Mystery washer

I just recieved my first kegging kit. It wasn’t from NB. Two Corney’s, co2 tanks, regulator and hoses. The kit came with no assembly instructions, or even an itemized packing slip. For the most part I think I have figured it out except for the connection of the hoses to the co2 regulator. It seems to be a simple clamp, but the kit came with two nylon washers that seem like they should go here but I’m not sure. They look like the washers here: http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/check-valve-cap.html. Any idea what they are for?

I’ve been scouring the internets for the way to properly attach these hoses but all the kegging info I have found assumes you already have these attached.

Does the line have barbed swivels?

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/1-4- ... l-nut.html

If so they go there.

If not…

Can you post a picture of the items you have?

No they are threaded. Here are some pix of the hose and washer and the regulator hookup.

Right, you need the barbed swivel nut on the hose. This screws onto the shut off valve in the top picture. With the nylon washer between the two.

There should also be a flat washer that goes between the regulator and the tank.

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/co2- ... asher.html

You should be able to get that washer at any fire extinguisher/welding shop.

Aha. Well they forgot to send me that so that explains my confusion. And they had already forgotten to include the hoses in the kit. No itemized packing slip. No instructions. And they forgot to include over half the parts. I don’t think I’ll be dealing with Midwest again.

You may not need the flat washer for your regulator. Some regulators (Tapright) have a built-in rubber gasket for the inlet.

I wouldn’t give up on Midwest. If you have any questions about products they’ve sold you, call their customer service number and give them a chance to make it right. I’ve been very impressed with their customer service (along with NB’s).

They did include the nylon washer for between the regulator and the tank. It was zip-tied to the regulator so they wouldn’t forget it. :wink:

I know I shouldn’t write them off completely. I am just annoyed because a kit like this should have had, at a minimum, some kind of itemized packing list so I would have been able to determine quickly if it were missing parts. Instructions would have been nice too. And while I might forgive them for missing a small part in a shipment, anyone inspecting the original package should have noticed that it didn’t have any of the hoses.

So my beer, which was intended to be drunk on New Year’s Eve, is still sitting in secondary waiting to be kegged. It’s not going bad or anything, but my frustration definitely peaked last night as, after waiting an extra week and a half for the hoses, I sat trying to figure out how all these parts were supposed to go together, and discovering I am still missing parts. Midwest has some nice videos posted online on assembling the kegging kit. But they, like pretty much every other kegging how-to on the internet, skip the part where you attach the hoses to the CO2 tank for some reason. So it wasn’t until I eventually posted here that I realized what was wrong. I am sure they will get it right eventually; I just wish I were drinking my beer right now.