mini kegs (CO2 style) day to day functionality

[Dexter101]

Hi guys,

Another thing on my Christmas wish list is some mini kegs as love the size and portability of them as an option for me.

What I am getting confused by is the pressurising and attachments to the lid and how they actually work day to day.

Would I have to have a tap per keg? or can I simply move the tap from one keg to another? ie. have 2 kegs filled with the same beer, once one keg is empty, move the tap to the other keg?

Assuming each keg would need its own dispensing lid with ball lock fittings. could you have one co2 charger for example to insert co2 and then remove it leaving the beer under pressure? or is it best to have one per keg?

 

[MyQul]

You don't have to use a removable party star type tap f you dont want to. If you get easy kegs rather than mini kegs (people use the terms interchangeably but the difference is that mini kegs dont have an intergral gravity tap whereas easy kegs do.), you can use the gravity tap at the bottom and not get and additional party star tap set up. I never had one when I used mini kegs

Here's a mini keg guide a former forumite wrote

https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/...e-maintenance-party-star-deluxe-part-1.59404/

 

[Dexter101]

Thanks @MyQul I actually mean the Dark Farm style growler kegs!

 

[MyQul]

Doh! You'll have to ask @Gareth Davies at dark farm then

 

[SteveH]

I do similar to what you're proposing with two 9.5l corny kegs - I connect the kegs to Co2 until they carbonate, then they can be disconnected if you want and the regulator/charger swapped to another keg.

I actually use a large Co2 cylinder now, but you can force carb with the small chargers - it just gets a bit expensive if you're doing that regularly.

I also only have one tap etc, and swap it between kegs - for portable use I take the mini regulator and for home use they are hooked up to the gas bottle.

The only issue I can see is you can't force-carb more than one keg at once, which may be an issue if you only have one Co2 charger and need to split a batch between multiple kegs. I got around this (prior to getting a large bottle and splitter so I could connect gas to both kegs) by kegging half a batch and bottling the rest.

 

[Dexter101]

Thanks @SteveH thats really useful. The use of one keg seems fairly straight forward, it was having multiples that was starting to confuse me!

Probably the way forward would be to have a lid for each keg with ball lock fitting and a Co2 adaptor for each keg. I could then pressurise both and move the tap between kegs when ready?

Trying to make sure what I buy makes it easy for me to grow my options (as I can see some 5L growlers being useful for picnics, bbqs etc).

I believe that with the ball lock fittings, if I wanted to move to a larger Co2 container as well I could.

 

[kelper]

I have several mini kegs but one dispenser. The beer keeps in the fridge and takes about a day to carbonate when I move the dispenser from an empty to a full keg. I started off with 2L kegs but now have a 5L and this fits in our normal fridge. The 16g bulbs do one 5L keg and I set the pressure between 10 and 15psi depending on how gassy I want the beer or 15psi to carb and then 10psi to dispense.

 

[Dexter101]

I have several mini kegs but one dispenser. The beer keeps in the fridge and takes about a day to carbonate when I move the dispenser from an empty to a full keg. I started off with 2L kegs but now have a 5L and this fits in our normal fridge. The 16g bulbs do one 5L keg and I set the pressure between 10 and 15psi depending on how gassy I want the beer or 15psi to carb and then 10psi to dispense.

Thanks Kelper, that sounds very positive then.

I am going to ask different people for different parts of the set up for Christmas, which is another nice feature.

 

[kelper]

I got a 2L mini keg plus dispenser, for £80 on eBay and a second keg for £20. A 2L keg only holds 1.7L of beer. A 5L keg probably about 4.2L.

Dark Farm have a great offer https://www.darkfarm.co.uk/product/5l-mini-keg-and-flow-tap/

 

[Dexter101]

Thanks dude. My only concern with the Dark Farm kegs is that the tap is integrated into the cap so would mean unscrewing stuff. Others use the ball stop disconnectors so would then just be able to move the tap round.

 

[kelper]

Thanks dude. My only concern with the Dark Farm kegs is that the tap is integrated into the cap so would mean unscrewing stuff. Others use the ball stop disconnectors so would then just be able to move the tap round.

Fair comment. I only disconnect when it's empty, so no problem. Did you see this on eBay?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mini-Keg...O2-Regulator-Metal-Tap-Ball-Lock/332862161790

NakedKeg's eBay shop has lots more stuff https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/nakedkeg

Try and get a self-closing tap. Less chance of making a mess when you move it around (I speak from experience!)

 

[Dexter101]

Another question with these... was reading through duttos useage and wondered how the pressure relief caps work? Is this for of you want to carbonate in the keg?

 

[kelper]

It can be hard to unscrew a cap if there's pressure in it and it might overflow. So the caps with relief valves can be used to let off the pressure by pulling on the ring. I don't think they are designed to vent automatically.

 

[Arcs]

I've seen the in Home and Bargain for the hobgoblin mini-keg going for as little as 9.99£ full of beer!! The plastic stopper on the top can very easily be removed by hand and replaced with a rubber one. I bought one, gonna buy another

 

[Dexter101]

It can be hard to unscrew a cap if there's pressure in it and it might overflow. So the caps with relief valves can be used to let off the pressure by pulling on the ring. I don't think they are designed to vent automatically.

That makes sense. So not really for carbonating but if you had carbonated beer inside, it makes it easier to open.

Guess if you were going to carbonate in the keg, you would use a sounding valve on the disconnect to make sure it doesnt over pressurise

 

[Dexter101]

That makes sense. So not really for carbonating but if you had carbonated beer inside, it makes it easier to open.

Guess if you were going to carbonate in the keg, you would use a sounding valve on the disconnect to make sure it doesnt over pressurise

Guess easier just to force carbonate

 

[kelper]

You can prime with sugar. I fill my kegs from my pressure barrel so they are already carbonated.