Set it and forget it method?

[sandog_au]

Hi all,
If I pressurise my keg at a certain pressure, say 30PSI, and then disconnect the gas and leave for a period of time. Can I obtain a particular carbonation profile or do I need to leave the gas connected at a lower pressure depending on the amount of CO2 I want dissolved.
Cheers,
Sandy.

 

[manticle]

You can set, leave and disconnect to carbonate. To serve, you either need to maintain serving pressure (simply turn on when required to the right setting to replace what you dispense) or use the gas in the beer to dispense (slowly robbing the beer of its carbonation).

I often do the latter with the ocassional quick burst from the bottle to replace but I'm not fussed about carb level so long as it isn't super high or flat as a pancake (and prefer flat to overly gassy).

 

[Crusty]

Hi all,
If I pressurise my keg at a certain pressure, say 30PSI, and then disconnect the gas and leave for a period of time. Can I obtain a particular carbonation profile or do I need to leave the gas connected at a lower pressure depending on the amount of CO2 I want dissolved.
Cheers,
Sandy.

You can leave it set @30psi with the gas on & you will achieve the carbonation level you want after a set amount of time.
This will depend on your beer line length & also your fridge temperature.
Leaving the gas connected @serving pressure works every time & eventually you will reach the carbonation level you want unless it's some ridiculously high level your chasing. After you transfer to the keg, add 100kpa of pressure & burp the keg a few times to displace any air & disconnect it, put it in the fridge overnight. Set it @300kpa for a full 24hrs, disconnect your gas & release all the keg pressure. Set it @serving pressure & your good to go. This method will get you in the 2.4-2.6vol/Co2 range which is acceptable for the majority of beers you'll probably make.

 

[Danscraftbeer]

Agreeing with all above. To set and forget is to leave the pressure set a serving level (12psi for me) and wait 5 days or so. 7 days is there.
I get impatient and want to test a new fridged beer in 3 days, so I disconnect all other kegs and force 30psi into the new keg for 2 or 3 days then back to 12psi standard to serve.

 

[shaunous]

I believe the man is asking if he jams 30PSI in straight up and turns the reg off, and then relies on that 30PSI in the air space of the keg to carbonate the keg, will it work. The answer is no, it will not, as it needs volume of CO2, not just a certain pressure. If you do it the other way around, and carbonate and then turn off like the lads above have mentioned, well yes, that'll work.

 

[manticle]

If your interpretation is correct shaunous then you are correct to a point.

OP: You can force carb at high pressure and shake/wait till absorbed (works best with cold beer) or pressurise at desired serving pressure till fizzy then turn off. Combo of time and pressure, influenced by temperature.

 

[slcmorro]

I connect at 300kpa, fill the keg and then disconnect. I do this twice daily, morning and night and in 4-5 days my beers are carbed.

 

[Danscraftbeer]

Leave connected! and forget it. Unless it gets over carbonated then disconnect it.

edit: oh man we must sound confusing. :lol:

 

[Rocker1986]

I always thought the set it and forget it method was simply to connect the gas to the keg at the required dispensing pressure and leave it there.

I'm still working mine out but it appears at this early stage that for my storage temp and desired CO2 volumes that I need it just on 10 PSI. The beer is pouring perfectly and is carbed for my tastes at this setting (I'd inadvertently overcarbed it originally but since fixed the issue). My beer lines are 5mm ID and a bit over 2m long each. You could always give it a blast at 30PSI just to seal the keg up then dial it back to serving pressure and leave, yes?

 

[sandog_au]

Thanks for the info people,
My question was about applying a high pressure of CO2 to the keg then disconnecting and hopefully achieving carbonation. I know I can do it at low pressure and leaving the gas on. But I thought maybe if you pressurised the headspace of the keg the beer would slowly dissolve the CO2 until it reaches equilibrium and the required carbonation.
Cheers,
Sandy.

 

[sandog_au]

Thanks for the info people,
My question was about applying a high pressure of CO2 to the keg then disconnecting and hopefully achieving carbonation. I know I can do it at low pressure and leaving the gas on. But I thought maybe if you pressurised the headspace of the keg the beer would slowly dissolve the CO2 until it reaches equilibrium and the required carbonation.
Cheers,
Sandy.

 

[Lincoln2]

I generally carb my kegs at 45,000 kpa for 3-5 seconds. But my brewery is in an industrial estate next to a tyre & mechanical workshop. Their compressor has it's own shed. And I wear full body armour.

 

[Topher]

I generally carb my kegs at 45,000 kpa for 3-5 seconds. But my brewery is in an industrial estate next to a tyre & mechanical workshop. Their compressor has it's own shed. And I wear full body armour.

Fully carbed instantly....but the kegs keep flying into orbit!

 

[Tropico]

Unless you rock and roll your keg it takes time for dissolved CO2 to get from the surface, to the bottom of the keg. Time and patience at the correct pressure for a given temperature (with mixing) is the only way to achieve perfection.

 

[Rocker1986]

Thanks for the info people,
My question was about applying a high pressure of CO2 to the keg then disconnecting and hopefully achieving carbonation.

Yes, but you can't just apply it for a few seconds or minutes, unless you use the Ross method of gently rocking the keg. There's a sticky in the Gear and Equipment section that explains this method.

 

[Lincoln2]

Yep. Obviously I don't really care about kegs. In Kyogle, "Set & forget" is when you plant a heap of cloned seedlings in the national park in spring then go back in April and hope the authorities/paddymelons/rip-off artists/drought have left you something useable. That's the only reason I clicked on this thread.

 

[manticle]

That and eleven pints

 

[Danscraftbeer]

Rocking the keg was my first experience and a few experiences. Unless your in a lab and experienced then its a shot in the dark. Kegging is an experience and only you will know how to tune your own rig.
Re - Set and Forget. Set reg at 10 to 12 psi leave keg connected at that, and forget. Drinkable in ~6 days. Leave it connected all the way to empty.

 

[Lincoln2]

That and eleven pints

Call off the surveillance. I had a rough day at work and i needs my pints (of stout & doppelbock).

 

[manticle]

Nothing wrong with eleven mate. It's a magic number I achieve on a regular basis.