Switching from bottles to kegs - Advice please

[Clint]

Would they need securing with epoxy or silicone?

 

[northof49]

sometimes I polish off 2 litres at a sitting, BUT, recent brews have been 1.2%, 1.4% and 2.2%, and I also have 1 litre PET bottles, 750ml swing tops and 660 and 500 ml crown cap bottles, and eight 330 ml swing tops.

Hi bobukbrewer,

I'm not sure if I've ever brewed a beer that was less than 5%. I'm not against it -- I like a good session ale -- I just haven't tried brewing one yet. Do you prime a little higher knowing you are bottling in 2 L bottles? I almost always go with 2.4 volumes and am happy with that level of carbonation. I like the idea of filling fewer bottles, but not sure how to limit what I currently see as the possible downside to doing that.

 

[bobukbrewer]

Clint - if the valve has ibstructions and a drawing, drill the correct size hole -

Hi bobukbrewer,

I'm not sure if I've ever brewed a beer that was less than 5%. I'm not against it -- I like a good session ale -- I just haven't tried brewing one yet. Do you prime a little higher knowing you are bottling in 2 L bottles? I almost always go with 2.4 volumes and am happy with that level of carbonation. I like the idea of filling fewer bottles, but not sure how to limit what I currently see as the possible downside to doing that.

no I prime with miniscule sugar, sometimes none - but I bottle in 4 to 6 days.....

 

[Drunkula]

Would they need securing with epoxy or silicone?

No, the rubber bumper thing on the valve creates a seal. I use them on pop bottle caps to make carbonation caps, too. You've got to make sure you don't lie the bottles down initially or the booze ends up tasting of oil and rubber. I learnt the hard way in a bottle priming vs force priming taste test.

 

[northof49]

No, the rubber bumper thing on the valve creates a seal. I use them on pop bottle caps to make carbonation caps, too. You've got to make sure you don't lie the bottles down initially or the booze ends up tasting of oil and rubber. I learnt the hard way in a bottle priming vs force priming taste test.

Now that is a creative solution!

 

[simon12]

I once force carbonated an APA from a cask in a tonic water bottle using one of the carbonation caps that uses a corny post for a customer that only likes keg beers but at fridge temp. and high carbonation a very hoppy beer just went tasteless.

 

[DavidDetroit]

I'm sure I chimed in earlier but bottling is swift and easy. Making sure that each bottle is taken care of is key. If you don't do that, then kegging is the only logical way but if one didn't take care of their bottles, will they take proper care of their kegging system? Mine are rinsed thoroughly after each use and from that point on everything is smooth sailing. It's important to note that I use flip-tops so there's a built in benefit of being able to cover the inside of the bottle from dust and bugs (if that is an issue) though any cover for a 330ml stock of bottles would do.
That leaves sanitizing 40 bottles which is almost insignificant when time is the factor. It's about 5 second per bottle? But I do get it--kegging is fun and seemingly effortless with pour after pour without needing to do much of anything.
For me, there is not an "end of tether" to be reached as it is very easy. For example, I bottled 121 beers recently and two required more than 30 seconds of my time. One was cracked and I mistook it for debris and one had some beer stuck to the bottom that was easily gotten rid of. I think bottling gets a bad rap.
Since I only brew 30 gallons per year, kegging isn't a real option.
Yeah, that was a rant but at least it won't need to be edited for content.

 

[eyuptm]

Would they need securing with epoxy or silicone?

No, the pressure seals th rubber against the underside, IF you pull it into the correctly-sized hole. As I said, I haven't actually DONE this yet, but it seems like it should work. Not sure about taint, though...