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The CO2 regulator is the heart of your system. A CO2
regulator is used to step your CO2 tank pressure from 500 - 1200 PSI
down to a much more reasonable 5 - 12 PSI. CO2 regulators come in many
different varieties and configurations and the one you need depends
entirely on your setup and future plans.
Welding Regulators Most welding regulators are designed to flow high
volumes of CO2 for shielding gas and they will not regulate down to the
pressures you need for your kegerator. These regulators will not work
for a homebrew kegerator.
Pre-set Regulators Pre-set regulators come with
the pressure pre-set and no gauge to monitor the CO2 pressure. These
regulators can not be fine tuned without special tools will not work for
a homebrew kegerator.
High Pressure CO2 Regulators These regulators
typically come with a 0 - 160 PSI low pressure gauge, which can be hard
to read in the 5 - 12 PSI range. But they work well and are usually a
great value.
Low Pressure CO2 Regulators These regulators
typically come with a 0 - 60 PSI or 0 - 50 PSI low pressure gauge and
are easy to read since the gauge is usually marked every 1 or 2 PSI .
These types of regulators are usually purchased for home as well as
commercial keg setups.
Single gauge versed double gauge CO2 Regulators
Single gauge regulators are the lowest cost solution but they do not
have a gauge to display your CO2 tank pressure. Double gauge regulators
are really a better value even though they usually cost a few dollars
more because you can tell from the second gauge (the tank gauge) when
you are about to run out of CO2.
Primary and secondary CO2 Regulators A primary
regulator will connect directly to your CO2 tank while a secondary
regulator needs the initial pressure dropped by a primary regulator. If
you are setting up a simple 1 or 2 keg system then you only need a
primary regulator. But if you are interested in serving several beers of
several styles and / or a soda then a system composed of a primary and
several secondary regulators is worth looking at. With this system, you
would set your primary regulator to somewhere between 50 PSI and 150
PSI. Then you would connect your secondary regulators to the primary
regulator and set each to its own individual pressure. If you only need
2 pressures then a 2 pressure regulator set is a better solution.
Draft beer Regulators verses homebrew beer
regulators The difference between a draft beer regulator and a
homebrew beer regulator is not the regulator itself. The difference is
the CO2 out fitting. Draft systems almost always use a 3/8" or 5/16" gas
line which means that you will need a CO2 regulator with a 3/8" barb
fitting. 3/8" and 5/16" gas lines will both fit a 3/8" barb fitting.
Homebrew systems are usually based on soda kegs and these systems almost
always use 1/4" gas line and you will need a CO2 regulator with a 1/4"
barb fitting. A third option is a regulator with a 1/4" flare (threaded)
fitting which can be adapted to either standard with a simple fitting.
2 pressure CO2 Regulators 2 pressure regulators
are really just 2 primary regulators connected together. The regulators
are 100% independent of each other and each can be set to its own unique
pressure. More than 2 regulators can be connected together but 3 or more
becomes unstable and could tip over your CO2 bottle. With a 2 pressure
regulator, you can run one draft keg and one homebrew keg or you can run
one pressure for serving and another higher pressure just for fast
carbonating your next homebrew keg of beer.
My Preference? I like the 2 pressure CO2
regulator with 1/4" flare (threaded) outputs because this gives me the
most flexibility for the least amount of money. |
