Keg Carbonation

[Richo]

Got a question for you keggers is the carbonation period the same for a 45 litre keg as a 19 litre keg of 31psi for 48 hours?

Thanks,

Richo

 

[Doc]

Yes.
I have a 45 litre keg and carb it up the same as a 20 litre keg and get the same level of carbonation.

Beers,
Doc

 

[Ben]

Hi all,

This is an old post, but I'm wondering if anyone else can shed some light on the subject.

Essentially, I'm curious to know how everyone carbonates their corny kegs. I've tried the 300kpa shake rattle and roll, with "limited success" - ie 300 kpa, shook things up about a dozen times, let settle for 24 hours, then reduced pressure to serving (about 45kpa). One turned out beautifully, the other is only good for putting out fires (foamy).

I understand that the DS (perfect) solution is to leave the CO2 connected up for 48 hours, at the correct carbonation level - say 72kpa, and then "Bob's your relative", perfectly carbonated beer. I'm keen to give this a go, but a few people I have spoken to have told horror stories of leaks and wasted bottles of CO2.

So, what's the deal? What method do you guys use? Pro's, cons? And has anyone here lost a cylinder of CO2 through a leak? If so, what's the best way to reduce the likelyhood of this happening?
Cheers guys,

Benno

 

[bradmcm]

You have pretty much covered all the pros and cons.
I do the first method because I have lost a couple of
CO2 cylinders when having left the CO2 cylinder on - all it takes is a slight leak anywhere in your system.

If you are getting foamy beer (in this instance) is because there is
too much CO2 in solution (too fizzy). You just need to shake the keg and release all the gas though the relief valve. You may need to do this a few times and then all you need to do is connect your CO2 back at your serving pressure and you will be right.
It's all an art.

 

[Jye]

I'm keen to give this a go, but a few people I have spoken to have told horror stories of leaks and wasted bottles of CO2.

To avoid this I set the pressure in the keg to what you want and then turn the bottle off, then top up the pressure every morning and night until carbonated. Has worked well for me and I have a fire extinguisher so it just a matter of a quick squeeze of the handle.

:beer:

 

[muga]

I have confidence in my setup and have a 22KG bottle attatched at 310Kpa for 48 hours on a keg that has just been put in the fridge. 36 hours for a keg that is already cold. I have not had a leak and hope I never do.

When I have attatched my gas to the keg I always have a slightly soapy solution in a spray bottle, I give the top of the keg a spray and if there are no bubbles then your right.

 

[Ben]

I'm keen to give this a go, but a few people I have spoken to have told horror stories of leaks and wasted bottles of CO2.

To avoid this I set the pressure in the keg to what you want and then turn the bottle off, then top up the pressure every morning and night until carbonated. Has worked well for me and I have a fire extinguisher so it just a matter of a quick squeeze of the handle.

:beer:

[post="72757"][/post]​

Jye

Is that dispensing pressure, or high pressure (300kpa'ish)? And how long does it take to achieve carbonation using this menthod?

Cheers

Ben

 

[Jye]

300kpa for 24hours and then back to 100kpa until carbonated.

 

[Darren]

I've lost a bottle of CO2 from leaving the hose connected. High pressure carbonation and relief of excess CO2 if necessary is also my method.
Darren

 

[ozbrewer]

my method works realy well for me, and turns flat beer into drinkable beer pretty fast

firstly i keg the beer and leave it in the kegerator overnight to cool, ...sometimes its a few days..

I leave the gass at serving temp

i then pick the keg up with a gas line attactchen, and shake the bejubus out of it, holding it slightly less than verticle with the gas inlet lower than the other end of the keg.....after a dozen or so goos shakes you will start to feel the gas going into the keg

I with then have a beer....its hard work, they weigh about 20kg

shake, drink a beer, repeat.

after not to long you will notice that the gas going in is not as strong as it was to start, ....this is good

now i will taste the beer an see how it is, if its close i will leave it for 10-15 mins....came back and shake a few more times.....then its all good to go,


It takes about 30-40 mins, and realy works well

 

[Ben]

Good one, thanks guys!

Ozbrewer - is there any risk of beer "shooting up" the gas line, or is this just another wives tale?

Ben

 

[Thunderlips]

Good one, thanks guys!

Ozbrewer - is there any risk of beer "shooting up" the gas line, or is this just another wives tale?

Ben

[post="72952"][/post]​

There sure is. I see beer go up my co2 line most times I force carbonate my kegs but luckily it's never reached the regulator. You can use a check valve and it will stop liquid going into the regulator. I got one of GMK a while back and have still not connected it. Jeez I'm a lazy bugger.

There's a pic of one in this thread...
http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...l=check%20valve

 

[ozbrewer]

i havent had any troble with it shooitng up while doing it my way, but i think thays because i dont have the pressure to high, i keep ot around 10-12 psi.

I have ad it when i connected up a keg that was gassed up to 30psi

 

[Fingerlickin_B]

i then pick the keg up with a gas line attactchen, and shake the bejubus out of it, holding it slightly less than verticle with the gas inlet lower than the other end of the keg

[post="72936"][/post]​

Do you mean slightly less than horizontal?

And yes, this is a serious question, I'm not trying to be an annoyance...

PZ.

 

[Thunderlips]

i havent had any troble with it shooitng up while doing it my way, but i think thays because i dont have the pressure to high, i keep ot around 10-12 psi.

I have ad it when i connected up a keg that was gassed up to 30psi

[post="72957"][/post]​

10 to 12psi sounds like a real lot of work if your force carbonating.
I set mine to 300kpa and give it about 80 or so good shakes. I need to catch my breath after about 40 though. Then I shut the gas off and give it a few more shakes to dissolve any excess co2. I do this in around 5 minutes and it's usually good to go right after that.

 

[ozbrewer]

yeah your right fingerlikien......my bad


Thunderlips...it works for me, and i dont have to stuff around with the regulator

 

[Darren]

i havent had any troble with it shooitng up while doing it my way, but i think thays because i dont have the pressure to high, i keep ot around 10-12 psi.

I have ad it when i connected up a keg that was gassed up to 30psi

[post="72957"][/post]​

10 to 12psi sounds like a real lot of work if your force carbonating.
I set mine to 300kpa and give it about 80 or so good shakes. I need to catch my breath after about 40 though. Then I shut the gas off and give it a few more shakes to dissolve any excess co2. I do this in around 5 minutes and it's usually good to go right after that.

[post="72967"][/post]​

Thats how I do it too Thunder. I usually lay my keg flat on the ground with the gas-in connect at the top. (Increases the surface area of beer exposed to CO2 and saves my back). I then rock it back and forth with my foot for a few minutes.
Then its ready to go.

 

[deadly]

Dont do it the hard way - do it the Ross way,less than a minute and works eveytime! http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...c=5888&hl=mazey

edit: add link

 

[Ben]

Thunderlips.

By "Right to go", do you mean "burp the keg, dial up serving pressure and serve beer"

I ask this, because I gave another keg a go at 300kpa, gave it about 60 or so shakes, left it at 300 for about 12 hours (with the bottle OFF), and had another fire extinguisher.

Cheers

B

 

[Thunderlips]

Thunderlips.

By "Right to go", do you mean "burp the keg, dial up serving pressure and serve beer"

I ask this, because I gave another keg a go at 300kpa, gave it about 60 or so shakes, left it at 300 for about 12 hours (with the bottle OFF), and had another fire extinguisher.

Cheers

B

[post="73041"][/post]​

I reckon you'll need to get the kpa down to pouring pressure right away.
Burping the keg can be messy though because you'll get froth from the safety valve as you pull on it. If you shake a few times with the gas off you should see the dial go down further. If not, you'll need to burp. Wait a while though. Burp it completely and then dial up to pouring pressure.
Generally I don't need to burp the keg. Connecting my other keg to the line also brings down the pressure as it tends to equalise it between the two kegs.
Let us know how you get on.