But the kegerator has the standard Sankey keg tap and Cornelius kegs (“Corny kegs”) have ball-lock taps. I want to be able to use either keg without having to unassemble and then reassemble the tubing. Not only would it take too much time, I’d have to make sure that there aren’t any leaks each time I assemble it. You’d think there would be some quick-connect device that would make this possible, but there isn’t. You have to make it yourself.

I started off thinking I’d make two sets of taps with couplers so I could swap the taps in and out with just a wrench. It wouldn’t be quick-change, but it’d be faster and easier than undoing and redoing a bunch of clamps and barbed ends. While looking for parts, I found the brilliant setup shown in Toby’s post in Northern Brewer’s forums. It converts a Sankey tap to a tap that has ball-lock connectors on each side, effectively turning regular kegs into Cornelius kegs. Then I replaced the barbed clamp fitting with ball-lock connectors on the CO2 and beer lines.

The entire system has permanent connections so once it’s leak-free, it’s leak-free for good. The only parts that become disconnected and re-connected are the ball-lock connectors. But because ball-lock connectors are made to be quickly connected and unconnected, I can take them off and on without any tools and without worrying that I have a leak or finding my CO2 tank unexpectedly empty.

Parts Detail:

Here it is assembled:

Most things can be bought from Northern Brewer, but a couple things were bought from McMaster-Carr:

• 2 x 50715K161 Type 316 Stainless Steel 37 Degree Flared Tube Fitting, Adapter for 1/4″ Tube OD X 1/8″ NPT Male Pipe
• 2 x 50675K161 Brass 37 Degree Flared Tube Fitting, Adapter for 1/4″ Tube OD X 1/8″ NPT Male Pipe

Northern Brewer Items:

• 4 x Adapter for Cornelius Keg Posts 1/4″ FFL x 19/32″-18 K168
• 2 x Keg Post Assembly Gas Type B K107
• 2 x Keg Post Assembly Liquid Type B K108
• 2 x Ball Lock Disconnect- 1/4″MFL Liquid K011
• 2 x Ball Lock Disconnect- 1/4″ MFL Gas K010
• 4 x Flared Nylon Washer K127
• 2 x 1/4″ Barbed Swivel Nut K123
• 2 x 5/16″ Barbed Swivel Nut K163

Note that the Perlick kegerator comes with a 1/4″ beer line and a 5/16″ gas line, so it needs 2 of each rather than 4 of one size. Not listed is Teflon tape that I used on each fitting.

You’re brilliant, gorgeous and… ampersand after ampersand!

In other words, Americans may protest loudly, but their economic behavior indicates a remarkable indifference to the price of oil. In Europe, where taxes keep gas prices well above $5 a gallon, citizens are more likely to take public transportation and live near the center of town. The streets are filled with mopeds and tiny cars. The United States, on the other hand, barely exerts the minimum effort expected of a gas-phobic society: its enthusiasm for car pooling, enhanced public transportation and fuel-efficient vehicles remains relatively low. The average American even spends more gas money on social and recreational trips (about $13 a week, on average) than on their commutes to and from work (around $8). If gas prices truly damage the quality of our lives, we have done a remarkable job of hiding it.

You and I look good together
This day is getting a lot better
Let’s get inside, out of this weather
There is no one that loves you better
Than me, my dear

The calculations “help make the point that U.S. production and demand have little to do with the price of gasoline in the U.S., and lend support to the notion that there is not a great deal we in the U.S., acting alone, can do to affect the price of gasoline,” Peterson wrote in an email. He pointed out that Energy Department figures show that gas prices in the U.S. seem to rise and fall similarly to gas prices in Europe, showing that it has little to do with American drilling.
And that’s the key. It’s a world market, economists say.
Unlike natural gas or electricity, the United States alone does not have the power to change the supply-and-demand equation in the world oil market, said Christopher Knittel, a professor of energy economics at MIT. American oil production is about 11 percent of the world’s output, so even if the U.S. were to increase its oil production by 50 percent – that is more than drilling in the Arctic, increased public-lands and offshore drilling, and the Canadian pipeline would provide – it would at most cut gas prices by 10 percent.

According to Richman, it was just now hitting him how many hours of his life he’s pissed away listening intently to nonsense about celebrity couples, how good or bad certain pens are, and why a particular sports team might have a chance this year. The husband and father of two said that every time he’s felt at all put out or bored by a bullshit conversation—especially a speculative one about how bad allergy season was going to be—he should have just turned around, walked away, and gone rafting or rappelling or done any of the millions of other things he’s always wanted to do but never thought he had time for.

I can relate.

Now to show them that beer should not be cold.