Keg virgin

[fourfarthing]

OK, so I have obtained my kegs (ball lock), regulator, disconnects etc. and my pressure holding vessels are currently each undergoing their PBW soak. After that I intend to santize and then push out the sanitizer with CO2 prior to storage.

Long lead in, but the guts of my post really are 'what do you wish you knew when you started kegging'? I've read a lot, but haven't done anything yet. Any helpful tips would be welcome!

 

[Sadu]

Secure your gas fittings real tight using stepless clamps. Losing co2 to leaks really sucks.

 

[McKnuckle]

Tapped for the very first time?

 

[fourfarthing]

Tapped for the very first time?

In a couple of weeks. If it lets me.

 

[Sailingeric]

I have a 4 regulator set up for my four kegs so I can blast carb a keg and serve from others. Also just because you can carb in a couple days does not mean you can skip beer aging/ green beer taste.

 

[Iseneye]

I spent ages researching and reading before kegging. A common issue is foamy pours. Make sure you either have flow restricting taps or use 3 metres of 3/16" ID beer line.

 

[day_trippr]

Learn how this works http://www.kegerators.com/carbonation-table.php
Then refer to the only beer line length calculator worth using before you install beer lines.

Anything in your gas system you can dunk while under pressure, do it.
Every other connection should be tested with some kind of bubbling leak "detector".
Standard Star San/Water mix works, a tablespoon of dishwashing liquid in a small amount of water works, you can even buy premixed bottles of the stuff.

fwiw, I found four different leaks in this assembly. Would have been a ***** to sort out if I had gone ahead and installed it without testing first...



Cheers!

 

[VTX1300]

The first thing you want to get rid of are the hose clamps and use Oetiker clamps. And purchase the proper crimper to use with them. I have worked on soda and beer systems for 20 years and hose clamps just don't seal properly. Also replace all of the "o" rings and popets in your kegs. A kit containing everything you need is only a couple of dollars. Make sure you have enough serving line between the keg and fawcet to reduce excess foam. And leak check the entire system. It sucks loosing an entire bottle of gas. I went to kegging​ on my second batch and never looked back. Cheers

 

[PADave]

I was very hesitant to start kegging. But now that I am, it's really not as hard as some make it out to be.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

"What do you wish you knew when you started kegging"

First and foremost is not using corny kegs. Cornys are made for soda not beer
Second: is ALWAYS use a flow control tap
Third: use short lines and enjoy hassle free kegging if you listen to above.....
Fourth hasn't happened yet "why am I getting flat foamy beers" and "how do balance my 12 ft nightmare lines
Fifth: return your kegs get Sixtels

 

[Silver79]

I tend to agree with Jonnyrotten in that I started kegging 5 ish years ago in Sankey tapped 1/2 bbls and lots of headspace. I now own 1 tall 1/4, and two 1/6 bbls, I've never ever ran any beer line longer than about 5' and never turned my regulator up past 5psi to serve. Glasses filll fast and foam free. All of this long line stuff is totally new to me on this forum as I've joined recently. I guess what I wish I had known was to start with tall 1/4's or 1/6bbls, glad I never read all the line length stuff or corny keg stuff or I would have overthought the whole thing, knowing myself.

 

[day_trippr]

[...]I've never ever ran any beer line longer than about 5' and never turned my regulator up past 5psi to serve. [...]

Simple rule of thumb wrt 3/16" ID pvc beer line: 1 foot per PSI.
So, you're running 5 psi, 5 feet of line will appear to work.

But, 5 psi isn't enough pressure to maintain a typical ale carbonation level (say 2.4 volumes) as the keg head space increases, so basically you're letting your beer slowly flatten.

To maintain the beer carbonation level one must use a suitable temperature and CO2 pressure combination (refer to our favorite carbonation table). That pressure typically ranges around 10-12 psi for most folks, and is best dispensed through a 10-12 foot beer line.

None of this has anything to do with the type of keg. Corny, sanke, doesn't matter...

Cheers!

 

[kiwipen]

"What do you wish you knew when you started kegging"

First and foremost is not using corny kegs. Cornys are made for soda not beer

Could you please elaborate?

 

[Brewsader1]

Yeah, I completely disagree with JONNYROTTEN. As someone who does cleaning of sanke kegs at a brewery, unless you have full on caustic, acid sanitizer, and a professional keg cleaner, I don't trust the cleaning process unless I can see it a.k.a. corny kegs. Plus, dry hopping/ fruiting/ adding coffee etc to a keg is way easier to do and clean with a corny.

I agree with what day_trippr has said. And as tempting as the high pressure force carb or rolling your keg around is, just put it in the fridge, set it at the appropriate psi, and leave it for a week or two. So much easier and no concern about screwing anything up with carbonation.

