[fmader]

I'm thinking about purchasing on of these....

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/review/product/list/id/441/

Of course I won't be priming with this, but I would be using it to charge beer for pouring at a picnic or whatnot.

For those of you who have used them... A. Do they work well? and B. Will one cartridge last an entire keg? If no, how many would get them through the keg?

Just curious whether this purchase would be worth the while, or should I just carry around my 5 pounder.

[leakypolynesian]

I use that exact one when taking my kegs to parties, rallies, Mexico etc. I also use a faucet adapter to connect a faucet directly to my keg. The tiny 16g. tanks don't last too long. I usually go though 3 or 4 tanks before my corney is empty. I think it's worth it. the compact size is worth any hassle caused by changing the tanks. Here's the faucet I use as well: https://www.midwestsupplies.com/compact-chrome-faucet-assembly.html?utm_medium=feeds&utm_source=google&gdftrk=gdfV24959_a_7c1306_a_7c6184_a_7c5320F&gclid=CLyQ-8LMkr0CFenm7AodAU0AHw

[fmader]

I use that exact one when taking my kegs to parties, rallies, Mexico etc. I also use a faucet adapter to connect a faucet directly to my keg. The tiny 16g. tanks don't last too long. I usually go though 3 or 4 tanks before my corney is empty. I think it's worth it. the compact size is worth any hassle caused by changing the tanks. Here's the faucet I use as well: https://www.midwestsupplies.com/compact-chrome-faucet-assembly.html?utm_medium=feeds&utm_source=google&gdftrk=gdfV24959_a_7c1306_a_7c6184_a_7c5320F&gclid=CLyQ-8LMkr0CFenm7AodAU0AHw

That's pretty spiffy. I don't like the idea of spending $38 on it though. I was planning on just using a picnic tap that I already have. But now I'm wondering if I can modify the tap that I have on my old kegerator turned fermenting chamber to work like that.

[denny]

Yep, I've got 3 of them and they work as advertised.  During the winter I keep a few extra kegs in an old canning closet just outside the front door and I use those for dispensing.

[Stevie]

I have one. It usually take two carts to push one keg. The trick is to only hit it when you need gas and to only hit it for a split second.

I train people on how to use it. Once your friends are good and drunk, they will spew too much in and your beer will pour too fast.

[narvin]

I think I usually need almost two 16g cartridges to do a whole keg. They work great and are good for travelling with beer.  Just don't put the disconnect on and pull the trigger before hooking it up to the keg!   

[kramerog]

If my keg is about half-full, I can put the the pressure up to 15 psi (which is an good pressure at 45F) and start with 10ft long picnic tap and then switch to a direct tap (or to a 1ft long picnic tap) and go without repressuring.

I'm also thinking of using the carbonator to fill a soda bottle to 45 psi and use that as a source of CO2.  I need to a food way to deliver CO2 to a soda bottle full of star san and inverted in a bucket of star san so that the soda bottle will be purged of air.

[arustyt]

My wife gave me a TapIt Cap (http://tapitcap.com/) last Christmas:


It's basically a heavy duty growler cap with a cobra tap and CO2 cartridge which is attached with a standard flare fitting.  Cost is $45.  So for a bit more than the OP's keg charger you can get the keg charger plus a cap to allow serving from and maintaining pressure/carbonation in a growler.

[blatz]

My wife gave me a TapIt Cap (http://tapitcap.com/) last Christmas:


It's basically a heavy duty growler cap with a cobra tap and CO2 cartridge which is attached with a standard flare fitting.  Cost is $45.  So for a bit more than the OP's keg charger you can get the keg charger plus a cap to allow serving from and maintaining pressure/carbonation in a growler.

looks like that could be also utilized (maybe with some rigging) to put a partially drank growler back under pressure?

[Joe Sr.]

Yep, I've got 3 of them and they work as advertised.  During the winter I keep a few extra kegs in an old canning closet just outside the front door and I use those for dispensing.

I've never been there, but I love your place.  I used to let my beer storage room get into the 40s in the winter so all my kegs were able to be on tap.  I don't want the wine getting that cold, though, so now I keep it at 55 which is not too bad for stouts and milds.

That "tap-it" kit kinda scares me.  There is no regulator on these chargers and they can put out a LOT of pressure particularly if that growler was full.  I'd hate to see a glass growler shatter.  I know that I've pinged out the bottom of a 5 litre mini-keg with my charger.

For more control and portability, I bought a "jak pak" which is basically a portable system for pneumatic tools.  It hooks to a paintball tank and has gauges so you can control the pressure.  Of course, I can't get full paintball tanks in the City or any of the near-in northern suburbs so I've never used the darn thing, but there you go.

[el_capitan]

The ultimate cheapo hack is to just sanitize and then charge up an empty keg with CO2.  Make a short in-to-in jumper that you can snap on and off when you need carb.  But then you might as well bring your 5 lb tank along.  I only have a 20 lb tank so I've had to resort to the gassy keg a couple times in the past. 

Worked well for me when I was brewing (and kegging) away from my home. 

[a10t2]

A. Do they work well? and B. Will one cartridge last an entire keg? If no, how many would get them through the keg?

I have one that I use an an emergency bike tire inflator, and I've poured a keg with it a couple times. They do what they do well, but it would take 63 g of CO2 to keep a keg charged to 10 psi until the end. Obviously the big advantage is that it's compact, but carrying around three extra cartridges kind of negates that. Plus I just plain feel better about using an actual regulator and getting a balanced pour every time.

I've gone to a 20 oz paintball tank with a CGA-320 adapter and mini regulator instead. I use that with a two-tap jockey box made from a 32 qt cooler and all the hardware except for the actual kegs will fit inside it with enough room left over for two 7 lb bags of ice. It makes for a reasonably compact traveling setup, IMHO.