Switching to kegs and kegerators

[Ashley]

Hiya, I know this is a noob question but please humour me...

I'm bored sh*tless of bottling. I brew in 50 to 60l batches so I'm considering getting 6 or 9 kegs. Obviously I want to keep them cold and I have seen the grainfather kegerator on the malf miller and brewuk sites.

You can only fit 3 of the new size AEB kegs in there, or 2 of the reconditioned size kegs. What size fridge do I need to buy to fit 3 or even 4 kegs in at a time if I want to build my own?

 

[Ghillie]

Hiya, I know this is a noob question but please humour me...

I'm bored sh*tless of bottling. I brew in 50 to 60l batches so I'm considering getting 6 or 9 kegs. Obviously I want to keep them cold and I have seen the grainfather kegerator on the malf miller and brewuk sites.

You can only fit 3 of the new size AEB kegs in there, or 2 of the reconditioned size kegs. What size fridge do I need to buy to fit 3 or even 4 kegs in at a time if I want to build my own?

How often do you brew? IMO at such large volumes, there's not an easy answer here. Are we talking 50-60L final volume as well - i.e. that's what you get out the fermenter as usable beer? Also do you intend to force carbonate the kegs because that can make matters quite different for you.

 

[Graz]

You can get quite a few in a chest freezer (obviously the bigger it is the more kegs). But my take on it is that you only need to chill the ones you're drinking. Provided the lids seal okay you can keg the beer, pressure and purge the keg a few times to get rid of the air, and then just stick it somewhere cool until you need it. Then just chill and force carb a week or so before you want to start consuming it.

 

[Ashley]

How often do you brew? IMO at such large volumes, there's not an easy answer here. Are we talking 50-60L final volume as well - i.e. that's what you get out the fermenter as usable beer? Also do you intend to force carbonate the kegs because that can make matters quite different for you.

I spoke to a guy at Malt Miller and he made a good point of splitting my brew into 3 separate fermenters and using different yeasts and dry hops in each to get 3 different tasting beers.

Going to make my own using a larder fridge with secondary regulators and a splitter for carbing kegs with having to disconnect any in the fridge too. That way, when I run out of beer in one keg I can have 3 new beers ready to replace them in 3 other kegs using the same triple batch method.

I reckon I'll save about £200 over buying the ready made kegerator and use FC taps and premium lines/regulators from the get go.

 

[Ashley]

Apologies, I forgot to answer your question.

I brew as often as I can for two reasons:

1) I drink too much
2) I really enjoy brew day

I am limited by how many bottles I have at the moment and this way I can get 2 more big brew days done or at least do 1 big brew day and do some smaller batch brew days in my first AG equipment setup which hasn't been used for years.

I end up with 50l of useable beer at the end, yes. I have a 75l electric brew kettle and a big igloo mash tun.

 

[Ashley]

You can get quite a few in a chest freezer (obviously the bigger it is the more kegs). But my take on it is that you only need to chill the ones you're drinking. Provided the lids seal okay you can keg the beer, pressure and purge the keg a few times to get rid of the air, and then just stick it somewhere cool until you need it. Then just chill and force carb a week or so before you want to start consuming it.

That's ultimately the plan. I want to have kegs fully loaded and ready to replace them when they're empty so that I always have a supply. It may mean that I do smaller batches in the future once I have enough already legged up. I'm not sure yet. All I know is I hate bottling and how much time it takes to clean, stabilise, prime, fill and cap them.

 

[Ghillie]

I spoke to a guy at Malt Miller and he made a good point of splitting my brew into 3 separate fermenters and using different yeasts and dry hops in each to get 3 different tasting beers.

Going to make my own using a larder fridge with secondary regulators and a splitter for carbing kegs with having to disconnect any in the fridge too. That way, when I run out of beer in one keg I can have 3 new beers ready to replace them in 3 other kegs using the same triple batch method.

I reckon I'll save about £200 over buying the ready made kegerator and use FC taps and premium lines/regulators from the get go.

Good point about splitting the batch three ways.

I toyed with the idea of a larder fridge, but ended up going down the chest freezer route. That way and kegs can be removed without disturbing the others. It sounds like a small thing, but it would become a bit of a chore moving kegs to get to the ones at the back.

By all means though, a tall larder fridge would be a good idea. It does have a smaller footprint after all and no need to manufacture a collar.

I'd bet you'd save well over £200 bud.

 

[Ashley]

Good point about splitting the batch three ways.

I toyed with the idea of a larder fridge, but ended up going down the chest freezer route. That way and kegs can be removed without disturbing the others. It sounds like a small thing, but it would become a bit of a chore moving kegs to get to the ones at the back.

By all means though, a tall larder fridge would be a good idea. It does have a smaller footprint after all and no need to manufacture a collar.

I'd bet you'd save well over £200 bud.

So I built her today... let me see if I can add photos...

 

[Ashley]

From the outside

 

[Ashley]

And on the inside:

 

[Ashley]

I'm really pleased with my work and I have a separate regulator on the keg at the back so that I can run a different pressure on it.

I just need to brew some bloody beer now

 

[Ghillie]

Great job @Ashley.

3/16" OD line works well for dispensing too. Because its diameter is narrower, you need a shorter length to control the pour. When I had 3/8" line in my first kegerator I had a bit of bother getting the door closed and ultimately needed huge lengths of beer line for highly carbed beers.

You should be well pleased, good build!

 

[Ashley]

Great job @Ashley.

