Pegas questions...

[roscoe]

Quite interested in the cheap one and that's a stretch. Idea is to fit it on a kegerator (fridge door) and get multiple uses from it.

1. Is the new design ecotap 84euro okay for domestic use
i.e. years of service or is the more expensive steel 140euro a better long term investment
Not buying expensive one but don't want to waste money if plastic one is rubbish ?

2. Looking to use to fill 2L PET/growlers from kegerator on as needs basis for me/visitor take away.
Can't be bothered cleaning counterflow/beergun and its associated tubes for the odd bottle.

3. I presume you can use them as a tap/dispenser and go straight to glass ?
Is there some adaptor thingy needed.

4. Pipes/connections, with the original pegas there was a fancy 3 pipe connection with beer/gas/drain on the rear. I'm not so clear for the new models is it beer on the back off the shank, I see 2 hose type connections on the front side I'm guessing these are the drain and gas ? in the later low-cost-redesign ?

5. Newer models coming ? 2015
http://beerinnovations.com/docs/pegas_c ... 014_en.pdf
Looks like some new models are in the pipeline EcoTap Next looks to be new model
but no idea of price or improvements ?

.... chinese knockoffs can still be found, but price/delivery/diff not enough to take risk if the ECOTAP is okay

any thoughts or experience here ?

[Aleman]

The Ecotap is fine, and has the advantage of being able to take a faucet screwed into the front so you can dispense beer and fill PETS.

I have the 140 euro Steel one I just prefer it, although I can't fit a tap to it, but that was never an issue for me.

All the Pegas devices are designed to work with PET bottles, although they do need a propper lip around the base of the screw thread for instant use, although with a ,suitably altered washer you can fill crown cap PETS, and WITH CARE glass crown cap bottles. . . . I'm trying to work out at the moment how to do flip top ones, and 750ml Belgian champagne style bottles

Filling growlers is a whole different ball game though as the top diameters are different, and you must have a pressure seal to fill.

[roscoe]

so Aleman you like the device and it earns its keep ?

I'll answer one of my own questions?
The front 2 barbs are for beer/drain presumably the shank connection is for gas. Not what I expected. For a neat fridge door connection I'll need at least 2 holes ? unless an upgrade to full version,

mmmmm, more thinking required.

[roscoe]

Looked again at this, more questions...

> New Models.... There seems to be more
Pegas EcoTap
Pegas EcoTap Next
Pegas Evolution
Pegas Steel

Not clear pricing or benefits, presumedly better design

> Any idea what filling is like if a cooler isn't used ?

[Aleman]

Looked again at this, more questions...

> New Models.... There seems to be more
Pegas EcoTap
Pegas EcoTap Next
Pegas Evolution
Pegas Steel

Not clear pricing or benefits, presumedly better design

> Any idea what filling is like if a cooler isn't used ?

Price wise it's difficult to beet the prices or service from Arturas in Lithuania

Yes lots of new models which unfortunately Arturas doesn't list yet

If you want everything fed from the same place then unless you go for an Novotap you will have to drill additional holes, although the ecotap range being wider does mean that these pipes are somewhat hidden from view, not so with the steel. As one of them is the gas connection then it needs to be outside anyway (unless you keep your gas in the Kegerator), and one is the drain so I'll keep that outside to drain into the drip tray anyway

[roscoe]

I'm not stuck on 3 pipes inside, my kegerator is in an untidy garage and I may not mount pegas on fridge door, undecided.

So what is shank connection, I thought it was gas, is it beer in.

On first reading couldn't appreciate the benefits of the new models, I'll try to contact the 'lt' company.
Wider range of bottles, catridgeless?, cheaper, confused, I'll read the glossy again....

