Jeff Flowers on December 4, 2013 15 Comments Now that your home bar or man cave has its own kegerator to cool and dispense that frothy beer you love so much, it would be wise to get acquainted with some of the essential components of your kegerator. One of the most important parts of your kegerator is the keg coupler. What the Keg Coupler Does Think of the keg coupler as a “key” and the valve of a keg as the “lock”. They can’t work without each other. The keg coupler attaches to the valve and to a CO2 compressed gas line. It allows the compressed air to enter the keg and push out the beer. As a result of all of these components working together, you get a perfectly chilled and delicious draft beer in the comfort of your home. Types of Keg Couplers This is where it gets a little bit more difficult. Depending on what type of beer style you have in your kegerator, you may need a different type of coupler in order to serve it correctly. D Coupler A Coupler G Coupler M Coupler S Coupler U Coupler To choose the correct coupler for your home use, you must know the brand/style of beer you serve, know where it was brewed and/or the size of keg it is in. This is because there are six different types of keg couplers. Here is a quick rundown of the different types of commercial keg couplers. D Coupler — Fits U.S. Sankey Keg Valves A Coupler — Fits Most German Keg Valves G Coupler — Fits Some European Keg Valves M Coupler — Fits Some German Keg Valves S Coupler — Fits European Sankey Keg Valves U Coupler — Fits Some European Keg Valves In order for your beer to be served properly, it needs to have the correct type of coupler that fits the valve on the keg. The type of coupler you need will depend on where that specific beer was kegged. For example, the American Sankey “D” System coupler is easily the most popular. It fits all domestic brand kegs, as well as 95% of American beers. If that is all you are planning on drinking out of your kegerator, then this would be the coupler you should choose. If you have any questions as to which type of keg coupler you need, it would be wise to call your local distributor, the store from which you bought your keg or maybe even the brewery itself. For quick reference on the most popular beers, please refer to our handy list of keg couplers needed for different brands of beer. How to Install Your Keg Coupler To install your keg coupler to your kegerator, you must first attach the CO2 regulator to the CO2 cylinder. Make sure that the cylinder is filled and the valve is closed. Then, securely pair up the regulator to the CO2 cylinder. Attach the gas line to the “gas out” port on the regulator and secure in place with a clamp. Then, attach the other end of the gas line to the “gas in” port on the coupler. Next, attach the beer line to the liquid out port on the coupler. Now, you are ready to connect the coupler to the keg. Ensure that the CO2 cylinder vale is in the “off” position and the pull handle of the coupler is in the diagonal/upper position. Find the locking neck on the kegerator, and turn the coupler clockwise 25°. Then, pull out on the handle, push it down into the keg valve and release the handle. This will lock the coupler in place and securely attach it to the kegerator. With the coupler attached to the keg, slowly turn on the CO2 cylinder. At this point, you will hear gas flowing from the CO2 cylinder and regulator through the keg coupler and into the keg. Pull on the pressure relief valve to allow gas to vent and give you an accurate reading on the pressure gauge, then calibrate the regulator to the recommended serving pressure for your beer. You are now ready to serve your own draft beer. Recommended Reading: What is a Double Tap Kegerator? Kegerator Essentials: Cleaning Kits 3 Things to Remember When Storing Draft Beer 4 Ways to Convert a Single Tap Tower to a Double Tap
Josh P says November 3, 2015 at 11:44 am I was hoping you could answer a question for me. Standard kegerator w purchased beer kegs. When I attach the coupler to the keg, I am getting a small amount of beer that goes into the gas line. Everything is hooked up properly, but I don’t know if I should have an attachment for the gas line that will only allow gas to flow in, but keep things from flowing back towards the regulator. Thanks for any advice. Reply
Neal says July 5, 2017 at 8:40 pm Hold the pressure release on the sankey coupler as you push down on the sankey handle. This will vent the inherint keg pressure momentarily until you turn on the co2. I think I usually turn on co2 first (I use mostly ball lock kegs, but same principle) to keep the liquid from pushing into the coupler. There is a “liquid diaphram” that is supposed to keep the liquid in the keg when pressure is lower in the co2 line vs keg, but it can only hold to a certain point. TL;DR: When pressure is greater in keg than 0, liquid wants to go from high PSI to 0. Liquid.. Uh.. Finds… A way. Reply
Giao says December 18, 2015 at 11:23 am what kind keg coupler for Heineken 5.28 gallon draff beer Thanks Reply
Bob Hays says April 27, 2016 at 12:43 pm I have a keg with a coupler which has one larger and one smaller hole in it. There is also a metal edge (I guess for lack of a better way to describe it) that has 3 same size holes in it. It doesn’t seem to match any I have seen. Reply
Jerry Senter says September 1, 2016 at 9:57 pm What are and how do you re assemble the the beer line to the coupler I know that there is a washer but what other parts are included inside, if any, the beer line connection to the coupler. I lost a whole keg of brew with a faulty connection. I think I lost some parts during my re-connection. Can you help me out with a possible description of the connecting parts of the beer line? Thanks Reply
Daniel Leon says September 18, 2016 at 8:53 pm Having a problem connecting my brand new kegerator coupler into a retainer recyclable keg. It seems to lock in , co2 is on but nothing is coming out?? When looking online there’s a coupler people are using that covers the whole top? My coupler is standard and does not cover the whole top, what am I doing wrong? Reply
Tim says May 29, 2017 at 9:15 pm When storing beer connected to a CO2 tank. should you Keep the coupler in open or closed position? Reply
Neal says July 5, 2017 at 8:45 pm Depends : If you have beer that is carbonated, disconnect the coupler. If you are carbonating beer like a homebrew you’d need to keep it “open” so the CO2 is still moving from your tank into the beer. If you don’t have the coupler hooked up and open, you’re unable to serve beer. Reply
Paul says September 22, 2017 at 7:57 pm Hi I was wondering if yoi could identify what type of fitting I have on my keg? I can send a pictures of you have an email address. I believe it’s a M or O due to the hole on the top but I am not 100% sure. Thanks in advance Paul Reply
Casandra Sprague says November 6, 2017 at 5:56 pm We just bought our kegerator. Tried hooking it up tonight to a full sized stella keg. Nothing comes out at all. There is a plastic valve type plug we tried both leaving in and taking out. It goes into the tubing from co2 to tap. We’re not sure what it is, but leaving it out caused it to lose air. Either way, it doesn’t seem to work. Do we need a different coupler on the tap for stella? Reply
jeremy says December 15, 2017 at 4:11 pm Looking for a side output european A style keg coupler. I do not have enough room in my kegerator for the beer hose to come out of the top of the coupler. Other people I know have these couplers with a side output but I’m having a hard time finding them. Thanks Reply
David Koziol says January 7, 2018 at 6:10 pm Good evening, I have a Kegerator with two taps and keg couplers. If I only have on keg tapped, will the other keg coupler, which is just lying on the fridge floor, leak co2? Do I have to attached anything to it to make sure it doesnt leak co2? Thank you! Reply
Mike says June 27, 2018 at 5:02 am HI Paul Will an “A” type slider coupler fit an “G” type keg. Or will a Type “G” coupler fit a Type “A” keg. Most of my beer comes in big kegs but guests are asking if they can bring small kegs all have type “G” fittings Reply
Jason says September 9, 2018 at 11:13 am What is the difference between a “threaded d system valve” and a “drop in D system valve”? We’re going to be buying quite a few new kegs and can’t seem to figure out which is best/most used. Reply
