Bottle filling from Keg

[twedelc]

I ran across this idea that I modified slightly...
Did you know that the tip on Perlick forward sealing taps unscrews? and that a keg dip tube will fit in and the tip can screw back on, with that dip tube's o-ring?
So I cut a dip tube about 11" long, which goes deep in the bottle or growler, and attached it as stated above to the tap, and filled. (flip-top bottles sanitized with Star-San and filled with CO2)

Problems:
1) Kegerator, I couldn't get a bottle over the tube because the top of the kegerator was in the way! (duh!)
2) So I connected it directly to the keg and started filling, forgetting that I have the pressure balance for 5 feet of 3/16" low foam tubing (about 10 psi). Now I need very little pressure, so my first fill was very foamy! Bled the pressure and subsequent fills worked much better.
3) Price. Unless you have these things laying around, a $40 perlick tap, $13 dip tube and a $5 QD to tap adapter, the investment is really close to the price of a Beer gun. I suppose it could be made with a foot of 5/16" copper and a plastic ferrule, too, then could bend it enough for clearance on the kegerator.

Results:
I will try the beer when I get home today and see. It works better than 5/8" IO plastic tube that fits over the perlick tap because while it works for growlers, it doesn't fit in the opening of a beer bottle very well.

[Matt]

I've never needed to go to a smaller diameter tube, because all I ever fill from my kegerator other than pint glasses are growlers. No problem just sliding a tube over the perlick and using low pressure. But this is a great tip to know about, the next time I want to enter a competition or something.

There's only one possible problem with your idea. Not only do Perlick tap spouts unscrew, but they can also come in varying size spout diameters. The ones you have fit a diptube perfectly, but others may not. Just something to keep in mind.

Thanks for the tip though. I'll keep that filed away for future use.

Matt

[dmelsh]

When I fill my bottles from kegs, I get my beer to the right carbonation level for my beer. Then I hook up my bottle filler to the beer out on my keg. So it goes from my barbed Ball Lock Post Connect to hosing to my Plastic Bottle Filler. Vent extra pressure from the keg and keep it at low pressure (like 5 psi) and fill. As soon as bottle is full, I wait for foam to push out the remaining Oxygen and "Cap On Foam".

Cheaper then a beer gun and anyone with a bottle filler and kegs can do it.