How much time to keg a batch?

**Beerbeque** · 07-29-2008, 12:37 PM

I still bottle my beers and would like to save time by kegging soon. So i was wondering, how long does it take you guys to keg a 5 gallon batch from start to final clean up?

Drunkensatyr · 07-29-2008, 12:38 PM

20 min or so. That is sanitize keg and racking cane, rack the beer, pressurize and leak test, spray out the carboy and add soaking solution.

**Yooper** · 07-29-2008, 01:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drunkensatyr

20 min or so. That is sanitize keg and racking cane, rack the beer, pressurize and leak test, spray out the carboy and add soaking solution.

Yes, that's about right for me, too. One thing I find that is easy is to keep several beers in the fermenters, and then rack two on the same day to the kegs. Since everything is out, and you're racking one, it takes an additional five minutes or so to do the second one. I finish sanitizing the items, and then push the sanitizer in the next keg and it waits for me to finish racking the first one. When I'm done with the first, I dump the sanitizer out of the second keg (push it through some beer line/tap first) and rack the second beer. So, I can keg two in less than 30 minutes, including clean up.

ohiobrewtus · 07-29-2008, 02:29 PM

20 min seems about right. It's so much less time consuming than bottling that it's just silly.

**ajf** · 07-29-2008, 03:20 PM

I'd agree with 20 minutes as well, but you have to take into account the time taken to clean the keg. This takes much less time that it takes to clean all those bottles. Think one 5g bottle instead of 50 something 12 oz bottles. You also have to clean out the lines. This takes a few minutes of actual work, and about 15 minutes soaking in a BLC solution. Then every so often, you want to dismantle the poppets and replace the gaskets. This takes about 10 minutes. I dismantle completely once a month, and replace the gaskets once every 6 months.

-a.

wildwest450 · 07-29-2008, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ajf

I I dismantle completely once a month, and replace the gaskets once every 6 months.

Replace the gaskets every 6 months, isn't that overkill? I replaced mine when I first bought them, but I wasn't planning on replacing them for a good long time.

Laurel · 07-29-2008, 04:57 PM

I figured I'd replace gaskets as they begun to show wear or begun leaking, whichever was first.

**ShortSnoutBrewing** · 07-29-2008, 04:57 PM

Agreed that 6 months seems kind of overkill. I have one keg that's had the same replacement gaskets on it for...oh...6 years. No problems at all. All my other kegs were purchased about a year ago and I replaced gaskets at that point.

**WortMonger** · 07-29-2008, 04:58 PM

I clean most of my kegs at the same time so I have no real reference for that part, but as fast as the beer comes in the target keg from the fermenter is as long as it takes me. I soak my kegs an hour in PBW or Oxyclean, quick rinse, then fill with Star-San and purge from one keg to the next with CO2. I end up with everything back in a large keg for future use and then have kegs ready to be filled. I counter pressure fill, but you could always dump the CO2 and open the keg for a gravity fill. Biggest thing to remember kegging is to purge your head space after you have filled and before you move it. Even so, most of your head space will be so saturated with CO2 so not much O2 would be present. I just like to be better safe than oxidized. The fact you can just dump in flat beer/prime/serve in such a large container really appealed to me. I haven't bottled in years.

Laurel · 07-29-2008, 05:05 PM

Overkill is never BAD, it just comes down to how much extra time and money you want to spend. There are people on the corvette forum that do oil changes every thousand miles with $9/qt Royal Purple oil, go through the car and change bulbs, bleed their brakes every 6 months regardless of whether the car's been driven (garage queens).

The cars will be in great shape and likely won't have any failures due to lack of maintenance, but realistically, most cars (even corvettes), and kegs don't need to be maintained meticulously to perform well.