2.5 gallon corny keg questions

[bitfrost]

Well, after 3 batches I am already tired of bottling and am looking to plunge into kegging my own beer. I have limited fridge space, and limited budget. I am going to have to assemble a full system via minifridge as I can afford the various parts. As a stop gap measure I was was considering buying a 2.5 gallon corny (will fit in my currrent food fridge) and one of those co2 cartridge dispenser and a picnic tap. Has anybody had experience using these things with 2.5 gallon cornys? Also, how much should I reduce the priming sugar for 2.5 gallon container? Thanks.

[fuji6100]

You will probably end up spending just as much on your mini-system as you would on a full sized setup (assuming you are going to be running a single tap.) and it will still take up quite a bit of space in your food fridge as you can't set the corney on its side. If you are planning on getting a full setup later on, I would think that this would be a lot of money to lay down, only to buy an upgraded setup later.

What myself and several others here have done as an "in-between" for bottling and kegging is go with the tap a draft system (check northernbrewer.com for a description/picture). Basically it is 3 1.5 gallon plastic bottles (cheaply replaced as they wear out after 6-8 uses) and charged by co2 cartridges. You can easily fit them on a shelf in your fridge (on its side) and it takes up about as much space as a pack of soft drinks. It is a neat and clean system that you can take to parties (in a cooler or you can buy a travel sleeve) or even run Nitrogen cartriges (like guiness does) for your stouts. I had excellent results on mine until I got setup for kegging. And at a $60 investment, I still use mine for parties and it was well worth it. Just some food for thought!

[DarCoop]

Thanks for the input on the tap-a draft.
I, too, am at an in-between stage where bottling gets old but cannot jump up to full kegging system yet due to space (in apt.) and money (not enuff of it).
I have looked at it online but kind of leery of buying something like that without seeing/trying it out. I had searched for feedback on previous post but did not see much. I also like the tap-a draft wo I can bottle some of beer to give away and tap some.
Thanks

[Tweek]

unfortunately the 2.5 gallon cornys I can find are very expensive, primarily because they are next to impossible to find used. The cartridge c02 dispensers are fine for dispensing for a day at the park but I wouldnt wat to run them in my home. They leak when they are on the keg so you end up replacing them every five hours or so. If you are going to keg its in your best interest to get a c02 tank with a regulator. They make really small ones perhaps that is an avenue you could explore. But as far as being on a budget is concerned I think you will find that buying the full sized kegs is way cheaper, at least that was my experience.

Ill second the tap a draft. I have one that I rearely use anymore but when I do it sure is handy.

[fuji6100]

Hmmm, if you search specifically under "tap-a-draft" in the homebrewing section, you should get 25 threads as a result. We've had some pretty good review of the tap a draft on this board, as quite a few of us have had good results with them. If you want a few more thumbs up reviews you can check it out. The thing I love about mine is that it is still useful, even after going to kegs. (so I don't feel like it's an obselete item that I didn't get my money out of)

[DarCoop]

I went back and searched again for tap-a-draft and found many posts. I think before I looked at the party pig, which I had seen at one of HBS I had visited.
I like TAD better and it seems everyone had been pleased with theirs also. Thanks

[bitfrost]

Thanks for the input guys. The bit about the Co2 charger leaking is especially useful. Has anyone else had bad experience with these things? I had considered the Tap-a-draft system for a bit, but felt my eventual move to kegging would make it a waste of money. I know that the 2.5 gallon corny kegs are more expensive, but after measuring out my fridge they would be the only ones that would fit. Also, the microfridge I am inheriting from a friend in a few months will fit 3-4 of them, but won't fit one 5 gallon because of height.

Thanks again.

[OldHooky]

I have a small micro fridge that I am going to convert to ferment lagers. It's too small, but if you take the door off, you can build a box large enough to hold your kegs. Then all you do is make a hole just large enough to fit the front of the fridge through. Seal the gaps in the hole and insulate the box with rigid insulation. I planned to incorporate the box into a bar that I'm planning, then all I have to do is run the lines up to the taps on the bar.

[Jughead]

I tried to turn my one keg kegerator into a two keg kegerator with this approach. Lots of work, and the fridge was not able to cool the additional space. The compressor did not run constantly, but the additional space just never cooled off. I even tried fans inside to move the air around.

Anyway, good luck and let us know if it works out.

Cheers