# Kegging Skeeter Pee



## ffemt128 (Mar 16, 2012)

So after our first back sweetening of skeeter pee (partial gallon) last night and Julie being so kind as to bring up kegging on FB. Seriously considering it. I have 10 gallons of pee now and another batch started. Here are my questions....

What is the intitial cost of a kegging set up? 
Where is the best place to purchase?
What is the process for kegging?
Do you have to keep the keg cold? (I don't have an extra refridgerator)
Does the CO2 need to be connected at all times or does the pee liquid inside stay carbonated?

Inquiring minds want to know.


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## Julie (Mar 16, 2012)

ffemt128 said:


> So after our first back sweetening of skeeter pee (partial gallon) last night and Julie being so kind as to bring up kegging on FB. Seriously considering it. I have 10 gallons of pee now and another batch started. Here are my questions....
> 
> What is the intitial cost of a kegging set up?
> Where is the best place to purchase?
> ...




LOL, glad to hear Olesia was happy with my suggestion.


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## MurphyTexas (Mar 19, 2012)

Hello. Last month I went down this road so here are my thoughts. There is a quick learning curve when understanding corny kegs but once you understand how it works, you don't have to "relearn it". Also, you have to understand that you are dealing with very high pressure gas that can asphyxiate you so have respect for that little bottle. 

I decided to use 5 gallon corny kegs instead of bottling my wine and SPee. After it is clear, campden added, sorbate added and then flavored/sweetened to taste I auto-siphon the SPee into corny kegs. So far I have 2 SPee Kegs, a batch in primary and 2 carboys in secondary. That would be a lot of bottles and I don't like cleaning / sanitizing bottles. Also, you never will have any "bottle bombs" using a keg. Plus I look forward to showing up at a summer gathering with a keg of SP. 

Since SPee is really Lemon Wine, I decided to use Argon instead of Carbon Dioxide CO2 to pressurize and purge. The difference (as I have read) is that CO2 permeates into the wine liquid, much like it makes beer carbonated. Argon ever so slightly gets into the wine liquid so when it comes out of the keg it is a little bubbly for a couple minutes. Basically I use the argon to push the SP out of the keg. When I keep a 2 quart container in the fridge and when I want more SP, I simply fill it from a keg using a simple "picnic tap". I don't have to worry about the affects of air getting into my wine. 

Now Julie, Arne and others on this forum use the CO2 and they get carbonated sparkling wine / SPee which they like and sounds good to me too. But I use the Argon for all my wine making purging so it's just personal preference. But I also have a CO2 tank. 

To answer your questions...

Initial Set Up Cost?

So far my "initial setup" has been around $330 but I am about to order 4 more 5 gallon kegs which will cost me $140 and some elbow grease to clean them up. Again, these are one time initial costs with the exception of refilling the Argon bottle. No wait, I am hoping to spend another $80 to make a Keezer but that's a different story. 

I am new(er) to wine making so figure it is either purchase Corny Kegs or Carboys and corny kegs are sooooooo much easier to store (smaller footprint, don't break) and are so much easier to carry (they have big rubber handles on the top). Plus they work great for aging. 

Q: What is the Best place to purchase equipment?

If you are going with an all inclusive kit for CO2 I would say http://www.learntobrew.com/store/category/fd3s/Homebrew_Kits.html
is the best. For $155 plus $8 shipping you will get the whole darn set up for 1 keg. All you have to do is rinse the corny keg out with Starsan and get the CO2 filled at your local welding store for $18. I bought one of these before I decided to go the Argon route. Nice regulator. 

Buying Corny Kegs - The prices vary so much. There are some overpriced on ebay. and the net. Depends on what shape you want them in. Also for whatever reason, Pepsi Ball Lock kegs are more expensive than Coke Pin Lock Kegs (so I chose coke because I am cheaper but I also had to buy a special socket for $12 to unscrew the valves). From most expensive to least there are 1 .New; 2 .Totally Reconditioned with new gaskets; 3. Will Hold Pressure and 4. No Guarantees - just a Used Corny. I am willing to save a little and get the least expensive. Plus I also factor in the cost of shipping and sales tax. So my total target price per keg is under $35. Check out mceverdistrib.com

I purchased my Argon regulator from Harbor Freight for $35. It can be used for Argon, Nitrogen and CO2 as it comes with different tank fittings. They also have good prices on 20 size cylinders. 

