Kegging

[jj2570]

Hi,
Ive just recently bought a setup for kegging my homebrew. Im using 19l kegs, C02 and got my kegs set up in a fridge. Running to a tap. Ive just got a few questions.
*When carbonating the beer is there any chance of over carbonating it or does it just absorb as much as it can and stop?
* When I finished for the night do I just get the pressure upto about 100kpa and then switch the gas bottle off to keep it charged?
* After carbonating my beer, can I put that 100kpa in the keg to keep charged and D/C to store. So I could maybe have another Keg of beer carbonating?

Thanks

 

[trevc]

Check out A beginners guide to kegging and Balancing a Draught System

Cheers

 

[wakkatoo]

hi there, I leave my gas at serving pressure and never change it. When I'm gassing a keg I allow about 2 weeks and then beer is usually fine. If it gets a bit foamy I disconnect the gas from the keg for a bit. Had too much trouble with gassing kegs at a higher pressure / shaking kegs etc. This method takes a bit of patience but is very hassle free B)

 

[KGB]

Those two links should answer all your questions and more. The amount of CO2 is really only limited by the amount of pressure you can use to cram it in - theoretically I guess you could keep going until you ended up with liquid co2 mixed with your beer....

 

[silver_streak67]

Ive been brewing for three months in bottles and have taken the step up to a 2keg system I am about to finish fermenting a COOPERS CANADIAN BLONDE and rack into my keg.Should I force carb.?Stocks are low and I'd like to try new sytem asap I look for guidance from u great brewers with your extensive knowledge :beer:

 

[paul]

If your keen try it just chill down a keg overnight, then gas it the next day.

Have 3 metres of 5mm beer line on your tap and pour at 80-100kpa and you'll be right. If your worried about overcarbonating your first beer just use 100kpa of pressure when force carbonating. It'll take longer but you wont overcarb.

Just remember that adjusting the reg adjusts the carbonation. To adjust the pour speed change the line length.

 

[Crusty]

jj2570,

You can definately over carbonate & it's pretty easy to do if your'e not careful.
I leave my gas on all the time at serving pressure. For my setup, I get the best results from 35-60kpa. Any higher than that & it gets a bit too foamy.
After transfering from your fermenter to your keg, gas the keg with 100kpa, burp the keg by pulling on the pressure release valve three times, leave it off the gas & store it in the fridge for what length of time you require. If I was you & need to use your reg to serve cause you can't serve & carbonate at the same time, I would force carb your keg after it has chilled to 4deg overnight at 230kpa for exactly 48 hours, burp it back to serving pressure & then store it off the gas. If you are patient enough, I believe the best method for carbonating is to set your reg at serving pressure, this depends though on what beer you have & how many volumes co2 you require, & leave it alone for 7-10 days. It will carb up to only that pressure. I have an AG JSGA clone now in secondary & according to Beersmith, I will carbonate this one at 89kpa for 7-10 days. This should give my beer 2.6 volumes of co2. Fizzy enough for me. One I am drinking now is a K&K Coopers canadian Blonde & I force carbed this one at 230kpa for 48hours. It actually tastes better after a week in the keg anyways & hurrying up the process to drink it early is pointless really unless you like things a little green.
Cheers,
Crusty

 

[jj2570]

Thanks everyone for your advice