Force carbonating the right way...

It seems there are many methods to carbonating in a Keg. I have seen directions for 30 PSI for a few days, 20 PSI for a few three or four days, And set and forget method, 12 psi for two or three weeks.... I would assume slower is better?

Another reason I think this way is because I have one of those little carbonator caps that goes on to a 2 L bottle and I find when I push a lot of CO2 and shake the vessel and then Push more CO2 I normally get carbonation but it just does not seem the same as when I bottle condition which is much better.

Can someone shed some light on this for me please?
Is it possible to carbonates in a week and still get a nice form of carbonation?

Also, I'm doing Cider not beer but I like a good amount of carbonation in my cider, Not like the very lightly carbonated European-style But good old heavy-duty carbonation.

You are going to get a bunch of different suggestions on this one. What works for me:
Rack my already cold crashed (32f) beer into my keg, purge, set pressure to 40 psi for 24ish hours, vent, set pressure to serving which is usually around 8-10 pounds, and give it a go. I then adjust my keezer up a few degrees to a good serving temp. Of course the beer gets better over the next couple days, but the beer is carbed to a drinkable level in a day. Just my 2 cents.

Here's what works for me: Store keg at 38F under 30psi for 24-36 hours. After that, purge keg and set to serving pressure, which is typically 8-10psi depending on the style and how many volumes of co2 I'm looking for. I let that sit for 5-6 days at 38F then bottle.

What's your dispensing psi?

My 1 week perfect carb would be 1 day at 30, 2 days at 20, rest of the week at 11 all at 38*f.

BanginBanjo said:

Here's what works for me: Store keg at 38F under 30psi for 24-36 hours. After that, purge keg and set to serving pressure, which is typically 8-10psi depending on the style and how many volumes of co2 I'm looking for. I let that sit for 5-6 days at 38F then bottle.

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This is EXACTLY my process... unless I have a decent lineup, in which case I just keep it at serving pressure (I have secondary regulators dedicated for carbonating while 5 are flowing), about 11 psi.

i just kegged 3 last night at 30psi.. i'll switch it to 12 when i get home from work today and it'll be good in a few days.. i'm always paranoid about overcarbing so i'd rather wait a couple extra days.. the 1 day of higher psi is just to kickstart it it seems

Starting off at 30 is good because you can draw a semi-carbonated sample the next day. (also a great way to detect any leaks up front)