I found my 40 argon cylinder on Craigslist for $30 - it was empty but the Hydrostat testing date was current so I just did an even swap at the local welding supply shop and was only charged the cost of a fill - $20. 

I purchased extra tubing from my local home brew shop but it is available all over the internet. 

Q What is the process for Kegging?

There are many corny cleaning / kegging youtube videos. 

Clean and sanitize the keg - do not use bleach - suggest bbright / starsan. Make sure it holds pressure by filling with water and pressurizing to 10 psi or so. Then simply siphon fill it through the oval top (leave air space under the short gas in tube). Then pressurize to a low pressure. All you need is enough pressure to "seat the rubber gaskets". Someone on a forum had a leaking "liquid out" poppit valve so I would suggest storing the kegs on some newspaper or an old towel until you know there are no leaks. 

Q Do you have to keep the keg cold?

NO. This is lemonade wine. Same temp as if it was in a secondary carboy or bottled. When it's time to serve, it is best chilled but that's what a tub of ice / pitcher is for or ice cubes. I drink it at any temp but I like wine that way also. 

However... keeping multiple kegs cool in the garage is a desire of mine so I found a used $20 johnson control plug in thermostat and have my eye on a $60 7 cubic foot chest freezer to make into a Keezer. 

Does the pressurized gas have to be on at all times?

NO. Unless you have really good seals at all points, it will slowly leak from somewhere and you will find yourself with an empty CO2 or Argon cylinder. Just pressurize until it is seated. All you are trying to do is keep outside air outside. I have found that 5 psi is fine but there are others here with much more experience and knowledge. 

Hope this helps.


PS - just saw this on the daily homebrewfinds e-mail... $115 for a kegging set up minus the CO2 cylinder which you can get locally. http://www.homebrewfinds.com/2012/03/great-deal-115-kegging-setup.html





ffemt128 said:


> So after our first back sweetening of skeeter pee (partial gallon) last night and Julie being so kind as to bring up kegging on FB. Seriously considering it. I have 10 gallons of pee now and another batch started. Here are my questions....
> 
> What is the intitial cost of a kegging set up?
> Where is the best place to purchase?
> ...


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## ffemt128 (Mar 20, 2012)

Thanks for the in depth explaination of this. I just bottled one batch, will likely bottle second batch that is done. I have a 3rd batch started and will be starting batch 4 soon. I'll have to see if I can talk the kids into this for Father's Day....Maybe look at getting 2 kegs so that I have them.


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## Julie (Mar 20, 2012)

ffemt128 said:


> Thanks for the in depth explaination of this. I just bottled one batch, will likely bottle second batch that is done. I have a 3rd batch started and will be starting batch 4 soon. I'll have to see if I can talk the kids into this for Father's Day....Maybe look at getting 2 kegs so that I have them.


 
I may know someone who has a tap system for sale, if you are interested let me know


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## Wade E (Mar 20, 2012)

Without a spare fridge your best bet for carbohydrates stuff is the " Tap a Draft Sytstem" this system utilizes 2 - 2 1/2 gallon bottles like big soda bottles and a few C02 cartridges and a built in tap and stores easily in your fridge and takes all the guess work out of this. I recommend these to anyone who makes beer or carbonated beverages and doesn't have the room for a spare fridge.


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## ffemt128 (Mar 20, 2012)

Julie said:


> I may know someone who has a tap system for sale, if you are interested let me know


 

Let me know. May definately be interested.


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## MurphyTexas (Mar 20, 2012)

I have another suggestion to keep it simple and the cost down to $166.50

Buy 2 reconditioned Ball Lock Pepsi Corny Kegs = $100.

Then instead of the Regulator/hoses/CO2 tank get this system for $66.50 with free shipping: 

1 Ball lock tapper $36
http://morebeer.com/view_product/5582/102290/Faucet_Quick_Disconnect_Assembly?a_aid=hbf

1 CO2 Injector for Ball Lock Corny $23
http://morebeer.com/view_product/18301/beerwinecoffee/CO2_Injector_Ball_Lock

1 package of 6 additional CO2 Cartridges for above. $7.50
http://morebeer.com/view_product/18322/beerwinecoffee/16g_CO2_Cartridge_6

Remember the objective is to provide just enough pressure to dispense the SP. I have heard that it is possible to dispense a keg with only 2 cartridges but drunks use 5.  