3/16" OD line works well for dispensing too. Because its diameter is narrower, you need a shorter length to control the pour. When I had 3/8" line in my first kegerator I had a bit of bother getting the door closed and ultimately needed huge lengths of beer line for highly carbed beers.

You should be well pleased, good build!

Thanks mate!

I think I have about 2.5m ish for each line as I went for Gen-X line. They are a pain in the arse but they fit in, just.

The proof of the pudding will be in the pouring hut that wont happen for a while because the first keg brew is happening this weekend. I'm completely new to all of this so I'm sure I'll make some mistakes along the way.

Noob question: if I carbonate the kegs at 7.0psi, do I have to set the secondary regulators to that? Or do I set them higher/lower for pouring?

I've been given the green light from SWMBO to turn the conservatory into a pub so I'm happy as a pig on the proverbial at the moment.

 

[Ghillie]

Thanks mate!

I think I have about 2.5m ish for each line as I went for Gen-X line. They are a pain in the a**e but they fit in, just.

The proof of the pudding will be in the pouring hut that wont happen for a while because the first keg brew is happening this weekend. I'm completely new to all of this so I'm sure I'll make some mistakes along the way.

Noob question: if I carbonate the kegs at 7.0psi, do I have to set the secondary regulators to that? Or do I set them higher/lower for pouring?

I've been given the green light from SWMBO to turn the conservatory into a pub so I'm happy as a pig on the proverbial at the moment.

Nice one.

Not entirely sure I follow your question about the kegs and pressures though...

With secondary regs, you always want the primary regulator higher. So for example, if you had a stout in one keg and a lager in the other (stout lower carbonation and lager higher). You want to be able to adjust accordingly. These figures are arbitrary without considering temperature, but let’s say primary reg at 15PSI, stout reg at 8PSI and lager reg at 12PSI. The lager will be more carbonated than the stout.

To put it simply, you want your primary reg the same or higher than the maximum pressure you want in any of your kegs.

Your lines should be balanced so that your carbonation pressure and pouring pressure are the same. ie there’s no need to change the pressure to pour a pint. A lot of people change pressures for serving but that’s just silly. It’s very easy to cut the lines back until you find the sweet spot. There’s also good calculators available online.

But, I see you have fancy flow control taps so line length balancing should virtually be a non issue

 

[Ashley]

Nice one.

Not entirely sure I follow your question about the kegs and pressures though...

With secondary regs, you always want the primary regulator higher. So for example, if you had a stout in one keg and a lager in the other (stout lower carbonation and lager higher). You want to be able to adjust accordingly. These figures are arbitrary without considering temperature, but let’s say primary reg at 15PSI, stout reg at 8PSI and lager reg at 12PSI. The lager will be more carbonated than the stout.

To put it simply, you want your primary reg the same or higher than the maximum pressure you want in any of your kegs.

Your lines should be balanced so that your carbonation pressure and pouring pressure are the same. ie there’s no need to change the pressure to pour a pint. A lot of people change pressures for serving but that’s just silly. It’s very easy to cut the lines back until you find the sweet spot. There’s also good calculators available online.

But, I see you have fancy flow control taps so line length balancing should virtually be a non issue

Thanks for coming back to me . I havent explained my question properly lol.


So I was looking at the carbonation calculator on here and of I need to set a 2.0 carbonation profile I need to set at initial pressure of about 7 psi.

Does that mean I need to set my secondary regulators at 7psi also? Or do they need to be set higher/lower to maintain the level of carbonation?

 

[foxbat]

Does that mean I need to set my secondary regulators at 7psi also? Or do they need to be set higher/lower to maintain the level of carbonation?

Leave it at 7psi until the attached keg is empty. They will let gas in to regulate a constant 7psi all the time regardless of how much liquid you draw out. It takes about a week to 2 weeks to carbonate after you first switch on which coincidentally is also about how long you should leave most ordinary beers to condition before you start to drink them.

 

[Ghillie]

Thanks for coming back to me . I havent explained my question properly lol.


So I was looking at the carbonation calculator on here and of I need to set a 2.0 carbonation profile I need to set at initial pressure of about 7 psi.

Does that mean I need to set my secondary regulators at 7psi also? Or do they need to be set higher/lower to maintain the level of carbonation?

That’s no problem.

Set your secondary regs to the PSI you wish to carbonate at. Leave it there for the life of the keg. If you want more fizz dial it up, less fizz dial it down.

Primary reg set at any value you like providing it’s higher than your max secondary pressure. Again, 15PSI is an arbitrary value.

I’ve made an awful scribble for you.

 

[Ashley]

That’s no problem.

Set your secondary regs to the PSI you wish to carbonate at. Leave it there for the life of the keg. If you want more fizz dial it up, less fizz dial it down.

Primary reg set at any value you like providing it’s higher than your max secondary pressure. Again, 15PSI is an arbitrary value.

I’ve made an awful scribble for you.

View attachment 21179

Thank you that's perfect!!! Much appreciated

 

[Ashley]

Leave it at 7psi until the attached keg is empty. They will let gas in to regulate a constant 7psi all the time regardless of how much liquid you draw out. It takes about a week to 2 weeks to carbonate after you first switch on which coincidentally is also about how long you should leave most ordinary beers to condition before you start to drink them.

That's what I thought thank you very much for the insight... I'm sure I'll get the hang of it in no time at all ‍

 

[Ghillie]

Thank you that's perfect!!! Much appreciated

No worries!