keg tap suggestions...

[Redpappy]

for the last 4 months I have been using a fridge to keep my kegs in with a picnic tap. I got the fridge free, so I have no complaints, but about 3 weeks ago it decided to die on me. For the time being I am using my fermentor as my keezer( a 5 cf freezer). I should be purchasing a 7 cf freezer ( looking at Lowe Idylls 7.1-cu ft) With the fridge the picnic taps were great. but since I am investing in a freezer, I figure I should put some decent taps in. I am not looking for top end, but maybe the mid grade taps. I will be adding at least a 2x4 colllar to the keezer.

My currant set up-
10# co2 canister ( thinking of keeping on the outside of keeper)
a 2 way splitter
3 Corny's ( pin style converted)

I have looked around and I see lots of options, so I thought I would ask to see what experience people have to suggest.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

 

[IslandLizard]

Any clues why the fridge died so suddenly?
Make sure your compressor delay on your Inkbird/STC-1000 is set to the max value, 10 minutes.

Can you fit the number of kegs you'd ever want in your new freezer? Mind, pin locks are a little wider/stubbier than ball locks.

Tap wise, you want (all) stainless, not plated brass, and front sealing. That brings your choice down to just a few brands.
Shanks should also be all stainless, not brass plated.

Beer lines: Use BevSeal Ultra 235 and John Guest push fittings. You'll need 1/4" MFL liquid QDs for those.
Check Ritebrew.com, I get a lot of my kegging supplies from them.

 

[myndflyte]

In terms of faucets Perlick are the gold standard but you have to pay quite a bit for them. A cheaper alternative is Intertap faucets. I have been using them with no complaints.

 

[Redpappy]

Any clues why the fridge died so suddenly?
Make sure your compressor delay on your Inkbird/STC-1000 is set to the max value, 10 minutes.

Can you fit the number of kegs you'd ever want in your new freezer? Mind, pin locks are a little wider/stubbier than ball locks.

Tap wise, you want (all) stainless, not plated brass, and front sealing. That brings your choice down to just a few brands.
Shanks should also be all stainless, not brass plated.

Beer lines: Use BevSeal Ultra 235 and John Guest push fittings. You'll need 1/4" MFL liquid QDs for those.
Check Ritebrew.com, I get a lot of my kegging supplies from them.

I haven't really dug into the fridge, but the compressor works, just doesn't get cold, so thinking the refrigerant is either low, or line has a hole. Since it was a fridge, I didn't have any controllers on it. temp range was 35-40 usually. When I do my keezer I'm going with Inkbird 308.

I should be able to fit 3 kegs in the 7 CF with some storage space for bottles. Originally I was thinking of going with a 5 CF (that is the size of my fermentor) but its a tight fit for all 3 kegs. (2 on the floor and 1 on the hump)

Thank you for the suggestions.

 

[mongoose33]

As a mid-range price, Intertaps are pretty good. Make sure you go all-stainless on the parts if you can. That is, shanks, faucets, and tailpieces. I had some chrome shanks on mine and over time the chrome was eroded away. Chrome? Never again. Here are a couple pics showing the difference between a stainless shank I had on my system compared to a chromed shank:



@IslandLizard hit the nail on the head with pinlocks: they're wider than ball lock kegs. But that can be an advantage in that you can, if the collar accommodates this, put one or more on the compressor hump. When you go to look at a freezer for this, take a couple (empty!) kegs along, and see what keg arrangements you might be able to do.

The other thing I'd note is this: You can add faucets as you go, if you're careful about it. On my first keezer I had 3 faucets to start, Perlick flow-control, because that's all I could afford at the time. When measuring out the locations on the collar, I laid it out for 5 faucets, and made a small dimple on the front of the collar where the 4th and 5th faucets would go. Over time, as finances allowed, I added them.

The reason I note this is that you'll probably wish, later, you had better faucets, and that money will be a sunk cost. Maybe you can buy better stuff now, fewer of them, serve as needed for the time being from picnic taps for the rest, and then over time add additional good stuff as finances allow? Just a thought. As I have progressed through my brewing career, I've repeatedly tried to shave costs at the outset of some project, only to wish later I had bought quality not cheap.

