I have a general question, I am thinking I may need to add a little gas manifold to have 2 kegs going, or one carbing and one serving. I noticed there are options on these manifolds for having 1/4" or 5/16" barbed fittings.
What’s the best choice? And do I also need different ID on the gas hose or does the standard hose just fit more snugly on the 5/16" barb?
Well, I just looked at my setup… 1/4" tubing. I have about 2’ hose coming off the low pressure side of the regulator, then to a 3 way splitter… Someday, I’ll have 3 kegs going, but in the mean time, I hook a blow nozzle to a post for misc. brewing activities. Sneezles61
Thanks Sneezles,
So what size barbs are you using with the 1/4" hose?
I am trying to figure out if there is an advantage of one size over the other… I like the idea of a tighter fit if in fact the 1/4" tubing fits over the 5/16 barb fitting.
You may play hell to get a 1/4" over a 5/16" barb… I don’t have leaks, and the use of hose clamps is employed here. I did get those hose clamps from brew hardware that don’t allow the slotted part of the clamp to hold the tubing… Kinda has a SS shielding, if you will. Once you start tinkering you’ll find out what works and doesn’t… Sometimes you have to stick your neck out and hope it does get cut off… Sneezles61
Ok, thanks. I will just assume there is no advantage to one over the other.
I’m going to go with, we don’t push out that much brew to justify going to a bigger ID line… Maybe? Sneezles61
tominboston, I just went through this myself - I’m slowly putting a keezer together. It appears that some people use 1/4" tubing and some use 5/16" for the CO2. For a small homebrew setup either should work fine. I think you want the barb size to match your hose size (ID) either way. Some places refer to the 5/16" as “gas hose”. You can get it clear, red or blue. I went 5/16" in red just so its easier to tell the gas lines from the liquid lines when its all stuffed into the keezer.
There are several types of tubing, so I discovered while searching. I found this page helpful.
I think sneezles61 is talking about Oetiker clamps. They come in various sizes. Note that you do need a special clamping tool to install them and they are intended to be permanent (meaning you destroy them to remove them).
They make a special tool for the oetiker clamps but you can use a small endcut plier to squeeze them shut. I have one that I bought for 99 cents at a dollar store that works great.
Now you tell me! 
I think I spent about $9 for the tool.
If you look on brew hardware, they make a regular screw type hose clamp that has a smooth band against the tubing… Sneezles61
Those look promising - thanks for the tip.
Thanks for the help. I just wanted to be sure that it was not some trade trick that you heat up a piece of 1/4" hose and put it on the 5/16 barb and end up with a more secure connection. I don’t even know what size mine are…just happen to notice the choice of options on some components.
