Kegging (10L) for beginners

[bmass96]

Hi folks,

I'm thinking of starting to keg my beers. I've had the following recommended from Dark Farm, which is 5L but looks good

https://www.darkfarm.co.uk/product/home-bar-in-a-box-2x5l-mini-keg/
After a bit of looking, I found this which I think looks better(?)...

https://brewkegtap.co.uk/products/10l-minikeg-party-kit
Which of the 2 would you recommend, or is there anything better you'd recommend? I'm looking for cheap, but am willing to pay for quality you know.

Any other general kegging advice or tips for someone who has never done it will also be much appreciated.

Cheers folks!
Ben

 

[Session]

Hi folks,

I'm thinking of starting to keg my beers. I've had the following recommended from Dark Farm, which is 5L but looks good

https://www.darkfarm.co.uk/product/home-bar-in-a-box-2x5l-mini-keg/
After a bit of looking, I found this which I think looks better(?)...

https://brewkegtap.co.uk/products/10l-minikeg-party-kit
Which of the 2 would you recommend, or is there anything better you'd recommend? I'm looking for cheap, but am willing to pay for quality you know.

Any other general kegging advice or tips for someone who has never done it will also be much appreciated.

Cheers folks!
Ben

Hi Ben!
I’ve just been buying kegs myself, and went for a couple of 10L kegs from BKT.

They are not the cheapest keg out there, but one of the few which state their max operating pressure. Some kegs I have seen which do state this only have a max pressure of 30psi before the PRV vents, and as I transfer fully carbed I need it to be rated higher than this.

After trawling through hundreds of posts on another forum about unsanitary welds on minikegs I really like the look of the welds on the KegLand kegs. I also have a lot of confidence in Jonny, who has been incredibly helpful with my order.

I only went for the keg expansion kit as I don’t feel (perhaps misguidedly) the mini regulators are as reliable as a full size reg (which I already have, as well as taps etc) and I will only be using them at home most of the time. Having said that the kit you linked to looks like a great package and I’m sure the regulator is fine. It’s certainly much better value than the other option you linked to and I the kegs from BKT look better in my opinion.

 

[bmass96]

Hi Ben!
I’ve just been buying kegs myself, and went for a couple of 10L kegs from BKT.

They are not the cheapest keg out there, but one of the few which state their max operating pressure. Some kegs I have seen which do state this only have a max pressure of 30psi before the PRV vents, and as I transfer fully carbed I need it to be rated higher than this.

After trawling through hundreds of posts on another forum about unsanitary welds on minikegs I really like the look of the welds on the KegLand kegs. I also have a lot of confidence in Jonny, who has been incredibly helpful with my order.

I only went for the keg expansion kit as I don’t feel (perhaps misguidedly) the mini regulators are as reliable as a full size reg (which I already have, as well as taps etc) and I will only be using them at home most of the time. Having said that the kit you linked to looks like a great package and I’m sure the regulator is fine. It’s certainly much better value than the other option you linked to and I the kegs from BKT look better in my opinion.

Cheers man, that's really helpful. I think I may end up putting an order in for the kit in the second link. I also need to read up about kegging in some more depth!

 

[Geoffinthewilds]

Dont you fancy either a Kegerator or keezer build and go with the standard 19L Corenius Kegs?, supposed it depends on how much you brew/drink, but best thing I ever done swapping to kegs

 

[Geoffinthewilds]

Dont you fancy either a Kegerator or keezer build and go with the standard 19L Corenius Kegs?, supposed it depends on how much you brew/drink, but best thing I ever done swapping to kegs

and using the co2 bulbs or soda stream are a lot more expensive than a co2 bottle

 

[MickDundee]

Dont you fancy either a Kegerator or keezer build and go with the standard 19L Corenius Kegs?, supposed it depends on how much you brew/drink, but best thing I ever done swapping to kegs

I know I’m not the OP, but I’ve toyed with going down the corny route for about 18 months (since I moved house). The issue I have is that the only place I could have a kegerator is my garage which would make my normal weekend a PITA and if I were to have visitors around it would be a nightmare with the frequency we’d be traipsing out to the garage, potentially waking the kids etc (the garage door is LOUD).


