Regulator questions.

[Stouter]

In the process of building a keezer and gathering all the necessities. ATM I'm starting with two taps but have room for a third even a fourth later and would like to futureproof in a way that will allow for this. For now one tap will be for Stouts, the other for Ales mostly.

Looking a regulators and came across a 3 gauge set up. My thought was that I could split one line to service 2-3 kegs and taps, and still use the second gauge independently to force carb. Or is a 4 tap gas manifold going to provide much the same?Having nil experience in this, what do the "old hands" here do?
Recommendations on outlet and line sizes would also be greatly appreciated.
I've had a browse of some equipment threads and tried a couple of searches but there's so much to sift through and the search function is gobshite.

 

[peteru]

I've been using a 4 outlet manifold with a single regulator for a while now. At first I was tempted by multiple regulators, but the initial cost was a bit stupid. I figured out I can start off with a manifold and just play the tweak and open valve game for a while. A year and a half later, I don't see the need for multiple regulators.

My kegerator is a 3 tap job. Manifold is external and I can switch gas on/off for each individual keg. The fourth line has a gas disconnect and can be used to administer gas to minikegs, PET bottles with carb caps, or even full kegs for purging, etc.

I also got a second CO2 bottle that I have in the garage, near the fermentation fridge. I usually crash chill the beer before kegging, then keg into a keg with a carbonation lid. Sit it in the garage hooked up to the "carbing bottle" for about an hour or two, then unhook it and bring it inside. It's usually good to drink straight away. I could do exactly the same thing with the fourth outlet on the manifold attached to the kegerator.

So, to summarise, I'd recommend that you get yourself a single regulator with a manifold that has at least one more outlet than the number of kegs you plan to have. Keep the manifold and regulator externally mounted so that they are easily accessible without letting the cold out of your kegerator. Get into the habit of tweaking things as you serve / require. If by any chance you find it all too tedious down the track, you can always hook up step down mini-regulators to the outputs of the manifold. It'll cost you, but at least not all upfront.