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 Post subject: Flowmeter for kegging
PostPosted: Mon May 21, 2012 4:44 pm 
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Joined: Fri Jan 16, 2009 12:00 pm
Posts: 249
Location: Austin, TX
I've been thinking about building a flowmeter for kegging from a conical so that I know when I've hit 5gal. I was thinking I could hook an Arduino up to some flowmeters like folks do for kegbot projects. Then I saw this at the bike shop yesterday for around $30:

http://www.camelbak.com/Sports-Recreati ... meter.aspx

Anyone know if this would be a safe and flavor-neutral option for kegging? Kinda seems too good to be true, but for that price I'd be willing to take a chance on a small quantity of low-cost beer.


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 Post subject: Re: Flowmeter for kegging
PostPosted: Mon May 21, 2012 6:29 pm 
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Joined: Mon Jan 31, 2011 5:35 pm
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Location: Sauk Rapids, MN
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Hows about you weigh the kegs?

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 Post subject: Re: Flowmeter for kegging
PostPosted: Mon May 21, 2012 7:14 pm 
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Joined: Fri Oct 31, 2008 9:01 am
Posts: 173
Location: Richland, WA
snowcapt wrote:
Hows about you weigh the kegs?


This is what I do. I've got an old bathroom scale I set the keg on and tare it with everything hooked up


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 Post subject: Re: Flowmeter for kegging
PostPosted: Tue May 22, 2012 6:22 am 
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Location: Austin, TX
Bokonon wrote:
snowcapt wrote:
Hows about you weigh the kegs?


This is what I do. I've got an old bathroom scale I set the keg on and tare it with everything hooked up


Image

:P

I've been meaning to get a scale for this purpose, but I like the idea of being able to precisely control how much volume is transferred.


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 Post subject: Re: Flowmeter for kegging
PostPosted: Wed May 23, 2012 8:11 am 
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Joined: Tue Jun 29, 2010 7:53 am
Posts: 553
Location: Warrenton, Virgina
snowcapt wrote:
Hows about you weigh the kegs?



Techincally this will not work due to the diffences in weight of solution with variable sugar content, and variable alcohol content. You could make an approximation for this and have a small amount of variance of volume based on that or create a chart for weight of solutions based on different starting gravities.


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 Post subject: Re: Flowmeter for kegging
PostPosted: Wed May 23, 2012 10:17 am 
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CRBrewHound wrote:
snowcapt wrote:
Hows about you weigh the kegs?



Techincally this will not work due to the diffences in weight of solution with variable sugar content, and variable alcohol content. You could make an approximation for this and have a small amount of variance of volume based on that or create a chart for weight of solutions based on different starting gravities.

I think that at 5 gallons, the difference would be pretty damn negligible.
so there.

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 Post subject: Re: Flowmeter for kegging
PostPosted: Wed May 23, 2012 10:51 am 
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Joined: Wed May 04, 2011 9:54 am
Posts: 269
Location: Chicagoland, IL
Agreed, on it not mattering a whole lot. The residual gravity against water generally ranges from (1.010-1.030), that works out to less than 0.17 pounds. When you're talking about 5 gallons of beer clocking in around 42 pounds (42.35 for a 1.015 FG), you won't be very far off.

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 Post subject: Re: Flowmeter for kegging
PostPosted: Wed May 23, 2012 5:19 pm 
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Joined: Fri Aug 01, 2008 1:56 pm
Posts: 115
Location: Tyler, Texas
I tried it once with a cheaper scale. Right before it hit 38 lbs., beer sprayed everywhere (just ahead of schedule). And yes, I zeroed it with the kegs and everything hooked up.

Now, I just flush with CO2 and fill with aluminum foil over the keg mouths (two at a time---Fredo style). Oxygenation doesn't scare me as much as wasted beer all over the garage floor.

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