Oddly, there was a thread recently here on HBT in which the poster had made temporary keezers for a wedding, feeding picnic taps through the collar. I thought that was...clever and innovative. Might be a possibility as you wait until finances allow for better quality equipment.....just drill the right size hole and fill with insulation or some such instead of a small hole which will be difficult to enlarge later.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/i-thought-i-knew-how-to-brew.650033/page-2#post-8646073

Good luck regardless of how you proceed!

 

[IslandLizard]

Definitely listen to this guy.^

I should be able to fit 3 kegs in the 7 CF with some storage space for bottles.

Would you ever want 5 or 7 kegs on tap?

I have 5 in my upright freezer, I wouldn't want any fewer, and sometimes wish for 7 when a new brew is ready and the lowest keg is still half full. Sometimes I relegate one or 2 to my ferm chamber and use picnic taps. Although it has 3 holes in the door for real taps...

 

[Redpappy]

Definitely listen to this guy.^

Would you ever want 5 or 7 kegs on tap?

I have 5 in my upright freezer, I wouldn't want any fewer, and sometimes wish for 7 when a new brew is ready and the lowest keg is still half full. Sometimes I relegate one or 2 to my ferm chamber and use picnic taps. Although it has 3 holes in the door for real taps...

I have given it some thought to how many taps I would like. I keep seeing no more that 3. As it stands right now I can barely keep 2 going. I do plan on starting to natural carb the kegs if I am able to fill the fridge/keezer.

If you don't mind me asking on why you prefer the Bev-Seal ultra? I'm also getting a bit confused on my length of hose. I have heard 4 feet is good, but I see that rite brew suggest 10 feet?
Any suggestions on Drip trays? with or with out a drain tube?

As a mid-range price, Intertaps are pretty good. Make sure you go all-stainless on the parts if you can. That is, shanks, faucets, and tailpieces. I had some chrome shanks on mine and over time the chrome was eroded away. Chrome? Never again. Here are a couple pics showing the difference between a stainless shank I had on my system compared to a chromed shank:

View attachment 637848 View attachment 637849

@IslandLizard hit the nail on the head with pinlocks: they're wider than ball lock kegs. But that can be an advantage in that you can, if the collar accommodates this, put one or more on the compressor hump. When you go to look at a freezer for this, take a couple (empty!) kegs along, and see what keg arrangements you might be able to do.

The other thing I'd note is this: You can add faucets as you go, if you're careful about it. On my first keezer I had 3 faucets to start, Perlick flow-control, because that's all I could afford at the time. When measuring out the locations on the collar, I laid it out for 5 faucets, and made a small dimple on the front of the collar where the 4th and 5th faucets would go. Over time, as finances allowed, I added them.

The reason I note this is that you'll probably wish, later, you had better faucets, and that money will be a sunk cost. Maybe you can buy better stuff now, fewer of them, serve as needed for the time being from picnic taps for the rest, and then over time add additional good stuff as finances allow? Just a thought. As I have progressed through my brewing career, I've repeatedly tried to shave costs at the outset of some project, only to wish later I had bought quality not cheap.

Oddly, there was a thread recently here on HBT in which the poster had made temporary keezers for a wedding, feeding picnic taps through the collar. I thought that was...clever and innovative. Might be a possibility as you wait until finances allow for better quality equipment.....just drill the right size hole and fill with insulation or some such instead of a small hole which will be difficult to enlarge later.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/i-thought-i-knew-how-to-brew.650033/page-2#post-8646073

Good luck regardless of how you proceed!

Thank you for the feed back and pics. I was wondering if I could get away with the chrome coated or not. I say no. Unfortantly once I do get my keezer built, it will not have taps for a little while (picnic taps for now). But I do need to get a price for what each tap will run and what I will be needing. Through my brewing hobby I have tried to plan ahead. One only knows that I wish I could just get everything all at once, but thats not going to happen. I do want to try to keep everything at the low end, however I need things to last. So I am shooting for the mid range.

 

[IslandLizard]

If you don't mind me asking on why you prefer the Bev-Seal ultra? I'm also getting a bit confused on my length of hose. I have heard 4 feet is good, but I see that rite brew suggest 10 feet?

I actually swear by using Bev-Seal Ultra 235.

