Anyone made a home made kegerator?

[Mayor of Simpleton]

are you Worried in case you leak and run out of gas ? Or worried in case it leaks and it’s harmful ? It’s co2 which is ok but co is harmful ( by product from burning fossil fuels etc )

More thinking around any harmful effects of elevated Co2 should I have a leak and would I get to a concentration of Co2 in the room that I should be concerned about. In which case a monitor would make sense. Or am I being over cautious and there is no problem.

 

[Donegal john]

More thinking around any harmful effects of elevated Co2 should I have a leak and would I get to a concentration of Co2 in the room that I should be concerned about. In which case a monitor would make sense. Or am I being over cautious and there is no problem.

Co2 is carbon dioxide that we need to breathe so high concentration from a gas leak would not even be noticed so no need to worry if you have a leak you end up with no gas that’s all. So no need for monitor.

 

[gavp1979]

As mentioned above I think you might be confusing carbon dioxide (co2) and carbon monoxide (co). As a disclaimer I am not a scientist but a quick Google comes up with this:

 

[Mayor of Simpleton]

I was referring to Co2 rather than Co. The HSE for example classifies it as hazardous with exposure limits. While Co2 does occur in the air we breathe at 0.03%, it can be harmful at elevated levels. Would leak from a cylinder in an enclosed space reach a potentially harmful level was my question. I guess I could make a simple calculation based on the content of a cylinder and the ppm that could elevate Co2 to in a room. Thanks. I think I answered my own question

 

[Leon103]

The minute you open door the levels would drop.

 

[gavp1979]

I was referring to Co2 rather than Co. The HSE for example classifies it as hazardous with exposure limits. While Co2 does occur in the air we breathe at 0.03%, it can be harmful at elevated levels. Would leak from a cylinder in an enclosed space reach a potentially harmful level was my question. I guess I could make a simple calculation based on the content of a cylinder and the ppm that could elevate Co2 to in a room. Thanks. I think I answered my own question

Well that's me told

 

[phettebs]

I've built 3 now and all 3 have been keezer types. To avoid drilling through the freezer, I build a wood collar and put it between the body and the lid. Before I built my bar, I just had 2 taps mounted to the collar and a hand pull on the other side. You can see the holes on the collar where those were mounted.

 

[Darren Jeory]

Can I just ask

When bottling and priming in the bottle I always get a little sediment (to be expected). If I had my beer in a corny keg would that crap stay at the bottom of the keg maybe making an appearance in the last few pints? Or if you have corny kegs is force carbonation the done thing?

 

[Darren Jeory]

I've built 3 now and all 3 have been keezer types. To avoid drilling through the freezer, I build a wood collar and put it between the body and the lid. Before I built my bar, I just had 2 taps mounted to the collar and a hand pull on the other side. You can see the holes on the collar where those were mounted.

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I love this and was thinking if I was to make the whole lid from wood and put some Kingsland underneath for insulation I could probably mount the taps on top of it?

 

[NotSure]

Can I just ask

When bottling and priming in the bottle I always get a little sediment (to be expected). If I had my beer in a corny keg would that crap stay at the bottom of the keg maybe making an appearance in the last few pints? Or if you have corny kegs is force carbonation the done thing?

You usually don't use priming sugar in a corny keg, but you can. You generally force carb a corny keg. There will always be at least a bit of sediment at the bottom of a corny keg in any case, but the loose stuff comes out first since the dip tube for the keg's outlet draws from the bottom of the keg. A little usually comes out with the foam when the keg is finished too.

 

[Darren Jeory]

You usually don't use priming sugar in a corny keg, but you can. You generally force carb a corny keg. There will always be at least a bit of sediment at the bottom of a corny keg in any case, but the loose stuff comes out first since the dip tube for the keg's outlet draws from the bottom of the keg.

I assume there is an art to the correct carbonation with those

 

[NotSure]

I assume there is an art to the correct carbonation with those

Art with regard to forced carb? Yes and no from my experience. Yes in my humble opinion when trying to carb as quick as possible. I've used the method of cranking-up the PSI and rolling the keg on it's side to get it carbed in a few hours a few time.
Most often I do a patient carbonation which is just a matter of letting it sit at the correct pressure long enough. The correct pressure being dependent upon your draft system and desired serving carbonation/temp. No art with the latter, just science.

 

[Darren Jeory]

Who sells good starter kits to move in that direction? Ya know, all the fittings and taps etc?

 

[samale]

Who sells good starter kits to move in that direction? Ya know, all the fittings and taps etc?

I just got a premium 2 keg starter kit from brew keg tap. It has everything you need. You just need a fridge/freezer and a bottle of gas

 

[samale]

https://brewkegtap.co.uk/collections/keg-kits/products/premium-double-keg-kegerator-kit

 

[ScrumpyRam]

I just got a premium 2 keg starter kit from brew keg tap. It has everything you need. You just need a fridge/freezer and a bottle of gas

I'll second that. Brewkegtap, brilliant. Great service and good prices .And if you're not sure what to get give Jonny a ring. He'll make sure you get what you need.

 

[Darren Jeory]

Co2 is carbon dioxide that we need to breathe so high concentration from a gas leak would not even be noticed so no need to worry if you have a leak you end up with no gas that’s all. So no need for monitor.

Not strictly true mate...CO2 is still toxic and if you were in a room with a very high CO2 levels you would eventually suffocate

 

[F00b4r]

I was referring to Co2 rather than Co. The HSE for example classifies it as hazardous with exposure limits. While Co2 does occur in the air we breathe at 0.03%, it can be harmful at elevated levels. Would leak from a cylinder in an enclosed space reach a potentially harmful level was my question. I guess I could make a simple calculation based on the content of a cylinder and the ppm that could elevate Co2 to in a room. Thanks. I think I answered my own question

The Kegland guys posted calculations a while ago on another forum and according to them a 6kg bottle in that size room is enough to suffocate you (based on about 5.5kg IIRC correctly being enough to suffocate in my beer room, which is larger; I’m also in an incredible insulated German house so it isn’t going to diffuse naturally very easily compared to a draughty older British house).
One of the reasons I’ve stuck with a 2kg bottle and just plan on getting a second; also they last a lot longer if carbonating by using the last few gravity points and spunding.

 

[roboto]

Not strictly true mate...CO2 is still toxic and if you were in a room with a very high CO2 levels you would eventually suffocate

Totally agree with this, you do not want to breathe in more CO2 than usual.

The good news is that unlike for most other gases the human body has evolved to be full of CO2 receptors. Those are what causes the 'burning' lung sensation if you hold your breath, or if you burp CO2 up your nose after necking a lager too quickly.

If the room is filling up with CO2 in appreciable levels you'll know about it.
Venting cylinders are bloody loud too, and a slow leak is unlikely to kill you. But not all gases are equal, best practice should be followed on the off-chance your cylinder doesn't contain CO2, as asphyxiation can hit quickly (your body will give you no warning signs you're breathing in nitrogen, argon, helium etc). In risky situations (working alone, with poor ventilation) the end result is often death.

As for best practice: Only keep as much gas as you practically need on site, have good ventilation, check for leaks regularly, replace regulators etc when required (as stated by the manufacturer).

Stay safe.

 

[phettebs]

I love this and was thinking if I was to make the whole lid from wood and put some Kingsland underneath for insulation I could probably mount the taps on top of it?

Yes you absolutely can. One of my incarnations used a tower tap system because I drilled through the lid since I knew there were no cooling lines running through it. It worked a treat until the compressor died!