stainless steel mini-kegs.
You used to be able to buy Coke in 3 litre bottle which would make this a little more interesting. NOt sure if it;s still readily available? As it stands, 2 litres won't go very far but a few of them in an Esky would be cool. If you're able to find 3, 4 or even 5 litres container with a standard soft drink opening, this would be pretty interesting. I suppose filling half a dozen 2 litre bottles with various beers and shoving in your esky could make a camping trip or weekend away a little more fun. A lot cheaper than steel mini-kegs, a lot less fiddly than counter-pressure fillers etc.


Damn. That's actually a great idea. I use a standard metal carb cap on a plastic bottle to clean lines but you have to keep swapping lines over to repressurise the bottle or squeeze it to get the cleaner through the lines. A 2 litre bottle with perc solution and another with Starsan, with this T Piece setup on each and you have a quick and convenient line cleaner and sanitiser. $25 for two of the tee piece setups (with caps) and a couple of bucks for some coke bottles (and you get to drink the coke) and you're set.

https://aussiehomebrewer.com/posts/1090441/

 

[KegLand-com-au]

I just use a small manual pressure sprayer from bunnings with a liquid post screwed onto the spout for line cleaning. Works a treat.

I don't mind this concept but really the issue is that polyethylene is really not a great plastic for gas barrier. Here is some data showing typical transmission rates for oxygen through common plastic types

https://www.kegland.com.au/media/images/oxygen transmission rate.jpg

As you can see if you compare PET with HDPE you get 42 times more oxygen pass through the wall of the plastic when compared with PET of the same thickness. If you compare PET to LDPE then its closer to 185 times. So really I don't like HDPE for this reason. It's basically very porous and allows gas to freely pass through the plastic.

In addition to this there are additives to PET and multi-layer manufacturing techniques that we can use to vastly improve the barrier properties much more than this. So this makes PET even more attractive when things like multi-layer preforms are used.

 

[KegLand-com-au]

And dosing biofine into a pressure fermenter!

Actually one of the other guys here just removes the pressure relief valve and uses a syringe. By only taking off the PRV this would really make it difficult for oxygen to get into the vessel especially as it's off-gassing as soon as you remove the PRV. So i have started to do the same thing and find this works for me.

 

[Abird89]

I don't mind this concept but really the issue is that polyethylene is really not a great plastic for gas barrier. Here is some data showing typical transmission rates for oxygen through common plastic types

https://www.kegland.com.au/media/images/oxygen transmission rate.jpg

As you can see if you compare PET with HDPE you get 42 times more oxygen pass through the wall of the plastic when compared with PET of the same thickness. If you compare PET to LDPE then its closer to 185 times. So really I don't like HDPE for this reason. It's basically very porous and allows gas to freely pass through the plastic.

In addition to this there are additives to PET and multi-layer manufacturing techniques that we can use to vastly improve the barrier properties much more than this. So this makes PET even more attractive when things like multi-layer preforms are used.

it’s only full of sodium perc and then star San for a few minutes at a time... no issues
Rinsed with water and stored dry

 

[Engibeer]

Actually one of the other guys here just removes the pressure relief valve and uses a syringe. By only taking off the PRV this would really make it difficult for oxygen to get into the vessel especially as it's off-gassing as soon as you remove the PRV. So i have started to do the same thing and find this works for me.

Thanks, sounds simple.

The benefit of using a PET bottle is you can put Biofine in that, purge it with CO2, counter-pressure fill it up halfway from the kegmenter, shake it to mix the biofine with the beer, and then apply a greater pressure to the bottle to transfer it PET to Kegmenter.

The main advantage I see in this method is the mixing.

 

[brisie]

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Someone else mentioned it here just last Friday.
https://forums.malwarebytes.com/topic/253939-domain-fbpixelgetcom-ip-address-124156210169/