Mini keg help for absolute kegging nitwit

[Zambi]

As the title says: I need some help figuring out what is all needed. I read @Josh Hughes thread about kegs, but I'm still lost. Really clueless about the basics.
So, mini keg.
It's on my list, not priority, but we can't get much here. So if someone goes to South Africa or comes from Europe, I can ask them to bring.

I haven't heard anything good about party kegs, except that they are cheap. So they are out. I can't afford to spend too much at the moment though.

I make small batches (around 10 litres). I was thinking of a 5 litre keg and bottling the remainder.
Carbing with priming sugar (as with bottles). Maybe later with CO2

CO2 in sodastream bottles. Maybe CO2 cartridges initially, but they are difficult to get locally, so not the best.
Or maybe I need a CO2 bottle with regulator? I think sodastream bottles have a different connection?
Talking connections: I've seen S fittings, G fittings, A fittings? Any advantages of the one over the other?
And then I suppose a tap is needed to get the beer out of the keg. But which type?
I'm just trying to understand.

Suppose I would buy the 5 litre keg from these guys: https://ikegger.eu , then what else would I need?
And I would like something that is more or less portable
Or do I need to go for a corny keg? Or? Or????

Actually, after writing all this, I think I am far from ready for kegging....

 

[Nosybear]

For kegging, you need a source of gas, a pressure-rated vessel and a dispensing system. The gas is for serving - you can carbonate in the keg (you need a pressure control valve, called a spunding valve, to do this), the vessel is the keg and the dispensing system is a hose with a connector to the keg at one end and a valve, a picnic tap, at the other. The hose needs to be long enough that the resistance overcomes the pressure so you don't get a glass of foam. So to specifics:

1. It sounds like where you live is fairly remote. I'd go with a bottle and regulator, likely the 10-pound version to limit required trips to refill it.
2. You can get either a single or dual regulator. I use a single, which forces me to dispense all my beer at the same pressure. When I build my keezer, I'll get at least a double regulator so I can have beers at serving pressure and force-carbonate at the same time. A triple would allow me to dispense spritzy beer, relatively calm beer and force carb at the same time.
3. You can carbonate in PET bottles - they're pressure-rated for at least 30 psi, you just need a specialized cap to connect to a gas supply.
4. I've standardized on ball-lock fittings. There is no advantage to them over pin-lock fittings. I even use hospital-style plastic quick disconnects so I can change lines easily.
5. The system you linked to works fine. You can even get ball-lock fittings for it to help with carbonation and dispensing. I have one, those cartridges are expensive and don't hold enough gas to carbonate. Given your restrictions, it may just be the best option if you can find a way to hook it to a gas cylinder to carbonate.

 

[Mark Farrall]

I use sodastream gas bottles when I'm taking my kegs out and about. It'll be fine for a while if you're keg conditioning, but unless they're easy for you to replace I'd bite the bullet and get a larger bottle. If you do go with sodastream they will fit into the mini-regulators from your link easily and generally fit into a large regulator, though they may need a shim (that's been supplied for me, but might not always be included).

The simplest approach for dispensing is just a party tap and some tubing. Those mini-kegs with a tap connected directly to the keg can be hard to control the foam. The tubing with the party tap makes it much easier to pour. You could also replace the party tap with a pluto gun if you wanted something a bit more hard wearing.

Mini kegs will be easier to cool if cooling space is limited, but can end up being more expensive than the half size corny kegs (9.6 litres) depending on how many you get.

 

[Bubba Wade]

I use a 10 liter kegs. A bit of investment, but works well. I can dispense a lot of kegs with a 5 lb CO2 bottle. Somewhere around 50. This is because I naturally carbonate in the keg. Takes a bit longer but I find I have better control over the carbonation level and use much less gas.

 

[GFHomebrew]

I wont give you any advise on what to get Zambezi but I'll Echo above comments of quality equipment. This will most likely be a long term venture so you'll pay either now or later down the track.

I'd go no smaller than sodastream keg their pretty common so I'd imagine you could swap them out pretty easily.
But a nice big co2 bottle like a 6kg will last most the year. My I think its 2.5kg gets me half a year and I push a fair bit of beer around as well.

