Equipment questions please :)

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

These guys are more our style. Think Top Gear, but for brewing. Lots of fun!

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

I see you are looking at a tapcooler or similar . I have a Tapcooler and cant praise it enough for filling bottles from a keg and tap very easy and very quick .
On tbe subject i stupidly lost its small o ring while cleaning it my fault contacted Malt Miller who are putting one in my next order free of charge fantastic service.

If you don't mind could you tell me what connections you have for it?

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

Someone online giving this away for nothing, but I was just pipped to the post. Bit annoying.

 

[user 4749]

I had the intertap on a kegerator tower so it could not fit under my tower ,so i also bought the intertap screw on extension and the gas ball lock connector.
I have a spare gas line next to my kegerator that i use for force carbonating which is handy for the tapcooler with the ball lock connector i would say this is a needed addition

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

You see I don't have any taps yet and all I'll have is the ball lock connector on my Fermzilla. I've no idea how to turn that into something that will take the tapcooler.

 

[user 4749]

I think a Tapcooler will only work with forward sealing taps

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

Ah ok. I didn't think it was worth connecting one to the fermzilla but looks like I'll have to now lol

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

Can I do this?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stainless-...ocphy=1007266&hvtargid=pla-369648830865&psc=1

 

[user 4749]

No it needs to be a forwarding sealing like an intertap , nuka tap or a perlick tap i think that one isnt but someone better qualified i am sure will answer

 

[user 4749]

I think malt miller do an accessory to connect to a keg not sure if that may work

 

[matt76]

Can I do this?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stainless-...ocphy=1007266&hvtargid=pla-369648830865&psc=1

I think malt miller do an accessory to connect to a keg not sure if that may work

I've been brewing for nearly 3 years, but only just getting started with kegging so can't exactly speak from experience. But one I've the many videos I've watched recently was by Malt Miller and I believe yes you can attach a tap directly to a keg like that, but.....

ISTR this was in the video I watched (can't remember exactly which one, have a look on The Malt Miller website and/or their YouTube channel, they've done several on kegging etc) and I believe the challenge you might have is not enough pressure drop between keg and tap which might lead to excessive foaming. AIUI, the usual solution is to have a decent length of 3/16" tube in between to give you that pressure drop. That said I wonder if one of those flow control taps would do the same job???

Oh, one other suggestion I can make is once you have all your gear together don't be shy about doing some (wet?) dry runs..... what I mean is have a play with some water in advance to figure out how it's actually going to work in practice, on brew/kegging day, on your system, with your gear to avoid spoling/wasting your latest brew on something completely untested.....

I did this a while back when I started using a mash re-circ pump, and more recently to figure out how I'm going to do a closed transfer from FV to keg. True, no plan survives first contact with the enemy and I'm sure I'll hit more snags once I do it for real with real beer and with real hop bits, trub and yeast cake. But at least by practicing just with water I've already ironed out some of the major bugs, e.g.

• Oops, that's way too much pressure, my FV now looks like a sphere
• Ah shoot, that connector isn't tight and is pulling in air (=bad!)
• A valve here would be useful
• An extra corny keg quick disconnect there would make life easier
• etc etc etc

Cheers,

Matt

 

[Leon103]

I've been brewing for nearly 3 years, but only just getting started with kegging so can't exactly speak from experience. But one I've the many videos I've watched recently was by Malt Miller and I believe yes you can attach a tap directly to a keg like that, but.....

ISTR this was in the video I watched (can't remember exactly which one, have a look on The Malt Miller website and/or their YouTube channel, they've done several on kegging etc) and I believe the challenge you might have is not enough pressure drop between keg and tap which might lead to excessive foaming. AIUI, the usual solution is to have a decent length of 3/16" tube in between to give you that pressure drop. That said I wonder if one of those flow control taps would do the same job???

Oh, one other suggestion I can make is once you have all your gear together don't be shy about doing some (wet?) dry runs..... what I mean is have a play with some water in advance to figure out how it's actually going to work in practice, on brew/kegging day, on your system, with your gear to avoid spoling/wasting your latest brew on something completely untested.....

