Gasing 50lt Keg Without Fridge

[Elvish]

Hey folks this is my first post on this site looks like a wealth of information so hope somebody can help me out.

Been brewing for awhile now and have gotten sick of cleaning millions upon millions of bottles so I've decided to try out kegging. My friend has provided me with 2 50lt CUB Sanke kegs and at the moment have the ingredients to make two batches of my favourite ale. I don't have a big enough fermenter to make one brew so I will be using two 30lt fermenters and combining them in the keg. Should I only put in say 46lt to give it abit of headroom, is this necessary? This kit is on its way in the mail with a 5lb CO2 bottle and should arrive before the brew is ready. http://www.kegconnection.com/1-faucet-basic-commercial-kit/

I will be consuming these kegs at parties away from home and camping trips so they will be served from a bucket of ice and I do not intend to setup a Kegerator at home, So I was wondering is there anyway to force carbonate the kegs at room temperature or a method that does not require a fridge? I just don't have a big enough fridge and don't want to buy a fridge just for carbonating my kegs. Will it work if I just bulk prime the brew and wait for it to naturally carbonate then chill the keg on ice and serve normally?
Thanks in advance guys I'm pretty new to this and any help is appreciated.

 

[Yob]

Ive read that you use half the normal priming rate for kegs to naturally carbonate.

IMO its better to keep cold than to have to chill 50lt which doesnt happen in a hurry, Id also leave more headroom than 4lt, why not go half half?

Cheers

 

[Elvish]

I have a chest freezer I can use to chill overnight before a party or whatever but it would be hard to accurately tell how cold the liquid is for forced carbonation using a freezer.

 

[robbo5253]

Yob, just wondering why you would only half fill it? The brewerys fill them & we fill 19l kegs so wondering why you would only half fill a 50l Keg?

OP - As Yob said, Bulk prime with half the amount of Sugar you would normally use for bottles, I would also maybe look to purge the keg with CO2 before filling or after (If after, you will need to plug the Gas into the beer line and then carefully depress the gas post on the Keg Coupler to purge it. You will go through a fair bit of ice, we went through 3 Bags in a day with a half cold 19l keg on a recent trip away

Cheers

Robbo

 

[Elvish]

What is the purpose of purging the keg? Yer ice isn't a problem it will be consumed by alot of people in a short amount of time haha. If I was looking for a quicker alternative to natural carbonation is it possible to do without the use of a fridge?

 

[mr_wibble]

The CO2 from bottles does not dissolve easily into warm beer.

The colder the liquid, the more able it is to dissolve a particular amount of CO2.
As the temperature rises, the liquid can hold less and less gas (at a given pressure).

You don't need a 'fridge per-se, but you do want the beer to be cold, so ice/snow/weather could all be use instead.

 

[Elvish]

Do the tempretures need to be precise? Like I said i could probably fit one in my chest freezer over night and then force carbonate it in the morning? So it is not possible to force carb room temperature beer at a higher pressure for a longer period to get the same results?

 

[Bribie G]

If you go onto a UK forum you'll find that the Pom home brewers keg and gas beers all the time at all sorts of temperatures, without fridges, although they are getting into fridges more and more.

Flushing the keg will prevent the beer staling, especially if you leave a big headspace.

I'd do the chill and force carb method, it's unlikely that you would freeze an entire keg.

 

[Elvish]

What exactly do you mean by flushing the keg? Sorry I am completely new when it comes to kegs. I was going to sterilise my keg and fill with my brew then replace the spear and coupling and force carb at 30-32 PSI for a week at room temperature, then lower the pressure to serving temperature chill in a bucket of ice and serve correct me where I am wrong haha

 

[QldKev]

No problems getting them to carb at room temp, you just need to apply more pressure.

eg For 2.4x carb level at 4c you need 11psi, at 20c you need 26psi. Just remember don't keep it at 26psi once you start it cooling.

 

[robbo5253]

The Purging part is just so there is no oxygen in there, probably not as relevant if you are going to force carb it. Once filled though, I would connect the gas to the liquid post & try and purge the headspace with CO2 to remove any oxygen.

 

[pcmfisher]

That 5lb co2 bottle you are getting, where are you going to get it refilled?

US gas threads are different to ours and the bottle will not be Aust standard.

 

[Elvish]

Hmm that is a very good point Beer god, thankyou for saving me some heartache i will cancel it and buy one according to Australian Standards, any suggestions on a distributor?

 

[Yob]

Yob, just wondering why you would only half fill it? The brewerys fill them & we fill 19l kegs so wondering why you would only half fill a 50l Keg

Sorry misread OP thought he wad talking about the FV

Nothing to see here

 

[pcmfisher]

Hmm that is a very good point Beer god, thankyou for saving me some heartache i will cancel it and buy one according to Australian Standards, any suggestions on a distributor?

Lots of places sell the Keg King steel bottles or My Keg On Legs aluminium bottles.

Even if you get an Aust standard bottle, any regulator you get from the US will not fit it. They are different threads.

We use a Type 30 thread, and the Americans use CGA320. You may be able to request one with a Type 30, or get a nut here to fit, but I would just buy a regulator here.