So I recently bought a Kegland Series X Plus Kegerator to have bar keg beers on tap at home. It's absolutely fantastic having beers by some of my favourite breweries on tap and I'd recommend it to anyone thinking about doing it.
The main problem is that I can only fit two 30L kegs in it. So in my quest to get more beer in there, I've bought some slim sankeys I can transfer the keg beer to that will take up less space.
So my first step is to prepare the kegs, I understand that I need to:
1. Passivate to give a clean surface for the inside of the keg.
2. Do a water rinse.
3. Use a cleaner.
4. Fill with sanitizer.
5. Remove sanitizer using and replacing with CO2.
6. Fill kegs.
Is this correct?
What chemicals do I use to do all of this?
Can anyone recommend a brewery pump that would be suitable for the cleaning and is safe to use with the chemical at heat?
I've made up a filler coupler with ball valves on the in (beer) and out (gas) ports. I have a spunding valve that I'm thinking of attaching on the out port. So I think I have all of the kit I need.
However, I'm worried about the air that will be in the coupler after the ball valve that will be transferred straight into the keg at the start of filling. I'm wanting to transfer highly dry hopped hazy beers which I don't want to come into contact with the air.
Is there a way to purge the coupler or any other way to minimise air into the keg?
Setup and transferring between sankey kegs
Re: Setup and transferring between sankey kegs
I’d recommend Kegland’s Sankey tapping heads in place of standard couplers. Much easier to manage, especially when taller slimline kegs are in a kegerator.
If the kegs are new and manufactured in the UK or elsewhere in Europe they won’t need to be passivated for at least 10 years. Otherwise recirculate hot TSP solution (5% usually) for about 30 minutes to thoroughly clean inside the keg. Rinse thoroughly then recirculate hot citric acid (10%) for about 30 minutes. Invert keg and allow to dry overnight. Passivated. Rinse thoroughly with water to remove any citrate film.
Sanitation procedure depends on which sanitiser you choose. Read the instructions on the label.
Pump depends on your budget. A cheap, but pretty reliable, MP-15RM to something like RipTide.
Transferring is pretty straightforward. Just link up liquid to liquid and use pressure in the source keg to start beer flow into the receiving keg. If using gravity, link up gas to gas with another jumper once flowing. Or maintain pressure at about 5 psi in the source keg with PRV or gas post/inlet open on the receiving keg.
If the kegs are new and manufactured in the UK or elsewhere in Europe they won’t need to be passivated for at least 10 years. Otherwise recirculate hot TSP solution (5% usually) for about 30 minutes to thoroughly clean inside the keg. Rinse thoroughly then recirculate hot citric acid (10%) for about 30 minutes. Invert keg and allow to dry overnight. Passivated. Rinse thoroughly with water to remove any citrate film.
Sanitation procedure depends on which sanitiser you choose. Read the instructions on the label.
Pump depends on your budget. A cheap, but pretty reliable, MP-15RM to something like RipTide.
Transferring is pretty straightforward. Just link up liquid to liquid and use pressure in the source keg to start beer flow into the receiving keg. If using gravity, link up gas to gas with another jumper once flowing. Or maintain pressure at about 5 psi in the source keg with PRV or gas post/inlet open on the receiving keg.
Re: Setup and transferring between sankey kegs
Thanks for the in depth reply nallum!
I already have a few s type couplers and there is actually plenty of height above the slim kegs. I prefer to have all of the lines for each keg on one connection anyway so the couplers will work better for my needs. Though I could totally see the benefit if there wasn't as much headroom.
What sanitizer have you had good experience with?
I've taken your recommendation and bought the rebadged and slightly more powerful version of the cheaper pump you recommend - the AHB Diablo Plus (MP‑20R). I'm thinking that for cleaning tasks with chemicals that may degrade seals, etc is probably the way to go.
I'm still not fully happy about the transfer and keeping air out. it seems that there is always going to be some getting in when connecting the filling coupler. I will be doing it the gas transfer method you talk of last.
How have you been sure that the air gets purged from the tank?
I already have a few s type couplers and there is actually plenty of height above the slim kegs. I prefer to have all of the lines for each keg on one connection anyway so the couplers will work better for my needs. Though I could totally see the benefit if there wasn't as much headroom.
What sanitizer have you had good experience with?
I've taken your recommendation and bought the rebadged and slightly more powerful version of the cheaper pump you recommend - the AHB Diablo Plus (MP‑20R). I'm thinking that for cleaning tasks with chemicals that may degrade seals, etc is probably the way to go.
I'm still not fully happy about the transfer and keeping air out. it seems that there is always going to be some getting in when connecting the filling coupler. I will be doing it the gas transfer method you talk of last.
How have you been sure that the air gets purged from the tank?
Re: Setup and transferring between sankey kegs
I found Micro Matic S-type couplers on NDL 20L slim Sankeys had too little headroom in my Series X kegerator. A right PITA without pulling the keg out then shimmying it back in ‘adorned’ with a coupler. Are you using shorter 10L Sankeys?
