Getting started with kegs

[stevela]

As I've got a day of work whilst they finish off replacing one of my windows I thought I'd get some more done on the kegerator.

So far I've managed to drill the holes and mount the taps with the new face plate. This was a combination of every increasing sizes of drill bits, a 19mm hole cutter and a curved file!

I didn't have access to a nice large cutter (40mm would have been good) to take the insulation out so went with the "drill a lot of small holes in a circle around then carve it out" method. Not pretty and it was fiddly getting the nuts in but they are on there tight now:

Now I need to flip it back over and fit the regulator to the inside of the door and put it all back on the fridge.

Whilst I was doing this I decided it was also time to redo the seal on my mash tun false bottom and decided to try something different. I've put some 1/2" silicon hose all around the base with some smaller diameter hose to keep it all together. Hopefully this with the new hose around the edge of my false bottom should give a good seal and prevent anything creeping down the edge:

 

[Fil]

looking GOOD!! I like the silicone support edge for the tun fb, keep us upto date on its success

 

[stevela]

looking GOOD!! I like the silicone support edge for the tun fb, keep us upto date on its success

Thanks Fil, as I was brewing today I've put my observations in the brew thread I've just created here

 

[stevela]

I've fitted the gas management to the door today (after a quick trip to B&Q for some washers):

This means I can get the door back on and give it a nice clean up:

Just the gas to go now...

 

[stevela]

I've found a few suppliers in the Manchester area which will supply to home users.

BOC Swinton £36 + rental

Brentex Gas £36:

1-5 Morton Street, Middleton, Manchester, M24 6AN
Telephone: 0161 643 4224
Website: http://www.brentexgas.co.uk/

Master Gas £36 (£10 refill):

15 Turner Street Ashton-under-Lyne Lancashire
Telephone: 0161 330 6630
Website: http://www.mastergasonline.com

TyGas (£25 deposit + £13.75):

Unit 1, Webb Street, Bury, BL8 1AF
Telephone: 0161 764 5722
Website: http://www.tygas.co.uk/

Should be able to get a bottle in the next week; just in time for my latest brew to be finished in the fermenter!

 

[Titch]

Place in Haydock ill check details cheaper than those I seem to remember

 

[stevela]

Place in Haydock ill check details cheaper than those I seem to remember

Thanks, I went to TyGas this morning and picked up a bottle so I'm good to go now!

 

[krazypara3165]

Gascylindersuk in haydock. Prices are cheap as chips. I drive up from warrington for co2 for the aquarium and usually pay a tenner to refill three bottles!

 

[stevela]

Gascylindersuk in haydock. Prices are cheap as chips. I drive up from warrington for co2 for the aquarium and usually pay a tenner to refill three bottles!

Thanks, I'll check those out next time. As it was came to £14 in total so wasn't too bad.

Is there anything I need to know before hooking up the regulator and Sankey connectors? An idiots guide would be useful :)

 

[stevela]

I've tried a wet run today with mixed results.

After finally finding a spanner and fitting the small red gasket I've attached the CO2 canister to the regulator with all screws on the regulator fully extended. A nice hiss of gas and then silence so the regulator holds pressure and I turn the gas off, good start :thumb:

I then connected up the gas line from the last regulator on the right to the keg coupler, as the coupler doesn't have a 3/8th connector I have used a coupler and a short length of smaller line at the coupler end:

The beer out has a 5/16 -> 3/16 reduce on and 5m of line connected to the tap.

I then increase the pressure to ensure that the keg coupler is not leaking when the lever is in the up position, unfortunately at this point I start to hear hissing from the regulator end and couple end of the gas line

Pushing them in further slows it down but does not resolve the issue completely. I take the time to test the coupler and depressing it does release a nice health blast of gas, and some liquid starts to move out of the keg.

So other than my leaks at the ends of the gas line everything seems to be good. Whats the best way to tackle these leaks?

 

[stevela]

OK I have progressed a bit further with this. I noticed that the ends of the gas hose were a bit scratty so I've sharpened up one of the kitchen knives and trimmed 1cm off each end.

Pushed them into fittings again making sure they had locked in place and then gassed it up. This time I increased the pressure and the hissing stopped immediately. Connected up the beer line and after discovering I hadn't pushed it in far enough managed to get some flow through!

[youtube:2rn5gsdd]8IJTDocYqP4[/youtube:2rn5gsdd]

This is with 5m of 3/16 which I was going to cut in half.

I think fitting a 3/8" JG connector directly on the coupler should make the keg connection end more secure as I did get the occasional hiss if the line moved too much, does anyone know what thread I need?

Tomorrow I'll get a beer racked into a keg and starting to condition!

 

[stevela]

The beer is in the keg and the keg is in the fridge hooked up!

I've ordered a second Sankey coupler as I needed one anyway for the second keg and this will also sort out my immediate coupling issue.

 

[stevela]

New coupler arrived last night and the connection on this is solid. Keg is now happily sat slow carbing at around 10C and I'll give it a try at the weekend!

Need to get the new STC-1000 wired up so I can have more accurate control of the fridge temperature.

 

[stevela]

Started to wire up the STC-1000 (at some point I need to consolidate all of these into one box!).

Holes cut and cable glands and STC fitted:

Quickly wired up to make sure the unit works:

We've also started removing any beer labels from the front so we can decorate the fridge with them:

It's going to take a while and a lot of beer but it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make :drink:

 

[stevela]

Earth Neutral and sensor wired up:

Live connected:

All stuffed back in the box:

Now to test it!

 

[stevela]

Works a treat!

Now to plan a brew for the second tap :)

 

[user 7167]

Thats really cool! I am looking at keging now as well. Undecided do I go for Crusaders or get some cornies? I have been bottling for 18 months and its starting to get to me. As I am a novice I am looking for some guidance on

1 - What keg to buy
2 - All the parts I need
3 - Help in hooking them up

From the looks of it, my options are a Cornie with ball locks or crusaders with sankey. I am looking at starting with 2x kegs and taking it from there. I am not ready to convert my stc1000 managed fermenting fridge to a kegerator yet, but pretty certain I will get there eventually. Any guidance?