Cheap 2 & 3 Liter Kegs

  After kegging for several months I got tired of not having a way to quickly carry a small about of beer to friend's or family gatherings.  I looked at several commercially available products and none of them met all my requirements so I built my own.

I picked up a couple of 3 liter soft drinks at Wal-Mart for $1.51 each.  The first 3 designs leaked at the plastic cap.  I tried grommets, o-rings, hose washers, but nothing worked.  The plastic would warp under the strain and leak.   I finally soldered a backup washer to a compression fitting and that did the trick.  

The bottle held 40 lbs of pressure overnight with no leaks.  I've made them out of both 2 and 3 liter bottle caps and just about any size container should work.  I'm sure a gallon size orange juice jug would work for short term usage.

Both 2 and 3 liter bottles.

3 Liter keg with a Brown Ale and a cooler I made to carry it in.

The hose curves to the bottom corner so it works upright or laying down.  On the first trip out I used a cheap bicycle air pump to dispense the beer.  This worked fine, but was a bit clumsy.  Then someone on rec.crafts.brewing mentioned a cheap CO2 dispenser.

You can pickup one of these up at  http://www.performancebike.com/shop/Profile.html?SKU=12451

It comes with 6 refills and cost about $18 bucks but is priceless for making this system fast and portable.  Once you pierce a CO2 cartridge, you can disconnect it from a keg without loosing CO2.  The CO2 is only released when you hit the trigger.  One bump of the trigger is enough to dispense 2 or 3 beers.

How It Works

The brass washer helps backup the thin plastic to give you an air tight seal.   I soldered the washer to the compression fitting using a propane torch and lead-free solder.  If you don't have a torch, I'm sure epoxy would work. 

The brass compression sleeve that normally squeezes onto the tubing is NOT used on the fitting inside the cap.  The compression nut is used only to fasten the cap to the TEE.  This allows air or CO2 to enter around the nut into the bottle to push out the beer the dip tube.

The 3/8" poly tubing was heated with a hair dryer and slipped onto the barbed cobra tap.  Once cooled, it holds without the need for a clamp.

Assembly

Here's the parts list:

1/8" Schrader valve:  $1.99 (you can get them cheaper, got these at my local hardware store and they appear to be SS)

1/4" pipe thread  to 1/8" pipe thread bushing/ reducer:  $.60

1/4" female pipe thread  brass TEE:  $2.19

2 @ 1/4" pipe thread to 3/8" o.d. compression fittings:  $1.78 

Brass 5/8" washer:  $.60

2' of 3/8" o.d. polyethylene tubing:   $.78

Cobra Tap:  $3.50 @ St Pats

Total Cost: ~ $10 (not including your container)

Assembly is easy.

First apply Teflon tape to both compression fittings to the TEE and remove the compression nuts and sleeves.  Place it in a vise and drill through the TEE and both fittings using a 3/8" bit.  Now screw a compression nut on one end of the TEE.  Using a 25/64" bit drill through the nut, base and halfway through the TEE.  This is the end that will screw onto the bottle cap.  Drilling this space out allows O2/CO2 to pass around the tubing into the bottle.  I wouldn't recommend using any larger of a bit as it would weaken the strength of the fitting.  If you don't have a 25/64" drill bit just use a 3/8" and wobble it slightly to enlarge to hole on one end of the TEE.  Next tighten the bushing and Schrader valve into the TEE.  Solder or epoxy the brass washer to the fitting.  

Next drill out the cap with a 9/16" drill bit like the one below.

The dog ears on this bit help to cut the cleanest holes in plastic.  A regular bit works ok but you will need to start with a smaller bit and work up to 9/16" slowly or the plastic tends to tear.  The 3 liters caps should have a gasket, some of the 2 liters do not.  You can leave it in or drill it separately.  I found it easiest to leave it in and place the cap on top a wooden dowel.   

Now place the hose washer on top of the brass washer and slip on the cap.  Getting the brass nut threaded onto the fitting is a bit tricky.  I used a 5/8" socket with an extra nut inside so the brass nut sticks out slightly from the end of the socket.  This allowed me to apply a little pressure.  You could use a thinner washer to make the job easier.  I used hose washers since I already had a 10 pak on hand.

Note:  If you glued the washer on instead of soldering, be sure and let it cure at least 24 hours before tightening the cap onto the fitting.  

Next heat up one end of the polyethylene tubing with a hair dryer or hot water and press on the cobra tap.  Screw the cap on the bottle and slip the brass nut and sleeve onto the tubing.  Slide the tubing in until it hits bottom and tighten the compression nut firmly by hand. If you get it too tight the sleeve will collapse and the tubing will leak.  A good method is to fill it with water and about 15 psi and tighten until it no longer leaks, then a 1/8 turn more for good measure.  

#1 Modification 2-03-04

Insert a piece of brass tubing 3/4" long into the polyethylene tubing where the compression fitting will tighten.  This allows for a snugger fit without crushing the tubing. 

Filling Your Keg

To keep foam at a minimum, first cap the 3 liter keg so it's ready to dispense.    Now connect the picnic tap on the keg to your tap with a hose.  All my taps at home are picnic style so a 4" piece of 3/8" ID braided tubing worked perfect for this.  Put ~6 psi of air (CO2 if you have it) in your keg.

Now insert a stem tool into the Schrader valve as shown above.  Pull both tap handles forward in the locked position and slowly open the valve stem to release pressure until full.  Close the taps and tighten the valve stem. Now wrap a damp towel around the braided tubing and pull apart.  First time I did this I had no idea that 6 psi could shoot beer so far..... don't ask. 

I can fill a 3 liter keg in about 30 seconds with no foam.  Before I used this method, half the keg would be foam and I'd have to let it settle and refill.  Love it when a projects comes together so nicely!! ;-)

good luck and happy brewing.......

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This page created July 7, 2002 and was last updated on March 3, 2004