Corny keg?

[gibbiem]

Probably been asked a thousand times but wondering if someone could give a breakdown on exactly what I would need to get a corny keg setup? Obviously there is the keg and a c02 cylinder but what else would I need? And how easy is it to set up? Also, is the c02 refillable and if so where from? Thanks

[Pinto]

assorted beer line, tubing, john guest fittings to get it to fit all together, and a font or tap to dispense with.

CO2 can be a real pain in the ass to get hold of in some areas, easy as pie in others - start by approaching your local publican and see if they'll give/lend/rent you a CO cylinder from their stock. If not, try to locate a local bar supply company, then look at places like welding equipment or fire safety companies. Refills (once you've found a source) are usually as easy as swapping a live cylinder for your empty and a small charge.

Its not rocket science to set up a gas fed setup - should find what you need by searching this very forum, or in the equipment forum.

[gibbiem]

Cheers mate. My brother in law runs a pub so will ask him about co2. It almost seems to simple to be true to set up!

[woblylegs]

ive a good supply of full co2 fire extinguishers if you have any trouble getting a bottle gibbiem. £5 each. last for ages. could allways meet you somewhere near on my travels im sure

[gibbiem]

ive a good supply of full co2 fire extinguishers if you have any trouble getting a bottle gibbiem. £5 each. last for ages. could allways meet you somewhere near on my travels im sure

Nice one mate, cheers. How do you then transfer it to a cylinder then or do you just put the regulator on the extinguisher?

[Wonkydonkey]

Yeh , there's a few post about this, but I have a mig welding reg connected to the FE, the only real prob is a FE has a dip tube, so your reg gets liquid co2 if you try and shove loads in to a cornie at once, but I've been using FE for the last 2yrs and no probs, the only prob ive had is the FE falling over, and bashed the low pressure gage.

It's do-able but I'd be going for hobby gas next time I need co2. As the guy I have brought from in the past, always wants more £'s for something he used to throw away or he'd end up paying for the emptying of the old FE. And I know this cos he keeps changing his ebay account, to other names and he said he never relised the demand for old FE's
But what ever way you go, bigger is cheaper in the long run. Unless you get a leak and only find out when it's empty.

[woblylegs]

the regulator screws straight onto the FX.
price wont change on my ones

[Wonkydonkey]

the regulator screws straight onto the FX.
price wont change on my ones

The guy I was buying from. Wanted and was getting £8-12 , and £10 postage, but I only brought them cos it was less than 5 miles away

If you were near me I'd buy from you, and I have read you don't post. That's cool I understand.
but the cost per kg of gas from him was almost like the cornies are now, not much different new or secondhand.

I always look for the best price, and how much I use/ how long will I have it. That's why I buy 50kg of malt and crush it myself

But going back to gas sometimes it's like hens teeth, and hobby gas seems just as good and I do not have to stock pile, the last time I got gas I got 4 as I bidded on 1 got it for about £8, collected it and asked can I have another 3 for the same price. Remembering when I needed it last time and bidded up to £12 and lost.
But that's life and demand for you.
I still have one full, so no rush on buying just yet, but eyes and ears are open,
So if your in sussex (near brighton) with a few cylinders I'd have a few.

[gibbiem]

Right. So will any regulator fit an FE or does it need to be specific? And then a line goes into the cornie, then the beer line to the tap? Any recommendations on where to get the lines etc?

[woblylegs]

i cannot comment on any reg. but a standard one screws straight on. then you want gas line and a gas in quick disconnect. then your dispense... which ever method you choose. its very simple to set up really

[rpt]

I got my pub style CO2 bottle from a local Calor Gas dealer. Their website mentions all about LPG, gas barbecues, patio heaters etc but doesn't even mention that they are an Air Liquide dealer let alone that they will supply CO2. But if you walk in they'll let you have a bottle for a non-refundable deposit plus gas charge. So it's worth checking out local places even if they don't appear to sell it.

The other thing you will need to do is balance your beer line so you don't dispense foam. You set the pressure based on the required volumes of CO2 (i.e. how fizzy you want the beer) and the temperature. Then you need to reduce the pressure so it is low when the beer reaches the tap. You can do this with a length of 3/16" beer line which you will interconnect with 3/8" line by using John Guest push fittings. You can also get flow control devices but I know they can be fiddly to set up.

[Wonkydonkey]

This is my setup for gas, as I said before the gauge on the reg got bashed, so as I had another I use it this way. But I also unplug it and use the little white thing wth the green tube on the cornie lid to fill pressure barrels

http://s1140.photobucket.com/user/Wonky ... %5B/URL%5D

[gibbiem]

Is that the same reg as the mm sells? Was up late last night watching videos on setting up, carbing etc and its all making sense now. Just need to get a corny!

[Wonkydonkey]

Is that the same reg as the mm sells? Was up late last night watching videos on setting up, carbing etc and its all making sense now. Just need to get a corny!

Tbh, I think I grabbed it off ebay, it was for welding as I had to then find the right john guest fitting so I could stick a 3/8 tube in. The original conector was very small for the co2 welding tube. I could have used more conectors ie Inlarge or reducers

But yeh I have seen them being offered on MM and thought that's the same, but he's had the mods done ie tube conector.

At first I was using those 600g disposable co2 from machine mart, but like always the price went up and I looked for another option,
I've tried to find someone to refill fire ex ( still in test date) but I've had no luck, so I have 1 empty one with 8yrs on it. And I use those old fire ex that are out of date which I last got for £8 each.

By the way, if your new to force carbing, you do use a fare amount which goes in the beer. I don't know how much but it is a bit more than you would think. it has been asked before, so I'm pointing it out now.

[Wonkydonkey]

This is my dispensary,
The tube is less than 2ft. I use one of those flow restrictors in the middle, it's a bit fiddly but I did not want x amount of tube,
The other stuff you can see around the tube is my homemade pipe insulation. It's that stuff you stick on the wall behind a rad, as I have a vac packer, I made a tube from some plastic sheeting and shoved it together. It works better than I thought it would.
It's as simple as you want it to be.


Hope this helps.
Now I must get out and do what needs to be done.
But I"lll be back tonight,