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OKAY, PEOPLE WITH KEGS IN YOUR HOME: How long do they stay fresh? I'm in a rural area and I was excited when a couple local restaurants got my brand on tap, but its not fit to drink cause its not a big seller and its usually awful whenever I've had it compared to in the city where I drink it regularly and is always fresh and delicious. They just announced they are going to start offering the option to buy 20L kegs directly and I wanna get in on this as I much prefer draft to bottles. A 20L keg I figure I'll demolish in a couple of weeks, so should it stay good for that long if kept right? I see single tap keg coolers at BB and Costco for around $500, is this the way to go? What else do I need to know? My god I'm fuckin thirsty
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Aug 22, 2017 19:17
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| # ¿ May 17, 2024 11:26 |
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What do you need to know about the beer? Its a 5% lager. The kegs come with a tap, what else do I need to get up and running? I'd really like to grab one for my house warming but the $500 cooler is a bit prohibitive right now with everything else going on.
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Aug 22, 2017 20:03
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Alright, who's got a kegerator? I finally splurged on one, an Insignia single tap from Best Buy. Got my c02 filled, got my keg, but all is not right. I'm getting more head than a good date, and the carbonation isn't quite right. Manual calls for a psi of 10-12, so I tried a couple of levels within that threshold. It seems to be getting slightly better but still way too much head at the beginning. I can basically fill a pint glass with head quite easily. I did have a little bit of beer flowing from the top of the keg but I tightened that some more so I think thats ruled out. I originally had some hissing from the c02 canister where the regulator connects to it but I tightened it (requiring quite a bit of force) and that seems to be gone as well. So whats going on? The keg has been inside the kegerator for over 24 hours at max setting, manual calls for me not to make adjustments to that until 48 hours have passed. I'm on pint 4 or 5 now I'm not sure
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Jun 25, 2022 00:34
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Yeah, my coworker told me not to gently caress around with it and just open it all the way up when pouring. I didn't really get any satisfaction last night though. Still tons of head, and not enough carbonation. Wasn't the worst I've ever had after I let the head settle but not that crisp taste from the pub that I expected.
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Jun 25, 2022 18:13
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So I didn't make any other changes but what I did today was put a glass under the tap and let the foam poor into that until I noticed the steam turned clear and put my actual pint glass in then and my pours are now perfect, cold, taste crisp and perfect amount of head. Happy codo right now
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Jun 25, 2022 23:26
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I've had the kegerator on max for 2 weeks now but I had a couple pints after work yesterday and they still weren't very cold. A coworker warned me that it would freeze. The tap actually took some pulling for it to move after I was away from home for a week. I mean they weren't bad, but I like it just short of ice.
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Jul 6, 2022 14:27
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How do I go about cleaning the lines? I'm mostly happy with the experience so far but it definitely isn't quite perfect as far as taste goes, plus the aforementioned temperature issue
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Jul 6, 2022 19:03
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I'm in the middle of buttfuck nowhere, and the top of the keg was marked May 22 which is kinda ridiculous. Still early in the journey. Hopefully the next one will be more crisp. They were quite good the second day I had it running
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Jul 7, 2022 14:58
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So after the initial learning curve with my first keg in the kegerator, everything was fine for the next few. Then I went on vacation and since I came home, things suck. More head than a good date. Nothing the manual calls for applies, temp is good, keg hasn't been agitated, pressure unchanged. I release pressure on the coupler as it says. Nope. I've even replaced that keg and its the same thing. Tips?
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Nov 24, 2022 01:09
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That is the kind of faucet I have. What precautions should I take before removing it? They had goose island beer at a restaurant here we went to earlier this year and it was the most foul brew I've ever tasted. Irredeemable
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Dec 1, 2022 15:40
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I'm going to order the kegconnection line cleaning kit for my Insignia kegerator, unless someone has a better suggestion. Are there any other upgrades or attachments that will make my life easier? Getting tons of head lately, and having to release pressure on the coupler prior to every pint to bring it down at all.
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Apr 2, 2023 19:59
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I dont look at it while pouring of course but it does seem to stay consistent, the OEM one. I'd be more suspect but the first few kegs after the original learning curve, I had it down to a science and had great pours every time. But now I'm getting more head than a good date
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Apr 2, 2023 22:25
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Sigh. Line cleaning kit came today, went through that process, following the included instructions and it was all pretty simple. Almost time for puck drop (6 hours later), I go to pour one and see how it is. Theres very little resistance on the tap and its nothing but pure foam coming out. What the hell have I done?
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Apr 14, 2023 00:19
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Got the line cleaning kit for my kegerator, cleaned everything up real nice, and got it back to normal. As I went through several kegs before having to do this, I figured I was good to just put in another without going through all that again after I consumed the last one. Nope. Back to getting tons of head again. Temperature and c02 (freshly refilled before the prior keg) oughta be fine, so I guess its the line? Had a nice moment the other night messing around with it where I forgot myself and retapped it before putting the spout back on.
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Jun 8, 2023 14:20
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Stock lines that came in the Insignia Kegerator. There is a fair bit of hanging slack.
