We recently purchased this Digital Illuminated Mini Gauge (KL18388) to replace the analog mini gauge that came in our blowtie spunding valve.
The old style analogue gauges are known to be somewhat inaccurate, and KegLand themselves state that they are accurate to 10% of the entire pressure range. So for our factory fitted 0-15psi it would be accurate to within +\- 1.5psi.
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| Digital Illuminated Mini Gauge fitted to our Kegland Blowtie Spunding Valve |
The new digital mini gauge has a working range of 0-90psi and boasts some other cool features such as;
- Battery powered with expected battery life of more than 2 years (if gauge is used/powered on once per day)
- Auto power off for battery saving (turns off after 15 seconds)
- Back lit display for easy reading in poor light environments
- Ability to change display units between psi, kpa and bar
- Can be used in the blowtie spunding valve, mini inline regulator or core 360 mini regulator products
- Measuring gas pressure only, not suitable for liquids
Fitting the gauge was simple enough - though we did have some difficulties getting the old analog gauge out of the blowtie spunding valve housing. Gently trying to lever it out with a screw driver led to something being damaged within the analog gauge so it now reads at around 5psi when there is no pressure applied to it - we're not too concerned though since we don't plan on using it again. If you're trying this yourself, we suggest removing the yellow adjustment handle from the blowtie then tapping the spunding valve upside down on a hard surface to get the old gauge out.
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| Our KegLand Blowtie Spunding Valve with the old analog gauge fitted |
The new gauge fits into the blowtie really snugly and is secured in place with 2 screws on opposing corners of the gauge (which were provided with the gauge). A fair amount of torque was required to get the screws threaded and tightened but once done up it sits nice and neatly in the housing.
There are two buttons on the face of the gauge. A red button to power the gauge on and off, and a yellow button that with a single press, toggles between psi, kpa and bar scales for readings - and if held for a couple of seconds, triggers the green back light. The gauge automatically powers off after 15 seconds to help preserve battery life.
A quick test by connecting the gauge to one of our pressurised kegs gave what appears to be a highly accurate reading of just over 10psi, which matches pretty closely what our gas regulator was reading for the same keg.
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| Testing the accuracy of the digital gauge by connecting to one of our pressurised corny kegs |
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| CO2 regulator pressure reading for the same keg also indicates a similar reading of just over 10psi |
Early indications are very promising with the accuracy shown with this simple test. Given how largely inaccurate we've found our factory fitted analog spunding valve gauge to be, we certainly consider this to be a worthwhile upgrade.
One potential improvement could be a single button press to power on and light up the display at the same time. At the moment the gauge must be powered on by pressing and holding red button for a second or two. In low light situations, you then need to press the yellow button for several seconds to activate the backlight. From the off/sleep mode, perhaps a single press of the yellow button could power on the gauge and activate the back light at the same time?
This digital gauge can also be used in other applications such as the KegLand mini inline regulator or the Core 360 mini regulator. There is also a similar looking gauge available that is Duotight compatible that can be fitted into a gas line T-piece or similar to achieve the same results - eg. for those with previous model spunding valves that don't have the integrated gauge.
The digital illuminated mini gauge we purchased for fitting into our blowtie spunding valve is available from the Kegland Website. We're already looking forward to using our blowtie spunding valve on our next brew to see how it performs and reads during a pressure fermentation.
Now that it has been about a year, would you say you are still happy with this device? Does it stay accurate? And have you found the 2ish yer lifespan of the battery to be accurate (so far at least)? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteso far so good - battery is still going strong and accuracy from the digital gauge remains good and unchanged as far as I can tell
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