Looking to make the leap to corny kegs

[BrannigansLove]

I am planning on making the move to corny kegs, but unfortunately I don't know what bits I need to get. Ideally, I'd like to buy stuff that'll last, and won't need upgrading sometime in the future. I would like a 2 keg setup, one serving a stout/porter, and the other a pale ale, saison, or similar.

What I think I need:

CO2 cylinder
CO2 line (diameter?)
Beer line (diameter/length?)
3 line manifold (I'd like to be able to potentially have the option of being able to prime a 3rd keg, even if I don't necessarily have the fridge space for it immediately.)
CO2 regulator
2 kegs (any recommendations on which connector is best?)
2 taps (do I need a specific stout tap, or can I use the same style as I would for the pale?)
Beer line cleaner

Questions I have:
Can I serve the stout and the pale at the same serving pressure?
When I want to prime a keg, would I turn off gas to the other keg(s), increase the pressure to priming pressure to the keg being primed?. Once primed, I could disconnect the keg from the gas, and allow it time to prime. I'd then reduce pressure, and turn the other kegs back on. Have I got this process correct?
Is it worth me getting stainless steel taps, rather than the chromed ones?
Is it worth me getting taps with flow adjustment?
Lastly, have I missed anything?

[Jocky]

A fridge or freezer?

[BrannigansLove]

I was planning on using a larder fridge, which reminds me, what sort of temperature should I be targeting for the fridge or freezer (not bought it yet).

[Fil]

there is a sticky post in here with a conditioning chart that provides you with the optimum temps and pressures for setting the desired level of condition in your brew.

as its the temp and pressure that dictates the condition level your best off serving beers conditioned to the same level unless you employ a 2ndary co2 reg to allow serving at 2 different pressures concurrently.

Stout, may benefit from using a stout tap and a mixed gas supply, tho thats outside my experience..

Re pressure conditioning if your employing a fridge or freezer its got to be simpler to just hook up as per a conditioning chart and wait a week, your beers going to probably need longer than that to mature

while conditioning its easier and quicker to keep the gas connected the headspace volume in a keg is a couple of hundred ml so even @ 20psi its not containing much co2 and if chilled can soon be absorbed if off gas and even loose the lid seal as a consequence.

3line manifold?? wossat?? sounds expensive? to branch off a post regulator line of c02 use a T or Y JG fitting or multiples of them..

you will also probably need a few meters of 3/16" microline and jg adaptors to step down from 3/8" to 3/16" to hook up , this is used as a basic budget anti fobbing solution as its small bore reduces the keg pressure along its length so at the release(tap) the pressure drop suffered by the beer isnt High and so wont stimulate a foam out release at the tap at a keg pressure sufficient to maintain a level of condition will result in a pint of foam in most cases.

[rpt]

I use Sankey kegs as they seal at low pressures and are designed for beer. You can use the same 3/8" line for beer and gas, but as said you'll need to use some 3/16" to stop foaming. A stout tap is for use with nitrogen.

[ricwomersley]

Very interesting thread as I'm about to do the same so far I have 3 kegs and a co2 bottle and the Mrs ha just got me 2 of these for my Birthday http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/222253728988?_mwBanner=1.

All very interesting. good luck!!



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[BrannigansLove]

Thanks for the input. A 3 line manifold is about £25, but allows you to shut gas off to individual kegs/lines without disconnecting anything. I figure it would be useful for raising a single keg to carbonation pressure without having to disconnect the other keg that might be at serving pressure.

[Fil]

Thanks for the input. A 3 line manifold is about £25, but allows you to shut gas off to individual kegs/lines without disconnecting anything. I figure it would be useful for raising a single keg to carbonation pressure without having to disconnect the other keg that might be at serving pressure.

the whole point about the optimum pressure/temp combo to maintain condition during serving is that if left at that temp/pressure an unconditioned keg will condition to optimum in about a week or so. and generally imho few beers are mature within a week of kegging anyway, while you can condition quicker by increasing the pressure beyond the optimum level, its a very imprecise method and can easily over condition requiring a few shake n vent repetitions or a lot of em.. a pita and can be wasteful of co2 and energy/time.. I dont have the luxury of a keg fridge relying instead on sitting the kegs in the coolest spot possible and augmenting a chill with a shelf chiller during the summer so i have no choice to condition with excess pressure and 'fine tune' the condition with venting off the excess which trust me can be a bore tho not quite as bad as washing rinsing etc 40 odd bottles