Cornies

[crookedeyeboy]

Can someone just give me a very simple basic way to clean, setup and fill a cornie once I have bought the reg and the gas...

Thanks

[softlad]

Chris did a Cornie setup and overview guide here

I clean with soda crystals in warm water and then rinse and sterilise with a Videne solution followed by a rinse

Fill to below the level of the tube on the in post, pressurise to 20 psi and pull the pressure relief valve to purge the air. Then pressurise to 20 PSI and leave. Serve at 5-6psi

[crookedeyeboy]

Thanks loads for that. Does that mean you vent it before serving? Or is the gas disconnected after you have pressurised to 20psi and then just connect @ 5-6 psi for serving?

[softlad]

I pressurise to 20psi, leave it disconnected until its that cornies time to be connected to a 5psi reg and then serve. I dont vent mine. I assume that the majority of the gas has dissolved into the beer and the pressure has reduced anyway. I could be totally wrong though.

[crookedeyeboy]

Going to have to give up anyway, my other half and I are trying not to use credit cards at the mo and I just cant afford to get mine up and running at the mo.

£25 cylinder
£10.50 CO2
£35 Dipsensing tap
£20-30 regulator...

Bloody hell, the flask only cost me £35!!!

[chris_reboot]

when you say cylinder, you mean the keg itself?
if so, where are you getting them from?

[befuggled]

If you already have the cornie, then you might consider Norm's party tap:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-MOBILE-PARTY- ... 33562a383f

I have also just got one of these to take to a party, no pissup, in N. Wales in a couple of weeks:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... SA:GB:1123
with some spare 16gm CO2's as well.

Not cheap, but might get you going

Lots of reasonably priced connectors etc at Harmony Hut, I just got a pile - hint - look at the quantities, I thought I was buying one of each I now have two to three times what I need

[crookedeyeboy]

when you say cylinder, you mean the keg itself?
if so, where are you getting them from?

No cylinder means CO2 cylinder, ive already got the keg...

[crookedeyeboy]

Thanks Befuggled. How are those small chargers? I have looked at them before but thought they might not be of any use...How much CO2/beer will I get out of one of those cartridges?

I am definateyl going to buy the party tap its nice and cheap and portable...

[befuggled]

I have no idea if they are really any good yet!
When I said I have just got one, I should have said that I have just ordered one i.e. this morning!
I will let you know if it looks ok once I get it.
I might not actually use it until Nov 5-7. If it does not work I will be a bit buggered coz I probably won't take a full cylinder to NW!

The advert on eBay says "One cartridge will dispense half of a 5 Gal keg" so it has got to be worth taking a few.
It is not an inexpensive long term option coz it has got to cost £3.50 to get yer beer out, let alone carbonate it!

[yashicamat]

A pub CO2 cylinder can be bought for less than £20, plus a deposit on the cylinder at some places. This will last you for ages and you can get a good top pressure on the beer to force carbonate it if that's your intention. You do need a regulator and I personally wouldn't be too happy about having such a cylinder in the kitchen if you have no garage to keep it in.

[Scooby]

The advert on eBay says "One cartridge will dispense half of a 5 Gal keg"

Don't believe all you read. you'll be lucky if it'll dispense 6-10 pints and forget about carbonation. I have one and it has it's uses but after dispensing a couple of cornies you'll think even £25 for gas bottle is a steal.

You have to be aware that the start up cost with cornies is high, and you have to be in for the long term. You will find cheap gas, £15 no rental no deposit are around even if you have to travel to get it, remember it will be a year or more before you need to do the trip again.

[befuggled]

Thanks scooby, It sounds like I will be taking a full size cylinder to Wales after all!

Given that crookedeyeboy is currently impecunious, I was looking for alternatives - this charger would clearly be a waste of time and money.
Have you got a S30 cylinder by any chance crookedeyboy?
Again, not a good long term solution, they are even more expensive than a full cylinder to buy the first one and comparatively very expensive to refill.
But if you already have one or could borrow one, you could get a S30 adapter and fit it in the cornie's top (as Daab's article).
You don't get any real degree of control at all, but I have recently carbonated an old Boots keg with one.

But for the full solution and assuming you get the tap, you will still need about £45 for reg and cylinder.
I guarrantee you won't look back if you can find the readies. (Shame Nottingham is not closer, I've got a spare full cylinder at the mo.)

Any ideas on that scooby? The likes of you and me are spoilt with Andover within reasonable distance! Or do you know anywhere closer?

[Scooby]

If you think that brewing is going to be a long term hobby then a full setup is the best option both in terms of usage and economy. But as you say befuggled there are other options.

It took me a while to find The Patio Centre when I was setting up and thought cheap gas was a lost cause and nearly gave up. I'm sure there are other places like that around the country so don't give up.

With regard to the keg charger I have a full cornie conditioning in a bedroom at the moment, I initially purged it with the charger, 3-5 quick squirts then vent, x 3. I needed to purge it after removing the lid to dry hop and did the same. While taking the 3rd 1/4pt sample the cartridge ran out.

I used it once with a small cornie that was gased up and carbonated, 3 cartridges dispensed about 2/3 of it, as the ullage space increases they struggle. Imagine how much gas is used when purging an empty full size cornie. They are worth having though so give it a try and see how you get on.

EDIT As an experiment I have just discharged a full 12g cartridge into an empty cornie, when hitched up to my reg it reads 3psi

[crookedeyeboy]

Thanks for these answers I may just give in and use my credit card, after bottling my Summer Lightning tonight I will have run out of bottles!
I know it sounds a little stupid but I dont like the idea of the KK's...Ive got one but Ive never had much luck with it in terms of dispensing...its probably me being useless. I have to say from an aesthetic point of view (which im big on ) theres nothing better than handing someone a bottle of your own beer and watching them pour it.
When I visited a mate whos got a cornie set up in his garage the same aesthetic was experienced when he poured me a lovely pint from one of them...Kegs just dont do it for me...