I have a keggorator my buddies used for budlight, how do i upgrade?

[jgerard]

Hello fellow HBTers! 2 years ago I moved into a college house with a few older buddies who had rigged up an old fridge with a tap on the front. The one time I bought a keg to drink off of a guy who lived in the house didn't go to classes for 2 days and my beer was all gone. Its time to rescue this gear from bud light AND that house. ( I payed my older buddies like 80 dollars or something for the parts when they moved out because they knew I could use it for homebrew)

I know NOTHING about using a keggorator, the one time I used it I locked the bud keg in and turned the gas on, worked great!

So currently I have 1. The part that locks on huge kegs 2. A huge co2 tank, from my friends paintball gun? 3. The "regulator?"thingy with the 2 guages on co2 tank 4. The tap, which is bolted on the front of the fridge.... plus all the clear hoses.

What parts do I need to get the system to lock on to a corny keg?

Please let me know if this isn't enough information for you to help me out!

(I plan on getting all new hoses or giving them a few day long soak in starsan, they are years old, but have nothing visably growing in them)

 

[phoenixs4r]

New hoses, they're cheap.

Pin or ball lock connectors.

A corny keg.

Should be it.

 

[david_42]

Get new hoses, definitely. You'll want about 12' of 3/16ths for the beer line.

Cornies and disconnects. Make certain you get either all ball lock or all pin lock.

If the fridge was big enough for a 1/2 keg, you might be able to put two cornies in it.

 

[jgerard]

Get new hoses, definitely. You'll want about 12' of 3/16ths for the beer line.

Cornies and disconnects. Make certain you get either all ball lock or all pin lock.

If the fridge was big enough for a 1/2 keg, you might be able to put two cornies in it.

Full sized fridge fit full sized kegs! XD. I'm glad I invested in it now, looks like this will be easier than I thought!

 

[phoenixs4r]

Full sized fridge fit full sized kegs! XD. I'm glad I invested in it now, looks like this will be easier than I thought!

'Full sized kegs' are actually called half barrel kegs. Regardless, toil be able to fit at least 2 cornys, most likely more.

 

[jgerard]

'Full sized kegs' are actually called half barrel kegs. Regardless, toil be able to fit at least 2 cornys, most likely more.

Oooh, what are they teaching in school these days! Is it possible to hook more than one keg up to the same co2 supply?

 

[dallasdb]

Why would you want to upgrade from Bud Light?

 

[luke2080]

Oooh, what are they teaching in school these days! Is it possible to hook more than one keg up to the same co2 supply?

Yes you can. Cheapest way is to get attach a splitter to the regulator. So where the gas line enters the regulator, you can remove that piece, put on a splitter, then the check valve for each. And run two hoses.

You have other options to run the gas at different pressures, but this gives you the option for now, to run 2 cornie kegs on the gas.

I would suggest though that you rig the setup so you can switch back and forth between cornie and sanke kegs.

 

[copyright1997]

Yes, you can have multiple kegs from the same co2 supply. I have 4

You need to get s co2 distributor or if you want to cheap out a gas "T",

You can also do both sanke (the commercial kegs) and cornys at the sane time. Get the qd's with flare and nut (not barbed), and you can adapt the sanke tap to hook up to gas and bev lines you also use with your qd's.

I'm not home at the moment or I would send a picture of what the parts look like...maybe someone else with this set up could post.

 

[wilserbrewer]

In that you are already set up to serve sanke kegs, you can also keg homebrew in sanke kegs, 1/6 and 1/4 kegs work well!

 

[jgerard]

In that you are already set up to serve sanke kegs, you can also keg homebrew in sanke kegs, 1/6 and 1/4 kegs work well!

What!? I will have to look into this.

Are they as easy to open and clean as cornys?

 

[jgerard]

I already have a 10 lb co2 tank, regulator and faucet for beer on the kegorator.

I am going to buy a pinlock keg from midwest supplies, do I just need the keg and quick disconnects with their kegs?

 

[jjotmo]

Yes buy the keg and pinlock disconnects I would order the hose while I was at it to make sure I get the right kind. Shipping from all these suppliers is what gets you for the cheap stuff.

 

[jgerard]

Yes buy the keg and pinlock disconnects I would order the hose while I was at it to make sure I get the right kind. Shipping from all these suppliers is what gets you for the cheap stuff.

Okay will do. Thanks!

I have a moose drool clone I brewed at the beginning of December I can't wait to keg up and force carb!

 

[Dan]

Midwest Supplies is a great store to work with I've used them often. An even better for kegging equipment (IMO) is kegconnection. Their shipping is a flat rate of 7.95. They have pinlocks for around $35, Midwest's are around $40. To be fair to MW, I bought two used ball lock kegs from them, excellent quality and great service. I don't think you could go wrong with either but you might want to compare the two.

 

[jgerard]

I don't know why there are 1/4 in and 5/16th inch disconnects. I'm pretty confused...
I am going with a pinlock keg from keg connection. What do I need for disconnnects? Keg connection doesn't have a barbedliquid out, only mlt. I am confused by all of the different options, does it really matter? Can I hook the liquid hose up directly on the thread since there's no barbed one?

Also do I really need to replace my gas line? I will be replacing the liquid but I don't think gas would be necessary.

 

[jgerard]

Does it not really matter? I might have to order from somewhere else

 

[copyright1997]

Does it not really matter? I might have to order from somewhere else

I am not 100% positive what you are asking, but will explain what I have that allows me to easily switch between ball lock and pin lock.

For you ball-lock hookups, you would use this for the beverage QD:
Disconnect, Liquid (OUT) Ball Lock, 1/4"MFL, and one of these to go from the beverage line: * Flare Tubeing (FFL to Barb) Swivel Nuts, Choose your size!.

Then, for pin lock you would order one of these:
Disconnect, Liquid (OUT) Pin Lock, 1/4"MFL. You don't need a second one of the FFL to barb swivel nuts, as it is attached to the actual beverage line (which you use for both pin and ball lock hookups).

You should also have one of these to ensure a tight connection of the tubing on the barb: Worm Clamps - Stainless Steel - Choose Your Size!

If you are interested in sanke hookup, I will try to take a picture of the parts....

p.s. I actually use 3/16 accuflex bevseal tubing for my beverage lines. Great beverage line as it is flushable and won't retain off flavors, but a real PITA in terms of hookup. If interested, I can post the parts I use for it.

 

[jjotmo]

I run 3/16 for beer line and 5/16 for gas. But if you can get the threaded mfl connectors they are more adaptable if you change to a sanke

 

[jgerard]

I just received my keg! It came pressurized? Is there something special I need to do to unpressurize it? Or just put on the disconnects to drain it?

 

[ThinkingOutLoud]

Regarding old gas lines... When I first set up my kegerator with parts that my dad gave me, I re-used the 20+ yr old gas lines. Worked fine for ~6 months. I only replaced it for the heck of it. Probably would've worked fine for another 20 years:cross:. Still a good idea to replace the lines though, they don't cost much.

Most kegs come (slightly) pressurized as far as I know. Just pull the relief valve on the lid until it's depressurized. It may still have old soda syrup in it, so give it a good cleaning.

You're well on your way to a homebrew kegerator set-up!

 

[jjotmo]

I just received my keg! It came pressurized? Is there something special I need to do to unpressurize it? Or just put on the disconnects to drain it?

If its a ball lock there is a pressure relief valve on the lid. Pull it. If its pin lock you need to use something blunt to push the poppit down.