Be Our Guest

Have You Met John Guest?

Draught lines are pretty straight-forward: they move your beverage of choice from your keg to your tap. If you’re fortunate, you may encounter a keg monitor along the way. Simple, right?

In many cases (e.g. a small kegerator) this just involves PVC/vinyl lines, some barbed fittings and a few hose clamps. As setups get more complex, so do your options. Maybe you have a long-draw system with rigid barrier lines. Or perhaps you need to change your lines frequently. How about adapting between different lines types & sizes along the way? If that sounds interesting, they you should meet our new friend.

Johnny Be Good

Actually, we’ve never met Johnny G – surely he’s a fine chap. What we can tell you about are his fittings: or rather, his company’s fittings. John Guest is a brand of push-connect fittings for liquid lines. Unlike traditional barbs, John Guest “Speedfit” fittings quickly push into place and can be easily disconnected & reconnected. Hose clamps? They’re right out.

While these fittings are handy, there are a few important points you need to be aware of:

• You can only use rigid tubing, pipe or suitable rigid fittings. Soft vinyl/PVC lines cannot be used directly – they require adapters
• John Guest fittings seal on the outside of the tube, so you need to know precisely what your outer diameter (OD) is. Hose barbs, by contrast, require that you match the inner diameter (ID) of your line.
• Speedfit fittings take up a bit more space than conventional barbs

Crossing the Divide

Those paying close attention may find it ironic that a Kegtron blog is mentioning John Guest fittings. After all, our keg monitors use barbed fittings. Nonetheless, John Guest fittings are so handy we’re often asked how they can be made to work. Here’s the scoop:

1. Select a John Guest to Barb adapter. The JG side should match the OD of your rigid tubing. The barb side should be 1/4″ (6.35mm) to seal with 3/16″ (4.76mm) ID vinyl tubing.
2. Cut a short length (e.g. 6″ / 15 cm) of 3/16″ (4.76mm) ID vinyl tubing and push it onto the adapter above. The other end of the tube connects to your keg monitor.
3. Use two hose clamps for each length of hose to ensure a reliable seal

That’s it! If you need to something more exotic, there are a tonne of compatible adapters to choose from. If you’re using Duotight fittings & EVABarrier lines, they can also work with John Guest as well – learn more here.

Now that you’ve been introduced, perhaps you’ll agree that John can be a welcome Guest to your draught installation.

Cheerio!