Regards - Mark


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## ffemt128 (Apr 19, 2012)

I managed to score 2 ball lock corny megs this evening for the small price of a couple bottles of wine for each. I'll be cleaning them out tomorrow the picking up the rest of the equipment needed this weekend. Better start another batch of pee.

Any suggestions for cleaning the kegs? No funky stuff, one still has what smells like mountain dew in it.


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## ffemt128 (Apr 19, 2012)

SO what all do I need to get? I know I need the quick disconnects, the regulator, a tank, a tap and hoses, anything else I should pick up. I'm asking since I'm clueless on this adventure.


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## Julie (Apr 19, 2012)

rebuild kit for the corny kegs


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## ffemt128 (Apr 19, 2012)

Definately getting new washers. I may just head to the gas supply place tomorrow and see what they have, I believe they actually have every thing for beer kegs so this shouldnt be too different. If not I'll head up to South Hills Brewing Supply.


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## mmadmikes1 (Apr 20, 2012)

I also age red wines in Corny kegs. Using 2 pounds of co2 I bottle straight out of keg with 0 air exposer. After liquid gets into keg oxidation for most part is a non issue.
When cleaning a new pop smelling corny I fill with as close to boiling hot water as I can and add oxyclean and soak ./ close up keg and add taps and co2 line so you can flush the down tube inside. I rinse twice after I do this then my anel side comes out and I do one more rince with K Meta once again purging down tube using co2. Boil the seals around the lidIf your wine is stable you can reduse K Meta to 1/8 teaspoon to 5 gallons. I never add more than that


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## ffemt128 (Apr 20, 2012)

I started another batch of pee this am which is intended for the keg. Should be ready for father's day weekend.


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## MurphyTexas (Apr 20, 2012)

Score. A video is worth a thousand words. There are many youtube videos and other websites that explain how to clean / lube / use a corny. Suggest you set up a bookmark "corny" folder some when you find good ones.

There are many ways to go when getting the equipment. Since this is wine not beer, you have to decide if you are going to use co2, nitrogen or argon. If this was good wine, I would suggest argon. since this is SP then co2 is the easiest way to go but it will carbonate it so if you are bottling from the corny - be mindful. 

buying a keg set up is the easiest way to get up and running - just pull out your credit card as all the main beer / wine sites offer a package deal. 

Other options...

Unlike beer where you force carbonate - sp only needs the gas to pressurize the corny to push the sp out into your waiting wine glass. Therefore, the least expensive method is a CO2 keg charger for $18 and some $2 cartridges. 

If you have a paintball field or a sporting goods store that fills paintball gun co2 tanks, then this is an option. you just have to buy a standard co2 regulator, a little blue adaptor for paintball tanks $13 and a $20 20 ounce paintball co2 cylinder. 

Here is a website that offers all the options I just mentioned. Don't know if they are the cheapest but they seem competitively priced


http://www.rebelbrewer.com/shopping...ging-&-Serving/Gas-Side/?sort=featured&page=1


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## ffemt128 (Apr 20, 2012)

I ran out at lunchtime and picked up the necessary fittings from our local welding place. After sanitizing the keg, I put a gallon of pee in the keg and pressurized to 30 psi. Keg appears to be hiking pressure, i'll purge tis several times to ensure o2 is removed. Hoping to have carbonated pee tomorrow. My only problem, I don't have a means to cool the pee just yet. Basement temps are about 54 right now. Hope those works and I'm not disappointed.


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## ffemt128 (Apr 30, 2012)

I kegged 2 gallons of pee on Thursday. We hit the keg last night. Have to say it's pretty darn good carbonated. Wife enjoyed it, although I think she tired of of the fizz after a few. She switched to non carbed after a while. Good time. Have it sitting on ice now keeping cold for next weekend.


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## MurphyTexas (May 1, 2012)

ffemt128 said:


> I kegged 2 gallons of pee on Thursday. We hit the keg last night. Have to say it's pretty darn good carbonated. Wife enjoyed it, although I think she tired of of the fizz after a few. She switched to non carbed after a while. Good time. Have it sitting on ice now keeping cold for next weekend.



Good deal. If you just keep a few pounds of pressure on it then it won't really get carbonated. I just hook up the lines when I want to fill a bottle.


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