Ross Method Of Forced Carbonation Of Kegs

[PistolPatch]

Thought I'd post 'The Ross Method' of Carbonation under a new thread heading as I've searched for it several times and it's pretty hard to find. I also have a question that hopefully Ross can answer and a suggestion for newbies like me.

The Ross Method...

"After filling the keg (upto the weld mark just below the top) with cold beer turn pressure upto 300 kpa & rock keg back & forth on its side (inlet at bottom) for 50 seconds. Turn off gas (on main bottle) but continue to rock keg while monitoring the pressure dial. You will see the pressure full back quite quickly & then stabilise (100 - 200kpa). The goal is for the pressure to fall back to between 140 - 160 kpa depending on your preference (140 pommie ale - 160 Aussie beer). If the pressure falls well below 140 kpa, just turn gas back on & rock for another 10 - 15 secs, then recheck & repeat as necessary. I find that 60 secs is nearly always about the mark. Then all you have to do is release the top pressure valve on the keg (normally a couple of hours later to avoid foam flying out of the valve), connect to your gas (making sure you have set pressure back to 80 kpa or whatever you like to dispense at) & you will pour a perfect beer."

One Suggestion: This will be really obvious for everyone here but for newbies like me, try to use a dedicated gas line from the regulator to do this (i.e. no T-Pieces). For example, I had a T-Piece to run gas to the keg and a beer bottling gun. I ended up with beer running back up the gas line which basically meant new gas lines. Whoops!

One Question: Like an old girlfriend used to tell me, I don't seem to know when to stop. This method has worked every time for me so far but I reckon I've rocked for more like ten minutes than a minute. I just did one and took a bit more notice this time. If I gently rock it the guage will go down very slowly but if I shake it vigorously, the guage goes down fairly quickly even after ten minutes. When is enough, enough?

Thanks again Ross for the method.

P.S. I know you're meant to wait overnight but I'm going to run out of beer in about ten minutes so I either have to stop drinking or release the pressure on the keg I shook vigorously about 45 minutes ago.

Well, someone's gotta try it! :beerbang:

 

[PistolPatch]

Surprisingly, after patiently waiting a whole 50 minutes, I have got pretty much all head! Solution: Pour into jug first! No worries! Probably you should only do this when really desperate.

(By the way, didn't get any foam out top of keg when I purged it.)

 

[Ross]

Pistolpatch,

Not 100% sure what you're asking...

But with reference to the pressure guage dropping after turning the gas off - you are just waiting for it to stabilise, though it will continue to drop very slowly if you keep on vigourously shaking. I find it drops fairly steadily & then virtually stops - this is when you take the reading. Also, as you found - several hours isn't needed before you release the top pressure. 10 to 15 mins is normally adequate.

Hope I've answered your question...


cheers Ross

 

[PistolPatch]

Hey there Ross!

You must be good luck! Replying here and just won $20 in a single hand of poker! Cheers!

Anyway... My beer is coming out all head still. I suppose my question was do you gently rock back and forth (ie keg on it's side) or vigorously shake in every possible direction?

(Just won another $6!)

I think, on reflection, that my question is the rate of decline on the guage though I am not sure how you can possibly answer that. The difference between 160 and 140 seems minute when you are doing the shaking.

(Just won another $9 - all $US by the way!)
(another $6)

OK. An idea! Could you word the Ross Method to say that if upon shutting off gas and with gentle rolling, if 160 (or 140) is reached within so many seconds then you have achieved your goal?

Sorry about this post but as you can probably tell, few too many beers and you are seriously good luck!

Thanks Ross!

 

[Sparky]

Hi Pistol Patch & Ross

After some trial & error with kegging, (I've got kegs from Matt at C&C and fittings from Brett (Token Survivor) on ebay.)

Now I can carbonate at dispensing pressure using additional gas lines in the "Kegerator". 3 beers on tap & 3 carbonating is the norm here.

I've found 13-14 PSI @ 4deg for at least 2 weeks is the best for me and works well with ales as well as lagers.

IMHO There's usually a settling in the taste of the beer too.

Means getting busy with brewing to get a few weeks ahead, however once you are ahead it's a breeze.

Cheers

WayneO

 

[fifteenbeerslater]

Sparky,
You carbonate for 2 weeks at low pressure to get suitable carbonation. Do you leave the gas on after 2 weeks and if so can you overcarbonate say by week 4,5 or6.
Cheers 15BL :beer:

 

[JasonY]

Sparky,
You carbonate for 2 weeks at low pressure to get suitable carbonation. Do you leave the gas on after 2 weeks and if so can you overcarbonate say by week 4,5 or6.
Cheers 15BL :beer:

[post="104059"][/post]​

This method is refered to as balanced kegging and you wont overcarbonate if you leave the gas at pouring pressure.

The whole objective of carbonating is disolving CO2 into the beer. The amount that dissolves is related to pressure (the higher the pressure the more CO2 that gets dissolved) and temperature (the lower the temperature the more CO2 that gets dissolved).

