Need advice on next steps

I will be acquiring a few kegs in a few days. I would like to eventually do a three tap tower with an under counter kegerator at my bar. However, I cannot afford the kegerator at this time. I was wanting to just put one in my big fridge with a party tap till I can get the rest of my stuff. However I do not want to waste money rebuying stuff.
Should I get a three port reg or get a three port secondary later.
What size tank?
Anything else I need besides seals and cleaner I will need?

moscoeb said:

I will be acquiring a few kegs in a few days. I would like to eventually do a three tap tower with an under counter kegerator at my bar.
However, I cannot afford the kegerator at this time. I was wanting to just put one in my big fridge with a party tap till I can get the rest of my stuff. However I do not want to waste money

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What exactly are you seeking advice on?

Brulosopher said:

What exactly are you seeking advice on?

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Had to edit, sorry. First time posted it didn't get half of my post. Stupid phone.

Just best options to buy and have one keg running now, with option to have up to three later. Without wasting money.

Are you keeping the CO2 tank in the fridge? If you are, I'd buy the biggest one that fits with your kegs. If not, buy the biggest one you can afford/store. It'll make your fills much cheaper, and it'll last a lot longer. I have a 10# but if I wish I'd grabbed a 20#.

And you can go the secondary regulator option, or use a single regulator with splitters or a manifold, or use a dual regulator with one splitter. It depends how much you want to spend and how much control you want over carb levels.

moscoeb said:

I will be acquiring a few kegs in a few days. I would like to eventually do a three tap tower with an under counter kegerator at my bar. However, I cannot afford the kegerator at this time. I was wanting to just put one in my big fridge with a party tap till I can get the rest of my stuff. However I do not want to waste money rebuying stuff.
Should I get a three port reg or get a three port secondary later.
What size tank?
Anything else I need besides seals and cleaner I will need?

Click to expand...

This is the most economical way to get started out of the gates with a picnic tap: http://www.birdmanbrewing.com/keg-kit-standard-homebrew/

Then when you want to add a a couple additional kegs, just grab some gas tubing, quick disconnects, and one of these to expand your CO2 into 3 kegs: http://www.birdmanbrewing.com/3-way-co2-distributor-3-8-barb-with-shutoff/

And then you connect one of these to dispense your 3 kegs: http://www.birdmanbrewing.com/premium-draft-beer-kegerator-tower-stainless-triple-faucet/

zachattack said:

Are you keeping the CO2 tank in the fridge? If you are, I'd buy the biggest one that fits with your kegs. If not, buy the biggest one you can afford/store. It'll make your fills much cheaper, and it'll last a lot longer. I have a 10# but if I wish I'd grabbed a 20#.

And you can go the secondary regulator option, or use a single regulator with splitters or a manifold, or use a dual regulator with one splitter. It depends how much you want to spend and how much control you want over carb levels.

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Thanks

BirdmanBrewingCo said:

This is the most economical way to get started out of the gates with a picnic tap: http://www.birdmanbrewing.com/keg-kit-standard-homebrew/

Then when you want to add a a couple additional kegs, just grab some gas tubing, quick disconnects, and one of these to expand your CO2 into 3 kegs: http://www.birdmanbrewing.com/3-way-co2-distributor-3-8-barb-with-shutoff/

And then you connect one of these to dispense your 3 kegs: http://www.birdmanbrewing.com/premium-draft-beer-kegerator-tower-stainless-triple-faucet/

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I will look over those links.

Any difference between a regulator with a three way splitter/secondary or a three way regulator besides ability to set carb pressures and price?

moscoeb said:

Any difference between a regulator with a three way splitter/secondary or a three way regulator besides ability to set carb pressures and price?

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Well a secondary and splitter are very different. A secondary would give you the ability to change the pressure, so say you have 30 PSI coming from your primary reg, you could use a relatively pricey 3-body secondary to give you 3 lower pressures on your 3 kegs. Or you could have 12 PSI going in, and use a cheap splitter to give you 12 PSI on all 3 kegs. You could also have the 12 PSI go to a manifold with ball valves, which is a little cleaner and easier to deal with.

But price and independent carb levels are the 2 big factors, another is space and another is the location of your tank. You don't want 3 holes in your fridge if the tank is outside. Or maybe you have room for a splitter in your fridge, but not a 3-body secondary. Etc. It depends where you want the tank.

