These mini gauges are a upgrade part for KegLand's range of inline regulators and spunding valves. Check out our in depth review to see how they perform and if they're a worthwhile upgrade.
Why Upgrade to Digital?
The standard-issue analogue gauges that come in KegLand's spunding valves and inline regulators are known to be inaccurate. KegLand themselves state that they are only accurate to within 10% of the entire pressure range. So for our factory fitted 0-15psi it would be accurate to within +\- 1.5psi.
Based on this, it's recommended you use the smallest gauge scale that you require for your application. For example, a spunding valve that will typically never see more than 20 psi of pressure, doesn't need a gauge that reads up to 100psi, as it would have an error margin of up to 10 psi which is significant when we're looking at fermentation pressure.
The problem with this is that if you happen to exceed the maximum pressure of an analog gauge, you'll likely damage it and be left with a gauge with a needle that won't return to 0. And to make matters worse, they can't be repaired.
We recently purchased the Digital Illuminated Mini Gauge (KL18388) to replace the analog mini gauge that came in our Blowtie spunding valve to be able to measure our fermentation pressures more accurately.
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| Digital Illuminated Mini Gauge fitted to our Kegland Blowtie Spunding Valve |
Digital Mini Gauge Features
The new digital mini gauge boasts the following features;
- Working range of 0-90psi
- 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
- For measuring gas pressure only, not suitable for liquids
Installation
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, but if you're planning on potentially re-using the original gauge then you'll need to be careful when removing it.
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, or loosen the fastening screws and grab it with a pair of pliers to gently work the gauge out.
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| Our KegLand Blowtie Spunding Valve with the original 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.
Digital Gauge Functions & Testing
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. If this button is held for a couple of second it 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.
Potential Improvements
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?
Other Applications
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.
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| KegLand Inline Regulator with Digital Gauge upgrade fitted |
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 spunding valve on our next brew to see how it performs and reads during a pressure fermentation.
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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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