My brother's girlfriend got this for me for Christmas (they're from Illinois, one of the few locations Draftmark is being test marketed). Knowing I brew on occasion, her intentions were for me to use it for my own homebrewing draft system, as I do not have the means or space for a true corny system. So I set out on a mission.
The hardest part of this hacking is drinking the "beer". Shocktop, Bass, Budweisser are the main choices but I some how ended up with a local from Chicago of Honkers Ale. The system is great, but the beer left me queasy and made me realize the things we do for science...
Anyways here is how I got it apart and how I think it works:
First off, it is a "cartridge" system, and actually looks like a shell for a shotgun. Each cartridge comes with a plastic and rubber tap. Ya fit this stuff all together put it in, and then there is this groaning, grunting sound as the bottle becomes pressurized. There seems to be a pumping system that leads from the back end of the machine to the front tap area where a pin punctures a second hole on the cap of the bottle next to the beer flow valve. This pressurizes the space between the inside of the bottle and the interior bag/bladder, thus creating pressurized outflow. The pulling of the tap is self explanatory.
Now, to get it apart was relatively easy. There are these two "anti-tabs" and by that I mean there are two missing chunks from the lip of the cap, and also there is a little cutout on the opposite side. These two access points allow you to fit a large width, but thin screwdriver (flathead) into the space between and twist (like you were actually screwing something in). I tried prying upwards but this did nothing. Twist around the circumference of the cap until you get it to move up a little bit. It should spin at this point. Then do a combination of twisting and prying and the top will come completely off. This took a good 10 - 15 mins.
Next is the most arduous task. Terribly easy, but very time consuming. The bladder is not a flexible material as one might expect. It is a fairly rigid material (imagine a 2 liter soda bottle that is slightly thinner, squeezed to ungodlyness) that is very squeezed. My guess here is that there is remaining pressure in between the bladder and the inside of the bottle because the next step is filling the bottle with as much water as it can initially hold (about half a cup to a cup of water). I did this at my sink. Then you need to gently yet firmly squeeze the bottle. This forces air out of the mouth of the bottle where the bladder is fastened to the mouth. So you repeat this over and over until the bladder is fully expanded. Fill with water, squeeze, fill with water, squeeze. Alternatively, if your hands get tired of squeezing (as mine did), you can rest the beveled bottom in your disposal and just press down. I'm sure there are other ways, but with my limited technology, this is what worked for me. This also took about 1 - 20 minutes and I was only able to get it to 75% capacity (3/4 gallon instead of the full gallon).
This is the part where I get curious. The Honkers Ale was precarbonated inside the cartridge/bottle, as there is no CO2 connection or provision. So to my mind there are two options. Either "cartridge condition" the beer or force carbonate in another system and pour it into the cartridge for..different tap system usage (why one would do this, I don't know beyond portability).
So there ya have it ya'll. Detailed how to, but without the pictures. Use your imagination ; )