Ok so I'll will give some equipment advice but there are some pretty neat inline regulators available from kegland that I'll probably end up getting. Their pretty nifty as you can set different keg pressures with.
https://www.kegland.com.au/catalogsearch/result/?q=Inline+regulator.
As nosey said and I did this is just go with a picnic tap until you can afford some bling.
The new Nukataps are pretty cheap I'd go these if building a keezer.
Oh also used kegs are half the price of new. I own no new kegs all second handies but as I put you then have to change the O rings Poppets sometimes and In worst case the posts.
You know depending on your dispensing fridge/freezer you can just fill these kegs to the volume you want and purge headspace.

Heres a pic of my keezer set up.
It cost me $60 paired with an ink bird controller $100 all up

what I dont like is gas bottle on inside. (@Ozarks Mountain Brew your right man that cold does mess with your guages I dont trust my low pressure guage. I wish I mounted outside another project ).
Also them liquid lines push down on my liquid posts sometimes when I close the lid thinking or coiling them at the back.

I've bound them all together and they just hang there 4.5 m lines with 4mm internal diameter plenty of length to ballance out serving pressure.
You can buy beer line in Ais 20m rolls cheaper than by the meter.
Anyhow I'm rambling hope ive not muddied the waters...

 

[Zambi]

Thanks all,
I am slowly getting a little wiser!
Checking what CO2 cylinders are available locally seem like the most logical first step!
Once I got that sorted, I can seriously look at the available options. I'm already leaning more to a 1/2 size corny. I've found a supplier in South Africa as well. One that actually replies to emails and gives advice
Think I will send him a mail back and see if he ever gets any used corny's in.

I've done a lot of scuba diving, so I'm sure I'll eventually work out gauges/regulators etc.

The advice on a party tap is great. I was going to go for one of those taps that go straight on the top, but will now look at party tap or pluto gun.
I'm sure my fridge is big enough for the keg. I'm using a chest freezer, set as fridge (12 V solar), currently dedicated to local beer, home made cider and water.

 

[Sandy Feet]

Sorry, I now realize this was old and a bot revived it. I can't delete, but if anyone else is setting one up:

I have a 5 gallon (I forget 19 or 20L) Corny Keg. It fits upright (barely) in a standard refrigerator. It is lightweight. The guys at the brew store tell me that I was given a decent one. It is my understanding that some of the Chinese ones are pieces of crap. You need the regulator and tank mentioned above. You also need the gas and liquid lines. You need some powder cleaner for those, and you may want to buy some extra clamps for the lines as I lost one the first time I cleaned it. I think the 10lb tank is good advice if you can't fill it often.
Until you get used to it, pressure the keg, and turn the gas off. Once you get used to it and can set it up correctly, you can leave the gas on. You normally can't get a proper seal until the keg is under pressure. When under pressure, spray some Star San and look for leaks. Make sure your quick connect hoses are firmly on the keg connectors. You can get leaks there too.
When you initially hook up the keg, tighten one fitting at a time and test each time. You will be given a very small plastic piece to put inside the regulator. Make sure you put that plastic piece on correctly. I would also have a few extras of those laying around if you are remote.
There are several YouTube videos about setting up a corny keg for the first time.

 

[Zambi]

Good post Sandy
I eventually went for the litre oxebar kegs and a 2.5 kg CO2 cylinder.
Got 2 kegs now, another 2 are on order.
I'm slowly figuring out carbonation

 

[Minbari]

Good post Sandy
I eventually went for the litre oxebar kegs and a 2.5 kg CO2 cylinder.
Got 2 kegs now, another 2 are on order.
I'm slowly figuring out carbonation

it took me like 6 months to get good at it. the danger with over carbonating, aside from blowing up your kegs, is that you get nothing but foam, lol.

 

[Sandy Feet]

Mine would be really, really hard to blow up, but I could have some very foamy beer. I have played around while cleaning and sanitizing it, and if you actually lift the Corny kegs by the top before you clamp it, that seems to help the seal.
With the CO2 level, serving the Pre Pro with a picnic tap around 11psi seemed to taste quite good.

 

[Donoroto]

Mine would be really, really hard to blow up, but I could have some very foamy beer. I have played around while cleaning and sanitizing it, and if you actually lift the Corny kegs by the top before you clamp it, that seems to help the seal.
With the CO2 level, serving the Pre Pro with a picnic tap around 11psi seemed to taste quite good.

Corny keg with picnic tap, I need to bleed off almost all the pressure to get any liquid out. Anything registering on the gauge is too much.