beer tap system information by the KegMan.

KegMan Beer Tap Products Division of Crossfire Engineering Inc. Internet, Phone & Mail Order Only
(860) 292 - 6633 Noon to 5:00 PM Eastern USA Time

free draft beer tap information
(860) 292-6633

Top TenFrequently Asked Questions

Number 10 - How much beer is in a beer keg? Answer

Number 9 - How many glasses of beer are in a beer keg? Answer

Number 8 - What is the physical size of a keg? Answer

Number 7 - Is it practical to have a home draft beer system? Answer

Number 6 - How often should I clean my draft beer system? Answer

Number 5 - Why should I buy my CO₂tank locally? Answer

Number 4 - Why does my beer foam up? Answer

Number 3 - How do I balance my draft system? Answer

Number 2 - What keg beer tap do I use for my
Domestic beer? Answer
Imported beer? Answer

Number 1 - How long will a keg of beer last? Answer

Other Frequently Asked Questions

How do I serve Guinness or any other stout with a Stout Faucet? Answer

How much resistance is in my beer line? Answer

What should I set the CO₂ regulator pressure at? Answer

Do I always have to use Brewery Approved Beer Line? Answer

Where can I get a beer tap? Answer

How long does the 5 lb. CO₂ cylinder last? Answer

How many types of keg connectors are there? Answer

How do I clean a refrigerator conversion kit? Answer

How do I install a refrigerator conversion kit? Answer

How big is an Aluminum CO₂ Cylinder or Tank? Answer

types of Beer Keg Connectors
There are many types of beer connectors used in the world. The Standard American Sankey is the most common in North America. This single valveor Sankeytype draft beer keg connector. It is the most modern of the beer tap designs. It comes in lever handle or wing handle styles. Both are of the finest quality but some prefer the Lever-type for ease of use. The single-valve is used by most or the modern breweries for their draft beer. These breweries include the following commercial breweries: Anheuser, Bud, Budweiser, Busch, Miller, Coors, Labatts, Molson, Red Dog, US Lowenbrau, Michelob, Sierra Nevada, etc. The European single-valve keg connector is a close relative of the American micromatic tap design and is used on most of Europe's large, modern breweries including Becks, Heineken, Amstel, Newcastle (some kegs), St. Paulie Girl, etc. It comes in lever handle or wing handle styles. Both are of the finest quality but some prefer the Lever-type for ease of use. The German single-valve keg connectoris used on Warsteiner, Hacker, Pauliner, Pshorr, Wurzburger, Spaten, etc. It comes in lever handle only. The English single-valve keg connector is used on Bass, Watneys and some Irish brews. The Guinness and Harps single valve connector is used for stouts and specific Irish Beers The twin-probe (2-probe or dual probe) is used by microbreweries and brew pubs: Sam Adams, Pete's, some home brewers who haven't heard about the KegMan yet, etc. The Hoff-Stevens is a stainless steel version of the twin-probe keg connector. The beer sphere gas taps are used buy Bud, Miller, and Coors for their beer spheres (balls). The Party Star Party Keg CO2 Dispenser for use with all 5 liter party kegs The Newcastle Ale single valve tap for use with some English ales and bitters. The Golden Gate used for most antique kegs used by some homebrewers and vere small breweries who have not yet converted to twin probe or single valve kegs.
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types of Beer Keg Connectors

There are many types of beer connectors used in the world.

The Standard American Sankey is the most common in North America. This single valveor Sankeytype draft beer keg connector. It is the most modern of the beer tap designs. It comes in lever handle or wing handle styles. Both are of the finest quality but some prefer the Lever-type for ease of use. The single-valve is used by most or the modern breweries for their draft beer. These breweries include the following commercial breweries: Anheuser, Bud, Budweiser, Busch, Miller, Coors, Labatts, Molson, Red Dog, US Lowenbrau, Michelob, Sierra Nevada, etc.
The European single-valve keg connector is a close relative of the American micromatic tap design and is used on most of Europe's large, modern breweries including Becks, Heineken, Amstel, Newcastle (some kegs), St. Paulie Girl, etc. It comes in lever handle or wing handle styles. Both are of the finest quality but some prefer the Lever-type for ease of use.
The German single-valve keg connectoris used on Warsteiner, Hacker, Pauliner, Pshorr, Wurzburger, Spaten, etc. It comes in lever handle only.
The English single-valve keg connector is used on Bass, Watneys and some Irish brews.
The Guinness and Harps single valve connector is used for stouts and specific Irish Beers
The twin-probe (2-probe or dual probe) is used by microbreweries and brew pubs: Sam Adams, Pete's, some home brewers who haven't heard about the KegMan yet, etc. The Hoff-Stevens is a stainless steel version of the twin-probe keg connector.
The beer sphere gas taps are used buy Bud, Miller, and Coors for their beer spheres (balls).
The Party Star Party Keg CO2 Dispenser for use with all 5 liter party kegs
The Newcastle Ale single valve tap for use with some English ales and bitters.
The Golden Gate used for most antique kegs used by some homebrewers and vere small breweries who have not yet converted to twin probe or single valve kegs.