Lastly, if you can afford it, get a few more kegs than you think you need. For sanitizing, fill the keg with sanitizer and push into another keg with CO2 to avoid oxygenation. The extra kegs help with cleaning/sanitizing and if you're like me, you'll always want to brew more than your current keg capacity!

 

[Silver79]

Or perhaps, as many homebrewers don't clean kegs as often as a brewery and enjoy the simplicity and reliability of the Sanke style keg you could use a cheap inspection camera to view the inside of your cleaned keg. Mine plugs into my phone and was about $13 on Amazon.

There are lots of ways to keg and be happy. Some of us have been far less concerned than others in what at my end comes down to a fun hobby. After a few kegs you'll have figured out how much time and prep you want to invest in the hobby for the product you desire.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

Could you please elaborate?

Cornys were made/used for soda Coke/sprite ETC. in convenience stores/gas stations across the county. I believe they use a different system now and the reason there are endless used one available. When homebrewing was in its infancy the crafty homebrewers saw this and started using them essentially "rigging" them for beer and it has stuck to this day. Reality is corneys are meant for soda and sankes are meant for beer. They completely different by design. Cornys have two skinny dip tubes and poppets. sankes have one large spear and some sort of diaphragm on top. I've used both and speak from experience...sankes just seem to serve better. No idea why. Must be something about the design. Maybe as soda is highly carbed but the foam dissipates immediately they where made for that...Enter a carbed beer that foams like mad that takes forever to dissipate and you need to " balance" them(rig)with long lines...no idea but makes sense.
Sankes never leak
No orings to worry about sealing
No dip tubes to clog
And most important they just serve better
Beer is a multi billion dollar industry with endless R&D. There is a reason every bar restaurant beer serving establishment in the entire country uses sankes. They work better or they would use Cornys and don't.
I speak from experience as I started with cornys that I still have collecting dust in the basement. I switched to sankes and never looked back..Another bonus is if your out of homebrew you can just go get your favorite keg and keep on drinkin because as stated ALL beer comes in a sanke for a reason...cant do that with corneys.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

Difficulty cleaning sankes is complete nonsense and fear mongering.

Sankes never leak so they never get funky. I've opened pressurized but unhooked kegs months later and they smell as fresh as the last beer I poured. I just stick them in the bathtub and squirt some water in them a few times. They smell like water when I'm done in 2 minutes....I've never gotten a single off flavor or smell in years of use. Every once in a blue moon I'll soak them in Oxyclean for the hell of it.

 

[JohnSand]

I have no experience with sankes, and nothing against them. But I am happy with my cornies, and probably tens of thousands of other brewers are too. He might upgrade to sankes at some point, not he need not worry about the cornies.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

Not knocking anyone using cornies. I've used them myself. Sankes do work better though. You wont find many or anyone that have went from sanke to corny but many the other way around.

 

[JohnSand]

I'm sure. I just don't want him to worry.

I agree with those who said to be cautious about CO2 leaks. Also to lightly lube keg post rings. But if you have read up on kegging, just go for it.

 

[fourfarthing]

But if you have read up on kegging, just go for it.

Probably at the point where I just need to jump in. Appreciate the insight on Sanke/Corny, but I am currently supplied with Corny kegs and rolling there. Definitely already thought about going to Sanke if the budget ever permits. Isn't that alwasy the binding constraint...

 

[william_shakes_beer]

The first thing you want to get rid of are the hose clamps and use Oetiker clamps. And purchase the proper crimper to use with them.

I started with 1/4" beer lines mated to 1/4" barbs and had foamy pours. Then I switched to 3/16 beer lines, but kept the larger 1/4" barbs. I use the aviator clamps pictureds above and *so far*, after 2 years, have not had a leak. If you choose to go this route, you need to dip the hose ends in a cup of boiling water before slipping them on the barb.

 

[william_shakes_beer]

I agree with what day_trippr has said. And as tempting as the high pressure force carb or rolling your keg around is, just put it in the fridge, set it at the appropriate psi, and leave it for a week or two. So much easier and no concern about screwing anything up with carbonation.

From the beginning, I sized my keezer and gas manifold to store one keg more than serving. There are always 2 kegs serving and one carbing. I carb at serving pressure and leave it alone until the next keg kicks.

 

[Ruvort]

Not knocking anyone using cornies. I've used them myself. Sankes do work better though. You wont find many or anyone that have went from sanke to corny but many the other way around.

This is a tad bit off topic, but you seem very experienced with Sanke kegs. Do they work with sodas? I'd like to try my hand at making soda and if they work, I'd like to use them instead of corny kegs.

Thank you

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

This is a tad bit off topic, but you seem very experienced with Sanke kegs. Do they work with sodas? I'd like to try my hand at making soda and if they work, I'd like to use them instead of corny kegs.

Thank you

I have no idea. I've never made soda. Being cornies are made for soda why you just use sankies for bber and have a dedicated corny soda keg? Probably don't want to use the same lines for soda and beer anyway