vinyl tube reducer for lldpe beer line? is it ok?

[Mike Cole]

Hi there everyone

I have taken the advice of some people on this forum and used the lldpe white beverage tubing for my beer side of my keezer I am building. The problem is I cannot stretch it to get over the barb of the keg connector no matter what I do (heating till point of melting didn't get it over.

I constructed a vinyl tube reducer out of vinyl tubing I got for the gas side (6mm OD) and slid the LLDPE tubing inside of this so it rests up against the barb of the keg connector. I used oediker clamps on either side of this arrangement - see photo.

My questions are

1. Will this be ok and work fine?

2. Will this cause an infection site as beer may work its way into the space between the two tubes and sit there.

I realise this isn't the perfect option but it was all I could do to salvage the LLDPE tubing (and avoid vinyl tubing on the beer side and possible off flavours as a result.

Any advice here would be great! Cheers

[Mike Cole]

Here is the photo of the spacer, hope it is clear enough

[Mike Cole]

Hey Chig, thanks for getting involved in the discussion. I am mostly concerned about infection, seems pretty air tight so shouldn't affect air getting in (though it may affect the flow of CO2 in the line). 

When you say you use push in fittings, does that mean MFL connections rather than barbed? 

When you say use a piece of standard beer line is this any different from the current vinyl tube I used? I thought it was also basically the same (minus the difference of the internal surface of beer line which is meant to be smoother?). Is beer line not vinyl based? Or do you mean just use beer line instead of the LDPE? Sorry I am a little confused.

I really just want to get the option that works the best, and avoids off flavours. Ideally it would be using LDPE beer line to stretch over the barb of the keg connector (or into in the case of the MFL keg connector), rather than using a spacer but I am seriously struggling to stretch it over the barbed fitting. 

The vinyl on the gas side was a whole lot easier as it is the perfect size. Just want to avoid the off flavours that people comment about in relation to using vinyl beer line.

[Grant R Baker]

I usually soak the trip of the beer line in a cup of boiled hot water then push onto the barb whilst it is still hot. Gets it done.

[Mike Cole]

I am seriously struggling to get it on LOL. Burnt fingers etc. Just cant seem to coax it on there. Do you find soaking it for a longer time makes it more pliable than say a minute in boiling water? What is your method for stretching it over? Really wish I could get it under the white LDPE tubing. Wonder if MFL connections might work better, by just pushing the hose into the connector?

[Mike Cole]

Well thanks to Darren at Keg Resources I have sorted this all out. Ended up just getting the beer line they sell which will fit over the barbed disconnect nicely. It seems that the LLDPE tubing is best put into MFL connectors - that push directly into the fitting. He is sending out the correct size beer line and hopefully it is all good as far as avoiding off lfavours etc. If not I will convert to MFL and go with LLDPE tubing but get the 5/16 size which fits into this type of connector better than the 1/4 inch I bought. 

Thanks to everyones help though, kegging is a little bit of a learning curve initially it seems!

[Cain Harland]

Sorry my recommendation for the LDPE line didn't work out for you there Mike. Your right about kegging having a bit of a learning curve and it will probably take a few attempts and changes to get it all dialed in and pouring right but you will be pleased you did when your washing 1 or 2 kegs instead of plies of bottles and when those hoppy beers stay fresh much longer.

[Mike Cole]

Hi Cain, no worries at all, you were really helpful. It probably would have worked out if I had bought the slightly larger diameter LLDPE hosing and gone with MFL connections. I am still keen to go with it but will wait until I have the basics set up first. I really did this all for hoppy beers so heres hoping I see an improvement with them!

[Cain Harland]

Force carbonation preserves a bit of the hop flavor lost during natural carbonation but the bigger deal for me was slowing down the aging process which is really just about temperature. During summer some of my ipa were great after 1 week in the bottle and going down hill after 3 while my brew partners bottles in a cooler place we're just peaking now mine stays good muh longer than his. Im trying my first attempt at natural carbonation in a keg at the moment with a tripel.

[nofizznofoam]

I have done the reducer thing....left a gap at barb though as pushing main line right up puts a bit of stretching on the sleeve if the lines are moved/bent opening and closing fridge door
I used 3 hose clamps on each end one on barb 2 on sleeved piece. So 6 clamps in each line. If I did it again I'd go MFL

What I'd like to know is how the larger line goes....I needed to use the 6mm Od think 4mm ID line to keep length at 1.5m. Anything bigger needed so much length it was a nightmare in a fridge with 4 lines

[nofizznofoam]

Pic

[Mike Cole]

Thats a pretty elaborate setup nofizz! I will get back to you about the beer line I am using, once I can get a small leak from the pressure relief valve sorted in my new keg king regulator. Might be a while as I cannot seem to figure out how to stop the leak (it is coming from the valve itself not around the outside thread).

Kegging is indeed complicated. I hope I can get it all sorted, so many things to check and fix.

[Peter Church]

there is an o-ring inside the PRV that may have a a bit of crap in it that is preventing it forming a seal, break down the PRV as mush as possible, maybe pull the valve open with the split ring  and try to wash through with water, you may need to replace the oring