I have been looking at these mini keg set ups and think they might solve my problems. I’m waiting for the Sodastream kits to come in to BKT and will ask for it for my birthday. I will start off with this kit, but plan to eventually have a stock of the 5 and 10L MKs, force carb in the garage with a full size CO2 canister and bring them into the house over the weekend with the Sodastream adapter to drink then return any undrunk to the garage on Sunday night.

 

[aamcle]

Mick, how are you going to keep them chilled in the house?


Aamcle

 

[MickDundee]

Mick, how are you going to keep them chilled in the house?

Fridge - we have a massive top shelf in our fridge for some unknown reason, I’ve measured it and the 5L kegs will fit no problem and I should be able to fit a 10L if I move stuff about. The alternative with the 10L is I keep them in the garage through the day and just bring them for the evening (which is probably SWMBO’s preferred option).

 

[Session]

Dont you fancy either a Kegerator or keezer build and go with the standard 19L Corenius Kegs?, supposed it depends on how much you brew/drink, but best thing I ever done swapping to kegs

This is going to sound stupid on a beer forum but I dislike the look of kegerators... they seem a bit too much like being in a pub! There isn’t really a good space for me to put one in our place either but I wanted the convenience of kegs, so went for these which will happily fit in my fridge in the kitchen.

 

[bmass96]

and using the co2 bulbs or soda stream are a lot more expensive than a co2 bottle

I don't brew *that* much I guess. The one I have in primary at the moment is only my third this year. I have friends who brew every 2 weeks. So it might be a little overkill for me, the kegerator kinda thing

 

[bmass96]

This is going to sound stupid on a beer forum but I dislike the look of kegerators... they seem a bit too much like being in a pub! There isn’t really a good space for me to put one in our place either but I wanted the convenience of kegs, so went for these which will happily fit in my fridge in the kitchen.

Same here. Although I'm rethinking a 10L as there's no way it'd fit in my fridge at home. I live with my parents too so doubt they'd approve of me rearranging too much

 

[Geoffinthewilds]

Same here. Although I'm rethinking a 10L as there's no way it'd fit in my fridge at home. I live with my parents too so doubt they'd approve of me rearranging too much

Best not toupset your parents

 

[Geoffinthewilds]

This is going to sound stupid on a beer forum but I dislike the look of kegerators... they seem a bit too much like being in a pub! There isn’t really a good space for me to put one in our place either but I wanted the convenience of kegs, so went for these which will happily fit in my fridge in the kitchen.

The Mrs and me do get it down us, especially with the lock down, but its stopped feeling naughty now , but always have 3 FV's going at the same time to try and keep some conditioning in the kegs, I love my kegerator but understand they dont appeal to all and thats the great thing about this hobby, you can dip in and out of whatever works for you

 

[Falco]

Hi @Session how are you getting on with your BKT supplied 10 litre keg kit? Thinking this might be the way to go for me too as I've not got the house space for a kegerator and the 10 litre ones will fit in the brew fridge as well as the one in kithchen. Already got a couple of Sodastream bottles which I can reffill myself from a large CO2 cylinder in the garage. Be interested in your views

 

[Falco]

Hi @MickDundee did you get the BKT sodastream 10 litre keg kit? Thinking this might be the way to go for me too as I've not got the house space for a kegerator and the 10 litre ones will fit in the brew fridge as well as the one in kithchen. Already got a couple of Sodastream bottles which I can reffill myself from a large CO2 cylinder in the garage. Be interested in your views, cheers

 

[MickDundee]

Hi @MickDundee did you get the BKT sodastream 10 litre keg kit? Thinking this might be the way to go for me too as I've not got the house space for a kegerator and the 10 litre ones will fit in the brew fridge as well as the one in kithchen. Already got a couple of Sodastream bottles which I can reffill myself from a large CO2 cylinder in the garage. Be interested in your views, cheers

I did and then a month and a half later for my birthday I went to full size cornies and made a kegerator.

 

[Falco]

I did and then a month and a half later for my birthday I went to full size cornies and made a kegerator.

Interesting, was the 10 litre kegs sodastream set-up any good though?

 

[MickDundee]

Interesting, was the 10 litre kegs sodastream set-up any good though?

Yeah it was an absolute game changer, that’s why when my parents asked what I wanted for my birthday I went for a BKT kegerator kit

 

[Falco]

Thanks for that @MickDundee looks like it’s going on my Dear Santa letter then