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Jun 8, 2023 16:54
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The thing thats driving me nuts is the last keg was perfect. Just that tiny bit of head at the beginning and it was easy to control. Now I'm getting a solid 2-3 seconds of foam before I get any liquid, resulting in a lot of wastage. I took the line off and rinsed it again just then but its the same. My kegerator is going to drive me to drink
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Jun 9, 2023 18:29
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Alright. Going to lose my mind with the kegerator. To recap, first half dozen kegs were fine, then started getting too much head. Got the line cleaning kit from amazon. Used it and next keg was perfect. Figured I could get a few without having to go through that again. Next keg was back to being tons of head. Used the kit again yesterday, and found a small bit of black stuff within one of the little holes in the spout so I figured I would be in the clear. Friday night comes. Same loving thing again. Take a little USB fan I have and connect it to a portable battery pack and point it up into the tower because that must be all thats left that can be wrong right? Get one pint that seems a bit better, but next time I go back, nothing comes out. The line had frozen. Left the door open to thaw and still just tons and tons of head, I need to waste a crazy amount to get one pint, not to mention the time it takes. I just get a few seconds of pure head, then it starts to try and go translucent but then theres like an air pocket or something and then it finally starts pouring correctly but by then theres 6 inches of head in my glass and I'm just going to lose my mind here soon.
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Jun 17, 2023 02:50
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Theres just no comparison to draft. Its so much better than can/bottle its worth it. When I try and let off pressure from the coupler side, I notice theres some beer around the base which sprays a little, not much. Maybe thats the root of my problem, though I thought its pretty secure.
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Jun 17, 2023 20:12
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Still having some grief with the kegerator. Local brewery store guy suggested I coil the beer hose up on top of the keg, and to use some vegetable oil on the rubber part of the coupler fitting. That seemed to work beautifully, but every keg since has seemed to get worse. Next stop for me is to try one of these Nukataps which supposedly helps with the foam as well as the stickiness that can occur on the tap handle. I saw a review where someone mentioned putting the thermostat down to 4 or just under, but that hasn't had any effect either. I cleaned it all quite well, or so I believe, before inserting this keg but man, tons and tons of head and it never seems to start flowing clear. So frustrating.
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Oct 12, 2023 19:30
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Its an Insignia kegerator, so I believe most of the parts are kinda mediocre. There's quite a bit of slack on the line, I'd have to measure but I can coil it around the top of the keg a couple times at least. Not sure what you mean by ID. I've always run it between 10-12psi per the manual for the kegerator. There is a tower.
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Oct 13, 2023 12:07
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I haven't added any parts. I tried a USB fan connected to a power bank blowing up into the tower, and it just made the line freeze. When changing kegs, I close off flow from the canister and close the C02 canister itself off as well. Tap, open up both. The manual recommends letting off the release valve on the coupler for 3 seconds when getting too much head, but that hasn't helped. Before, I'd get a bunch of head but then it would start flowing really clear. Now, tons of head, and it gets somewhat clear but not fully. I always put a waste glass down first and then hold the actual pint glass under the faucet on an angle once it goes clear, but as I said it doesn't go as clear as it should and I just get more head with maybe 20% beer at the bottom. I always rinse the beer glass in cold water first as well. I used a cleaning kit again on the beer line, but our tap water is like piss and I'm wondering if I should rinse the line again with cleaner water. The frustrating thing is after the first keg or two, I had it all running like a clock with minimal wastage. I clean the lines and faucet, not sure what I'm getting wrong here.
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Oct 13, 2023 15:01
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atothesquiz posted:Next fresh pour; pour a full glass until its has at least some beer in it and then stick an instant read thermometer in it. Let us know what that temperature is. I got 42 degrees. This is after setting the coldness on 6\6 again after messing around last night (all I've ever run it at). Still too much head, but maybe a slight improvement from before. I ordered the Nukatap.
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Oct 14, 2023 20:02
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I'll try that but hockey just came on so it might be a while. What an ordeal trying to get a full mug just then. Whats a good tower to replace the stock one?
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Oct 15, 2023 00:13
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My elevation is 39 feet. I can see the ocean. Do I really need more line when. I've already got so much excess coiled up?
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Oct 15, 2023 01:31
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5 feet sounds right. The manual doesn't mention the width of the hose so I cant say exactly what it is. There's sort of a T shaped thing at the top of the sankey fitting, and it has a slight bit of play, can turn one direction or the other just a half inch or so.  It appears to have threads, I've exerted quite a bit of force on it but it wont move more than that. Manual doesn't mention anything about it either. I dunno if it could possibly have any effect but I just find it weird.
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Oct 15, 2023 15:34
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Best place to order from for Canada?
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Oct 15, 2023 20:52
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The Nukatap arrived yesterday. Definitely improved things, but I'm still going to get the 10' line as there is still too much head. Without any experience, looking at the fittings, how much trouble is it to replace the beer line?
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Oct 25, 2023 18:43
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I'm not at home, but if you look at the product photos here you can kinda see how the line attaches to the coupler https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/insignia-insignia-1-tap-kegerator-ns-bk1tss6-silver-black-ns-bk1tss6/10456334 I'll just screenshot it  As for on the tower, I'm not sure at all.
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Oct 26, 2023 12:06
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| # ¿ May 17, 2024 11:26 |
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Current keg was nearly empty and had a party last night so I picked up an extra one on Friday. Old one exhausted on the very first mug I poured. Swapped out for the fresh one, jolted it a bit more than I would have liked, first pour was perfect. Figured it would have been nothing but head at first. The Nukatap is a god send.
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Oct 29, 2023 14:09
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