Anyone used the 5L Mini Growlr kegs?

[Berry454]

Looking at the little 5L growlr kegs they look ideal for low volume brewing so i can play around with all grain brewing without a large investment.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/36437071...1p3GgslHlGsm9sxRi|tkp:Bk9SR7T1ztHtYg&LH_BIN=1
I see that they take little 16g Co2 bulbs.

How long can i expect these 16g co2 cartridges to last?

Will i be able to pour a pint then return back to the keg a few weeks later and the beer stay fresh between pours? Or is this not possible with the little 16g co2 cartridges?

And my final question is, can I hook the little kegs up to my 6.5kg co2 bottle to force carbonate? Force carbing with the 16g co2 bulbs does not sound feasible.

If anyone knows of any other mini kegs (5-8L volume) that hook straight up to a 6.5kg Co2 tank then please do let me know!

 

[Rwilts]

These guys covered some of this

 

[tigertim]

I've got a couple of the Mangrove Jacks ones. I bought one so that I could do 25 litre brews and use it to contain the extra beer that wouldn't fit in a 19 litre corny keg, and I bought the other one so that I could take bright beer out with me (i.e. to friends/relatives houses). Also useful because they'll fit in the standard household fridge at a push as long as you throw away some of that salad and vegetable rubbish first

I wouldn't use the CO2 bulbs to force carbonate because it would work out a very expensive way to do it, but you should be able to dispense an entire 5 litre keg with a single bulb providing it was adequately carbonated in the first place. You might be able to dispense even more than that if you're careful. I force-carbonate with the 6kg cylinder; the MJ ones have standard Cornelius ball-lock gas/liquid posts.

Otherwise, I really like them. No reason why the beer would go stale any faster than in any other keg as long as you're careful to avoid beer/oxygen contact.

 

[Sandimas]

I've got 2 of the 10L ones.

On average it uses 2 x CO2 bulbs per brew, that just for serving rather than force-carbonating: I tend to put my British ales in these kegs as they don't need much carbonation. The beer keeps fresh so long as you've got CO2 pressure. I really like them, had plastic pressure barrels before and these are much better. I've got a Dark Farm one and a Mat Miller one but they seem generic as I've only got one tap and move it between the two.

 

[Berry454]

I've got 2 of the 10L ones.

On average it uses 2 x CO2 bulbs per brew, that just for serving rather than force-carbonating: I tend to put my British ales in these kegs as they don't need much carbonation. The beer keeps fresh so long as you've got CO2 pressure. I really like them, had plastic pressure barrels before and these are much better. I've got a Dark Farm one and a Mat Miller one but they seem generic as I've only got one tap and move it between the two.

Honestly guys I’ve still not really made my decision yet but it’s hard to justify buying the 5 or 10 litre growler stainless steel kegs after seeing the Keg King PET 10l kegs.

https://brew2bottle.co.uk/products/fermenter-king-king-keg-10ltr-pet-keg-with-ball-locks
10l stainless steel keg £100 ish?

10l king keg PET £29.99

They have the same ball lock posts that normal corny kegs have and apparently keep beverages fresh for around 18 months.

https://brew2bottle.co.uk/products/fermenter-king-king-keg-10ltr-pet-keg-with-ball-locks
Anyone used these?

 

[HockleyPete]

I bought a couple of these plastic kegs myself recently - just be aware they are stamped with a best before date which I wasn't aware of before I bought
I think it's 2 years from manufacture so won't be as durable as stainless steel kegs
Sure they'll work ok after that but something to be mindful of

 

[Sandimas]

I think it's 2 years from manufacture so won't be as durable as stainless steel kegs

Agreed, I'd never go back to anything other than stainless steel - the other kegs work fine to start with then issues creep in.

Plus it's just the keg, you'd still need to buy a regulator, tap etc. These come with the all-in-one stainless kegs, yes they are expensive, but you get what you pay for IMHO.

 

[stripeyjoe]

just be aware they are stamped with a best before date which I wasn't aware of before I bought

Is the date just a reminder to do a pressure test? I have that on my PET All Rounder too. Just did one the other week and all is good. All you do is fill it up with water and chuck around 25-30psi of pressure on it and look for any signs of stress fractures.
Treated with care and kept out of sunlight there’s no reason that the keg won’t last way longer than two years.

 

[Little Rock Brewing]

I've got a couple of the Vevor 8 litre kegs, with taps and CO2 regulators, from Aliexpress. They take a bit of getting used to the pouring operation, but having watched the video posted on this thread I realise I was trying it with too much pressure. Luckily it has a spunding valve.
I kept a part empty keg of Jaipur for 2 months and it was fine, even better than before. It seems to produce a "creamier" mouthfeel than the bottled equivalent.
The only downside is cooling in the summer as I have to empty the fridge or use a coolbox with icepacks. But they'll come into their own now winter is coming.
Fancy getting a couple of adjustable flow taps now though.