Sankey Keg Dispense System

[BrewerBen]

Hi,

Ive been looking to invest in a dispensing system and think that the sankey type keg is the way to go rather than cornelius mainly due to the price difference. I'm hoping to get a couple of polykegs from the forum to play with which should get me started (hopefully go crusader at some point) but will need to decide on regulator/gas/tap setup and have been thinking about using the following:

http://www.malzmuehle.eu/Direct-dispens ... r-551.html

http://www.malzmuehle.eu/Beer-line-and- ... ator-.html

The regulator connects to Soda-Club gas bottle which i understand is the European brand name for Sodastream. I'm hoping for quite a compact and portable system as i have limited space. I also don't know what is included in the tap kit as it doesn't mention what coupler is used if its included at all!
I do have concerns on how well it will dispense as reading the various threads it seems the beer line length is quite important but this system does not have any. I don't want to spend this kind of money and end up with nothing but pints of foam. My plan would be to prime the beer in the polykeg and use the c02 just to dispense at a low PSI and not to force carb. I mainly brew British Ales but i am also partial to a wheat beer which i think needs a higher pressure.
I'm after any opinion/advice/experience on this kind direct tap system whether it's sankey or Cornelius as i see there are similar direct attach taps for Cornelius kegs without any beer line.

I've not bought anything yet and am open to idea's

[Fil]

Your spot on identifying its a system your buying into,

just my thoughts..

#1 Dont forget temperature control.
this will give u a good idea of the sort of temps and pressures ideal to maintain and serve beers of different styles..
https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j ... 7178,d.ZG4

-without temp control pouring a consistent pint may prove imposible come summer. i have kegs sat close to ambient temp but need to run thru a shelf chiller come the warmest months.. and in winter everythying has a lil more condition than ideal

im sure u reaslise but the beer condition will find its point of equilibrium depending on the pressure and temperature.

you can maintain a ,lower than optimum pressure But will loose condition over time if u do, as the beer pressure and temp reach a natural equilibrium for how your kegs are stored.

conditioning via a priming addition will work but will also increase the level of sediment in the keg giving you more dirty beer poured initially and a more susceptible to knocks keg too pouring a cloudy pint after every knock and resetlement of sediment..
but if your set on this i would urge u to consider buying into the cask/keg widge system, ive used the floats in cornies and they do work drawing beer from the keg top and not the bottom giving you a clear pint that much quicker and providing some resistance to minor knocks effecting your pour.
conditioning with pressure is easy (see above chart) sorry if in F not C but its american
set and leave for a week then pour, quicker than priming!!

that tap looks like it may have a flow control aspect(compensator tube??) to it but wow it aint cheap.. and it does not include the tap??? £10-15 should get u a basic daylex style tap with a jg fitting in its rear and ready to mount in a 20-21mm (1/2"bsp) hole.. a 2m coil of cheap 3/16" micro line is a good starting point and generally allows you to serve most beers at most pressures within a reasonable time, and modding it only takes a sharp pair of scissors .


Soda stream changed their bottles a year or so back so dbl check the reg is for the current and not old style, but if possible i would suggest u invest in a standard 6.5kg bottle and reg, it will work out cheaper in the long run and only requires basic common sense and a chain to secure the bottle to use.

i used a welders regulator before investing in a multi reg board and it was so easy nice big knob to set the pressure..

when looking at sankey connectors look for those with the co2 vent facility, venting a keg to normalise the internal pressure with the regulator set level is a very common need when kegging and not storing kegs in a temp controlled environment (aka keg fridge/kegarator). between pouring sessions if the temp rises above optimum co2/condition will escape. and unless vented will build increasing keg pressure till the natural equilibrium is reached.

sorry to knock so much of the plan, but as someone who did buy into kegs without doing the homework in advance i learnt lessons the long hard way..

[Heron1952]

One point - Polykegs if you are starting out with them, are available second hand usually with S- type connectors. The 1st link to the German website looks like a A type connector.

[BrewerBen]

Thanks for all the info and advice lots stuff to consider here.The poly kegs have arrived and I have beer to fill them with. I'm sticking with the soda stream gas bottles and bought the regulator. I can confirm it works with the new style gas bottles.
I've abandoned that direct tap system and will use a dalex tap and beer line. I still plan to prime (partly so I don't use too much gas up) and I don't have temp control. I have a concrete floored pantry which is a few degrees cooler than room temp and is quite stable temp wise but as you suggest I'm looking for a s type coupler with the gas vent to normalise pressure.
S-type couplers seem easy to get online but I can't find one that lists it as having a c02 vent. Does anyone know where I can find these.

Also when ordering the john guest fittings and the beer line are there specific types for the beer and gas sides or is it all interchangeable?

Cheers, Ben

[barneey]

The only place you can get "s" type connectors with a PVR is the US.

They will however come with an American beer thread 5/8".

You then need a 5/8" bsp to 3/8 PF JG fitting BUT JG have stopped making them, so stocks are getting low.

Gas and liquid JG can be interchanged.

Cheers

[DeadFall]

The only place you can get "s" type connectors with a PVR is the US.

They will however come with an American beer thread 5/8".

You then need a 5/8" bsp to 3/8 PF JG fitting BUT JG have stopped making them, so stocks are getting low.

Gas and liquid JG can be interchanged.

Cheers

Couldn't you use a 5/8 bsp to 3/8 bsp reducer and then put a 3/8 JG PF on that? But it sounds like a lot of hardware hanging of the connector for not much value.

[barneey]

The only place you can get "s" type connectors with a PVR is the US.

They will however come with an American beer thread 5/8".

You then need a 5/8" bsp to 3/8 PF JG fitting BUT JG have stopped making them, so stocks are getting low.

Gas and liquid JG can be interchanged.

Cheers

Couldn't you use a 5/8 bsp to 3/8 bsp reducer and then put a 3/8 JG PF on that? But it sounds like a lot of hardware hanging of the connector for not much value.

The easiest way is to use American (or UK equl.) beer line with a JG 3/8 stem to 3/8 hosetail piece.

As for value, depends on how you serve your beer, I force carb mine, but when it comes to serving I turn of the gas to the keg. Open the PVR to release the gas, trying to leave a little in the keg (if not a quick squirt of co2 is needed & switch off gas again). You should get at least 8 pints out again before another squirt is needed. = Perfect pour pint , if a little slow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXlzmgk ... e=youtu.be

[BrewerBen]

There is no going back now: