Category Archives: kldttop

Building a Simple Ball Lock Draft Line Flushing Setup

I use a recirculating draft line pump for cleaning my draft lines. That’s worked well for me (and many others) for years. See: Recirculating Draft Line Cleaning Pump

The issue I ran into was the desire to periodically do a quick flush to rinse, clean or sanitize lines.

When a keg kicks, there’s residual beer in the line. The beer at the end of a keg is also more likely to contain gunk – hop and yeast trub. Rather than leave that sitting in the line, shank and faucet, I like to flush is out.  Also, when putting on a new beer I wanted to be able to easily sanitize.

Of course, I could get out my complete keg line cleaning pump, but setting that up and cleaning afterwards is a bit of work. What I wanted was an easy solution for a quick rinse or flush.

v1 of this build dates back to 2013. A little about that, for comedic and nostalgia reasons, at the end of this post. This write-up walks through a much improved v2.

This build is super easy, works great and can be made from a few items you probably already have around or can easily obtain.

The components – a 2 Liter PET bottle, a carbonation cap and a short length of tubing. My build uses a Kegland DuoTight Compatible Cap and EVABarrier tubing.  DuoTights and EVABarrier are outstanding [Hands on Review], but I want to stress that these exact components are not required. Any suitable carbonator cap and a length of compatible tubing should do the trick.

Carbonation Caps:

Step 1 – take off the label. Or… leave it on. 🙂 Whatever you want.Step 2 – attach tubing to carbonator cap. I like the idea of using EVABarrier because it’s stiff and I thought it would work well.Step 3 – Trim the tubing to fit. That’s it… you’re ready to change the world by quickly and easily flushing ball lock lines!

Flushing Lines

This photo shows pretty much all the players. The left side is the gas line that I use for charging the cleaner assembly. The right line is liquid line with ball lock QD. You can also see the other side of the liquid line terminating in the right-most shank. My setup is all DuoTight/EVABarrier and you’ll see DuoTight Compatible Locking Clips used throughout. If you are a DuoTight user, the locking clips are something I recommend as they provide a more secure connection.

This is powered by CO2 pressure. It’s important to underfill the bottle to leave some head space for CO2 pressure. I found that about half full, or 1 liter works well.  I used about 30 PSI of pressure. Make sure to choose a pressure that’s compatible with all components in your setup.

In Action!

This works really well. 1 liter (half full) along with a 30 PSI initial charge would be enough to briefly flush all four of my tap lines. Alternatively, less than 1 liter could be used to minimize chemical use.  A “quick clean” could also be accomplished by filling lines with PBW and letting them sit, followed by a round of water and finally Star San.

The pitcher I’m using for collection is a 2 Quart Rubbermaid Commercial Pitcher. This is a smaller version of the one gallon pitcher I’ve used and recommended for years. Although I got this half gallon size for the kitchen, it’s worked it’s way to my brewing area and is the perfect size for this task.

But Will it Flush Two Lines??

Here’s the key piece of hardware to clean two ball lock lines at the same time. It’s a ball lock  jumper from Valuebrew. There are only a couple similar offerings out there, to my knowledge. This one is unique because it uses their custom color, food grade post o-rings AND… it works with both liquid and ball lock jumpers.Here it is installed. This is connecting two 10′ EVABarrier tubing runs.If you look on the right you’ll see my Intertap faucet is equipped with a ball lock nozzle. This would work the exact same way with a NukaTap faucet. If you have another brand, you’d just make a jumper that fits over the spout of your faucet.Complete Setup for Two Line Test

The plumbing for my test is as follows

  • Flushing Assembly – 2 L bottle/carbonation cap/dip tube (on left) >
  • Ball Lock Line Jumper – 2 ball lock QDs with a short length of EVABarrier tubing >
  • Intertap ball lock spout on right faucet >
  • 10′ EVABarrier tubing with ball lock QD >
  • Ball Lock Jumper Fitting >
  • 10′ EVABarrier tubing with ball lock QD >
  • Intertap faucet (second from right) >
  • 2 Quart collection pitcher

In Action – 2 Lines!

I was actually quite surprised at how well this worked. It’s over 20′ of tubing, four QDs and a jumper.  All being driven by the head pressure in half of a 2L bottle.

Super Size It

Kegland makes a 2.5 Liter PET Growler Bottle Growler that gives you some additional capacity.

Alternative for Pin Lock Systems

The setup outlined here is for ball lock systems.  I know of no similar Pin Lock carbonator caps or fittings.  You could build as outlined and make a small jumper to go from Lock to Pin Lock

Related: What’s the Difference Between Ball Lock Kegs and Pin Lock Kegs?

Draft Line Cleaning Solutions and Sanitizers

All Our Builds & Related Resources

Related Reviews:

Keg Deals!

keg deals

Rebuild Your Kegs!

For Fun, Here’s More about V1…

This setup also uses a PET bottle to store solution, but gets more complicated and… harder to use from there.The cap was modified by installing a Shrader valveInside of the converted capFrom there, I put together a bunch of relatively expensive parts to form the ball lock connector

To make it harder to use… there’s no dip tube. The bottle had to be oriented so the top faces down.

More Homebrew Finds!

Recent Deals!

10 Most Recent Homebrew Resource Posts & How-To’s!

We are Homebrew Review HQ!  Our 10 Most Recent Reviews

Also: Kegerator Tips & Gear | Keg Repair Part #s | Recent Keg Finds

Our Top Draft Resources!

Make sure the components you use are compatible and rated for your intended application.  Contact manufacturer with questions about suitability or a specific application.  Always read and follow manufacturer directions. tag:lnksfxd  toppost:lineflush tag:tpru

Hands on Review: Nukatap Counter Pressure Bottle Filler!

Thank you to HBF Contributor Aaron Nord for this hands on review!  Aaron is an advanced award winning brewer, a long time reader and a serial tipster!

Nukatap Bottle Filler

As with many homebrewers, my experience with the hobby began with making a boxed kit on my stovetop with about 50 bottles of drinkable beer when all was said and done. It was enough to keep me coming back, advancing in skill and acquiring equipment as time went on. I realized quickly that bottling was my least favorite part and was looking forward to ditching the bottles and getting into kegging. This change was one that made a big impact as far as increasing enjoyment of the hobby for me – that and getting out of stovetop brewing and into an electric brewing setup.

Inevitably, I found myself in the situation where I still needed to fill a few bottles from time to time, mainly for competitions. Now that I was kegging all my beer, I wanted an option that wouldn’t interrupt that practice too much. At the time, the most prevalent options for homebrewers were complicated counterpressure systems or the Blichmann Beer Gun. I opted for the latter and used that for several years to successfully bottle my competition beers. It has its pros and cons (discussed more later), and I always kept my ear to the ground on other options.

Check Current Pricing & Availability:

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Hands on Review: Kegland Digital Gauges!

Kegland’s DuoTight system along with their EVABarrier Tubing are amazing. Check out my extensive hands on review for a deep dive into the system.

Kegland has released a digital gauge option that works with their great inline secondary regulator and BlowTie Spunding Valve.  They have also released a DuoTight version. This is a hands on look at both including upgrades of the inline regulator and BlowTie.

MoreBeer

William’s Brewing

Keg Connection

Gauge Features

  • These gauges both read from 0 to 90 PSI.
  • They features backlight illumination
  • Use easy to source CR2032 batteries
  • Estimated battery life of more than 2 years (using the gauge once daily).
  • Auto off after 15 seconds.
  • The DuoTight version is made for 8mm connections

MoreBeer’s Description sheds some more light on the construction and design of these gauges.

Get instant pressure reads with the back illuminated Digital Mini Pressure Gauge from KegLand. Compatible with 8 mm Duotight fittings and Gray Ball Lock QDs. If you’re using the original BlowTie spunding valve without pressure gauge, you can use a Duotight tee fitting in-line between the ball lock QD and the BlowTie to take pressure readings with the Digital Mini Gauge.

KegLand has developed the world’s most compact mini digital gauge with backlight illumination. This very compact design retains high accuracy while still meeting the desirable small form factor. This meets the growing need as mini keg systems, mini regulators and other more compact keg dispensing solutions are required.

Traditional analogue gauges require a small capillary mechanism where a small pipe expands and unravels under pressure. This in turn drives a mechanical cog to rotate the gauge needle. This age-old technique works quite well especially in large gauges but as this mechanism is manufactured smaller and smaller a tradeoff between accuracy and size becomes the issue. With very small gauges such as a 27mm x 27mm Mini Gauge, it’s difficult to make them better than 10% accuracy due to the physical constraints of the mechanical components.

Continue reading →

Hands on Review: Kegland DuoTight Rigid Joiners

Rigid Joiner pictured with a check valve and DuoTight Ball Lock QD

Kegland’s DuoTight system along with their EVABarrier Tubing are amazing. Check out my extensive hands on review for a deep dive into the system.

This is a look at Kegland Rigid Joiners, part number KL18012.

These are designed to easily join DuoTight fittings together without using EVABarrier tubing.  That’s handy for close connections and if… gasp, you aren’t a DuoTight/EVABarrier user.  The rigid joiners allow you to put DuoTight parts and pieces together without purchasing an entire roll of EVABarrier.

Rigid Joiners, part number KL18012. To my knowledge these are available in 8mm only. I’d venture a guess that this is the most common size.

Check Current Pricing & Availability:

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Five Benefits of Using Corny Kegs As Fermenters

The containers we call Ball Lock and Pin Lock Kegs come from the soda industry.  Also called Cornelius Kegs, Corny Kegs and Corney Kegs, they were originally intended to store and distribute soda pre-mix.  The big soda companies decided on different style containers for their pre-mix.  Pepsi landed on the Ball Lock style while Coke uses the Pin Lock style.

Homebrewers have since re-purposed these as homebrew beer kegs. It makes sense. These high quality stainless steel beverages that are meant for years of commercial food use. They’re also tough, can be had for cheap and are easy to move around.

What if someone said there was a pressure capable, heavy duty stainless steel fermenter that could be had for 50 bucks or so?

Great news…. kegs make great fermenters! Same high quality, stainless steel construction, toughness and easy portability, but this time used for fermentation.

Lots More About Kegs

But First, How Do you Convert a Keg to a Fermenter?

One issue needs to be addressed to convert kegs into fermenters… handling CO2 produced by fermentation. Kegs are generally designed to be airtight. Fermentation requires that we allow excess CO2 to escape.  I can think of three options…

  1. A blow-off tube. Remove the gas post or gas post poppet and get use tight fitting tubing to route CO2 to a container of sanitizer.
  2. Use a converted lid to add a stopper and airlock See: Cornelius Keg Fermenter Lid via Adventures in Homebrewing
  3. Use a Spunding Valve – some of the technique and tricks mentioned in this post rely on a Spunding Valve

Keg Fermenter Sizing

A five gallon keg isn’t really suitable for a primary fermenter for a 5 gallon batch.  You could use it as a secondary for a full 5 gallon batch, as a primary fermenter for smaller batches (maybe 3 to 4 gallons max) or you could split 5 gallon batches between two kegs.

There is a 6 gallon keg available that should allow you to ferment a 5 gallon batch.

10 and 15 gallon size ball locks have become readily available at relatively reasonable prices. A 10 gallon keg could easily accommodate a full 5 gallon batch (up to 7 or 8 gallons) while a 15 gallon keg should be able to easily handle a 10 gallon batch (up to 12 or 13 gallons).

Five Unique Benefits to Using Converted Keg Fermenter!

Continue reading →

Hands on Review: Kegland Ball Lock Cleaning Kit and Party Pump

Kegland Draft Line Cleaning Pump

Kegland’s Draft Line Cleaning Pump is a single hand operated pump that attaches to a tee. The tee takes a hand pump and ball lock carbonation cap which connects to a dip tube. This hardware has some alternate uses that this review will also explore.

In true Kegland style this setup is innovative, packed with some surprising features and well priced. Here’s a hands on look.

This is currently available via via William’s Brewing and MoreBeer – the offerings are slightly different. See the breakdown of different options and separate components toward the end of this review.

Bag o’ stuffThis is what you get with the basic pump. Tee, carbonation cap, pump and dip tube.I installed this on a 2L bottle. You’ll notice the carbonation cap has changed colors. I used one I already had (Kegland brand, just a different color), because I already has a dip tube trimmed to size and installed from a recent update to My Simple Draft Line Flushing Build.I decided to try and clean two draft lines with this pump to really test it. Here’s the key piece of hardware to clean two ball lock lines at the same time. It’s a Ball Lock Jumper from Valuebrew. There are only a couple similar offerings out there, to my knowledge. This one is unique because it uses their custom color, food grade post o-rings AND… it works with both liquid and ball lock jumpers.Here it is installed. This is connecting two 10′ EVABarrier tubing runs.Complete test setup

The plumbing for my test is as follows

  • Kegland Ball Lock Cleaning Pump (on left) >
  • Ball Lock Line Jumper – 2 ball lock QDs with a short length of EVABarrier tubing >
  • Intertap ball lock spout on right faucet >
  • 10′ EVABarrier tubing with ball lock QD >
  • Ball Lock Jumper Fitting >
  • 10′ EVABarrier tubing with ball lock QD >
  • Intertap faucet (second from right) >
  • 2 Quart collection pitcher

Ball Lock QD Installed on the pump assemblyIt’s a little difficult to see but… it works. With some pumping, I got a slow steady stream of liquid. Keep in mind this is cleaning two 10′ lines at the same time.William’s Brewing has a package that gets you the pump + a large 2.5 liter growler and BLC. They also sell the standalone pump kit.  I actually purchased everything separately because I wanted a full case of these growlers.

Use it for.. Portable Serving!

Add on a ball lock faucet and you’ve got a portable serving keg without paying for expensive CO2 cartridges.  Before you email me/comment/etc… yes this will cause oxidation, I would not suggest this as a long term solution. Only for the occasion that you and your friends will be able to drink an entire growler in an evening.  Oxidation won’t have enough time to become a factor. Use another solution for longer term applications.

Use it for… Mini Pressure Fermenter

Remove the tee, add a 2.5L PET Bottle and a Spunding Valve to convert this into a pressure capable mini fermenter. You could potentially do 2 liter batches. Not ideal, but a great way to play around with pressure fermentation at an unbeatable price. See: Fermenting Under Pressure for more on the topic.

Convert it to a Mini-Keg For Your Kegerator!

Replace the pump with another carbonation cap, use a 2.5 liter bottle and… you have a 2.5 liter keg you can use in your kegerator!

Conclusions

This collection of economical hardware is extremely versatile. As far as a cleaning pump goes, it works well, but, I prefer my own draft line flushing build. That’s very similar but replaces pumping with a quick shot of CO2. That’s less work. Having said that, you get a lot of equipment and capability with this setup. If you’re looking to build my flushing assembly, I suggest buying the Kegland cleaning setup and another carbonation cap. That gives you a ton of flexibility.  Line cleaner, mini fermenter, party pump and ball lock mini keg.  Overall, this is another win for Kegland, innovative, packed with features and well priced.

via William’s Brewing

via MoreBeer

via Valuebrew

Related Resources!

Build a Simple Draft Line Flushing Setup

Keg Deals!

keg deals

Build a Recirculating Draft Line Cleaner

Rebuild Your Kegs!

More Kegland Gear Reviews!

More Homebrew Finds!

Price, promotions and availability can change quickly. Check the product page for current price, description and availability.

Make sure the components you use are compatible and rated for your intended application.  Contact manufacturer with questions about suitability or a specific application.  Always read and follow manufacturer directions. tag:lnksfxd review:kldlcp tag:tpr

Hands on Review: Kegland DuoTight Ball Lock QDs!

Kegland’s DuoTight Fittings are designed to work with EVABarrier Double Wall Tubing.  They offer quick, reliable connections, easy implementation, a variety of fitting options and feature amazing versatility.  They’re also, generally speaking, very well priced.  DuoTights are push to connect fittings and require no tubing clamps.

DuoTights are… awesome.  Check out my extensive Hands on Review

When DuoTights first came out, the solution for connecting kegs to EVABarrier was using an MFL QD + DuoTight Flare fitting. That works just fine and is still the only option available to pin lock keg users.

Ball Lock keg users now have a native DuoTight option. Here’s a hands on look!

Check Current Price & Availability, Review Continues Below:

MoreBeer

William’s Brewing

Keg Connection

Continue reading →

Using DuoTight Compatible Locking Clips To Fix Leaks

Kegland’s DuoTight Fittings are designed to work with EVABarrier Double Wall Tubing.  They offer quick, reliable connections, easy implementation, a variety of fitting options and feature amazing versatility.  They’re also, generally speaking, very well priced.  DuoTights are push to connect fittings and require no tubing clamps.

DuoTights are… awesome.  Check out my extensive Hands on Review

I’ve done several pressure tests with DuoTight Fittings and EVABarrier Tubing. Each test has proven the tested components were leak free. Having said that, it’s entirely possible that you’ll have a leak. This happens with any tubing system, that’s why we… check for leaks.

I have a write up for addressing DuoTight Leaks that will walk you through some things to check.

One of the things that I do that really helps is use Valuebrew’s DuoTight Compatible Locking Clips. These snap into the collar of DuoTight Fittings and lock connections in place. This makes the connection more secure and reduces the chances of leakage.

Keep Reading FINDING DUOTIGHT LOCKING CLIPS!

Hands on Review: Kegland DuoTight Fittings & EVABarrier Tubing!

Kegland’s DuoTight Fittings are designed to work with EVABarrier Double Wall Tubing.  They offer quick, reliable connections, easy implementation, a variety of fitting options and feature amazing versatility.  They’re also, generally speaking, very well priced.  DuoTights are push to connect fittings and require no tubing clamps.

Limited Time Deal!

  • MoreBeer is discounting kegging and draft beer equipment by 15% when you use coupon code FBFDRAFT.
  • The selection includes kegs, towers, complete kegerators, part and lots more
  • Get Free Shipping: Shipping is free with a qualifying $59 order to many US addresses
  • Some filler item ideas to help you qualify for free shipping… PBW, Sale Items (shows most popular deals first), Kit of the Week, Wine Kit of the Week, Hop Market (shows most popular deals first)

Draft Dispensing Sale – remember promo code FBFDRAFT

This sale includes most EVABarrier Tubing and DuoTight Fitting options!

DuoTights at MoreBeer

In This Review:

  • How to Use DuoTight Fittings – No Tools or Clamps Needed!
  • DuoTight and EVABarrier Sizing
  • A Closer Look at DuoTight Fittings, EVABarrier Tubing and Related Tools
  • DuoTight Compatible Locking Clips
  • More About EVABarrier Double Wall Tubing
  • EVABarrier Tubing Resistance Estimations
  • Beer Line Tidy for EVABarrier Tubing
  • Does EVABarrier Tubing Work with John Guest Fittings?
  • Converting My Kegerator to DuoTights and EVABarrier
  • Tips for skipping ball valves in your DuoTight Setup
  • A Tweak For Super Clean DuoTight Kegerator Installs
  • Build a DuoTight CO2 Gas Manifold
  • Kegland DuoTight Ball Lock QDs
  • Pressure Tests
  • What is the Maximum Pressure for DuoTight Fittings?
  • Nukatap Counter Pressure Bottle Filler
  • DuoTight Inline Secondary Regulators
  • BlowTie Spunding Valves
  • Leaks? Troubleshooting EVABarrier/DuoTight Leaks
  • Conclusions
  • More Interesting and Unique DuoTight Compatible Fittings & Gear

Announcing: DuoTight Conversion for Tapcooler

tapcooler duotight

The Tapcooler can connect directly to your compatible forward sealing faucet (Ultratap, Vent-Matic, Perlick 600 series, Nukatap and Intertap) and allows you to easily counter fill bottles directly from the tap!