I’d say >99.9% of sanitation is achieved through good cleaning practice. Any sanitiser sold by a home brew shop is going to help after that, to reduce the very low probability of infection establishing. I like to use a no-rinse concentration (12ppm) iodophor. At the end on the day, we’re only aiming for food hygiene levels of sanitation. No need to chase aseptic conditions like microbiologists. As a confidence booster, I recommend home brewers wash and rinse their hands and forearms thoroughly then plunge them into a fermenter full of beer before transferring the beer to a keg. It won’t make any difference to to the beer.
Is air/O2 really a problem when transferring beer? If done gently, CO2 saturated beer releases CO2 when it flows into the receiving keg, which creates a blanket of CO2 over the filling beer and pushes air out. I’ve never noted any issues. If making ridiculously hoppy beers that are apparently more prone to effects of oxidation, the air from a sanitised keg can be purged with CO2, ideally from primary fermentation. Just link gas ‘out’ from primary to liquid ‘in’ on the keg, leaving gas ‘out’ open on the keg to vent gas. If you have the resources to do this, do it for peace of mind, but, in most cases/beer styles, it won’t make a genuinely noticeable difference. Best to avoid all the lore and superstition. It’s only beer and it seems to look after itself, if treated gently. It’s a surprising challenge to ruin a good beer with air once it contains ethanol >4% (a natural innate sanitiser) and is saturated with CO2. If it were ever an unavoidable problem, without contemporary opinions of sales reps, the simple practice of brewing beer would have gone extinct centuries ago.
I’d say >99.9% of sanitation is achieved through good cleaning practice. Any sanitiser sold by a home brew shop is going to help after that, to reduce the very low probability of infection establishing. I like to use a no-rinse concentration (12ppm) iodophor. At the end on the day, we’re only aiming for food hygiene levels of sanitation. No need to chase aseptic conditions like microbiologists. As a confidence booster, I recommend home brewers wash and rinse their hands and forearms thoroughly then plunge them into a fermenter full of beer before transferring the beer to a keg. It won’t make any difference to to the beer.
Is air/O2 really a problem when transferring beer? If done gently, CO2 saturated beer releases CO2 when it flows into the receiving keg, which creates a blanket of CO2 over the filling beer and pushes air out. I’ve never noted any issues. If making ridiculously hoppy beers that are apparently more prone to effects of oxidation, the air from a sanitised keg can be purged with CO2, ideally from primary fermentation. Just link gas ‘out’ from primary to liquid ‘in’ on the keg, leaving gas ‘out’ open on the keg to vent gas. If you have the resources to do this, do it for peace of mind, but, in most cases/beer styles, it won’t make a genuinely noticeable difference. Best to avoid all the lore and superstition. It’s only beer and it seems to look after itself, if treated gently. It’s a surprising challenge to ruin a good beer with air once it contains ethanol >4% (a natural innate sanitiser) and is saturated with CO2. If it were ever an unavoidable problem, without contemporary opinions of sales reps, the simple practice of brewing beer would have gone extinct centuries ago.
Re: Setup and transferring between sankey kegs
Mine are 20l slim sankeys, but slightly shorter and slightly wider than the NDLs.
I bought two Kegland sankey couplers when I bought the kegerator and regretted it after a day or two of install as the quality is just not there. Thought the same with the duotights, which I immediatelly replaced with JG, along with the gas line. I'm happy with the beer line for now, but that too will be gone, along with the pushfits when I take the taps apart for cleaning. Absolutely love the fridge and Nukataps with flow control though! I've bought Micro Matic couplers since and I'm really pleased with the quality. Hence, I have these Kegland couplers to use for keg filling and cleaning, otherwise that's the best part of £65 down the drain!
I am decanting some very hoppy and hazy (read expensive) beers that the missus likes. And as you can probably guess, I am a bit anal and pedantic about this sort of stuff. The process needs to make complete sense in my head before doing anything.
I think I've came up with the solution that I'm happy with. Once the parts arrive and I've got it all worked out, I'll post what I've done to help people in future. I've found it really hard to get this information. So really appreciate having someone to give me advice.
I bought two Kegland sankey couplers when I bought the kegerator and regretted it after a day or two of install as the quality is just not there. Thought the same with the duotights, which I immediatelly replaced with JG, along with the gas line. I'm happy with the beer line for now, but that too will be gone, along with the pushfits when I take the taps apart for cleaning. Absolutely love the fridge and Nukataps with flow control though! I've bought Micro Matic couplers since and I'm really pleased with the quality. Hence, I have these Kegland couplers to use for keg filling and cleaning, otherwise that's the best part of £65 down the drain!
I am decanting some very hoppy and hazy (read expensive) beers that the missus likes. And as you can probably guess, I am a bit anal and pedantic about this sort of stuff. The process needs to make complete sense in my head before doing anything.
I think I've came up with the solution that I'm happy with. Once the parts arrive and I've got it all worked out, I'll post what I've done to help people in future. I've found it really hard to get this information. So really appreciate having someone to give me advice.
Re: Setup and transferring between sankey kegs
In that case, I’d recommend linking the fermentation vessel with the keg.
The FV doesn’t need to be pressure rated, because the gas out on the keg can be open therefore venting. You could even fit an airlock on the keg, to limit air exposure once fermentation wanes.
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