newbie asks for advice with kegging

[sneakypete]

hi,
just new here... found it on google, and i think i am in heaven

i have been brewing my own for 7 years, but never kegged. i was recently given a little horseshoe bar that used to be in a venue, it has a hole in the bench where a tap can go (i believe), and i figured i would tap it.

my questions are:

1. what do i require in order to have a keg set up at home? i honestly have no idea how its all done.

2. if i buy a homebrew keg, will i be able to interchange the lines (if i run out of HB) with a "normal" keg i could buy from a shop. e.g, a keg of tooheys new or whichever.

basically, can i use a HB keg, then a normal one? or is there a better way to do it? 2 taps perhaps?

3. refrigeration. any tips on if i should use the fridge i currently have next to the bar (a normal 300 ltr), or should i buy a little bar fridge, or is there a specific item i should look at?


sorry for such a long first post...but any help/advice will be much appreciated

thanks

[regan]

1. a fridge, keg(s) couplers, lines, regulator, co2.... and to serve on your bar a font and a tap.

2 . i will say yes but im going to leave it for someone else, i run ball locks only.

3. Corney kegs have a diameter of 220mm and stand 640mm high (and you must keep them upright) no idea on the commercial kegs, but i herd if you can fit 4 corneys then you can fit a commercial.

my advice is get yourself a fridge at least 440mmx440mmx640mm, for under your bar this could be a squeeze, but you must keep your beer cold right to the serving point.

4 corneys, a regulator, a co2 bottle, a font and 4 taps lets hope you missus is feeling generous

[rwh]

A beginner's guide to kegging

As for the commercial vs ball-lock corny keg issue: you can use a commercial keg if you get the right fitting. Essentially, it's a CUB style coupler with two ball lock fittings on top. They're available on ebay, and you might even find one on Craftbrewer.

[beerdrinker]

Should i expand my brewing operation to include kegs?

[rwh]

Sure, why not? Isn't that a question you should be asking yourself, seeing as you're you? I think you probably know you better than I know you.

[beerdrinker]

[rwh]

[beerdrinker]

Its now a matter of when might go the single corny setup to start

[regan]

and when it runs empty on the first pint of friday night then what? 3 days to refill chil and carbonate?

minimum 2, i get away with 4 but i would like 6 or 8 so i can naturaly carbonate and age them for more then a few weeks.

[beerdrinker]

Two kegs it is!!! not sure what setup? might go with a beergun?

[lethaldog]

and when it runs empty on the first pint of friday night then what? 3 days to refill chil and carbonate?

minimum 2, i get away with 4 but i would like 6 or 8 so i can naturaly carbonate and age them for more then a few weeks.

I have 8 and i would still like more but as long as you have room for at least 2 in the fridge then you will probably get by with say 4, put it this way, would you ( if you were bottling) be happy with only 30 bottles..

[Tipsy]

Two kegs it is!!! not sure what setup? might go with a beergun?

My first thought was a pluto gun but for some reason ended up getting fridge taps. I'm glad I did, because the hinges on the fridge door would be worn out by now.

[Trough Lolly]

...not to mention all that nice cold air escaping every time you open the door to pour a beer...

As lethal pointed out, I too have 8 kegs - 2 is fine for serving but you need more to make and condition the next batches to be served up! The last thing you want to do if you only have 2 kegs is take one offline for a couple of months whilst you cold condition your kegged lager.

Cheers,
TL