[roscoe]

question for aleman ? (or anyone else using a Pegas)

how does the Pegas perform when the beer is warmer ?
have you tried filling a PET with the beer > 10oC

[Aleman]

Fills quite well, even with beers with a higher carbonation than normal. The only issue is once you let the pressure off and remove from the Pegas unit, it does start to foam . . .It's OK if you are using say the Coopers or other screw cap bottles as you can cap on the foam, but a crown cap bottle is tricky to get into the capper and capped without getting an issue with excess foaming . . . and if you rush and bang the bottle then you get much more foaming

[Oakey22]

Fills quite well, even with beers with a higher carbonation than normal. The only issue is once you let the pressure off and remove from the Pegas unit, it does start to foam . . .It's OK if you are using say the Coopers or other screw cap bottles as you can cap on the foam, but a crown cap bottle is tricky to get into the capper and capped without getting an issue with excess foaming . . . and if you rush and bang the bottle then you get much more foaming

Have you tried depressurising slower to reduce the fobbing or does it just dump the gas when you unhook it?

[roscoe]

can you expand on using this with glass bottles?
did you modify anything or does the glass neck just happen fit the clamp..

the attraction for me is filling a few bottles (PET/other) from time to time without having to super chill carb'd keg then the rigmarole of using the beer gun
(beergun is fine when making the effort and doing a lot of bottling)

[Aleman]

The fobbing starts to occur once the pressure has been released, even if you fill a bottle completely at a slow rate, or fill it quickly and then slow down towards the end. Once released then it does foam up. The situation is fine with chilled beer, but room temp etc can be an serious issue, depending on carbonation level of course

Glass bottles don't have such a pronounced lip as a screw thread PET and the height from the top of the bottle to the lip is often much less so you don't get a seal, even if the bottle has a big enough lip, which is the case of the Crown Cap PET Bottles.

What you need to do for Glass (and plastic Crown Cap) is to get an appropriate sized washer and grind it down so that it fits in the PEGAS unit . . . These are some pictures that barneey has posted showing what needs to be done.





Depending on your bottle types depends on the required inner diameter, and washer thickness.

With my Pegas Steel, I can replace the bottle holder with a part(s) made for different types of bottle so doing things like Flip tops should be possible (very long gap between the top of the bottle and the lip) and even champagne bottles. . . Not something that can be done with the Eco Models though.


NOTEPegas produce the Craftap specifically for bottling glass bottles, which has a significant safety shield, they do not recommend bottling glass bottles with any other Pegas product, if you do so you do so at your own risk

Edit: I've just found these pics . . . Using These Washers

[roscoe]

whoops the ebay linky doesn't work for me....

back to fobbing/foam, so say

... <2 vols Co2 @ 10oC = okayish ??

... >2.5 @10oC you have mess and should chill to where 5oC
(with a beergun and lagers I had to go very low, like 0oC, was hoping 5/6oC would be okay)

on saying all that, I don't tend to go higher than 2.5 even for wheats......

I'll find out soon enough, pulled the trigger on a Pegas Steel

[Aleman]

I've successfully bottled beer with the Pegas that was very carbonated, that fobbed excessively with the beer gun . . . I think It was around 3.5VOls of CO2 at about 10C.

This video shows the filling operation (from 4:30 in) and the foaming happens at about 6:00 but they get away with it it appears.

[youtube]eM4IvHxtJgI[/youtube]

[roscoe]

Do you have any pictures of the Pegas Steel with your steel washer adaptor in place ?

I presume we need this because the 'supermarket bottles' have a slightly short neck, by 2-3mm ?

Also interested in your design for swing tops or bottles to accommodate a longer neck, I guess you unscrews the pegad metal holder and fit your fabricated solution ?

Or do you have a drill stand or swivel base to help present bottles of different heights/necks ?

[roscoe]

Grumpy now, apparently back in 2012 the clever people at Pegas made an option to the Steel model to handle both std aka old bottles neck size~20mm and the new PCO 1881 short neck ~17mm. Looks like I have the original one, boo.

http://translate.google.co.uk/translate ... rev=search

In short, all the bottles of coke,water,etc in the supermarket are the short neck version and require the PCO 1881 solution or custom washer fabrication. this size neck/form seems to have taken over.....