Learn More about the Tapcooler!  Hands on Review: Tapcooler Counter Pressure Bottle Filler for Forward Sealing Faucets!

OR Nukatap Counter Pressure Filler

The new fitting for Tapcooler makes a lot of sense of you already own a Tapcooler. If you don’t but are in the market for something similar that includes native DuoTight capabilities consider the Nukatap’s Counter Pressure Bottle Filler

How to Use DuoTight Fittings – No Tools or Clamps Needed!

DuoTights feature a unique double EPDM O-ring design.  Coupling and uncoupling is quick and easy and requires no tools or clamps.

DuoTight Ball Lock QD on Left, Compatible EVABarrier Tubing on RightMaking a pressure capable connection is as easy as pushing the tubing all the way in the fitting and firmly pulling the tubing out.To disengage the connection press the collar toward the fitting body and pull on the tubing.  A couple tools are available to help with this process.  See below for photos and links.

Finding DuoTight Fittings and EVABarrier Tubing, Review Continues Below:

Continue reading →

Build a DuoTight CO2 Gas Manifold! – for Kegland EVABarrier Tubing

Kegland’s DuoTight Fittings are designed to work with their EVABarrier Tubing.  They offer quick, reliable connections, easy implementation, a variety of fitting options and work with double wall EVABarrier tubing.  These are push to connect and require no tubing clamps.  Combine these features with their generally low price and this system and tubing are a game changer for kegerator/keezer owners and builders.

DuoTights are… awesome.  Check out my extensive Hands on Review

As of this posting, the system has no native manifold option available.  No need to fear, this post details three DuoTight manifold options that you can put together yourself.

Want to Learn More about DuoTights and EVABarrier Tubing?  

Buy DuoTight

Build 1 – Convert a Flare Based Manifold to DuoTight

Continue reading →

Hands on Review: Kegland BlowTie Spunding Valve!

BlowTie v2 w/Gauge that has been updated to digital, see below for walk through of that process.

A Spunding Valve allows you to maintain a set pressure. If pressure in the vessel exceeds the set point, it is expelled. It generally consists of an adjustable PRV valve, a tee, a gauge and a way to connect to your keg.

Why a Spunding Valve?

There are loads of homebrew related applications for a Spunding valve ranging from pressurized fermentation to naturally carbonating to fixing over carbonated beers and lots more.  Check out our resource post on the subject.  It’s arguably the go-to resource on the Internet on the subject

BowTie v1 Assembly

BlowTie v1 & v2!

This review covers both the original v1 Kegland v1 BlowTie & v2. Both are DuoTight compatible. The biggest difference is v2 has an integrated gauge, where v1 required an add-on gauge.

Kegland BlowTie v2

Kegland BlowTie v1

BlowTie v1 assembly that has been updated to digital, see below for walk through of that process.

But first, more about DuoTight!

Kegland’s DuoTight Fittings are designed to work with EVABarrier Double Wall Tubing.  They offer quick, reliable connections, easy implementation, a variety of fitting options and feature amazing versatility.  They’re also, generally speaking, very well priced.  DuoTights are push to connect fittings and require no tubing clamps.

Check out my extensive Hands on Review

Check out the end of this review for a list of all of my DuoTight related reviews and resource posts.

Buy DuoTight

Hands on Review Kegland BlowTie Spunding Valve v1

The BlowTie Spunding Valve assembly consists of the BlowTie, a DuoTight Tee Fitting, a DuoTight to flare fitting, a DuoTight pressure gauge and two small pieces of EVABarrier Tubing.

The BlowTie is the heart of this build.  It has DuoTight Push to Connect connections on both side as well as an adjustment knob to set pressure.  Related: DuoTight Hands on Review. Continue reading →

Using a Keg as a CO2 Source for Portable Serving!

This technique uses an economical inline secondary regulator to utilize a spare keg (or growler)as a CO2 source to serve a keg. I’m not suggesting this setup as a replacement for your kegerator CO2 tank.  You still need a standard CO2 tank. What this setup could be very useful for is as a replacement for those expensive little regulators or injectors and expensive (considering how much CO2 you get) little CO2 cartridges. One inexpensive purchase allows you to pressurize and serve your keg on the go for little to nothing.

