Nearly Got A Kegging System

[Nearly]

Hey guys just wanted to make you jealous. My cousin has a kegging fridge with all the gear and 2 kegs under his house that he doesnt use.... not happy with the beer he produced (sad story). He said to me: Why dont you borrow it and try it out?

So sometime in the next week or two I will have a (temporary) kegging system. I found out that I can get C02 in 'D' size bottle from BOC at the distributor at Rocklea here in Brisbane for $25.74 for gas and $22.68/quarter (or $89.52/year) rent.

While were here I'll tell you about my other cousin who got a brand new kegging system for $10. He is very happy with his system. He was at a country markets somewhere and he saw a large stainless keg for $10. Not sure of the size. He is into engine rebuilds so he has acid baths etc so he took it home and cleaned it up like new and replaced seals etc (not sure about those details). He took it along to an acquaintance at a Ice supplies place where they were into brewing as a hobby. They wanted the large keg so swapped it for one of their retail kegging systems. lucky bugger.

I could be lucky too if I can persuade the first cousin to part with his fridge and kegs. I think there is a chance he will sell it to me at a good price. My only worry is that if I have success with it he will come and try it and get keen on brewing again and then want it back

 

[GMK]

Nearly,

Congrats on the borrowed Keg system.
You have 2 ways out of this -

1/ offer a price now - let me know what the keg setup is as in no and type of taps, reg etc - and i can give you a comparable price so that you know what to offer him.

2/ you strike a deal where he is allowed to come over and drink for free from the keg setup for a year. :chug:

Good Luck...

 

[Nearly]

I had a look at his setup last night. Can anyone tell me what the outer diam of the beer line should be? I am guessing his is about 8mm Outer Diam. Same also for his gas line.

He has foaming happening inside his beer line and always has got large head, flat beer. I think myself that the beer line is too small but that is just my know nothing guess.

 

[Nearly]

Ken, he has the same genes I have... we aquire stuff... we seldom part with it... There is probably no chance of buying it off him now that I have sounded him out. In fact he is hoping I can find success and start him back into it.

 

[Gout]

I may be totaly wrong often am but the beer line may infact be to large!

I read that it need resistance (to a point) to hold the gas in solution, and if not the gas comes out in the pipe, making flat foamy beer.

Also gassing and pouring pressure will mean differennt things

I had this problem but its ok now, Also Frozen glasses will foam it up...

 

[GMK]

Nearly,

The Outside Diameter - OD - dosesn'y matter - its the Inside Diameter - ID - that counts.

To stop control foaming you can do the following:
1/ Goto a smaller ID Beer line.
The smaller the ID the better the CO2 stays in solution.

2/ increase the length of the beer line to the tap.
The longer it is - the greater the presure drop over the line. Therefore, you can increase the pouring gas pressure - helps keep the gas in the beer - and when it gets to the tap it is flowing slow enough not to foam.

3/ increase the gas / pouring presure.
The helps keep the CO2 in solution but too much pouring presure means the beer is gushing out the tap and you will get foaming.

If the poured beer goes flat - then you dont have enough CO2 in solution.
Gas the keg either at a higher pressure or for longer.

Ken...

 

[Nearly]

Folks I have a few questions I was hoping you could answer.

1) Does a pink powder called 'Pink Stain Remover' which is a cleaner also sterilize? If so how long does it need to be in contact to sterilize?

2) Is it good for cleaning the keg beer line?

3) is it ok for stainless kegs?

4) Can you get a tap that comes out the side of fridge but that you pull down forward (ie parralel to fridge side) to use?

5) Has anyone ever used the mini CO2 canister for soda streams to put C02 into a clearing cube before racking so there is an immediate C02 blanket? I was just thinking of puncturing seal and aiming it into cube using oven glove for cold protection.

6) Has anyone converted a chest freezer to kegerator? Does it need a different thermostat?

Thanks for any assistance.

 

[jayse]

nearly
1/ not sure what this is.is it the neo pink brewiser cleaning product if so that is fine for cleaning an santizing kegs

2/for beer line you should get some cellar mate beer line cleaner.

3/i use neo pink on all my stainless steel and all my copper coils no problem

4/you could weld up something to have you tap mounted this way.

5/i do this with my co2 bottle no problem just turn it on slightly with the hose in the top

6/ yeah iam gunna be doing this soon replace my two fridges.you do need to use another thermostat you cant make a freezer run at 3-4c without a different one.

 

[GMK]

Nearly,

Ref 4...

You can mount a wooden top to the side of the fridge and attach a font to it.

Then the pulldown taps can be operated in parrallel to the fridge.
I can get single, double, tripple and quad tier fonts if you want a price on one.

Hope this helps

 

[Nearly]

Re: 1) This pink stuff was labelled 'Pink Stain Remover'. Cunning lad that I am, I threw the bag (and label) out when I put it in the plastic chinese food container. When I get back to the brew shop I will check it out again.

Thanks for the replies guys. I wont be buying any keg stuff yet... will wait till I have more experience with my cousins setup then get what works for me. I think I will be trying to get one of your taps and handles when the time comes Ken.