I did this a while back when I started using a mash re-circ pump, and more recently to figure out how I'm going to do a closed transfer from FV to keg. True, no plan survives first contact with the enemy and I'm sure I'll hit more snags once I do it for real with real beer and with real hop bits, trub and yeast cake. But at least by practicing just with water I've already ironed out some of the major bugs, e.g.

• Oops, that's way too much pressure, my FV now looks like a sphere
• Ah shoot, that connector isn't tight and is pulling in air (=bad!)
• A valve here would be useful
• An extra corny keg quick disconnect there would make life easier
• etc etc etc

Cheers,

Matt

I think she means having that tap connected to a tapcooler. I have a tapcooler and you need a forward sealing tap. The one from Amazon won't work. Speak with TMM and see what they recommend.

The tapcooler is fun but only when doing a few bottles at a time, wouldn't like to bottle a full batch with it.

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

Yes I do mean that Leon. I will speak to them about it. Just watched the video but it's not obvious on the website which one I should get. I'm not mechanically minded which makes it more difficult. I wish I knew what a forward sealing tap looked like!

Ooh no doing a full batch would be a pain, and I guess the pressure would drop too much and you'd have to re-carbonate.

 

[Leon103]

Yes I do mean that Leon. I will speak to them about it. Just watched the video but it's not obvious on the website which one I should get. I'm not mechanically minded which makes it more difficult. I wish I knew what a forward sealing tap looked like!

Ooh no doing a full batch would be a pain, and I guess the pressure would drop too much and you'd have to re-carbonate.

Intertap and nukatap tend to be the main ones sold in the UK.

Remember a NEIPA won't store well at ambient temperatures.

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

Yes I understand. The main thing I'm worried about is buying something with parts that don't go together and then i'm lost. I will speak to the shop. ☺

 

[Brew_DD2]

I'd be careful about using a heat belt on the Fermzilla as it's made of PET and it might warp it.

Really exciting getting lots of new gear in! I can thoroughly recommend Intertap faucets.

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

I have sent TMM an email to ask, but I think I have found the answer on BKT. This shank adaptor looks like it'd do the job. I will wait for an answer though first from TMM. I already have a few things in my basket from there anyway so it'd be rude to go somewhere else.

https://brewkegtap.co.uk/collections/taps/products/mfl-tap-shank-adapter

 

[gavp1979]

I have sent TMM an email to ask, but I think I have found the answer on BKT. This shank adaptor looks like it'd do the job. I will wait for an answer though first from TMM. I already have a few things in my basket from there anyway so it'd be rude to go somewhere else.

https://brewkegtap.co.uk/collections/taps/products/mfl-tap-shank-adapter

That shank will allow you to fit a tap direct to a ball lock disconnect, they also do a full kit but it is sold out, when I bought my first kegging set it came with one that I had mounted direct to the keg for a while until I sorted a kegerator out

https://brewkegtap.co.uk/collection...ow-control-keg-mounted?variant=30860517343313

 

[RoomWithABrew]

That's one way of doing it!
I'm not comfortable opening the top because of the huge gap at the top of the container. Hope you know what I mean ha ha!

Don't you have to let the pressure out before you take the bottom off as well, or you'd never get it off lol

"Au contraire blackadder"
You don't need to open the top as the bag of hops goes in when you put the yeast in and then seal it. Then slide the hops in on the magnet and out again as needed.
No the pressure helps to get it off, just close the valve and then loosen a bit and it will bubble and be a bit messy but then remove the vessel and clean it all up fill with beer as mentioned ( can't do that if no pressure ! ) and refit the vessel.

 

[RoomWithABrew]

I'd be careful about using a heat belt on the Fermzilla as it's made of PET and it might warp it.

Really exciting getting lots of new gear in! I can thoroughly recommend Intertap faucets.

I use a heat belt on my four fermentasaurus and regularly do a kveik beer in them. So upper 30s and a bit of heat belt, or cooler yeasts that get ramped and not had any problems. You mustn't turn on the heat belt if no liquid or if you have the heatbelt above the beer line ( ? why do that though ).