can I use 3/16 for gas AND beer line?

[Frisp]

Im in the middle of sorting out a larder fridge as a kegerator..

In my mind Im trying to keep the lines within the fridge as tidy and easily managed as possible and it got me wondering why I cant use 3/16 for all my gas lines ( I know it needs stepping up to 3/8 in places) as its a tad more flexible than 3/8

1) can I use 3/16 for both Co2 and 30/70 gas lines ?

I then got to thinking could I use 3/16 to get a more flexible runs of line from taps to kegs?

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Yes 3/16 makes perfect sense for gas lines (to individual kegs, at least). The viscosity of gas is so much lower than beer, that the gas will always be able to flow in faster than the beer can flow out.

The exception might be that you might want to use something slightly bigger, like 1/4”, for a gas line that is going to be split to feed more than one keg - but in reality that’s only an issue if you are going to be serving from both kegs simultaneously!!

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

On the beer side of things, I use stem reducers to go straight from my corny posts into 3/16” lines that then go all the way to the taps - but if that distance is more than about 75cm you might need to do part of the run in 1/4” or 3/8” to avoid an excessively slow pour

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

 

[Frisp]

On the beer side of things, I use stem reducers to go straight from my corny posts into 3/16” lines that then go all the way to the taps - but if that distance is more than about 75cm you might need to do part of the run in 1/4” or 3/8” to avoid an excessively slow pour

Thank you . that answers all my questions just fine..

 

[MashBag]

I use one size for all gas and dispense

 

[AnimatedGIF]

+1 for stem reducers, and everything that TETB said. My set up contains goodness knows how many 3/8 stem to 3/16 fittings, but well worth it and they're not too expensive.

 

[Caramel Ox]

A little tip - I find it hard to get those stem reducers out. I use the plier side of a folding mini tool just to press down the fitting on both sides.

 

[Wigglebutts Brewery]

I do!!

 

[marshbrewer]

So would 3/8th be good from Regulator to manifold, then 3/16 from manifold to individual kegs?

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

So would 3/8th be good from Regulator to manifold, then 3/16 from manifold to individual kegs?

Yes that’s the typical way I think - although in reality you would be fine with 1/4” into the manifold unless you plan to pour from more than one keg at the same time … or if the manifold is a long way from the regulator

 

[Buffers brewery]

I do too.