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Keeeeeeeeg

Konabumm

Konaboner
Jun 13, 2003
4,383
87
Hollywood, Maryland, United States
Tonight is the night that my beer fridge is turn into a keg fridge! I have a pony keg of blue moon waiting for me. All the parts have been purchased and just need to be installed.

I'm so excited! Pictures coming soon
 

Greyhound

Trail Rat
Jul 8, 2002
5,065
365
Alamance County, NC
Some of the things I've learned over the past few years with my kegerator.

1.) You will probably drink more beer than normal.....don't panic, this is expected--the reason for this is that you now have a larger amount of beer. It's natural human male response to try and "conquer" this quantity as part of an ingrained genetic code etched into out DNA from the days of cro-magnon man sucking on rotten apples for kicks. There has been many a time in our house when the phrase "Are we really out already?.........Seriously?" has been uttered in sheer disbelief. Just try an up your tummy crunch numbers per week, and you'll be fin......aahhhh screw it--if you own a kegerator, chances are, you aren't all that interested in tummy crunches....ask me how I know.


2.) The stock regulators that come with the Heier kegerators......well, suck. I went through a lot of C02 before I figured out what the problem is. Heier was cool about replacing it though--I use theirs as a backup because this is beer we're talking about here, and there's no need to screw around......so I went to a welding supply store and got a really good one.

3.) Look, I know it's a keg, and you're ready to get your drink on.....but do yourself a huge favor, and let the keg sit in the fridge 24 hours before you tap it. Why? Because the beer is at a higher temp than the C02 that's been sitting in your kegerator for months. The lower temp gas will create too much foam, leading you to want to try and lower the pressure on the regulator. You don't want to do that, because as your beer continues to acclimate, the low pressure you've reset things to will result in flat beer from lack of carbonation. Optimal pressure is anywhere between 12-15lbs. A good 24 hours gets the beer and C02 the same temp, and makes for less foaming--which is the common complaint for most kegerator owners.

3.) Use a long run of hose from the keg to the regulator...I'm talking 10 to 15 ft. if you can fit it. The reason for that is to allow plenty of length to let any unwanted carbonated bubbles disperse as they flow towards the regulator. This is helpful in combating foaming as well.

4.) Keep everything washed as much as you can. Any of the homebrewers on the boards will tell you that the smallest bit of bacteria can ruin a good batch of beer. Wipe the spout with some soapy water often, and clean the lines and tap between each keg changeout.
 

Broken_Spoke

Mr. Big Hot Pastrami
Feb 26, 2003
2,410
0
Bozeman, MT
I tried talking my roommate into letting me put a kegerator in the condo but he was a no go. Looks like I'll have to keep buying bottles.