Cedar Rapids Brewing Society

I have a spare fridge for my kegs and as of now have my CO2 outside the fridge to be able to fit 2, maybe 3 kegs.

So I have a dual gauge regulator so I can force carbonate one keg and drink from the other or use different pressure per keg, etc. It has barb fittings which I am not a huge fan of mainly due to using hose clamps.

Then through the fridge I have a piece of brass pipe and an NPT barb fitting inside and out to make my own junction block. So to get to the keg I need 3 hose clamps. I still have the screw on fittings at the keg. Then another barb at the faucet.

I am going to try to find treaded parts for the reg and faucets, then better clamps like what came on my stuff from Northern Brewer, but I have not found or seen anything to make my homemade distribution block to screw fittings or a whole new setup all together. I have no issues drilling more holes in this fridge. I can get pics if this is too much typing and a pic would have made this much easier to get my point across.

Main reason is I am force carbonating a keg and already I have had a leak and had to tighten the snot out two of the hose clamps to get it to seal. I was at 30psi, but went down to 20 to feel safer about it not leaking.

Thanks
Chris

I don't have any problems with hose clamps on my barb fittings. Tighten them as far as you can. They shouldn't break. Spray a little soapy water on the connections to check for leaks and have a beer!

Tom

You can also try heating the ends of the hoses in hot water to soften them before pushing them over the barbs. This should allow them to conform more tightly to the barb.

Also, Keg Lube, essentially a food-grade Vaseline, can help maintain the seal.

Happy drinking,

Karl
Laughing Kitten Brewery

Thanks

So far it's working fine when at 5psi. Going to keg another tonight and see if it leaks when I force carbonate again. I will try heating the hose Karl.