CO₂ Cylinders
How long does the 5 lb. CO₂ cylinder last? A 5 pound CO₂ cylinder should dispense approximately 5 half barrels of draft beer if you make sure that all line connections are good and tight.
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CO₂ Cylinder Service
Look in your local phone books yellow pages under the heading "Gas - Industrial & Medical", "Welding Supplies", and "Fire Extinguishers". There should be several gas distributors in your area. Call a few of them up and ask if they fill small tanks with CO₂. To buy a five pound tank it will cost between $60.00 and $75.00. To fill a pound tank usually costs between $5.00 and $10.00 depending upon supplier.
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CO₂ Cylinder Service

Look in your local phone books yellow pages under the heading "Gas - Industrial & Medical", "Welding Supplies", and "Fire Extinguishers". There should be several gas distributors in your area. Call a few of them up and ask if they fill small tanks with CO₂. To buy a five pound tank it will cost between $60.00 and $75.00. To fill a pound tank usually costs between $5.00 and $10.00 depending upon supplier.

BEER TAPS
Beer keg connectors, tavern heads, faucets (beer taps) are sometimes thought to be the brewery supplied tap marker which contains the attractive brewery's logo and is attached to the beer faucet as a handle. In the colloquial, they actually are but in the trade the are called TAP MARKERS. KegMan Products makes many types of Keg Markers from magnesium, hard woods, brass, and plastic. We do not sell any brewery logo tap markers and will not reproduce any. All our tap markers are custom made to your specifications and prices depend on material and quantity.
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BEER TAPS

Beer keg connectors, tavern heads, faucets (beer taps) are sometimes thought to be the brewery supplied tap marker which contains the attractive brewery's logo and is attached to the beer faucet as a handle. In the colloquial, they actually are but in the trade the are called TAP MARKERS. KegMan Products makes many types of Keg Markers from magnesium, hard woods, brass, and plastic. We do not sell any brewery logo tap markers and will not reproduce any. All our tap markers are custom made to your specifications and prices depend on material and quantity.

beer keg volumn & weight
type	Cases	Gallons	Weight
½ keg	7	15	170 lb.
¼ keg	3½	7¾	85 lb.
Pony	2½	5	60 lb.
Beer Ball	2½	5	45 lb.
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Number of glasses of beer in a barrel All quantities are for ¼ kegs - numbers in ( ) are for ½ kegs. Actual number of glasses will vary with the shape of the glasses.
Glass size	1 inch head	¾ inch head	½ inch head
8 Oz.	168 (355)	158 (317)	143 (286)
10 Oz.	132 (264)	123 (246)	114 (228)
12 Oz.	110 (220)	102 (204)	95 (190)
16 Oz.	82 (164)	76 (153)	71 (143)
60 Oz.	19 (39)	18 (36)	16 (33)
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BREWERY APPROVED BEER lINE
Always use brewery approved beer line if you want to have foam free, fresh tasting beer. Many a great beer was spoiled by serving it through a plastic tube from the hardware or discount store. If you use the plain vinyl tubing in your beer tap system you will wind up with a foamy, off-tasteing beer.
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Keg size All dimensions are in inches
Keg type	Diameter	Height w/o connector	Height w/connector	Height w/LoBoy
½ US Sankey	16½	23½	29	24
¼ US Sankey	16½	13½	19	14
US 5 gal Pony	10	24½	30	24½
5 gal Beer Sphere	15	15	18	N/A
Party	7	10	15	N/A
Pepsi 5 Gal	9	25	28	N/A
Coke 5 Gal	9	23	27	N/A
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Ecconomics of owning a KegMan Draft Beer System
If your family consumes 2 cases of beer a week at an average price of $14.95 per case and the average case price for keg beer is $7.14 (assuming the price for a ½ keg of beer is $50.00) you will save $15.61 per week drinking keg beer. At that saving you will pay for a KegMan Deluxe Refrigerator Conversion Kit in less than 15 weeks and that includes you buying your CO2 tank at a local supplier.
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size of Aluminum CO₂ Tanks All dimensions rounded to next higher integer
liquid CO₂ Capacity (US Pounds)	Diameter (inches)	Height (inches)	Empty Weight (pounds)
2.5	5	13	5
5	6	19	8
10	7	21	16
20	8	28	21
50	8	53	54
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Draft Beer Shelf Life
Real draft beer is not pasteurized. It must be kept refrigerated between 35°F. and 40°F. Above 43°F. a beer will become wild, turn sour & cloudy in a day or two. Below 43°F. a keg of draft beer should last 20-30 days before it loses its fresh brewery taste and aroma. Craft beers (micro brews) tend to have a shorter shelf life and you should contact the brewery for their recomendations.
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Draft Beer System Cleaning Schedule
Look at Cleaning Equipment and Cleaning Instructions for all the information on cleaning your draft beer tap system regularly. Most states require beer line cleaning once a week. Some states require it twice a week. Dirty lines and faucets are breading grounds for molds, bacteria, and beer stones which make for off-tasting, smelly, foamy draft beer. For home use the KegMan recommends you clean your system with BLC* at least once a month and your faucet once a week. The KegMan recommends you use BLC* instead of the other stronger cleaners unless you can purchase a pallet of cleaner at a time. New regulations require the stronger agents to be shipped via truck and UPS and the TRUCKill no longer handle them. When cleaning the faucet it is important to give special attention to the small hole on the underside of the spout. It is a great place for mold to grow in. Commercial establishments should clean, or have their taps cleaned, every week to insure fresh clean beer for their customers and compliance with local and state regulations. Most states have laws governing the time allowed to go between cleaning. Home users can depend on taste to determine what their cleaning schedule should be but under no circumstances should they neglect their beer tap systems for more than a one month period. Bars pubs, restaurants & Taverns may contact us at (860) 292-6633 for all their tap repair service & beer tap cleaning equipmentrequirements.
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Draft Beer System Cleaning Schedule

