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I've finally bit the bullet, have filled some "kegs" with some galaxy/citra/cascade APA and is currently carbing. I initially recharged them with 12g bulbs, but I dont really fancy the idea of replacing Orings on the brown/orange plastic cap that houses the striking pin every couple of fills, Ive already had a couple stretch/fail on me just taking the bottle out of the unit.

Have just ordered a sodastream adapter, keg king reg, and just got to get myself some 6mm hose, some clamps, a sodastream cylinder and another TK head, so ill have beer on tap very soon...in a small package. I was contemplating going with a corny keg setup...but dont have the funds to power another fridge, so the tap king will be the best comprimise.
Click to expand...
I think this is a very doable situation for most people who can't run a second fridge for kegs.

That o ring your talking about only gets fried when you release the bottle under pressure AFAIK. It only takes a little pressure to make it jump out of the groove upon removal of the bottle. SNAP!

+1 for just below the neck. I've done 4 this way now and they work as expected with natural carbonation and dispensing.
 
It certainly makes bottling day alot easier. Not having to clean and sanitise 30 long necks is a big win for me...worth the extra 5 mins it takes to pull the caps apart and clean the parts. I reckon its definitely the the go if you want a draught beer setup but dont have the room or money to fund a second fridge.
 
pist said:
I've finally bit the bullet, have filled some "kegs" with some galaxy/citra/cascade APA and is currently carbing. I initially recharged them with 12g bulbs, but I dont really fancy the idea of replacing Orings on the brown/orange plastic cap that houses the striking pin every couple of fills, Ive already had a couple stretch/fail on me just taking the bottle out of the unit.

Have just ordered a sodastream adapter, keg king reg, and just got to get myself some 6mm hose, some clamps, a sodastream cylinder and another TK head, so ill have beer on tap very soon...in a small package. I was contemplating going with a corny keg setup...but dont have the funds to power another fridge, so the tap king will be the best comprimise.
Click to expand...
Would love some pics of that process please! :)

Sorry if this has been mentioned, but I just cant find it. What pressure would I want an external reg set at for the TK?

Cheers.
 
Its far from elegant, but hey, it works! (well so far anyway)
image_zpsdbffee47.jpeg
 
Now you just need to drill a hole in the fridge for the gas line and slowly convince the missus that a 19l corny isn't much bigger than a TapKing.
 
Beerisyummy said:
Now you just need to drill a hole in the fridge for the gas line and slowly convince the missus that a 19l corny isn't much bigger than a TapKing.
Click to expand...
You're right! I'm just fortunate that the gas bottle and reg tuck away in the back of this particular shelf on the fridge that never really had much on there...

Full keg set up is my goal so I didnt mind spending the money on the regulator :)
 
Captain Morgan said:
Nice job mate! The modded ones (like mine above) will still be able to use the store bought kegs, it just wont pierce the co2 and it will just use your co2 from external reg. I'm aware I'm stating the obvious of course! :)
Click to expand...
Thanks mate. I didn't consider that. Did you just remove the pin? The good thing about that is you could fill bottles with HB and use the lids with the C02 intact to give to your mates to try.
 
Mattwa said:
Thanks mate. I didn't consider that. Did you just remove the pin? The good thing about that is you could fill bottles with HB and use the lids with the C02 intact to give to your mates to try.
Click to expand...
My mates can drink water.. hehe :p

The whole internal reg gets removed with the mod I did. The external reg gets attached to that small nozzle that pierces the bottle and thats it. Nice and simple.

Having said that, I love your mod because we'll all want to add to our bottle collection at some stage and yours lets you get new bottles and use them without burning your own co2

:beer:
 
I should mention too, for those that will use soda stream bottles in their fridge, you'll notice the pressure of a new 400g bottle go from around 900psi down to about 500psi as your co2 bottle cools down in the fridge. I knew co2 pressure read less as it cooled down, but I didnt expect it to be that much!

I was convinced I had a leak, but sure enough, when i took the bottle out of the fridge and let it warm up, it was back it its starting pressure of 900psi.

That wasn't before I had my tapking submerged in the laundry sink checking for leaks tho :unsure: I suppose thats a pro for the tap king. You can very easily submerge it all without any damage.
 
I just ordered some more 16g bulbs for my tapking and I thought I was getting ravx wich claim they are food grade and what I had been using but I accidentally got x tech cartridges. I can't find anywhere that it says its food grade but do you think it will be ok? I mean co2 is co2 right ?

