I made the jump...

jdulle · Post by **jdulle** » Mon Sep 24, 2012 3:32 pm

from bottling to kegging my beer. I was in Minneapolis this weekend and stopped at Midwest Supplies and bought a dual keg setup like this one http://www.midwestsupplies.com/brew-log ... -kegs.html but I got the corneilus regulator instead. As an added bonus they didn't have any 5 lb C02 tanks on hand so I got a 10 lb for the same price. I brewed my first batch last night and will be ready to transfer to the keg in a couple of weeks. So any advice anyone can give to a first time kegger so I avoid any of the newbie pitfalls? What pressure do you carbonate at and how long before its typically ready? I need to get some sort of fridge to keep the kegs in. I am trying to setup a nicer looking bar in the basement so my wife is prohibiting me from getting anything too ugly off of craigslist. Does anyone a fridge they are looking to get rid of (hopefully cheap) or know a good source other then craigslist?

Matt F · Post by **Matt F** » Wed Sep 26, 2012 2:52 pm

The simple way. Rack your beer from the fermenter to a sanitized and clean keg. Once full put the lid on and hook up your gas. Leave the gas around 12 psi. It will take a week or more with the beer cold. The 12 psi only works if the beer is being stored cold. At room temperature you will need a higher psi. 12 psi works for dispensing too if you have about 5 feet of 3/16" ID tubing connected to your tap which I imagine the kit set you up with. I also do not do a secondary anymore unless playing with fruit or hops or something. I go from primary to keg and enjoy.

Basically, fill keg, put in fridge, hook up gas at 12 psi, one week later drink.

bf514921 · Post by **bf514921** » Wed Sep 26, 2012 3:00 pm

i have rouhgly the same for length of hose, as an added step you can also purge the keg with a little co2 if your parrinoid about oxygen. Also if you cold crash, its a great way to start with a cold keg to carbonate. i generally run 12 psi to 8 psi, you can play with it depending on your preference of carbination, or sttyle of beer. for me it usually take 2 weeks. If your in a hurry you can hit it with a high psi like 30 for a day or 2 and then take it down to something more resonable. it will carb faster. if you are in a really big hury crnk it to 30-40 psi and shake for 15-30 min - this is not the rocommened method but works in a pinch.

jdulle · Post by **jdulle** » Wed Sep 26, 2012 3:44 pm

Thanks for the advice guys. In your keg fridge does it make any difference if you store the CO2 tank inside or outside of the fridge? I am finding some conflicting opinions on if it runs the CO2 out of pressure faster or not. What are your thoughts does it make a difference?

bf514921 · Post by **bf514921** » Wed Sep 26, 2012 3:51 pm

keep mine in the fridge, have for years, i am relocating to outside for space considerations. as far as pressure, cold gas is lower pressure, mine runs barely above refill even wehn full in my beer fridge. when its out, its really out.

carrisr · Post by **carrisr** » Thu Sep 27, 2012 6:57 am

Yes, space is the biggest consideration, especially with a bigger tank. But the tank pressure gauges won't accurately reflect the tank fill if kept in the fridge, or like mine in a garage that gets cold in the winter. I run my tank on the outside for most space reasons.

On 09/26/12 16:51, bf514921 wrote:

keep mine in the fridge, have for years, i am relocating to outside for space considerations. as far as pressure, cold gas is lower pressure, mine runs barely above refill even wehn full in my beer fridge. when its out, its really out.

Brandon Franklin - The other Franklin

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Matt F · Post by **Matt F** » Thu Sep 27, 2012 8:45 am

I had mine inside the fridge for the first 7 years I kegged and moved it outside the fridge this past year. The only thing I notice different is the extra room in my fridge and the guage that tells you your tank is low seems to work. In the fridge it read almost empty and then it would flip to empty once you were out. Haven't ran out of gas yet since moving it to room temperature in my basement. I run 4 taps, force carbonate most all my beers and I haven't had to fill my 20 lbs. tank for at least 3 years.

beerguy2009 · Post by **beerguy2009** » Mon Oct 08, 2012 1:07 pm

If you are looking for a nice frig that can be set up as a kegerator, I just bought a Danby DAR440bl that I like and would recomend. I can hold 2 kegs and a 5lb CO2 tank. It does require some slight mods to the door but since it does not have a freezer compartment, you don't have to mess with the cooling system to make the kegs fit. Some people put towers on them and I have seen a video on youtube where a guy made a nice setup with a stand for the frig and it had a compartment under the frig for the CO2 and he put taps in the door. I just got mine recently and just use a couple picnic taps.

Matt F · Post by **Matt F** » Mon Oct 08, 2012 1:16 pm

Towers are cool but can be pricy. I like the idea of raising the fridge and running taps through the door. Picnic taps work great and can get you by until you decide what you want to do. You may even decide to just stick with them.

beerguy2009 · Post by **beerguy2009** » Tue Oct 09, 2012 5:23 pm

Here is a link to a Youtube video on a cool way to build a kegerator. It's not your standard setup.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6_dohL8AGQ