Brand spanking new to kegging

[TimmyR]

ok so i took a look, i have 3/16" id lines but there are only about 45" long (3.75' roughly) i checked my CO2 gauge and it must have got jostled or something when i put it in the fridge because it was set to 18psi.

i used the calculator here: http://www.iancrockett.com/brewing/info ... ce.shtml#4

i put in 10psi, 3.75' length of tube, 2lb/ft resistance and 5' above the centre of the tank and it should work out.

i bled off both kegs and will check again tomorrow.

tks,

tg

BTW, those calculators never worked for me. Maybe the numbers they have for resistance/foot is off. I've always used 3/16" beer line, at 40 degrees, with the tap about 18" up from the center of my kegs and found I need at least 7' of tubing to get a 2oz/sec pour rate. YMMV.


Mylo

+1.

I'm at 38 or so, 5-6', 10-12 PSI. YMMV. Cheers!

[theobrew]

Christmas!!!

I got a kegging setup for christmas... I got 5# co2 tank a regulator and two ball lock kegs with picnic taps. I plan on upgrading and building a keezer this year but until then I'll just use the picnic taps in a small dorm fridge.

I've been reading and researching everything I can find and I thank Bug for all the links but most of them are dead now.

If people can post videos or websites they found helpful I would greatly appreciate it!

[spiderwrangler]

Congrats on the Xmas kegging stuff... my holidays have been beer free so far... Good chance I'll get something from my wife's sister and brother-in-law though... he's a guy that recognizes and appreciates good beer, but drinks shit beer on a day to day basis...

[brewinhard]

Congrats on the Xmas kegging stuff... my holidays have been beer free so far... Good chance I'll get something from my wife's sister and brother-in-law though... he's a guy that recognizes and appreciates good beer, but drinks shit beer on a day to day basis...

got a good buddy like that too! Never quite understood it, unless its a money issue...

[Ozwald]

Congrats on the Xmas kegging stuff... my holidays have been beer free so far... Good chance I'll get something from my wife's sister and brother-in-law though... he's a guy that recognizes and appreciates good beer, but drinks shit beer on a day to day basis...

+1 to the kegging system. After filling the 4th or 5th keg you'll never believe you used to bottle. Polish those puppies up & show them off. I've recently been going through mine & scrubbing the daylights out of them with Bar Keeper's Friend. It's even gentle enough to clean up the rubber as long as you rinse really really well.

I've been building a new keezer myself. I searched through tons of photos, videos, threads, write-ups & articles. There's a lot of great ideas & beautiful works of art out there & even more ways to go about it. I just compiled all the ideas & features I liked best from everything I saw; came up with a few new ones of my own in the process. I'm taking my time with mine, mostly cause I enjoy doing the project as much as I'll like the finished result, but I'm also on a tight budget. I did put a collar on it so I don't have to keep opening the lid to use a picnic tap, but she's got a long way to go. I plan on posting pics of each step, but it's pretty boring so far - I'll put them up when I make some decent progress on it.

In the meantime, I would suggest a Google search on: Keezer, Keezer build, Irish coffin, keezer collar ... Keezer on pic search will start you on multiple trails. A lot of the hits will have more links in them, especially the forum threads - follow 'em & you'll start getting all sorts of ideas. Also, if you can get a freezer on the cheap, a temp controller is fairly affordable & I built my collar in a day with only a pair of screwdrivers, a 12" finishing cut hand saw & a tape measure. A power drill/screwdriver could cut that down to a couple hours. I had a couple 2x4's & the screws already, so mine only cost $12 for the 1x6. It's going to be hidden eventually so I went on the cheap - if you were going to stick with a collar style you might want to invest a little more in nicer lumber, but a cheap one can at least get you up & running right away.

I'll start you out: Here's a fellow BN'r whose build gave me a couple ideas. Beautiful build. http://s390.beta.photobucket.com/user/manwithbeers/media/Keezer/IMG_3232.jpg.html?sort=4&o=10

Good luck, happy hunting & enjoy those kegs!

[theobrew]

Regulator / Leakage question

So My understanding is that the regulator will hold at around 800 psi for the tank for a while as the liquid co2 off gasses to keep the pressure around 800. When I connected my keg and filled it two nights ago the tank red 800 psi so I figured everything was fine. I put the tank in the fridge with my keg and the next morning I noticed that the pressure dropped just a hair below the red fill line on the gauge. I tested for leaks with soapy water and cannot find any.

I'm thinking that if there was a leak bad enough to drop it down to the red overnight that 2 days later the tank should be empty. I'm wondering if for some reason my tank just constantly reads a lower pressure and will stay just below the red line for a while until it is empty. Is this possible or is there probably a leak and I need to test harder?

Anyone else experience this? thanks!

[TheDarkSide]

If people can post videos or websites they found helpful I would greatly appreciate it!

Theo, this is the collar I build on my kegerator. 7.2 cu ft chest freezer with this collar allows me to put 6 kegs in it, with the co2 tank outside.

Regulator / Leakage question

So My understanding is that the regulator will hold at around 800 psi for the tank for a while as the liquid co2 off gasses to keep the pressure around 800. When I connected my keg and filled it two nights ago the tank red 800 psi so I figured everything was fine. I put the tank in the fridge with my keg and the next morning I noticed that the pressure dropped just a hair below the red fill line on the gauge. I tested for leaks with soapy water and cannot find any.

I'm thinking that if there was a leak bad enough to drop it down to the red overnight that 2 days later the tank should be empty. I'm wondering if for some reason my tank just constantly reads a lower pressure and will stay just below the red line for a while until it is empty. Is this possible or is there probably a leak and I need to test harder?

Anyone else experience this? thanks!

The high pressure guage will read lower when cold. The best way to see what you have left for CO2 is to weigh it and subtract the tare weight of your canister.

[theobrew]

I thought that the cold might be the case but the guy at my LHBSH said that it shouldn't go that low and I probably have a leak. But with it holding fine and keeping the pressure up in my keg I figured I'd get a second opinion by way of the Networks...