Party Kegs

[rimrunner]

flattop, if you were that worried about formaldehyde you wouldn't be drinking homebrew in the first place. Your body breaks down methanol to form formaldehyde with every glass you drink. Thats where the whole "homebrew makes you go blind" thing comes from. Too much methanol => too much formaldehyde => pickling of all your organs, the thing is that people will notice a 10% drop in eye sight a lot quicker than they will notice a 10% drop in liver/kidney function etc.

As TB says, it is an acceptable risk.

malt fermentation makes very little methanol i'm pretty sure.

handily ethanol is the correct treatment for methanol poisoning. :icon_cheers:

 

[~MikE]

no need for formaldehyde testing, for all those concerned there may be formaldehyde in a newely acquired garden sprayer etc, here is the protocol given for destroying it, it's too easy
don't worry about the fume hood bit, just do it outside, it won't be commercial concentration you're dealing with, and hence you'll be fine.

--------------------------------

Formaldehyde destruction
Carry this out in a fume-cupboard

For each 1 ml of formaldehyde solution (commercial concentrate) slowly add 25 mls of 4-5 % sodium hypochlorite with mixing.
Stir overnight and discard to the sewer.

Note: for dilute solutions of formaldehyde it is important to calculate addition of sodium hypochlorite to assure an excess for the reaction to go to completion.

---------------------------
my recommendation, a good sprinkle of sodium metabisulphite or a good dash of bleach, top up with water, shake a few times and let sit overnight.


mike

 

[lagers44]

Carbonator -Are these spray bottles made in places like China made of food grade plastic?

Is the manufacturing process, machine making them, storage, handling and transport having regard to preventing contaminants, poisons or carcinogens coming in contact with the product before it lands on the shelf of you favorite spray bottle retailer?

Do they have a perfectly smooth interior without seams to prevent organisms from getting a hidee-hole foot hold inside?

After that, you may find a nice smooth one, but we all know most machines have some form of metal, requiring additional lubrication to prevent corrosion, so how do you know if the lubrication for the machine creating the bottle has not been absorbed by the plastic and remains held in suspension within the porosity of such until your favorite brew comes into contact with the plastic and the lubrication stuff happens to like your brew too and mixes with it, but not your soap and water or sterilising/sanitising products.

There is a reason why there is a difference between Food Grade plastic and Garden Chemical spray bottle plastic!

Where do you think the fermenters and cubes come from ?, if they are all that dodgy then the plastic in those must be suspect as well. You must be using all stainless products .


Lagers

 

[Carbonator]

Where do you think the fermenters and cubes come from ?, if they are all that dodgy then the plastic in those must be suspect as well. You must be using all stainless products .


Lagers

I don't really care about what you think, but do care that you don't get sick or die in the near or far future from doing something in non-food grade plastic as opposed to food-grade plastic.

There is different procedures for the production of both and I'm sure there are some national standards and procedures to follow where food-grade plastic vessels are manufactured.

Be aware and prepared about the possible risks. That's all!

 

[Bribie G]

Re methanol, alcohol is actually metabolised to acetaldeyhde not formaldehyde:

The first step in the metabolism of alcohol is the oxidation of ethanol to acetaldehyde catalyzed by alcohol/dehydrogenase containing the coenzyme NAD⁺. The acetaldehyde is further oxidized to acetic acid and finally CO₂ and water through the citric acid cycle.

Formaldehyde is really nasty stuff but acetaldehyde in small doses is ok, however many Asians lack alcohol dehydrogenase and that is why most Japanese only need a couple of Kirins then they are hitting the Karaoke like you wouldn't believe.

There is a theory that westerners developed alcohol dehydrogenase because the ones who could drink beer (boiled during production of course) lived, and the ones who couldn't and had to drink water from the duckpond died.

However the asians didn't need to develop the enzyme because they had another way of avoiding dysentery and other nasties.

Tea.

Totally off topic. I'll go away now and do some racking.,

 

[Leigh]

Wasn't going to get involved, but:

Methanol (CH3OH) is referred to as "wood alcohol" and is metabolised to formaldehyde in the body via the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH).

Ethanol (CH3CH2OH) referred to as "alcohol" is metabolised to acetaldehyde...

Methanol should not be an issue with our homebrews. Methanol is really only an issue for distilleries, one of the many reasons they are restricted in Australia...

Lets not confuse the two and create hysteria where none exists.

