Paintball Regulator Beer Dispenser

I play for the scenario paintball team Pub Crawling http://www.pubcrawling.org . We have more than 20 members on the team and with a name like Pub Crawling we drink a lot of malted beverages after our games. We travel all over the United States to play paintball and have traveled to Scotland and England for events. In order to keep up our supply of bevarages and meet the demands of the team several members have begun home brewing beer. The nature of our travel schedule also requires that we have a mobile system that is able to utilize available resources wherever the game may be. Because we are a scenario paintball team it makes sense to use as many paintball related parts as possible.

To dispense beer from a keg you need a constant pressure of roughly 12psi. This pressure is far below what most inline regulators can go to so a secondary regulator is needed.

Tools:
Two Adjustable wrenches
Teflon Tape (more of a supply but whatever, use thread sealant of your choice)

Parts:
Planet Eclipse Inline High Pressure Reg (free part)
Planet Eclipse OOPS (free part)
ASA adapter (free part)
Generic Air Compressor regulator ($14.99)
1/8" NPT Close nipple ($0.75)
1/8" NPT x 1" Nipple ($1.10)
2x 1/4"x1/8" NPT Bushings ($2.02ea)
1/8" NPT to hose barb (free because I used a male quick disconnect)
Worm Hose clamp ($0.15
Co2 distribution hose ($0.11/foot I also use this for beer dispensing)
Paintball Co2 Tank (free)

Total Cost:  $21.03 not including co2 distribution hose

Step 1: Primary Regulator and Tank adapter

Co2 pressure can range between 650-1200psi.  Here is the attached On/Off valve, 1/8" NPT x1" Nipple, Primary High Pressure Regulator, ASA and close nipple.  Remember to turn the primary reg down to about 100psi as the Secondary reg has a maximum operating pressure of 150psi.  Beer is dispensed at about 12psi and the Planet Eclipse High Pressure Regulator is a high flow reg which should have no problems feeding this.

Comments

[mhurst1]

You sir, are a genius.

[abadfart]

very nice now just add it to this

[thebigloafer]

Your the man...way to bring together to great past times..lol

[mr.incredible]

Careful, some paintball CO2 tanks contain oil to lubricate the paintball gun.

[pubcrawlingpb]

This is actually a misconception with 12gram co2 cartridges which do have minute amounts of oil in them. Bulk filled co2 tanks will have no more oil in them than the normal bulk filled co2 tanks used in home brewing. The Airgas distributor even showed me how their co2 really uses all of the same tanks except for their "Medical Grade" co2.

[mr.incredible]

I'm talking about the new off-the-shelf ones. If you have them refilled, then no they don't. There will still be oil residue for some time after the first use. Might affect the taste at least.

[pubcrawlingpb]

While there is really no way to tell what was used in the manufacturing process of paintball tanks that process would be the same as what is used to manufacture the larger tanks used to hold bulk amounts of co2. If there is any foreign substance in the tanks then it will be in there regardless of the tank source. The caveat to this is “Medical Grade” co2, where the tanks are glass lined and cleaned before fills.

Because this setup passes co2 gas only, not liquid co2, through two regulators and several feet of hose at a low pressure the likelihood of particulates making it through are low. A sintered metal filter could be added inline if someone is concerned about this. Many air compressor regulators have these built in but they can be purchased as stand-alone fittings in various micron sizes. Adding a couple of extra feet of hose in a loop will also help trap anything that is heavier than co2 (which would be just about everything except other gases) before it reaches the keg.

The real enemy for beer is oxidation from reaction with o2 or other non-inert gases.