The plastic outer shell has a PET liner inside, which is what touches the beer. It's smooth, near glass-like, flavor and aroma neutral, and virtually impervious to beer, O2 and CO2. That means it's easy to clean, beer inside the line stays amazingly well, untainted, and doesn't oxidize due to lack of O2 ingress. Its ID being actually 0.2", a fraction wider than 3/16" (0.1875"), together with its ultra smooth interior, it provides a bit less resistance than BevLex 200. Due to that you need a somewhat longer line.

Now 4 foot is never long enough. I really don't fathom why most, if not all kegerators are supplied with that, a major flaw, IMO.

Mike Soltys has the only beer line calculator worth its salt:
http://www.mikesoltys.com/2012/09/17/determining-proper-hose-length-for-your-kegerator/

That said, it calculates 16' for my setup, I use 19' of Ultra 235 line per tap. My (upright) keezer is kept at a balmy 40-44F and kegs around 12-14psi of pressure. Using (previous generation) 525SS Perlicks and John Guest push-fit adapters all around. I use the 90° angle adapters on top of the QD adapters (on the bottom of this page) for extra tubing flexibility, the coiled lines lie on top of the kegs.

 

[Bubbles2]

[Removed, Mod.]

Buy the good stuff, get the right tool for the job, for you will forget the price long after a solid performance life is given, along with the resale is there if you decide to dump it. See Rolex

 

[Bubbles2]

As a mid-range price, Intertaps are pretty good. Make sure you go all-stainless on the parts if you can. That is, shanks, faucets, and tailpieces. I had some chrome shanks on mine and over time the chrome was eroded away. Chrome? Never again. Here are a couple pics showing the difference between a stainless shank I had on my system compared to a chromed shank:

View attachment 637848 View attachment 637849

@IslandLizard hit the nail on the head with pinlocks: they're wider than ball lock kegs. But that can be an advantage in that you can, if the collar accommodates this, put one or more on the compressor hump. When you go to look at a freezer for this, take a couple (empty!) kegs along, and see what keg arrangements you might be able to do.

The other thing I'd note is this: You can add faucets as you go, if you're careful about it. On my first keezer I had 3 faucets to start, Perlick flow-control, because that's all I could afford at the time. When measuring out the locations on the collar, I laid it out for 5 faucets, and made a small dimple on the front of the collar where the 4th and 5th faucets would go. Over time, as finances allowed, I added them.

The reason I note this is that you'll probably wish, later, you had better faucets, and that money will be a sunk cost. Maybe you can buy better stuff now, fewer of them, serve as needed for the time being from picnic taps for the rest, and then over time add additional good stuff as finances allow? Just a thought. As I have progressed through my brewing career, I've repeatedly tried to shave costs at the outset of some project, only to wish later I had bought quality not cheap.

Oddly, there was a thread recently here on HBT in which the poster had made temporary keezers for a wedding, feeding picnic taps through the collar. I thought that was...clever and innovative. Might be a possibility as you wait until finances allow for better quality equipment.....just drill the right size hole and fill with insulation or some such instead of a small hole which will be difficult to enlarge later.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/i-thought-i-knew-how-to-brew.650033/page-2#post-8646073

Good luck regardless of how you proceed!

Yes but those were only chromed plated on the outside right? Or were they dipped and the inside had flaked off into your beer?
I ask because I bought a used set up and those are what came with mine, and look the same on the inside and were not used but a few times....

 

[mongoose33]

Yes but those were only chromed plated on the outside right? Or were they dipped and the inside had flaked off into your beer?
I ask because I bought a used set up and those are what came with mine, and look the same on the inside and were not used but a few times....

Look carefully at the photos...you'll see the insides had chrome too, along with the face of the shank that connects to the tailpiece.

 

[mongoose33]

I have given it some thought to how many taps I would like. I keep seeing no more that 3. As it stands right now I can barely keep 2 going. I do plan on starting to natural carb the kegs if I am able to fill the fridge/keezer.

If you don't mind me asking on why you prefer the Bev-Seal ultra? I'm also getting a bit confused on my length of hose. I have heard 4 feet is good, but I see that rite brew suggest 10 feet?
Any suggestions on Drip trays? with or with out a drain tube?

I had had some thin-walled tubing and there clearly was degradation/oxidation of the beer in those lines. The Bev-seal ultra is supposed to prevent oxidation through the walls of the tubing.