So if you keep your fridge at the same temp and select a pressure which gives you the dissolved CO2 you need (say 100kpa) and set your taps up to pour well at that pressure then as long as you dont mind giveing the kegs a week or two to gas up you will be fine. I also gas my kegs this way.

The forced carbonatin method by rocking the keg speeds this all up by increasing the contact area of the co2 and beer at a higher pressure. You can try this method at your pouring presure it will be slower but you wont overcarbonate your beer if you go too mad.

Good luck

 

[PistolPatch]

Thanks Jason & Sparky,

Wish I had that many kegs!!! I'm in a 1 bedrrom apartment so forced carbonation is my only option. Am finding the Ross Method has worked well but was probably trying to get a bit too technical before in my questions or, more probably, just too many beers!!! Now that I've done it a few times I think I have a 'feel' for it.

P.S. Just put a brew on yesterday and thanks to prior thread suggestions, bought a 100litre Can Cooler ($30) and Safale SO4 yeast. Outside temp is 27 and fermenter sitting on 18 with only 3 freezer blocks every 12 hours - unbelievable - might be my first quaffable brew!

Cheers and more beers!

 

[iralosavic]

Just chose the oldest relevant thread to ask: If I leave anon return valve on my gas line, should I expect pressure to not change on the gauge when turning co2 off? Anyway, I just followed this method and that's what happened. Cheers

 

[seamad]

Yep thats normal.

 

[seamad]

Should clarify, leave non return valve in always, pressure will drop as you shake keg.

 

[Online Brewing Supplies]

Just chose the oldest relevant thread to ask: If I leave anon return valve on my gas line, should I expect pressure to not change on the gauge when turning co2 off? Anyway, I just followed this method and that's what happened. Cheers

should it not change ? Yes
1 Assuming your beer is totally saturated with CO2, otherwise beer this will suck CO2 to equalize.
2 you have no gas loses.
3 expansion in gas lines
This will give you a few ideas to think about.
Nev

 

[iralosavic]

I can't find any leaks... After purging the excess pressure and returning lines to 80kpa, the new keg poured next to flat. I think I may have misinterpreted the keg rocking action though - I sat it vertically and swayed it. Was I supposed to lay it horizontally and roll it?​

should it not change ? Yes
1 Assuming your beer is totally saturated with CO2, otherwise beer this will suck CO2 to equalize.
2 you have no gas loses.
3 expansion in gas lines
This will give you a few ideas to think about.
Nev

 

[ShredMaster]

Just chose the oldest relevant thread to ask: If I leave anon return valve on my gas line, should I expect pressure to not change on the gauge when turning co2 off? Anyway, I just followed this method and that's what happened. Cheers

I guess your question poses more questions to be able to answer it correctly as to what you were intending to get the answer for.

When you ask about the non-return valve and the pressure dropping, are you referring to shutting of the gas and rocking/shaking and watching if the needle is moving?

When you shut off the gas, are you shutting of the knob on the cylinder or the knob on the regulator? In my limited experience with my Tesuco reg, shutting of the knob on the gas cylinder will allow the pressure dial to read what is currently in the keg, my reg has a built-in non-return valve.

I don't fully understand exactly how a non-return valve differentiates between not returning liquid yet returning a reading for the gas. I could be way off track but no doubt someone here will clarify.

Cheers,
Shred.

 

[iralosavic]

I shut the gas off at the bottle and continued rocking the keg and observed no reduction in pressure - and it was still flat.

 

[ShredMaster]

So we dont clutter up this ancient thread, perhaps start a new thread and explain EXACTLY what you did so the people who are experts have a chance to look more into your procedure and help update you with what could cause that effect.

Just an idea, I know I want to hear more about what you did and why it didn't work, but a thread from 2006 is probably not the best place for that discussion.

Cheers,
Shred.

 

[hsb]

I can't find any leaks... After purging the excess pressure and returning lines to 80kpa, the new keg poured next to flat. I think I may have misinterpreted the keg rocking action though - I sat it vertically and swayed it. Was I supposed to lay it horizontally and roll it?​

Yes, lay it flat and roll vigorously with your foot whilst it makes scary noises.

 

[bignath]

Yes, lay it flat and roll vigorously with your foot whilst it makes scary noises.

Yep, and in addition to this, try to keep the gas in post closest to the ground, beer out post closest to the sky.

 

[iralosavic]

I run the gas down the liquid tube, so I still want the keg oriented this way?

There was another thread with videos and they showed the keg being rocked while vertical. I'm starting to wonder if my lines arent coping with 300kpa. I have the stepless clamps and broke my pliers haha before I could crimp every single one properly hmmm

 

[shacked]

I kegged for the first time today following this method. It took me bout 90 seconds to get to a resting pressure of 21 PSI / 145 KPA.

I vented all pressure, hooked the beer lines up and set the reg to 10 PSI for serving. All I'm getting is foam. I vented and dialed the serving pressure back to 2 PSI and now I am able to pull a reasonable beer with a little extra foam but nothing too much.

Any ideas where I've gone wrong here? The beer was cold crashed to about 3 degrees before I transferred to the keg.