One of the great benefits of owning a kegerator is tinkering with and modifying it. One of the most popular modifications is to add an additional tap or two. To modify your kegerator to dispense additional beers, you will need to split your CO2 lines. You will probably want more than one tap on hand, so your kegerator can dispense from sanke kegs, soda or Cornelius kegs, or whatever keg may appear at your doorstep. Splitting your CO2 lines can be as simple as a t-joint or as complicated as a multi-tap regulator for dispensing different beers at different pressures. We will look here at the kits and equipment currently available on the market and processes for modifying you kegerator for dispensing any kind of beer from commercial to home and craft brew.
For adding a quick extra beer tap onto your kegerator, a stainless steel or plastic t- or cross joint will do the job of splitting the CO2 to the different kegs – but gas leakage may occur if your keg tap isn’t maintained properly. This is the most inexpensive way of splitting your CO2 line, and all you will need is the appropriate taps for the beer you want to dispense, surgical tubing, hose clamps, and of course the kegs of beer. Adding an inline valve will even make it so that you can minimize gas wastage when changing kegs. The T-splitter will cost you less than $5 and the inline valve probably less, and you can find for these items online or at your local hardware store in the plumbing section. Aquarium supply stores may also have the fittings. You will still need beer taps – more on that later
A more refined approach to splitting CO2 lines is the use of a gas distributor. These units have one gas in and multiple gas outs to facilitate multi tap kegerator modifications. The gas distributor has valves for each of the line-outs, and you can use a gas distributor to split your gas out in multiple directions. Gas distributors are available in a number of configurations. Two way gas distributors cost roughly $40, while the larger multi tap distributors with 6-8 line-outs can cost $120 or more.
For a draft beer system that requires dedicated individual pressures for different beers, a secondary regulator panel or a dual body CO2 regulator is necessary. This is very advanced stuff most people need not go into this much detail, but these units will cost upwards of $150 just for the regulator panel, the price depending on how many regulators you need, or $120 and up for a dual body CO2 regulator. If you want to force carbonate your beer while dispensing beer from the same unit, a secondary regulator panel or dual body CO2 regulator may be the modification you want to make to your kegerator.
One factor to keep in mind when splitting your kegerator’s CO2 line is that your operating pressure will decrease depending on the length of tubing you use. When long lengths of tubing are used, the tubing expands and makes it difficult to keep the CO2 pressure at a constant rate. The same also goes for beer lines. If you cannot avoid having a long-draw system, you will need to use certain materials for the majority of the draw in order to ensure optimum beer quality and cleanliness. You should strive to have no longer than six feet of regular surgical tubing from CO2 canister to keg, or 12 feet of beer lines all together from between keg and faucet.
Although there are some exceptions, long-draw systems still push beer from the keg via CO2. The standard flexible surgical tubing is used, but coupled with a special “barrier tubing” soon after leaving the keg. Barrier tubing is thicker than regular surgical tubing and has a mesh cover, which keeps the vinyl tubing from expanding and causing CO2 pressure irregularities. With the use of a tubing flare tool, you can create your own stainless steel tubing for your beer lines as well, which are by far the most durable and cleanest options, although they are harder to build and modify.
See related:
Modification Project: Adding Double or Triple Tap Tower
Placing CO2 Disconnect Couplers
Installing Co2 Lines Efficiently
CO2 Tank, Pressure and Regulator Questions
CO2 Tank Guide
