Ross Method Of Forced Carbonation Of Kegs

[dannymars]

another useful calculator... http://www.brewersfriend.com/keg-carbonation-calculator/

 

[shacked]

How long should my 6mm line be? Should I just grab 4 meters worth and try it out?

 

[dannymars]

How long should my 6mm line be? Should I just grab 4 meters worth and try it out?

yeah, not a bad idea.. it depends on tap hardware, height of hardware, temperature, viscosity of the liquid etc etc. So starting long and see how you go is not a bad option. Especially if you have john guest fittings, otherwise it could be a pain if using stepless clamps.

 

[danestead]

How long should my 6mm line be? Should I just grab 4 meters worth and try it out?

Yep, and just keep chopping off half a meter at a time until you get a length which flows fast enough for you without too much head.

 

[shacked]

Thanks guys, I'll grab another 4m of it on Tuesday

 

[dannymars]

What sort of taps and set up are you running?

 

[shacked]

Keg mate with 3 SS intertap taps

 

[shacked]

Yep, and just keep chopping off half a meter at a time until you get a length which flows fast enough for you without too much head.

Just hooked up 4m and still have the foaming issue. Not sure what to do next. Any ideas?

 

[Rocker1986]

Warm taps? Shitty quality shanks? Keg still overcarbonated?

i had the same issue on my first keg using this method, because there was a slight gas leak when I first did it, then once I fixed that I re-did it but it was already partly carbonated. I fixed it by de-gassing over a day or so, but before that, in order to pour with no foam I had to turn the reg up to over 20 PSI, then shut the gas off immediately and burp it. Obviously returned to constant normal pressure around 11-12PSI once it was back to normal carb level.

Ever since I've simply put the cold kegs in to the fridge at serving pressure and waited a week, but when I get some spare kegs building up I will try a reduced carb version of this method so they don't take as long once put into the fridge.

 

[danestead]

Just hooked up 4m and still have the foaming issue. Not sure what to do next. Any ideas?

Nope sorry dude. Probably best to get a home brewer in your area to come take a look. Usually foaming is because of line length, warm taps or over carbed beer.

 

[RelaxedBrewer]

How does this method go with heavy hop aroma beers? No problems with loss of aroma from shaking an foaming, or something?

 

[bear09]

AT the risk of sounding like a major bubble burster... Ive never understood why people would want to force carb. I could be being a noob here but for me every beer I have ever kegged takes a fortnight before it hits its sweet spot in the barrel (ales here folks)...

If you gotta wait for it to be a fortnight old I dont understand the need for force carb. I put the pressure on at 1 bar and leave it for 4 days. I sample at 5... try to wait until 10 (never do) and by the time it gets to 14 days its just nectar!

Ive never had problems with over carbing, under carbing or beer coming up the lines - EVER. I guess I just dont understand the panic to get the beer carbed when really it has to condition for a couple of weeks to become great.

 

[Diesel80]

Just hooked up 4m and still have the foaming issue. Not sure what to do next. Any ideas?

Have you tried 4mm or 5mm ID line? 6mm is pretty large ID for beer line.
I have 4mm on my kegmate and runs up to FC taps on the Tower. 4m line length I have, but it is not really needed with the FC taps. Could go shorter but having no problems, so don't want to mess with it.

Cheers,
D80

 

[shacked]

Have you tried 4mm or 5mm ID line? 6mm is pretty large ID for beer line.
I have 4mm on my kegmate and runs up to FC taps on the Tower. 4m line length I have, but it is not really needed with the FC taps. Could go shorter but having no problems, so don't want to mess with it.

Cheers,
D80

I've got some 5mm line, I'll give it a go tomorrow!

Might brew up a quick kit and kilo. I recon I've probably wasted 10+ pints of my AG american brown ale :blink:

 

[Benn]

I've got 3.1 metres of 6mm line each running to $30 eBay taps. Height from middle of keg to taps is roughly 600mm, fridge hovers around 4deg. Initial pour is foamy but once the tap is cold it all works pretty good.

 

[shacked]

OK, so last night I degassed the keg with the intention of resetting the regulator to 2psi to pour a beer, forgot about it and this arvo i reset to 11psi and poured a perfect beer.

I think it was overcarbed to start with and now it seems to be working fine.

Thanks for all your input!

 

[Rocker1986]

I guess I just dont understand the panic to get the beer carbed when really it has to condition for a couple of weeks to become great.

That's a fair point, and at the moment I am using the set at pouring pressure and forget it for a week or two method with great effect. However, when I get a small stockpile of kegs in waiting, I'll force carb them quicker, not fully carbed but carbed enough so that when they eventually make it into the kegerator I don't have to wait a week to try them.

Glad to hear your issues have sorted themselves out too Shacked! Foamy over carbonated kegs are no fun.

 

[GalBrew]

Hooking a keg up to CO2 at any pressure is force carbonation. You are all force carbing whether you use the Ross method or not. Also there is a formula to work out your beer line length. It's based on line inner diameter, serving pressure and the height the beer has to rise. Some quick math is a lot easier than trial and error.

 

[shacked]

Kegged another brew today.

After purging at serving pressure, I cranked in up to 30psi and shook the hell out of it (on the side) for 60 seconds with the IN post down, waited 15 mins, burped it and set to 12psi.

Perfect pour!

I've replaced all my line with 6mm x 4m.

 

[Blind Dog]

You must be stoked. Hopefully that's problem solved