Gotcha, thanks.

But either way it is feasible to go with a single reg now and chose a splitter or secondary later depending in my set up?
Sorry, all completely new, but looking forward to learning.

Absolutely. A splitter/manifold can be as cheap or fancy as you want, and it's easy to add on later.

Manifold:
http://www.birdmanbrewing.com/4-way-co2-distributor-3-8-barb-with-shutoff/

Wye fitting that screws into reg:
http://www.birdmanbrewing.com/wye-splitter-assembly-5-16-barb/

Cheap!!
http://stores.kegconnection.com/Detail.bok?no=222

Just make sure you use hose clamps, and make sure you check for leaks.

How drastic is the carb levels for different styles?

I brew all kinds of stuff, really whatever strikes my mood at that time. Is it worth it for me to get and way to regulate kegs differently? Which styles are way off from others?

Let me ask you this: you're bottling right now, do you carb each batch to a different level when you bottle? If you don't, you'd probably be fine with one carb level for all your beers.

Most people think of stouts/porters/English styles as carbed a little lower (maybe 2-2.3 volumes), American styles are medium (maybe 2.5 volumes or so) and then hefeweizens and Belgian styles carbed in the 3-4 volume range. It is nice to have a highly carbed saison or hefeweizen...

This chart gives you approximate pressures based on your temperature:
http://www.kegerators.com/carbonation-table.php

zachattack said:

Let me ask you this: you're bottling right now, do you carb each batch to a different level when you bottle? If you don't, you'd probably be fine with one carb level for all your beers.

Most people think of stouts/porters/English styles as carbed a little lower (maybe 2-2.3 volumes), American styles are medium (maybe 2.5 volumes or so) and then hefeweizens and Belgian styles carbed in the 3-4 volume range. It is nice to have a highly carbed saison or hefeweizen...

This chart gives you approximate pressures based on your temperature:
http://www.kegerators.com/carbonation-table.php

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No, honestly I try to put in 1oz corn sugar per gal.
Now, the only thing I can think of is being able to carb up one keg while still serving another.

I think I'm going to go with a primary reg and picnic tap, then when I get my kegerator I will see how many I can fit in there and how much room I have, then get the appropriate secondary regulator. One gas line in and two or three dispensing lines out. Then place my faucet on top of the bar counter top.

Sound like decent game plan?

I am getting pretty excited about trying this out.
Thanks for all the help already everyone.

I think you've got a good plan. The most reliable way to carb a keg is with the "set and forget" method: apply the appropriate carb pressure and leave it for 2 weeks. If the carb pressure = serving pressure you don't have to worry about losing carb. Just grab 10' of 3/16" tubing for that picnic tap to slow the beer and minimize foaming.

zachattack said:

I think you've got a good plan. The most reliable way to carb a keg is with the "set and forget" method: apply the appropriate carb pressure and leave it for 2 weeks. If the carb pressure = serving pressure you don't have to worry about losing carb. Just grab 10' of 3/16" tubing for that picnic tap to slow the beer and minimize foaming.

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So set and forget is better than the quick high pressure carb?

I'll have to post pics as I get the stuff in. Guess I have to brew a beer soon so it will be ready to be kegged when I have the parts here so I can try it out!

It's slower, but it's much more consistent. There are plenty of people that use the quick high pressure method, but there are also plenty of people that overcarb that way. I'd suggest you stick to the set and forget, at least until you get a good feel for how the system works. 2 weeks isn't that long to wait

Kegging is a lot of fun, keep us updated!

Well, I ordered the dual picnic tap setup from birdman brewing.
Now just got to wait till it comes in! Guess I had better find as one recipes to brew.

I'll use this till I can afford the undercounter kegerator that I ultimately want. I figured I can also use the extra stuff to help purge kegs for any storage if I'm not ready to tap them, or for field parties, make a BMBF, and keep a second tank for back up so there is no huge rush to get a tank filled if one runs empty.

Anyways, thanks for the advice and help all. I appreciate it. Looking forward to having my first tapped homebrew in a month or so!

Can I use a commercial pump tap with a co2 system? Just unscrew the hand pump, get a gas line barn and plug in co2 line? Or is that a completely separate tap?