Building a kegging setup

What you need to switch from bottle-conditioning to keg-conditioning, how to force-carbonate, and how to pour without foaming everywhere.

Why keg

Bottling 5 gallons takes 60-90 minutes per batch. Kegging takes 15. After three batches, the cost of the kegging gear pays for itself in your time. Plus:

Force-carbonation is faster (24-48 hours) than bottle-conditioning (10-14 days)
No bottle bombs (over-carbonation just means a fizzy pour, not glass shrapnel)
Easy to top up gas, easy to clean, easy to share

Components of a basic 1-tap setup

Part	Approx. cost	Notes
Used 19 L Cornelius keg (“Corny”)	£35-60	Pre-owned soda kegs; check for working posts and good seals
CO₂ tank (5 lb / 2.3 kg)	£40 + ~£15 to fill	A 5 lb tank covers ~6-8 kegs
Two-gauge regulator	£40-60	Reads bottle pressure and serving pressure
Gas line + ball-lock disconnect	£15
Beer line (3/16” ID, ~3 m)	£10
Faucet (party tap, or proper picnic tap on a kegerator)	£15-200

Starter kit total: about £150-200 if you’re patient with used kegs.

Where to put it

A kegerator is a small fridge with a tap mounted in the lid or door. You can either buy a purpose-built kegerator (£300+) or convert any cheap upright fridge by drilling a hole for the tap shank. A second-hand fridge + DIY tap is a popular budget path.

Force-carbonation

Two methods. Both work; pick one and stop reading on the internet.

Set-and-forget:

Put the keg in the kegerator, hook up gas at ~12 PSI (for 2.4 vol CO₂ at 4 °C — see priming sugar calculator for the volumes-CO₂ math)
Leave for 7-10 days
Pour, enjoy

Burst-carbonation (faster but more error-prone):

Set regulator to 30 PSI
Shake the keg gently for 60 seconds
Vent pressure, set regulator to serving pressure (~12 PSI)
Wait 48 hours

Pouring without foaming

Foaming is almost always not enough beer line resistance. Solution: longer beer line. Most pre-built kegerators ship with 60-90 cm of line; for clean pours you want 2.5-3 m of 3/16” ID line. Cheap fix, big improvement.

Cleaning between kegs

PBW soak, hot water rinse, Star-San fill-and-empty. Disassemble the posts and clean the o-rings. Replace o-rings every 12 months or whenever they look tired.