Quick Way To Gas Your 19lt Post Mix Keg

[funkym]

Hi I am new to this forum.

I was recently looking for info on gassing times and pressure for 19lt post mix kegs but could find much in a quick search of google so I thought I would post my own experience for others to use if required.

When I first started kegging I just did what the home brew shop told me but that was really slow and took way too long. Over the past 2 years I have worked out that I can do it much faster with a lot less muching about.

Just syphon your brew into your 19lt post mix keg, put the lid on, connect the gas line to the LINE IN, (forget about the line out) purge it / burp it, wack it in the fridge with line still connected and turn the pressure up to 50psi. In 1 hr come back and make sure it is still on 50psi, it probably won't be so just adjust your reg back up to 50 again. Once it has been in the fridge for 24 hrs at 50psi, back off your regulator to 0 and let out all the pressure with the manual releaf valve. Now wind up your reg to about 5 - 8 psi and run a about 200 - 300 millilitres through your tap. Toss that out then pour a glass of beer and check if it's gassed to your taste.

I just go off taste. If it's tastes like a normal beer then your right. (I also don't quite gas my beer quite as much as a commerical beer). If it's still a bit flat just crank the gas back up to 50psi for another 1 - 2 hrs and repeat process uttill your happy.

If you,ve got a newish frost free fridge like I have and have the temp turned down nice and low it should be cold enough to drink once you've gased the keg.

I am also going to try gassing my Key at 60psi tonight and run that for about 20hrs to see if I can get it to gas a bit faster.

By the way 24hrs at exactly 50psi normally does the trick for me. However do not let it run much more than 1 - 2 hrs over or you will most likely just end up with froth. I have experienced this the hard way.

If anyone can tell me how long it will take at 60psi that would be great.

Wouldn't like to go much higher as you don't want the keg blowing a seal.

Cheers

Funkym

 

[Sammus]

Everyone here seems to either gas to serving pressure and leave the gas on and its carbed perfectly after about week or 2, or use a quick carb method that takes all of 5 minutes but risks overcarbing and a long decarbonating process to get it back to normal. Some I think have perfected it.

The quick carb I've read about is explained in detail in the site's wiki, and involves chilling the keg, having a gas line with a liquid disconnect at the end, and hooking it into liquid post so the co2 bubbles up through the beer. The gas absorbs quicker into the beer this way, turn it up to about 300kpa and give it a gentle rock for about a minute or so. Let it sit for about half an hour to sittle, vent and hook up serving pressure and go for your life

A slightly longer but less risy version of the above involves basically the same process, but hooking it a a lower pressure and rocking for 5-10mins. This way you can't overcarb, but I haven't been able to pull it off successfully yet (can never get enough gas in there). I just hook it up at serving pressure of about 50-60kpa and leave it in the kegerator for a week.

 

[Bribie G]

With UK bitters and dark ales that don't need to be crystal clear for the first few pints I prime the keg with around 90g of sugar and leave for a week or two (I have 4 kegs on the go and more on the way next month hopefully so can afford a small queue) and it's just about perfect. However I have to keep an eye out because sometimes they don't seal with this gradual gas build up and I have to give them a burst through the gas post to seal the rubber up against the lip of the top opening.

 

[matti]

linky

Here is maybe what you are looking for.

 

[buttersd70]

A slightly longer but less risy version of the above involves basically the same process, but hooking it a a lower pressure and rocking for 5-10mins. This way you can't overcarb, but I haven't been able to pull it off successfully yet (can never get enough gas in there). I just hook it up at serving pressure of about 50-60kpa and leave it in the kegerator for a week.

Sammus;
you could combine the two methods, and cosider that the first is just giving a kickstart to the second. 10mins of the shaking method, followed by letting it sit, should cut the wait time down from a week to about 48-72 hours. The longer you shake at serving pressure, the more time you can trim off the sit. I do about 20-30 mins. After that, it's servable and drinkable, but still slightly under. After 24 hours on the gas, its perfect. If doing the shaking method at serving pressure, you want to be fairly vigourous with it....gentle rocking is for the high pressure method. Strongly strongly reccomend a non return fitting in the line for especially for any method involving shaking/rocking.

 

[Sammus]

Sammus;
you could combine the two methods, and cosider that the first is just giving a kickstart to the second. 10mins of the shaking method, followed by letting it sit, should cut the wait time down from a week to about 48-72 hours. The longer you shake at serving pressure, the more time you can trim off the sit. I do about 20-30 mins. After that, it's servable and drinkable, but still slightly under. After 24 hours on the gas, its perfect. If doing the shaking method at serving pressure, you want to be fairly vigourous with it....gentle rocking is for the high pressure method. Strongly strongly reccomend a non return fitting in the line for especially for any method involving shaking/rocking.

Yeah I've often thought about that... but I can only fit 4 in my chesty. With 3 on tap, 1 carbing and another 3 in the queue to join the fridge, I'm not really in any hurry

I didn't realise I'd turned my reg off the other day after building my new serving setup, and when I was hooking up the gas, the first keg I plugged into was full up past the gas post. It got all the pressure in the line after the reg. Then next one I plugged into got a heap of beer from the first one Lapses in concentration like that are when I wish I'd forked out for a nrv on each gas qd... first time its happened, but it wont ever happen again. I use one on my reg, and it hasn't saved me yet, I'm usually pretty careful with that kind of thing though.

 

[matti]

oh oh .
Sammus what kind of regulator do you have?
I did some thing similar and Though I could blow out all the beer.
How wrong was I <_<
How do I clean a Micromatic regulator

 

[shonks69]

Has anyone ever tried using a carbonating lid on there 19L post mix kegs,
I have heard they will carbonate a keg in 4 hrs @ 4 degrees.