Purchasing A Keg System

[juzz1981]

Hi Guys,

I have come to the point where bottling is giving me the shits aswell as not having enoough room for all the bottles, I am going to buy a 2 keg system and was just wondering if anyone had any opinions with the systems sold at Grain and Grape as they seem to be priced ok but i couldnt find alot of info on the site.

Has anyone purchased units off ebay?

Any advice would be great as im not really sure where to guy from or brands ect :|

Thanks!

 

[daemon]

My advice is to start with the basics but go for good quality items. By this I mean getting things like John Guest fittings instead of barbs, better quality line etc. I started off with one keg, Micromatic regulator, picnic tap, sodastream adaptor and line / fitting. Cost was about $250 from memory and it got me started. I then progressively added more items as I could afford it, but I've never had to throw anything out or replace it because I needed a "better" item.

The kits on eBay look well priced and there's nothing wrong with them, however most don't seem to have JG fittings. That means anytime you disconnect the lines to clean them you'll have to cut it off and redo it each time. What I did buy off eBay was the CO2 cylinder, the 2.6Kg one is about $180 delivered and full.

 

[benno1973]

Check out the thread on ebay keg systems here. There's quite a bit of info to read, both positive and negative. There is a significant price difference, and you'll have to do your own cost-benefit analysis to see if it is right for you. I have one from Pinnacle, but I can understand the benefits of JG fittings and good quality taps.

 

[juzz1981]

Thanks for the reply guys,

As far as price goes im not too worried, but i do want a quality unit / fittings that will be easy to use and reliable, from the linked thread i might not go with G&G.

If not being too much of a pain in the arse, can someone send me a link to a supplier of a quality system with a reasonable price

thanks heaps..

in the mean time im off to do some more research!

 

[jivesucka]

each keg holds 19L. the average brew is 23. what do you plan on doing with the extra 4L?

 

[thesunsettree]

each keg holds 19L. the average brew is 23. what do you plan on doing with the extra 4L?

simple, make your brew to 19/20 lts. fully flavour, no wastage. or if you like bottle the remainder

cheers
matt

 

[Jazman]

Easy brew a 20 litre batch or bottle the left over to to a half dozen or more stubbies six stubbies dont take long to bottle

 

[Aus_Rider_22]

each keg holds 19L. the average brew is 23. what do you plan on doing with the extra 4L?

When I started kegging I would bottle a few extra from the leftover few litres. Now I just make the batch to 20L and don't worry about bottles. Smaller batch gives a bit more taste/flavour and knocks up the alcohol a bit. :icon_cheers:

 

[henderjo]

simple, make your brew to 19/20 lts. fully flavour, no wastage. or if you like bottle the remainder

cheers
matt

Wasted it at first, I can afford the $2.35 or so. Then like others have suggested I just brew to 20lts and waste the remainder. It's just not worth the trouble :icon_cheers:

 

[NickB]

I have a 'bits keg' that any leftovers go into. After it fills it makes for interesting, and sometimes surprisingly good drinking! Otherwise, just scale your recipe down to 19L.

Cheers

 

[JestersDarts]

I have a 'bits keg' that any leftovers go into. After it fills it makes for interesting, and sometimes surprisingly good drinking! Otherwise, just scale your recipe down to 19L.

Cheers

How do you do a bits keg?

you basically stick your leftovers in the keg, and keep in your fridge?
Do you add any gas to purge headspace?

How do you go about carbonating these leftovers?
Do you wait until the keg is full?

 

[MarkBastard]

20L batches, 1L of trub, perfect.

Bunnings fermenters are good for 20L batches too.

 

[brettprevans]

How do you do a bits keg?

you basically stick your leftovers in the keg, and keep in your fridge?
Do you add any gas to purge headspace?

How do you go about carbonating these leftovers?
Do you wait until the keg is full?

dump random left over beers into the keg. keep it carbed as per normal. just treat it like any other keg with beer.
ive done a leftover get an it was great. it had RIS, dark octoberfest and english bitter. great way of freeing up 3 kegs and getting a new beer to taste. mine was only about 1/2 full by the time id put all 3 leftovers in.

I just make the batch to 20L and don't worry about bottles. Smaller batch gives a bit more taste/flavour and knocks up the alcohol a bit. :icon_cheers:

soprry but this comment irks me. i find it irksome. batch size has nothing to do with flavour or alc. its the recipe. you have reduced volume and not modified recipe accordingly. thats whats increased 'taste' and alc. and actually (in a perfect world) if your beer was perfectly balanced at a particular volume and you adjust the volume and not the recipe then your beer results in an unbalanced beer. I get what your trying to get at, but its a slightly misleading statement.

if you think your beer needs more taste then adjust the recipe accordingly for a 20L batch.

 

[NickB]

Yep, bits keg as per CM2. I however wait until mines full. I just keep the keg hooked up to gas in the keg freezer and it's fine. Makes for some interesting drinking too!

 

[MarkBastard]

soprry but this comment irks me. i find it irksome. batch size has nothing to do with flavour or alc.

Could be a kit brewer, or brewing from fresh wort kits, in which case he may have a good point.

 

[Weizguy]

soprry but this comment irks me. i find it irksome. batch size has nothing to do with flavour or alc. its the recipe. you have reduced volume and not modified recipe accordingly. thats whats increased 'taste' and alc. and actually (in a perfect world) if your beer was perfectly balanced at a particular volume and you adjust the volume and not the recipe then your beer results in an unbalanced beer. I get what your trying to get at, but its a slightly misleading statement.

if you think your beer needs more taste then adjust the recipe accordingly for a 20L batch.

I think that comment was based on a fixed recipe. i.e kit and bits for 22 litres.
Then batch size would work to affect/increase alc and flavour.

 

[brettprevans]

I think that comment was based on a fixed recipe. i.e kit and bits for 22 litres.
Then batch size would work to affect/increase alc and flavour.

yeah i get that but i used to change my recipes to account for size when i did K&K. but then again iut was pretty much kits & bits from the get go. so if just doing 1 can of goo and nothing else, then yes the comment is right. i widthdraw my protest.
:icon_cheers:

 

[Bribie G]

each keg holds 19L. the average brew is 23. what do you plan on doing with the extra 4L?

I still brew to 23L then cold crash in a cube. On kegging day, three bottles get filled first, which takes care of any residual sediment in the lower part of the cube, then the keg is filled with clear cold beer, then I usually get a fourth bottle out of the cube if I haven't had too many sneaky tastes :icon_cheers:
The bottles go into an archive and I try them after a month or so. Good to have a few to give away or put into case swaps as well.

Back On topic, OP how much do you want to spend? I have a Kegmate, which I think is identical to the Pinnacle ones, and it's a sexy bit of gear that looks fantastic in the lounge room, and virtually no work apart from cleaning the pipes and dismantling and cleaning the taps once a month ( 20 minute job once you get the hang). And it takes 3 kegs.

 

[SirDrinkalot]

That setup looks awsome!

 

[Aus_Rider_22]

yeah i get that but i used to change my recipes to account for size when i did K&K. but then again iut was pretty much kits & bits from the get go. so if just doing 1 can of goo and nothing else, then yes the comment is right. i widthdraw my protest.
:icon_cheers:

No need to withdraw it, I understand what you mean and I sort of worded it badly. I mainly do 50/50 of kits+spec grains and extract+spec grains but I realise changing the volume without adjusting recipe figures will produce a "richer" and unbalanced beer which could change the drinking experience from the original 23L volum.e :icon_cheers: :icon_cheers: