Moving House With Kegs

[rossp]

Hi All,

I'm a new keg system owner. As yet my kegs are waiting for a few ferments to finish so I haven't set the rig up yet, but it won't be far away. Thanks to some great threads here & in the wiki I'm hoping I won't have too many troubles.

In a little over 2 months I'll be moving house, which will mean turning the keg fridge off for a day or so. Ideally I want to be able to have the beer taps going ASAP at the new house as a way of saying thanks to the mates who turn up to help me move. So my question is this: Will it be a problem?

Based on what I've read carbonation is a function of the temperature & CO2 pressure. Assuming the kegs are perfectly carbonated & the system is balanced before the move, if they warm up in transit am I correct in thinking the CO2 will come out of suspension but stay pressurised inside the keg, so that when the temperature drops and the CO2 reconnected the CO2 in the headspace of the keg should go back into suspension? How long is this likely to take - if I get the fridge out first thing and turned on, am I likely to be able to pour beers that afternoon?

If you take a stubby of beer and open it while it's warm, the beer isn't overly carbonated. Chill the same stubby before opening and it is fine... this makes me think my logic is somewhat close to the mark.

Any input is greatly appreciated

Looking forward to having my beer on tap ready to drink at a moments notice!

Ross

 

[captainbrewer]

Every Christmas I take kegs away with me that have been carbonated and then stay at room temperature until time to go in the fridge, once chilled again all is well, from experience you should not have any problems with the kegs.

Cheers

Captainbrewer

 

[rossp]

Every Christmas I take kegs away with me that have been carbonated and then stay at room temperature until time to go in the fridge, once chilled again all is well, from experience you should not have any problems with the kegs.

Cheers

Captainbrewer

Woohoo! Thanks mate. Now my only problem is getting them cold again ASAP on move-day!

 

[Oatlands Brewer]

transport them in a bin with ice...im assuming the move isnt interstate or anything

 

[kenlock]

Woohoo! Thanks mate. Now my only problem is getting them cold again ASAP on move-day!

Well firstly, you can have them at much lower than serving temp before you leave. A big mass, as opposed to a small mass such as a stubby, will take much longer to change temp.

Secondly, you can always sit a keg or two in an esky (or other vessel - garbage bin, tub, etc) full of ice to keep cold. By the sound of it with mates coming along, this could easily be achieved in the back of one of their cars.

Bottling some and putting them on ice is also an option.

 

[rossp]

Great ideas, thanks for that guys. Will over-chill & ice for transport... unpack the fridge first to give it a while to settle then by the time the move is finished we can have a few nice cold brews.

I wish my mates would put good beer on when I helped them move!

 

[Bribie G]

I've taken kegs to case swaps and parties etc and a great piece of kit is a sliver/honeycomb car windscreen protector, you know the ones you prop up inside the windscreen when you leave your car in a carpark on a hot day, to protect the dash whatever.
They are perfect size, cheap as chips and make a perfect keg parka in ten seconds. Mine even has a couple of big elastic loops on the end that just slip over the outside of the roll to secure it in place.