Side Note: I’ve wanted to do this for years.  There used to be a commercial sanke keg that had two chambers.  One was used as a pressure chamber and the other held beer.  I always wanted one of those.  The problem was that it was extremely expensive and I just couldn’t justify the expense. This magic little secondary regulator makes something similar easily possible.

The Hardware That Makes This Possible…

Kegland’s economical inline secondary regulators! As of this update there are three versions

Related: Hands on Review: Kegland Inline Secondary Regulator

Upgrade to Digital!

Kegland has released a digital gauge option that works with their great inline secondary regulator and BlowTie Spunding Valve.  They have also released a DuoTight version.

Primary intended Use… Multi-Pressure Serving

Maintaining multiple CO2 pressures in your kegerator gives you the ability to… keep kegs at different pressures.  This is a requirement to maintain different carbonation levels. It’s also handy if you want to force carbonate a keg more quickly, at a higher pressure, while maintaining your standard serving pressure on a keg that’s already being served or if you want to have a utility line for purging kegs and such.

Continue reading →

Hands on Review: Kegland Inline Secondary Regulator!

DuoTight Inline Regulator that has been updated to digital, see below for walk through of that process.

Multi-Pressure CO2 Options

Maintaining multiple CO2 pressures in your kegerator gives you the ability to… keep kegs at different pressures.  This is a requirement to maintain different carbonation levels. It’s also handy if you want to force carbonate a keg more quickly, at a higher pressure, while maintaining your standard serving pressure on a keg that’s already being served or if you want to have a utility line for purging kegs and such. continues below…

The general options for pulling this off are…

  • A multi-pressure primary CO2 regulator – example. This has two (or potentially more) high pressure bodies that allow you set different pressures.
  • Secondary CO2 regulators – example. These have no ability to connect to a CO2 tank directly. They must be connected to a compatible primary.

Both good options, but generally expensive.

Kegland to the rescue. Kegland has introduced economical inline secondary regulators. As of this review there are three options.

But first, more about DuoTight!

Kegland’s DuoTight Fittings are designed to work with EVABarrier Double Wall Tubing.  They offer quick, reliable connections, easy implementation, a variety of fitting options and feature amazing versatility.  They’re also, generally speaking, very well priced.  DuoTights are push to connect fittings and require no tubing clamps.

Check out my extensive Hands on Review

Hands on Review Kegland Inline Regulator w/Gauge

A look at the regulator. It has a pressure gauge, adjustment knob, inlet and outlet DuoTight ports and mounting holes.A closer look at the pressure gauge. This one goes to 60 PSI. Other gauge options may be available. This is a huge improvement vs v1. v1 feature no gauge. There is an updated DuoTight compatible inline (v2) version that has no gauge. That keeps costs down but still adds DuoTight compatibility. If you choose a model without a gauge, this is another great application of a Spunding Valve.

Continue reading →

Building a Simple Ball Lock Draft Line Flushing Setup

I use a recirculating draft line pump for cleaning my draft lines. That’s worked well for me (and many others) for years. See: Recirculating Draft Line Cleaning Pump

The issue I ran into was the desire to periodically do a quick flush to rinse, clean or sanitize lines.

When a keg kicks, there’s residual beer in the line. The beer at the end of a keg is also more likely to contain gunk – hop and yeast trub. Rather than leave that sitting in the line, shank and faucet, I like to flush is out.  Also, when putting on a new beer I wanted to be able to easily sanitize.

Of course, I could get out my complete keg line cleaning pump, but setting that up and cleaning afterwards is a bit of work. What I wanted was an easy solution for a quick rinse or flush.

v1 of this build dates back to 2013. A little about that, for comedic and nostalgia reasons, at the end of this post. This write-up walks through a much improved v2.

This build is super easy, works great and can be made from a few items you probably already have around or can easily obtain.

