Force Carbing Question.

[vicelore]

Hey guys.

Well kegged up a new batch of cider last night and wanted to force carb it.

I followed the steps outlined in the thread on here and had a question regarding a step.

So it said to connect the gas to the Beer out line then turn it up to 300kpa. rock for 50 seconds then "turn the gas off at the reg"

here is my problem does it mean the knob on the reg or the gas bottle ??

The presure is then meant to drop down to 150ish... mine stays full on at 300... am i meant to wait like half a hour or something ?? if I turn off at the reg the presure goes down to nothing on the dial, if i turn it off at the bottle it does nothing..

Looking forward to your answers guys.

Cheers Vice

 

[Pete2501]

If you have a one way valve installed your pressure will remain at 300.

 

[vicelore]

Ok.. I do after flooding my reg a while back...

So what should i do just release it using the presure release valve on the keg back down to 150 ?? or to serving presure ??

Cheers Vice

 

[Ross]

If you have a one way valve installed your pressure will remain at 300.

Not correct Pete, as the pressure drops in the keg the regulator will drop.

++++

Vicelore - Turn off the gas at the bottle, not the regulator. Continue rocking & you will see the gauge drop.


Cheers Ross

 

[Ross]

Ok.. I do after flooding my reg a while back...

So what should i do just release it using the presure release valve on the keg back down to 150 ?? or to serving presure ??

Cheers Vice

I would disconnect the keg from the gas & purge the pressure out via the relief valve once the head has subsided (5 to 10 mins).
Then reset your reg to pouring pressure (which should be same as the pressure you want to carbonate to) & reconnect to your keg.
Rock the keg while holding the relief valve in one hand, you'll feel it vibrating as the beer comes up to final carbonation. Once it's carbed, the valve will stop vibrating & you are finished.

cheers Ross

Edit: If the valve doesn't vibrate from the start, you have already reached carbonation level, or possibly exceeded it.

 

[katzke]

Not correct Pete, as the pressure drops in the keg the regulator will drop.

++++

Vicelore - Turn off the gas at the bottle, not the regulator. Continue rocking & you will see the gauge drop.


Cheers Ross

Sorry Ross but I think you are wrong on that. My check valve works like it is supposed to and will not let the gauge change on the bottle.

The check valve is supposed to keep liquid from backing up to the gauge.

I do have 2 regulators and on one if I make a big enough change it will vent and then the gauge is correct. The tank is still at the higher pressure though till I vent it or the beer sucks up more CO2. On the other one the gauge does not change because it is not the venting type (no place for the gas to go). It will drop once I pour or if the beer sucks up more CO2.

The only way I know to set the pressure on a tank gauge is if the gas is flowing. The only way to get gas flowing in most serving situations is to vent the tank. If you are force carbing then you can rock the keg while you turn down the gauge and as long as it is taking more gas the gauge will be correct. The way to test that is turn the tank off and rock the keg. The gas will flow and the gauge will go down to zero. Then you need to adjust the regulator a bit and turn the tank on. It is just easier to vent the keg most times.