Trough Lolly
"Drink, Feck, Arse, Girls"!
- Joined
- 21/8/03
- Messages
- 1,692
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Hi all,
Look, I'm an absolute kegging novice, ok!
I have a freshly filled keg of German Pils and I want to force carbonate it before dispensing...
I've got a picnic faucet as a stopgap measure but I'm worried about the dangers of incorrectly using CO2 under pressure. So, can you experienced keggers have a look at the following procedure I've drafted up and let me know where I've got it all wrong, before I blow up the garage? Please assume nothing here - I have little knowledge of the order of things, and this procedure is based on what I've gleaned off the net...Sorry if it's a bit micro in detail, but I want to make sure that the steps are ok before doing them...
1. Fit the Gas Reg (with nylon seating ring) to the closed off CO2 bottle with a wrench. Check/confirm Gas Reg knob is all the way counter-clockwise before fitting to bottle. (So far it's like setting up the barbie!!)
2. Connect using line clamps, the gas line to the closed gas regulator and fit a Grey/Gas QD at the other end of the gas line.
3. Connect Gas QD to IN/gas post on cold/refrigerated keg.
4. Hold my breath, say bye to the missus and kids, stand side-on to the Gas Reg and open the CO2 bottle 1 to 2 turns. Listen for leaks and avoid all violent explosions and fireballs etc - shut off if there's any problems.
5. Open the Gas Reg by turning the control knob (Harris 601 reg) clockwise to about 30 psi on the low pressure guage.
6. Rock the cold keg (filled to about 2 inches below the gas tube) for a couple of minutes (approx 100 times) to infuse CO2 into the beer. (Tips here please and note, I don't have a one-way check valve so I'll probably disconnect gas after a while then reconnect and repeat or should I not worry as the keg is less pressurised compared to the gas line?? Should the gas tube be on the low side of the keg when I rock or am I inviting a flow of beer up the gas line?)
7. Leave the keg alone for a few hours in the fridge to settle down and repeat step 6 a couple of hours later.
8. Reduce regulator to serving pressure (approx. 10psi) - venting excess pressure out of the keg via the relief valve or the gas post if you don't have a PRV on the keg lid. (Tips please on restoring gas reg to serving pressure if you know of a better way that doesn't waste CO2)...
9. Connect el cheapo picnic faucet beer line to out post on keg. Make note to self to buy a better faucet!
10. Connect CO2 to keg with reg set to approx 10psi and pour a beer (with the plastic picnic faucet). Repeat until keg is empty or the missus eventually finds you and orders you back into the house!!
Any comments/tips gratefully accepted before I do the job.
Cheers,
TL
Look, I'm an absolute kegging novice, ok!
I have a freshly filled keg of German Pils and I want to force carbonate it before dispensing...
I've got a picnic faucet as a stopgap measure but I'm worried about the dangers of incorrectly using CO2 under pressure. So, can you experienced keggers have a look at the following procedure I've drafted up and let me know where I've got it all wrong, before I blow up the garage? Please assume nothing here - I have little knowledge of the order of things, and this procedure is based on what I've gleaned off the net...Sorry if it's a bit micro in detail, but I want to make sure that the steps are ok before doing them...
1. Fit the Gas Reg (with nylon seating ring) to the closed off CO2 bottle with a wrench. Check/confirm Gas Reg knob is all the way counter-clockwise before fitting to bottle. (So far it's like setting up the barbie!!)
2. Connect using line clamps, the gas line to the closed gas regulator and fit a Grey/Gas QD at the other end of the gas line.
3. Connect Gas QD to IN/gas post on cold/refrigerated keg.
4. Hold my breath, say bye to the missus and kids, stand side-on to the Gas Reg and open the CO2 bottle 1 to 2 turns. Listen for leaks and avoid all violent explosions and fireballs etc - shut off if there's any problems.
5. Open the Gas Reg by turning the control knob (Harris 601 reg) clockwise to about 30 psi on the low pressure guage.
6. Rock the cold keg (filled to about 2 inches below the gas tube) for a couple of minutes (approx 100 times) to infuse CO2 into the beer. (Tips here please and note, I don't have a one-way check valve so I'll probably disconnect gas after a while then reconnect and repeat or should I not worry as the keg is less pressurised compared to the gas line?? Should the gas tube be on the low side of the keg when I rock or am I inviting a flow of beer up the gas line?)
7. Leave the keg alone for a few hours in the fridge to settle down and repeat step 6 a couple of hours later.
8. Reduce regulator to serving pressure (approx. 10psi) - venting excess pressure out of the keg via the relief valve or the gas post if you don't have a PRV on the keg lid. (Tips please on restoring gas reg to serving pressure if you know of a better way that doesn't waste CO2)...
9. Connect el cheapo picnic faucet beer line to out post on keg. Make note to self to buy a better faucet!
10. Connect CO2 to keg with reg set to approx 10psi and pour a beer (with the plastic picnic faucet). Repeat until keg is empty or the missus eventually finds you and orders you back into the house!!
Any comments/tips gratefully accepted before I do the job.
Cheers,
TL