corny advice

[ColinKeb]

my good lady has offered to get me a corny keg for christmas, now i am looking at the hop and grape reconditioned keg with sparkler tap and outlet with an s30 valve fitted for £66. then i will get another keg later, fit an s30 valve to that and can transfer the tap between the kegs.
is this a good choice ? or is there a better way of doing it? i dont really want to have cylinders of c02 around the house so im happy with the sado stream type set up. im currently using budget barrels and am happy with them but they arent as shiny really are they

[mysterio]

I personally think force carbonation is the big plus of cornelius kegs so I would seriously think about getting a CO2 cylinder. It can be quite cheap (cheaper than s30 bulbs) and needn't take up too much room. I'm big on lager brewing though (where natural carbonation isn't easy after a month of lagering); if you're brewing real ale then s30 might well be the way to go.

If you decide to go the force carbonation route your best bet is ebay where a guy called Norman seems to be the sole UK supplier of second hand corny kegs. I think mine cost about £45 with the tap and disconnects.

If you're naturally carbonating and want an s30 valve then H&G seems to be the cheapest.

[ColinKeb]

cheers for that, i dont really go for lager but having had 2 s30 valves pack up on me recently im inclined to look at the widget world starter kit from hop and grape plus a simple reconditioned keg and tap. i usualy make ale and only need a squirt towards the end of the barrel thats what put me off the whole co2 system plus the cost, but the widget world kit looks fairly well priced depending on whats in it of course.

[Frothy]

norm fits some really nice taps through the rubber top of his kegs. For ease of use the H&G sell thumb-taps which would be handy for switching between kegs etc.

Matt

[Vossy1]

Definately try Norm 1st

Cheaper and usually shinier, what more could you ask for

[Andy]

<flicks through Norm's diary>

He's in Sharm el Sheik until early December but I think I've got an Email somewhere with the date he's back. If you need to contact him then PM me for his Email.....

[ColinKeb]

cheers all, thats great I'll try norm first as you suggest

[niall]

Hey Andy,

I've got Corneliuitis and I'm thinking of popping an email off to Norm for the cure. I knew I should have bought a second one!

Did you find out when he's back? (You can PM me if you prefer)

[Andy]

Well he's got some stuff for sale on Ebay currently so may well be back already.

Send him an Email anyway....

[niall]

I guess he's back - got a reply already

[Orfy]

His store is empty!

Any one have an email address for him?

[Andy]

His store is empty!

Any one have an email address for him?

Orfy, you've got a PM with details...

[SteveD]

Oh...you b*stards! I read this thread, then within 10 minutes....I've got a bleedin' Cornie Keg on it's way to me from that Norman chap. Works out a bit cheaper than H&G, and it's got a shiny tap to boot. I followed your advice and avoided the S30 conversion. Either conventional CO2 will be aquired as cylinder, or widget world. Dunno yet.

Once corrupted by the dark side, there's no going back...

[tim]

Steve - I took the midget world route as an intermediate step as DAAB suggests - it's a good system no doubt, but turns out expensive unless you've got someone who does replacement cylinders near at hand - only people I could find meant having to return the cylinder by post, which was £4.50 and unless it's coming back filled with an order (e.g. from H&G) then it's the same back again! For the same sort of price I found Andover PAtio centre through a thread on this site http://www.andoverpatio.co.uk/ and now use a cylinder from them with midget system for backup - or easy transport with a corny to make sure there's decent beer on arrival

Anyone else know suppliers for midget gas?
T

[Andy]

Who are these midgets and what's their world like ?