Kegerator kit from Keg Kingdom

[matthuds]

Hi all,
Decided to plunge into kegging and brought a 2 cornie kegerator kit from Keg Kingdom
http://www.kegkingdom.co.uk/collections ... kit-double
which seemed really good value.

I do have a couple of questions which maybe I should have asked first.

1. Matt from KK said that no hose clamps are provided because the beverage and gas lines have a tight enough fit to the barbs. And that hose clamps can actually cause leaks! Does anyone have any experience with not using hose clamps, or any ideas where to get them if its something I should be using?

2. Each keg comes with 2metres of 3/8in beverage line. Looking at the calculators on the internet this doesn't seem like enough (do I just have to turn the pressure right down to serve?)? although I am not sure how to calculate the correct amount of line to use?

Any advise would be great.

[AnthonyUK]

Hi Matt.
I think I may have some suitable JG push fits for cornie disconnects somewhere.
If I find them are you interested?

If not the Aldershot HBS sells them.

[orlando]

I use jubilee clips on hose barbs just in case but they are probably right they aren't needed. Problem is you don't want to find out they were wrong when you find you have an empty CO2 bottle just as you want to pour a pint, for the sake of two cheap clips. The beer line is fine if you prefer less carbonation but if you are going for a highly carbonated Lager of some kind you have a problem. You also have a problem if you want an Ale at lower CO2 levels as you are stuck with having both the same with that set up. You can use smaller diameter beer line to reduce pressure and prevent foaming, there are charts on the web to help you work out how much. Or search on here, it is a perennial question.

[matthuds]

I prefer sub 2vols CO2 i guess its just try it and see. lines cheap anyway I guess if I need a few feet longer.

[Kev888]

FWIW I never found clips actually necessary on the barbs I had, when mating to the standard beer/gas lines; the fit was very snug and the lines couldn't easily be parted even when I wanted to. That said, if well designed clips are used (which can provide a uniform pressure around the small diameter) I don't understand why the seller thought they should be a bad idea, would be interesting to know.

[woodyontheweb]

I used Jubilee clips on the hard beer lines for my CO2 and did get leaks, I think they squash the lines out of shape thus causing a gap.
I have hard lines for my beer out, pushed on to the barbs and have had no leaks, for the gas I changed to softer braided PVC hose and this needed the clips to keep it on the barbs.

[orlando]

If you can it's a good idea to turn off the gas between servings.

[matthuds]

Im trying to get my head around the mechanics.
If I turn off the gas and leave the keg connected is there any chance of beer being forced up the gas line into the regulator?

[Kev888]

Not usually. When at rest the pressure is the same in the line as in the keg, so theres no gas flow in either direction. In some instances if the keg were to warm up then there can be a tiny movement up the gas line but not enough in my experience to cause problems. Theoretically if the temperature/pressure in the keg got really high some regulators may try to dump the excess and then it could happen, but not all do that and it would have to be an unusual situation.

Foam getting up the gas line is usually due to over-filling the keg and/or doing something that causes the pressure to drop in the gas line. The common one is connecting an unpressurised keg to the same line as a pressurised one; they instantly try to share/equalise pressure and the pressurised keg can foam up and send that to the other keg along with the gas. Another may be if there was a gas leak (or accidental venting/disconnection) up-stream of the keg; cornies don't have non-return valves built in so gas could flow up the gas line in that situation and take any foam with it.

[matthuds]

Is connecting a pressurized keg and a non pressurized keg to the same regulator ok as long as there is gas coming in from the canister?

[Kev888]

Is connecting a pressurized keg and a non pressurized keg to the same regulator ok as long as there is gas coming in from the canister?

The flow from the regulator still isn't fast enough to fill the unpressurised keg before the pressurised one drops, so the same thing can occur. So I would advise pressurising the second keg individually first, before reconnecting the pressurised one. In practice it usually only matters if the pressurised keg is quite full and well carbonated, but its best to get into good habits IMO.

[Kev888]

I used Jubilee clips on the hard beer lines for my CO2 and did get leaks, I think they squash the lines out of shape thus causing a gap.
I have hard lines for my beer out, pushed on to the barbs and have had no leaks, for the gas I changed to softer braided PVC hose and this needed the clips to keep it on the barbs.

Interesting, thanks. I was wondering if that may be the case, some clips can't form equal pressure around the tube's circumference, especially around their clamp mechanism and where the radius is tight. Jubilee clips have a fixed radius profile under their screw, which doesn't change with their adjustment, but others have a similar thing going on.

[matthuds]

The flow from the regulator still isn't fast enough to fill the unpressurised keg before the pressurised one drops, so the same thing can occur. So I would advise pressurising the second keg individually first, before reconnecting the pressurised one.

Great advice I would defiantly not have thought of that. You probably just saved me from needing to buy a new regulator.

[Kev888]

You've got to be a little unlucky TBH, it doesn't always happen. But its very annoying on the rare occasions that it does, I think a few people on here (myself included) learnt the hard way. I believe you can get inline no-return valves, but personally I never found them necessary once wise to the pitfalls.

[f00b4r]

You've got to be a little unlucky TBH, it doesn't always happen. But its very annoying on the rare occasions that it does, I think a few people on here (myself included) learnt the hard way. I believe you can get inline no-return valves, but personally I never found them necessary once wise to the pitfalls.

It seems using the now cheaply availlable manifolds becomes a lot more atractive than using just a splitter then.