What size keg is more useful... 2.5 or 3 gallon?

Williams 728
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crabjoe

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I'm seeing a 20% off sale so I'm thinking I want a small keg I can take with me to, say a picnic or party.... but since ei dont do that on a regular basis and I dont want unnecessary head space, I'm not sure if i should get a 2.5 or 3 gallon keg.

I guess I'm asking, which size would be more for someone that already has 5 gal corneys?

Thanks!
 
If it’s just a travel container I’d go as small as possible. Transfer from keg to keg is pretty easy, and O2/headspace is less of an issue if you fill it to the top.

Buying several 1 gallon kegs would be ideal.

If you’re going to brew a batch specifically for the keg then I’d go 3 gallon I guess. Brewing smaller than that seems like too much work to me.


If you consider 10 cans per gallon you can probably ballpark how much beer you usually need to carry to a picnic or a party.


((Edit))
I own a 3g keg that I really don’t use. I’m much more likely to fill a growler or two instead since it’s just much easier to serve. If I want something showy for a block party then I’m going to want a bunch of beer so I just bring the whole keg. People will drink more when the keg is bigger :)
 
I have both 2.5 and 3 gallon kegs that I use in this for tailgating or parties. I prefer the 3 gallon kegs because they hold more, but still fit in the cooler.
photo 2.jpg
 
I stole it from another thread on here, so feel free. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/portable-igloo-cooler-kegerator.172047/
One suggestion that I learned the hard way: use a spring loaded tap that closes by itself and don't connect the keg to the tap until you get where you intend to serve beer. I was walking to a tailgate party before a college football game and was rolling my cooler behind me. Unbeknownst to me, the tap got bumped open and I was leaving a trail of beer behind me. Luckily, someone passing me said something so I could close the tap and disconnect the keg. I also found that people weren't always closing the tap all the way when they grabbed a beer at a party. I fixed that problem by buying a spring for the intertap faucet that self closes when you let the handle go.
18300.jpg
 
I picked up a pair of the 2.6 gal Torpedo kegs and I love this size. They work well for 5 gal batches split into 2 fermenters (say to try out different yeasts, dry hops, fermentation temps, etc.) and I also use them for 2.5 bal batches (brewed BIAB in a 5 gal pot on my stovetop). I have not taken my kegs on the road, but since they stack I can now have 4 beers in my fridge vs 3.
 
I brew 2.5 gallon batches and use 2.5 gal kegs. The only reason I'd get a 3 is if I wanted to ferment a 2.5 gal batch in the keg.

For you? I'd go 2.5
 
crabjoe said:
I like that setup! I'm going to have to steal you idea... sorry!
Click to expand...

I have a cooler that fits two 3 gallon kegs. There's a thread somewhere on HBT that followed the build.

As someone stated above, the 3 gallons are nice if you are brewing a small batch because you get an extra 1/2 gallon. If I am taking beer someplace and not bringing the whole cooler setup, I'm more likely to use a smaller keg.
 
One consideration, mine, was that 2.5 gal keg fit on the hump of my chest freezer/keezer and I can close the lid.
 
I went with a couple of 3gal for my small kegs. They fit on the hump in my keezer.

The 3gal made more sense to me than 2.5gal. If I want to split a 5gal batch between them, it's not a problem to have a little extra headspace in the keg. If I want to split a 6gal batch between them to fill that headspace, I have the option. I figured that extra half gallon of beer will come in handy, since one of the reasons I bought the small kegs was to take to parties & small events.
 
Since that pic was taken I replaced the cheap faucet with a flow control faucet since the thing is usually siting outdoors when I take it places, so the faucet gets warm and the first cup foams.
 
I got the williams one but it gives me problems a lot and I cannot really recommend it. Loved the idea of the gaint co2 cartridges, but the thing does *NOT* like operating in cold weather, and while it shows pressure slowly increasing as I dial it up, gas only comes out of it when I go wide open (screwed in tight) and back off a half turn or so.
 
balrog said:
I got the williams one but it gives me problems a lot and I cannot really recommend it. Loved the idea of the gaint co2 cartridges, but the thing does *NOT* like operating in cold weather, and while it shows pressure slowly increasing as I dial it up, gas only comes out of it when I go wide open (screwed in tight) and back off a half turn or so.
Click to expand...
I too have the one from Williams, and it is finicky. I was just using it and with a brand new cartridge sometimes it would just not push gas no matter how I cranked it. I seem to recall it used to work better. I don't know if maybe one time I might have gotten beer up in the regulator but I don't remember doing so. There are others on the market I might look into as a replacement. Either that or I may go with an externally mounted paintball bottle, but one of the smaller ones like 3.5 oz if you can still get them, or 7 oz at the biggest.
 
I like my 3gal one and it fits on top of my 5cu keezer hump so I can have three taps :)
 
I have three gallon kegs in my home kegerator because I started buying pinlock, you can only find pinlock in three or five gallon and I don't want to mess with two sets of equipment.

As a lot of the examples in the thread show you can build some really nice, convenient travel setups so buy kegs that will fit the setup and go from there. I doubt half a gallon either way is going to make as much of a difference as the convenience of transport and serving.
 

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