Root cellar kegging.

[deadfall]

I'm thinking about using my root cellar for a kegerator. Has any one done this. I plan on kegging only stouts for now. The temps are usually 52-56ish. I don't own any kegging equipment yet. I have never kegged before so I have no clue of the issues I might run into. Thanks.

 

[benbradford]

getting the kegs into and out of the cellar will be the first issue... It also doesn't seem cold enough. You should look on craigslist to see if there are any inexpensive refrigerators that you can buy. Seems to me that spending 25-50 on a fridge would be better. Then you will have to get a co2 tank, regulator, keg coupler, keg, faucet and shank. As well as beer and gas lines. If this is then located in the cellar, the lines will have to be insulated to stop the beer from foaming.

 

[deadfall]

I guess I'm alone in not wanting any more appliances to deal with. The other issue I have is the one place I would want to pour my beer from doesn't have room for a refrigerator or a kegerator. So I guess 52-56 is to warm to serve beer from. What are acceptible temps for kegged beer?

 

[benbradford]

i keep my kegerator between 35-45

 

[Yooper]

You can do it at 52-56, but there would be a couple of issues. One is that warmer beer tends to foam, a lot, so you'd want to make sure to take that into account and have extremely long lines to add some restriction to minimize foaming. If you don't mind drinking your beer at 56 degrees, then that's not a further concern, but that's too warm for my taste.

 

[deadfall]

You can do it at 52-56, but there would be a couple of issues. One is that warmer beer tends to foam, a lot, so you'd want to make sure to take that into account and have extremely long lines to add some restriction to minimize foaming. If you don't mind drinking your beer at 56 degrees, then that's not a further concern, but that's too warm for my taste.

That's good to know. I really prefer room temp beer. Thanks for the go ahead. About how long would you guess the lines would need to be?

 

[benbradford]

I thought it was the changing of the temperature from a cold carbed beet through a warmer medium that caused foaming. I serve cask ale at my work and it is at 50 and doesn't foam more than others. I will say that the lines are long though.

btw, big fan of yooper!

 

[Yooper]

That's good to know. I really prefer room temp beer. Thanks for the go ahead. About how long would you guess the lines would need to be?

That I don't know for sure. My only real experience with basement kegging was with soda, and that was at 35 psi at 50 degrees or so. My lines were LONG- like 25'- but that was due to the high carbonation level of the soda.

I looked at this chart: http://www.kegerators.com/carbonation-table.php and it looks like you'd need 20 psi at 55 degrees for a typical carb level. That makes me think that you'd need about 20' or so of 3/16" line- but like I said that is just a guess. You could start a bit longer, just in case, as you can always make them shorter but you can't cut them longer!

 

[Jon_TWR]

I'm guessing you'd want at least 20' of tubing, but YMMV. I'd get a metric crapton and experiment with different lengths until I found one that didn't cause too much foaming.

Is your root cellar 52-56 degrees year round? I'd imagine it'd get quite a bit warmer in the summer.

 

[Yooper]

I thought it was the changing of the temperature from a cold carbed beet through a warmer medium that caused foaming. I serve cask ale at my work and it is at 50 and doesn't foam more than others. I will say that the lines are long though.

btw, big fan of yooper!

Oh, sure, that will cause foaming too! But a carbonated beer at warm temperatures will "loose" carbonation in the lines and come out like a fire hose and foam. If you want to see what I mean, shake a warm soda and open it. It'll be explosive!

(ps- thanks for the kind words, I appreciate it!)

 

[deadfall]

I'm guessing you'd want at least 20' of tubing, but YMMV. I'd get a metric crapton and experiment with different lengths until I found one that didn't cause too much foaming.

Is your root cellar 52-56 degrees year round? I'd imagine it'd get quite a bit warmer in the summer.

Actually it's get alot colder in the winter. It doesn't get cold enough to freeze. I just finished it last fall, so I'm not sure of the hot summer temperature swing. I kinda think it's gonna be right at that 56 degree mark. I really doubt it will ever get any hotter. The only way I'm gonna find out is to take a reading in August.

 

[deadfall]

I thought it was the changing of the temperature from a cold carbed beet through a warmer medium that caused foaming. I serve cask ale at my work and it is at 50 and doesn't foam more than others. I will say that the lines are long though.

btw, big fan of yooper!

That's good to hear also. Yeah I'll get a bunch of line and dial it in. I'm sure I'll be back asking question like "why is my beer foaming so much?". Just kidding. Now I know it might just be okay. Thanks everybody for all the advice. I doubt I'd be making such great beer without this site.

Btw, I'm a big yooper fan also. I have 11 gallons of the best Oatmeal stout. Everybody that trys it can't believe it's home brew.

 

[gswartley]

I have a keg with about 3' of line and a picnic tap on it.
I kegged an ESB in December and put it in my garage at about 55F.

IT WAS FANTASTIC, so I cannot speak to how long it will last cause it was gone in 3 weeks. (Had help drinking it)

 

[ghohn]

Don't let the warm temperature scare you. I set my kegerator at 12c (56f), serve through a 7 ft line with a cobra tap and my regulator is set at 12 - 14 psi. According to the chart, that puts me at about 2.0 volumes. Beautiful pours each and everytime.

Someday when I move home, I hope to do what you are wanting to do; ditch the fridge and pour from the root cellar. I'm curious as to how cold she will be in the Montana winter though.