Mini keg question

Zambi

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Simple question, just not sure of the answer
Would this set up work?
(title is in Dutch, but description is English)
https://braumarkt.com/Mini-Keg-Kit-5L-met-picnic-kraan-en-Co2-koppeling

It uses CO2 cartridges.
Is that enough to carbonate?
Or do you do the same as with bottling and add sugar to the keg?
And the CO2 cartridge is needed for pouring a glass?
 
Simple question, just not sure of the answer
Would this set up work?
(title is in Dutch, but description is English)
https://braumarkt.com/Mini-Keg-Kit-5L-met-picnic-kraan-en-Co2-koppeling

It uses CO2 cartridges.
Is that enough to carbonate?
Or do you do the same as with bottling and add sugar to the keg?
And the CO2 cartridge is needed for pouring a glass?
Nice.
Yeah @Josh Hughes uses these cartridges but I'm sure he spunds at end of fermentation to get carbonation pressure.

You can also treat it like bottle though.

I racked that GF trial beer Into a keg yesterday onto 100g cane sugar I checked pressure this morning and it had already built up 15psi overnight I'd say it'd be double that now in 24hrs in this heat.
Then cooling in the fridge should get you reasonable carbonation to push it out with them cartridges.
 
Simple question, just not sure of the answer
Would this set up work?
(title is in Dutch, but description is English)
https://braumarkt.com/Mini-Keg-Kit-5L-met-picnic-kraan-en-Co2-koppeling

It uses CO2 cartridges.
Is that enough to carbonate?
Or do you do the same as with bottling and add sugar to the keg?
And the CO2 cartridge is needed for pouring a glass?
It should be enough to carbonate 5 litres easily. It generally takes 24-48 hours to do so. The gas pressure also pushes the carbonated beer from the keg. In this way, no Oxygen can enter the system, so the beer doesn't spoil. I have had beers in kegs for months with no ill effects.
 
Simple question, just not sure of the answer
Would this set up work?
(title is in Dutch, but description is English)
https://braumarkt.com/Mini-Keg-Kit-5L-met-picnic-kraan-en-Co2-koppeling

It uses CO2 cartridges.
Is that enough to carbonate?
Or do you do the same as with bottling and add sugar to the keg?
And the CO2 cartridge is needed for pouring a glass?[/QUOTE

I have something similar to this but mine has a regular tap. For that small amount of beer, you could carbonate with a cartridge or two.
 
Simple question, just not sure of the answer
Would this set up work?
(title is in Dutch, but description is English)
https://braumarkt.com/Mini-Keg-Kit-5L-met-picnic-kraan-en-Co2-koppeling

It uses CO2 cartridges.
Is that enough to carbonate?
Or do you do the same as with bottling and add sugar to the keg?
And the CO2 cartridge is needed for pouring a glass?
I have one almost exact like that. I really like it. I use it as a growler. Upside is the cap has ball lock for gas on it and you can charge it after opening and it will not go flat.

You can charge beer too, i have a co2 tank so i could just connect a line and charge it. If you get one with a cartridge for co2, it would work the same
 
I like my beer fairly flat and do not (yet) have any experience with carbonating brews with CO2, but this sounds really low to me...
"Maximum pressure: 25 PSI/1.7bar."
I use 5L party kegs like bottles, with the little release valves in the top and they release at ~2.5bar...and I do not find them over carbonated. So, I would assume 1.7 is okay for serving, but not for carbonation(?)
PS....that being said, the gauge in the product picture goes up to ~10bar, so who knows :D
 
I like my beer fairly flat and do not (yet) have any experience with carbonating brews with CO2, but this sounds really low to me...
"Maximum pressure: 25 PSI/1.7bar."
I use 5L party kegs like bottles, with the little release valves in the top and they release at ~2.5bar...and I do not find them over carbonated. So, I would assume 1.7 is okay for serving, but not for carbonation(?)
PS....that being said, the gauge in the product picture goes up to ~10bar, so who knows :D
You can carbonate beer at 7-12psi, just takes a week.
 
I like my beer fairly flat and do not (yet) have any experience with carbonating brews with CO2, but this sounds really low to me...
"Maximum pressure: 25 PSI/1.7bar."
I use 5L party kegs like bottles, with the little release valves in the top and they release at ~2.5bar...and I do not find them over carbonated. So, I would assume 1.7 is okay for serving, but not for carbonation(?)
PS....that being said, the gauge in the product picture goes up to ~10bar, so who knows :D
Well spotted.
I looked at another site (ikegger) and their CO2 cartridge regulator goes up to 60 psi.
Sounds like that might be a better option?

Man, this keg stuff is complicated!
 
Well spotted.
I looked at another site (ikegger) and their CO2 cartridge regulator goes up to 60 psi.
Sounds like that might be a better option?

Man, this keg stuff is complicated!
No you don't need 60psi at all lol that's over spec for what we wanna do serving beer at 10-12psi and that we'll carbonated especially for a little setup like you've got with no flow control at the tap.

You'll likely have to down the pressure under 10psi to avoid too much foam on the pour but don't let me put doubters in your head about all that.