Sent from my HTC Velocity 4G using Tapatalk now Free
 
Mickcr250 said:
I just ordered some more 16g bulbs for my tapking and I thought I was getting ravx wich claim they are food grade and what I had been using but I accidentally got x tech cartridges. I can't find anywhere that it says its food grade but do you think it will be ok? I mean co2 is co2 right ?

Sent from my HTC Velocity 4G using Tapatalk now Free
Click to expand...
From what i've read, some cartridges contain oil in them to lubricate things like paint ball guns etc. Its well debated, but from what I can see, co2 is co2. The difference lies in what is put with it, or how it is handled and packaged.
 
yeah bugger it i think i will use them, I'm pretty sure there is no lubricant in them i did a test bulb and just let it run flat out and no liquid came out the line.
 
Hi, I have been wondering if it would be possible to appropriate not just a sodastream co2 bottle but also the plumbing from an old sodastream machine. I have seen them go for next to nothing at garage sales, on gumtree etc and am trying to figure out if would be possible to use the inbuilt regulator to reduce the pressure enough to then be able to easily plumb it up to the tap king regulator.

From what I can find the low pressure side of the sodastream is about 15-20psi but havent confirmed this.

Any body got an opinion on doing this, I figure you would just need to find a way to attach a hose to somewhere after the sodastream reg and rig up a way to keep the button depressed.
 
TJP said:
From what I can find the low pressure side of the sodastream is about 15-20psi but havent confirmed this.
Click to expand...
I'm certainly no expert, but if you keep pressing the button on a soda stream, it keeps carbonating your drink as far as its able until the relief valve "burps" the bubbles out of it.

I'm not sure if there would be a way to keep it at a contant pressure without over carbonating your beer.
 
Added a small easy alteration to my tapking. Drilled a hole in the lid and glued a riser to the white reg. allows easy adjustments to serving pressure .

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1383126960.455816.jpg

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1383126983.026506.jpg

Realised after using a small old metal part, that a lid from an empty soy sauce bottle would have been even better.
 
End? off of a small mag lite or similar?

Give the man a prize!
Yep, old AAA Maglite


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Well I finally got off me arse and got my TK modded. Didn't take me long to get pissed off with losing gas from a couple of bottles, it seems these things are tempremental with how you seat the gas cap back on.
Anyhow, this is my crack at it...I'm loving the freedom to adjust the pouring pressure. Will be very handy with porters and other darker beers:

Oh, and the coke is for my bourbon/rum only!

IMAG03771_zpscdf620bc.jpg


This ones my rendition of lord raja goombas cascade/citra/galaxy APA, bloody tasty a great combination of hops, even better poured from the TapKing:

IMAG03781_zps361fe61d.jpg
 
Has anyone force carbed with the 16g bulbs and mini reg setup yet ? Thinking of giving it a try tomorrow when I bottle my hefeweizen, any tips? And will I have enough gas to carb and push out the contents? Or will it take 2 bulbs?

Sent from my HTC Velocity 4G using Tapatalk now Free
 
I've force carbed with the 8g bulbs. It takes two to force carb and one to dispense.

Can't give an accurate measurement on the carb level though. It sure tasted alright.
 
Did you shake or anything? And how long did it take.

Sent from my HTC Velocity 4G using Tapatalk now Free
 
Shake it like a polaroid picture.

If the bottle is chilled it only takes a few minutes.
You need to crank the onboard regulator up. As the gas is absorbed you'll hear the bulb run out. Add a new bulb and your good to dispense.

On my rig I can just swap bulbs out without undoing the lid.

I posted on the 8g thread if you want more info.
 
I should also add something for those guys with kegs.

filling these TK bottles from a conditioned keg works a treat if you're after clear beer.

you can naturally carb a keg then cold crash it to drop the sediment. After a week just purge the crap from the bottom of the keg and fill the TK bottles with the clear stuff.

works a treat!
 
Actually one more question, when you force carb beer doesnt it taste green? And also is extra time in primary work the same as time conditioning in bottles ? For example would a beer that spent one week in primary and two weeks in the bottles taste the same as a beer that spent three weeks in primary and then force carbed? Sorry for going off topic just curious

Sent from my HTC Velocity 4G using Tapatalk now Free
 

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