The components – a 2 Liter PET bottle, a carbonation cap and a short length of tubing. My build uses a Kegland DuoTight Compatible Cap and EVABarrier tubing.  DuoTights and EVABarrier are outstanding [Hands on Review], but I want to stress that these exact components are not required. Any suitable carbonator cap and a length of compatible tubing should do the trick.

Carbonation Caps:

Step 1 – take off the label. Or… leave it on. 🙂 Whatever you want.Step 2 – attach tubing to carbonator cap. I like the idea of using EVABarrier because it’s stiff and I thought it would work well.Step 3 – Trim the tubing to fit. That’s it… you’re ready to change the world by quickly and easily flushing ball lock lines!

Flushing Lines

This photo shows pretty much all the players. The left side is the gas line that I use for charging the cleaner assembly. The right line is liquid line with ball lock QD. You can also see the other side of the liquid line terminating in the right-most shank. My setup is all DuoTight/EVABarrier and you’ll see DuoTight Compatible Locking Clips used throughout. If you are a DuoTight user, the locking clips are something I recommend as they provide a more secure connection.

This is powered by CO2 pressure. It’s important to underfill the bottle to leave some head space for CO2 pressure. I found that about half full, or 1 liter works well.  I used about 30 PSI of pressure. Make sure to choose a pressure that’s compatible with all components in your setup.

In Action!

This works really well. 1 liter (half full) along with a 30 PSI initial charge would be enough to briefly flush all four of my tap lines. Alternatively, less than 1 liter could be used to minimize chemical use.  A “quick clean” could also be accomplished by filling lines with PBW and letting them sit, followed by a round of water and finally Star San.

The pitcher I’m using for collection is a 2 Quart Rubbermaid Commercial Pitcher. This is a smaller version of the one gallon pitcher I’ve used and recommended for years. Although I got this half gallon size for the kitchen, it’s worked it’s way to my brewing area and is the perfect size for this task.

But Will it Flush Two Lines??

Here’s the key piece of hardware to clean two ball lock lines at the same time. It’s a ball lock  jumper from Valuebrew. There are only a couple similar offerings out there, to my knowledge. This one is unique because it uses their custom color, food grade post o-rings AND… it works with both liquid and ball lock jumpers.Here it is installed. This is connecting two 10′ EVABarrier tubing runs.If you look on the right you’ll see my Intertap faucet is equipped with a ball lock nozzle. This would work the exact same way with a NukaTap faucet. If you have another brand, you’d just make a jumper that fits over the spout of your faucet.Complete Setup for Two Line Test

The plumbing for my test is as follows

  • Flushing Assembly – 2 L bottle/carbonation cap/dip tube (on left) >
  • Ball Lock Line Jumper – 2 ball lock QDs with a short length of EVABarrier tubing >
  • Intertap ball lock spout on right faucet >
  • 10′ EVABarrier tubing with ball lock QD >
  • Ball Lock Jumper Fitting >
  • 10′ EVABarrier tubing with ball lock QD >
  • Intertap faucet (second from right) >
  • 2 Quart collection pitcher

In Action – 2 Lines!

I was actually quite surprised at how well this worked. It’s over 20′ of tubing, four QDs and a jumper.  All being driven by the head pressure in half of a 2L bottle.

Super Size It

Kegland makes a 2.5 Liter PET Growler Bottle Growler that gives you some additional capacity.

Alternative for Pin Lock Systems

The setup outlined here is for ball lock systems.  I know of no similar Pin Lock carbonator caps or fittings.  You could build as outlined and make a small jumper to go from Lock to Pin Lock

Related: What’s the Difference Between Ball Lock Kegs and Pin Lock Kegs?

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This setup also uses a PET bottle to store solution, but gets more complicated and… harder to use from there.The cap was modified by installing a Shrader valveInside of the converted capFrom there, I put together a bunch of relatively expensive parts to form the ball lock connector

To make it harder to use… there’s no dip tube. The bottle had to be oriented so the top faces down.

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Make sure the components you use are compatible and rated for your intended application.  Contact manufacturer with questions about suitability or a specific application.  Always read and follow manufacturer directions. tag:lnksfxd  toppost:lineflush tag:tpr