Now that kegging is a thing at Ales of the Dead, I (of course) wanted to play with different flavors and fruits in beers. After looking at different options, I decided to build a Randall in introduce these flavors.
It seemed that the 10″ water filter housings were the de facto standard for these, but after reading through a ton of reviews on Amazon, too many of them were leaking. Once I expanded my search, I found one on MoreBeer.com that looked to be the answer. However, the shipping for this was a bit out of line for the product. My local Homebrew Supply store actually carries the exact housing and I got it from them. They are online at homecraftednc.com.
Next, I decided that I did NOT want to splice any of the beer lines in the kegerator for the Randall. I also wanted to be able to place the Randall inline to ANY keg in the system. TO accomplish this, it was decided to add Ball Lock Posts to the IN and OUT ports of the filter housing.
Now that this had all been settled, how do I get the flavors from the Randalled additions without the mess in the beer line? Homecrafted to the rescue again. Although pretty pricey, they have a stainless filter for these housings that fit perfectly and will require a simple cleaning between uses. This filter should last forever.
Here’s the parts list:
From Adventures in Homebrewing:
Plug Adapter 1/4″ MPT x 19/32″ – $5.99 x 2 = $11.98
Keg Post Conversion Kit (pin lock to ball lock) 19/32-18 Thread – $9.99
From Amazon:
Stainless Steel 304 Cast Pipe Fitting, Hex Bushing, Class 150, 1/2″ NPT Male X 1/4″ NPT Female – $4.05 x 2 = $8.10
From Homecrafted:
Filter Canister Housing – 10″ – $37.99
Filter Canister Mount – $3.99
The Clarifier – 5 Micron Stainless Filter – $31.99
Ball Lock Gas In – Flare – $5.99
Ball Lock Beverage Out – Flare – $5.99
At $110.03, it’s likely not the cheapest solution, but one of the most versatile.
You’ll also need a length of Beer Line for this.
Since this housing has 1/2″ NPT Threads, we need to use the reducer bushings from Amazon for the Plug Adapter to be able to screw in.
Wrap the threads 4-6 time with teflon tape and screw the bushing into place. Use a Crescent Wrench to tighten.
Remember to wrap the threads in a clockwise manner. This allows the threads to lay the end of the tape down. Otherwise, screwing the adapter into the bushing would lift the end of the tape, creating a mess.
Screw into the bushing, again using a Crescent Wrench to tighten.
Next attach the Ball Lock Posts. Put the Gas Post on the IN side of the housing. This will allow you to attach your existing Beer Line to the OUT of the housing.
Now you have a Randall with Quick Disconnects and no line splices.
Mount the housing at the desired location. There is a special mount just for these housings. Mark the location and drill the holes.
Attach the mount. I filled the drilled holed with hot glue for added stabilization.
Take a length of spare beer line and measure the distance (using the beer line) from the Randall placement to the keg furthest away. Do this with the kegerator door in the open most position. My length came out to 52″.
Heat up the ends of the beer line and connect a Beer Out Fitting to one side and a Gas In fitting to the other. I like to use the flare fittings so that I can just unscrew the fittings from the hose to clean it.
Add fruit (or any other flavoring) [SANITIZE EVERYTHING!]attach to the mount. Turn off the CO2 to the keg you want to run through the Randall.
Yo, What that on the randal? Is jalapeño? Show some recipe tell about how did that go
No recipe to follow, I sliced jalapeños and added them to the filter.
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