 

[Ginger NZ]

Re methanol, alcohol is actually metabolised to acetaldeyhde not formaldehyde:

Nope, Ethanol goes to acetaldehyde to ethanoic acid

Methanol goes to formaldehyde to formic acid

 

[Cortez The Killer]

This is my party keg setup with a 12L keg in it

Also have 9L's that fit nicely

Tap is regular micromatic fridge setup - regulator is a Harris with soda stream connector

Esky is a coleman 38L

Pictures are before line hole drilled for gas in

I usually use frozen bottles of water to keep keg cool - still pretty much frozen after 3 days outside

The keg in the picture is sitting on a couple of frozen bottles - giving the illusion that the esky is small than it is

Cheers

 

[cliffo]

Nice job Cortez.

Thats exactly how I picture my setup to turn out though as I mentioned in another thread I found the esky (all actually) to be a bit bulky, but damn, it sure does look the goods.

Still waiting to hear from Coleman as to the internal dimensions of their 19L esky same style as your, bound to be too small but one can live in hope.

After seeing your pictures its got me wanting to go the solid esky route again.

cliffo

 

[JestersDarts]

thought i'd throw this up here while im in the uploading mood..

My "portable" keg set up..
which is not so portable... but more so than my keg freezer..

spied an old steel cylinder in the shed at dads, and thought.. a 19L will fit in that!. so on goes a tap, a drip tray, handles, and viola!
Didnt plan to have the gas bottle out the side, got one of those small C02 cartridge jobbies,,, but that day the beer was undercarbed so needed a bit of push and shove..
There are many things inherently wrong with it, but it'll do for now.. and gets people talking - and drinking - - :beerbang:


xmas day 2010..

 

[bonj]

so on goes a tap, a drip tray, handles, and viola!

I just can't see a viola fitting. A violin maybe...

 

[JestersDarts]

I just can't see a viola fitting. A violin maybe...

it needs it for when the keg runs out.

 

[Bubba]

Simple set up. for soccer boys pizza night.
Small council bin
C02 bottle mounted on back
Tap mounted on front
4m beer line
Gas in line
Drain line and tap on bottom for meleted ice
Rubber lining on lid for insualation
All drilled holes have grommets
1 19l corny keg
Beer
2 bags of ice that lasted 48 hours ( a lot longer than the beer)

 

[mikk]

I posted a few pics of my party keg setup here http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...0930&st=300, but maybe this thread would be more appropriate? It IS a party keg, after all!

It's been used a few times now, & has been found to stay very cold (<5C) for at least 7 hours outdoors in a shady spot in the low 20's C. Looking forward to trying it out on 30+ weather!! With the people i know i can't see a mini keg lasting more than an hour or 2 anyway.

The tap's a bit prone to warming up if it hasn't been used for a bit, & then generates some extra head for the subsequent pour. Might try wrapping the tap in a teatowel/face washer to see if this helps, but don't think this will look too good aesthetically. Maybe an ice brick up against the tap shank inside the unit would help a bit.

Also found the weight a bit of an issue, though there's prob not much i could have done about this except fit bigger wheels.

I have an idea for my next party keg dispenser that i don't think anyone's tried yet, so will post any new pics if/as they arise.

 

[stux]

Perhaps try a small solar powered fan blowing at the shank

 

[mikk]

Or just drink faster and/or more often?!

 

[Fodder]

I posted a few pics of my party keg setup here http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...0930&st=300, but maybe this thread would be more appropriate? It IS a party keg, after all!

It's been used a few times now, & has been found to stay very cold (<5C) for at least 7 hours outdoors in a shady spot in the low 20's C. Looking forward to trying it out on 30+ weather!! With the people i know i can't see a mini keg lasting more than an hour or 2 anyway.

The tap's a bit prone to warming up if it hasn't been used for a bit, & then generates some extra head for the subsequent pour. Might try wrapping the tap in a teatowel/face washer to see if this helps, but don't think this will look too good aesthetically. Maybe an ice brick up against the tap shank inside the unit would help a bit.

Also found the weight a bit of an issue, though there's prob not much i could have done about this except fit bigger wheels.

I have an idea for my next party keg dispenser that i don't think anyone's tried yet, so will post any new pics if/as they arise.

That looks the bomb. I want one!!!

Can I ask if you made the lot yourself or is the case something pre-purchased? If so, what mods did you need to do to it to get it functional?

 

[mikk]

That looks the bomb. I want one!!!

Can I ask if you made the lot yourself or is the case something pre-purchased? If so, what mods did you need to do to it to get it functional?

Fully home-made, apart from the taps & fittings of course. 1.6mm 5005 aluminium with expanding foam insulation, & some ply in various locations to keep it super strong (base, top, handle mount points).

Still, i think i'd almost cry if i dropped it onto concrete or something!

 

[Pennywise]

Damn, that looks awesome. Top job

 

[MarkBastard]

Regarding the tap maybe you could mount a little container there on the inside that you can fill with ice, or better yet a block of ice made in a mould of the same shape that completely surrounds the tap shank.