RiteBrew has some pretty inexpensive drip trays. My faucets are 3" apart, so if you had three of them, you need something wider than 6". Mine is 14". http://www.ritebrew.com/SearchResults.asp?Extensive_Search=Y&Search=drip+tray&Submit.x=0&Submit.y=0

As for drip trays...I wouldn't do one with a drain tube. If you look at these pics, you'll see I have the drip tray sitting on paper-towel-holder magnets stuck to the front of the keezer. The drip tray is held to those by neodymium magnets. If I had a drain tube, where would it terminate? It would look bad, too.

I just remove the neodymium magnets and rinse out the drip tray. In fact, I figured out that it was even more convenient if I just put a piece of paper towel down on the drip tray to catch the drips. If we have company and I want it to look good, I just remove the paper towel.

Drip tray on the old keezer (RIP, keezer!):



The new setup, including computer screen menu and glass rinser:

Thank you for the feed back and pics. I was wondering if I could get away with the chrome coated or not. I say no. Unfortantly once I do get my keezer built, it will not have taps for a little while (picnic taps for now). But I do need to get a price for what each tap will run and what I will be needing. Through my brewing hobby I have tried to plan ahead. One only knows that I wish I could just get everything all at once, but thats not going to happen. I do want to try to keep everything at the low end, however I need things to last. So I am shooting for the mid range.

The beauty of the brewing hobby is you get to do what you want, nobody to please but yourself. I won't use anything other than stainless. You get to choose whichever you use.

One thing to think about: where do you want to be in six months, or a year? And what do you want your keezer to have?

 

[Bubbles2]

Really slick, since you have magnets to dump your tray, I used a ball jar, and a hook so it will capture a qt before having to dump (Guests). Think of grease catch on portable BBQ

 

[mongoose33]

Really slick, since you have magnets to dump your tray, I used a ball jar, and a hook so it will capture a qt before having to dump (Guests). Think of grease catch on portable BBQ

Have a pic?

 

[Bubbles2]

Have a pic?

I do not think I am allowed to upload nor do I have a hosting service to do so...
Think of this
https://www.grillparts.com/charbroil/allparts.asp?product_id=5156607-K

But instead a ball jar or a plastic mayo jar, The real ***** was drilling a hole in that stainless to then use 1/2" PVC straight Street to create a drain.
No doubt in mind that you can figure it out.

Guess I was wrong about the upload, I hit MORE Options. I can snap a close up if want, let me know Not to Hijack The OP please excuse

 

[Redpappy]

I do not think I am allowed to upload nor do I have a hosting service to do so...
Think of this
https://www.grillparts.com/charbroil/allparts.asp?product_id=5156607-K

But instead a ball jar or a plastic mayo jar, The real ***** was drilling a hole in that stainless to then use 1/2" PVC straight Street to create a drain.
No doubt in mind that you can figure it out.

Guess I was wrong about the upload, I hit MORE Options. I can snap a close up if want, let me know Not to Hijack The OP please excuse

Feel free to...I look at as more ideas/ suggestions

 

[Carolina_Matt]

Nice discussion on the Bev-Seal Ultra. I wish I knew about this a year ago, since it's pretty much the same price as the regular Vinyl line! I'm about to be 75 feet of it for my 5 taps, along with the John Guest fittings. I'll stick to the Vinyl for my 6th tap, which is just seltzer.

 

[mongoose33]

Nice discussion on the Bev-Seal Ultra. I wish I knew about this a year ago, since it's pretty much the same price as the regular Vinyl line! I'm about to be 75 feet of it for my 5 taps, along with the John Guest fittings. I'll stick to the Vinyl for my 6th tap, which is just seltzer.

Let me suggest, if you can do it without doubling shipping or something, that you try a single tap with the Bevseal tubing. There's a dialing in process. Bobby M at Brewhardware says that since the tubing has little resistance, you need more line for that. I'm still playing with mine.

 

[Carolina_Matt]

Let me suggest, if you can do it without doubling shipping or something, that you try a single tap with the Bevseal tubing. There's a dialing in process. Bobby M at Brewhardware says that since the tubing has little resistance, you need more line for that. I'm still playing with mine.

I'm curious, how long are your lines?

I currently use 8-10' of vinyl (I think it was 10', but I'm not certain). The calculator at the link above, set for 10 psi and 0.2", says I should use 11.5'. I figured I'd go longer at 15' and it would be fine, but maybe it would still be too short?