Posted by on 4/14/2021 to
Articles
Choosing between Barbed or Threaded (MFL) Connections for your Kegerator Conversion
Pictured above, you will see the difference between the barbed connection and the threaded connection with the addition of a swivel nut. How to decide between the two for your kegerator conversion? The first question you will need to ask yourself is which kegs you will be using in your setup: Cornelius kegs (for homebrew), sanke kegs (commercial beer), or both? The type of keg doesn't factor into the decision, but whether you'll be wanting to go back and forth between the different types of kegs, either now or for future use.
If you know your setup will be for either Cornelius kegs or Sanke kegs, one or the other, we recommend barbed connections. It's simple and will save a few bucks in your pocket.
If you plan to serve from both Cornelius and Sanke kegs from your kegerator/keezer at some point in time, threaded MFL connections are the way to go. Having a set of lines attached to a swivel nut makes it easy to swap between different keg types. This will avoid the problem of having to cut your line and re-attach to a barb connection every time you want to swap out a homebrew keg for a keg bought from a store or brewery. (When swapping your lines over to a sanke coupler, a Universal Tail Piece is required for the threaded connection, pictured above).
Pictured above, you will see the difference between the barbed connection and the threaded connection with the addition of a swivel nut. How to decide between the two for your kegerator conversion? The first question you will need to ask yourself is which kegs you will be using in your setup: Cornelius kegs (for homebrew), sanke kegs (commercial beer), or both? The type of keg doesn't factor into the decision, but whether you'll be wanting to go back and forth between the different types of kegs, either now or for future use.
If you know your setup will be for either Cornelius kegs or Sanke kegs, one or the other, we recommend barbed connections. It's simple and will save a few bucks in your pocket.
The Purpose of the Threaded MFL Connection with Swivel Nut
If you plan to serve from both Cornelius and Sanke kegs from your kegerator/keezer at some point in time, threaded MFL connections are the way to go. Having a set of lines attached to a swivel nut makes it easy to swap between different keg types. This will avoid the problem of having to cut your line and re-attach to a barb connection every time you want to swap out a homebrew keg for a keg bought from a store or brewery. (When swapping your lines over to a sanke coupler, a Universal Tail Piece is required for the threaded connection, pictured above).