Look at Cleaning Equipment and Cleaning Instructions for all the information on cleaning your draft beer tap system regularly. Most states require beer line cleaning once a week. Some states require it twice a week. Dirty lines and faucets are breading grounds for molds, bacteria, and beer stones which make for off-tasting, smelly, foamy draft beer.
For home use the KegMan recommends you clean your system with B*L*C* at least once a month and your faucet once a week. The KegMan recommends you use B*L*C* instead of the other stronger cleaners unless you can purchase a pallet of cleaner at a time. New regulations require the stronger agents to be shipped via truck and UPS and the TRUCKill no longer handle them. When cleaning the faucet it is important to give special attention to the small hole on the underside of the spout. It is a great place for mold to grow in.
Commercial establishments should clean, or have their taps cleaned, every week to insure fresh clean beer for their customers and compliance with local and state regulations. Most states have laws governing the time allowed to go between cleaning. Home users can depend on taste to determine what their cleaning schedule should be but under no circumstances should they neglect their beer tap systems for more than a one month period. Bars pubs, restaurants & Taverns may contact us at (860) 292-6633 for all their tap repair service & beer tap cleaning equipmentrequirements.

Get your CO₂Tank locally
The KegMan recommend you buy your carbon dioxide, nitrogen, beer gas & oxygen tanks locally because your local supplier is the one who will be filling it. Your local supplier will have freshly filled tanks ready for pickup and he will keep your tanks certified for you. The KegMan knows he could make more money selling you the tanks but he would rather you spend your money on equipment upgrades than shipping costs and hazardour material costs at UPS.
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Get your CO₂Tank locally

The KegMan recommend you buy your carbon dioxide, nitrogen, beer gas & oxygen tanks locally because your local supplier is the one who will be filling it. Your local supplier will have freshly filled tanks ready for pickup and he will keep your tanks certified for you. The KegMan knows he could make more money selling you the tanks but he would rather you spend your money on equipment upgrades than shipping costs and hazardour material costs at UPS.

Before you get into trouble shooting a system make sure of following things:

Is the system Balanced?

Is the beer keg internal temperature below 42°F.?

Is your regulator gauge pressure set at the proper Pressure for the keg temperature?

Remember that all these parameters have been worked out over several hundred years and each parameter is very important in serving a perfect draft.

Select the page below for th problem you are experiencing:

I have Cloudy Beer!

I have Flat Beer!

I have Foul Beer!

I have Sour Beer!

I have Wild (foaming) Beer!

I have Tail End Beer!

Return to the KegMan Home Page or select from one of our fine Beer Taps.

If you require a complete home draft beer system go to the refrigerator conversion kits, Picnic tap or our barmobile tapster pages.

To order just use our Secure Ordering Form. If is simple and was designed to protect your credit cards from any prying eyes.

The KegMan product Index will bring you directly to the product group you may be interested in. Before you order you may want to read our draft beer tap information page. Our Ordering Information are provided to aid you in secure ordering of all our products. Our order and technical assistance phone line is open from Noon to 5:00 PM Eastern (9:00 AM to 3:00 PM Pacific) Time (US) on Mondays thru Fridays.

Got a Question? Email the KegMan

We are not responsible for typographical errors in prices or descriptions. Absolutely no returns after 30 days for any reason. Orders canceled within three days of receipt will be given a full refund by Connecticut Law. Items returned after 3 days will be given a store credit less a 30% restocking fee and no cash refund will be offered. Only merchandise returned in new and unused condition will be accepted for return. See terms for warrantee limits. No special order items may be returned. Most items carry a 1 year manufacturers warrantee. Prices may change without notice due to economic conditions. You must be over 18 years of age to order from the KegMan. All orders placed by customers without open accounts will be subject to a 4 percent surcharge on all charges for parts, labor, shipping and services. Shipping and handling charges are never refundable.

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Top TenFrequently Asked Questions

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free draft beer tap information
(860) 292-6633