If you want to take your hombrew down the river fishing this little keg will be perfect.
Might even come in handy if them hippos get too close:eek:
 
Simple question, just not sure of the answer
Would this set up work?
(title is in Dutch, but description is English)
https://braumarkt.com/Mini-Keg-Kit-5L-met-picnic-kraan-en-Co2-koppeling

It uses CO2 cartridges.
Is that enough to carbonate?
Or do you do the same as with bottling and add sugar to the keg?
And the CO2 cartridge is needed for pouring a glass?
The cartridges will carbonate but you’ll go through them much quicker. A little sugar and treat like a bottle then use the cartridges to push it out is a good method. I spund so I’m already 80-100% there when I keg. If you got a cheaper co2 source than cartridges then do that and you’ll be drinking quicker. You can also keg it with a few points left, actual spunding/some Brits do, and it will be good in a week or so. I’ve done that with success as well.
 
No you don't need 60psi at all lol that's over spec for what we wanna do serving beer at 10-12psi and that we'll carbonated especially for a little setup like you've got with no flow control at the tap.

You'll likely have to down the pressure under 10psi to avoid too much foam on the pour but don't let me put doubters in your head about all that.

If you want to take your hombrew down the river fishing this little keg will be perfect.
Might even come in handy if them hippos get too close:eek:
Slight redaction to my post above...@2.5bar the overall carbonation is good, but the 1st couple of glasses are mostly foam. :-/
Minibari's lower-pressure+longer-carb might not be bad after all. :)
 
Slight redaction to my post above...@2.5bar the overall carbonation is good, but the 1st couple of glasses are mostly foam. :-/
Minibari's lower-pressure+longer-carb might not be bad after all. :)
It works, just takes longer.

I usually carb @ 35psi for 3 days, then down to serve psi pressure for a few days
 
Bit more expensive one here, but real question is: what's the difference between the option "ball lock" and "flow control"
These guys have reasonably priced 2 litre kegs on their site as well (https://benonibrew.co.za/collections/frontpage/products/mini-beer-keg-2l)
These should work with this: https://braumarkt.com/Mini-keg-tap-dispenser-picnic? Or could they have different sizes?

Sorry, but what I know about kegging is absolutely dangerous
Ball lock and pin lock are the two main methods of attaching things (like a pouring faucet/tap) to the keg posts, the inlet and outlet valves.

Flow control means having a small valve incorporated, allowing you to control beer flow rate. Very handy to manage foaming when dispensing.

usually, dispensing from a keg involves a length of plastic hose before you get to the faucet/tap. That length of hose reduces the pressure at the faucet so that the beer comes out not so foamy. If you attach a faucet directly to a keg the pressure in the keg to carbonate the beer (e.g. 12 psi) will be far too high. You can either use a pressure reducing valve or vent your CO2 so that the keg is at maybe two or three psi.
 
Ball lock and pin lock are the two main methods of attaching things (like a pouring faucet/tap) to the keg posts, the inlet and outlet valves.

Flow control means having a small valve incorporated, allowing you to control beer flow rate. Very handy to manage foaming when dispensing.

usually, dispensing from a keg involves a length of plastic hose before you get to the faucet/tap. That length of hose reduces the pressure at the faucet so that the beer comes out not so foamy. If you attach a faucet directly to a keg the pressure in the keg to carbonate the beer (e.g. 12 psi) will be far too high. You can either use a pressure reducing valve or vent your CO2 so that the keg is at maybe two or three psi.
What Don's saying Zambezi is it'll take a few beers to get the pressure just right hic:p!
 
So if I understand correctly, that picnic tap on beer line is actually quite a good thing compared to a tap directly on the mini keg?

Can you have more kegs and move the co2 cartridge & tap from one to the other?

What exactly is spunding?

I should be able to get a soda stream adapter, but I don't know if it will fit my connection. 1 filling of sodastream gets me 6 CO2 cartridges, and can only be filled in the capital (3-4 hour drive one way)
Cartridges I can keep lying around, so that will be the initial way to go.
Thereafter maybe a big CO2 cylinder and pressure gauge to carbonate keg or sodastream bottles.
But that's still far far away
 
Very similar to what Josh has already said... my problem with those cartridges and most of the regulators that come with those systems is you lose a whole lot of gas whenever you need to connect a new one. A great regulator for those cartridges is something that lets you break the metal seal quickly. I haven't bought this one yet, but it's what I'm planning to do when I get sick of the current one I use for kegs at picnics (which looks Identical to the one on the ikegger site) - https://www.kegland.com.au/kegland-mini-regulator-sodastream-16g-bulb-compatible-the-fanginator.html. Though it's not that big a deal.

I wouldn't use them to force carbonate. Keg conditioning is so much more effective compared to gas cartridges. As you say, treat the keg as a bottle and add the sugar you need to the keg and leave it at room temp to create the carbonation. Then use the cartridge for dispensing. I did that in the kitchen fridge for my first half dozen or so keg batches.

I've never seen flow control as worth the money. It solves a few problems, but you can also do something very similar by just purging the keg or disconnecting the gas for the next few pours.

You can spund if your fermenter can take pressure. You close off the fermenter when there's a few points of gravity left and it will naturally carbonate the beer. It will mean less gas for forced carbonation or less sugar for keg conditioning.

Latest system looks fine. The length of cable in all those pictures is just to make the system look nice. You'll probably want a couple of different lengths for the different beers. Longer tubing for the English/US style beers to slow down the pour. Medium amount for northern Europe style beers. Though they're cheap and look cheap I prefer picnic taps to pluto guns. They're heavy and clumsy and take up room.

I also found tubing and a picnic tap much easier to work with in the fridge. I could just put the keg at the back of the fridge and then pour the beer from the tubing, rather than having the tap on the keg and having to have it near the front so I could get access to the tap, or worse, take it out of the fridge completely to pour the beer.
 
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