Moving into a new house - already has a full bar complete with kegerator. Can you tell by this bottle / regulator setup whether it's C02 or N02, and any other tips / tricks you'd like to give me? I've never owned / maintained a kegerator before. Thanks in advance!
It's just your standard 5lb co2 tank with a dual gauge regulator (measure both the output pressure and the tank pressure)
The difference is that CO2 regulators are female going onto a male tank fitting and nitrogen are male on the regulator side and the tank is female.
Okay cool, so I can just get it filled, and when I open it, the regulator should keep it running at a good pressure? (What's a good pressure?)
depends on the beer style, temperature, length of your draft lines.... Check out the link below for some good info: http://www.kegworks.com/company/kegworks-community/home-bar/draft-beer-systems/101
much thanks - i'll be picking up some cleaning stuff for the lines. Is it worth buying one of the "kits" keg works offers?
consider buying a roll of beverage line. line cleaning is real easy but time consuming. with a used kegerator you never know the condition of the lines. assume they are in bad shape. bev line is cheap. replace it now and start fresh. in fact, some of us never clean the line and just replace with new every few months. Cheers.
Pretty sure this is a CO2 tank, but to be certain look on the brass valve . . . it should have CGA-320 stamped somewhere. You can only have it filled if it is within its hydrostatic date. Somewhere on the upper part of the tank will be stamped a date: something like 08 14, this is month/year (Aug 2014) and it's good to be filled for five years from this date. If it is out of date you have to have it tested ($30-40) or pay a comparable fee to an exchange outlet. If unsure about any of this visit any CO2 re-filler/exchanger and they will explain. Here's another good link on the basics of a kegerator.
