CO2 Chargers

[buzzharvey22]

Hi Chaps,

looking to invest in my first corny keg and iv come accross this:

http://www.thehomebrewcompany.co.uk/co2 ... -p-63.html

now iv only seen the corny kegs connected up for a gas bottle through a CO2 regulator.

The above product looks a lot simpler, cheaper, and easy to store than having a bottle and a regulator.

Would i just need the CO2 charger and id be good to go to use a corny keg?

Any disadvantages?

 

[krazypara3165]

I would imagine it to be very hard to precisely regulate the pressure with that.... with the little bulbs once the seal has been pierced it would be very hard.

plus..... is it really that much cheaper? you can get a reg for £30 and aside from bottle deposits CO2 for not much cheaper.

 

[joe1002]

I don't think it will be cheaper in the long run, I think you will go through a lot of those bulbs. Also as KP mentions, you have no way of knowing the pressure in the keg.

They are probably ok for taking cornies to party's etc but that's about it IMHO.

 

[buzzharvey22]

yeah iv been doing a bit of research, i think theyre used to put the pressure in for dispensing the beer as opposed to doing the actual carbonation.

might still actually purchase one as i do intend on moving my kegs around, and if the reviews are like they say, theyre great for dispensing the beer.

incidently, does anyone know how much a bottle of co2 costs and how many brews your likely to get from it?

 

[joe1002]

incidently, does anyone know how much a bottle of co2 costs and how many brews your likely to get from it?

It rather depends on where you live, have a look through this: http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=26434 :thumb:

 

[PaulCa]

Assuming you have no leaks and are careful not to waste too much you should get about 8-10 brews per kilo of CO2. That includes cleaning the keg, purging the keg, carbonating and serving.

While the 9 gram CO2 bulbs might be fine for serving from the keg, it's the cleaning, purging and getting the lid to seal that takes the most CO2.

I was thinking of buying one for the purposes of getting beer out if the CO2 cylinder runs empty, as my reg is single gauge and thus does not tell me when the cylinder is about to empty. However, the last time the cylinder ran out I was able to get a good 6 pints out of the keg that night with just residual pressure. Granted the last few took a few minutes to pour.

 

[Dave1970]

I have one of the mini chargers - they do the job really well, but only for dispensing. I use it if I take a keg away from home. As others have said it's no use as your only source of gas.