First time kegging help

I'm gettin gready to keg for the first time and I'm thinking about force carbing. The problem is that I cannot have the keg in the minifridge and have it connected to my CO2 tank.

My 2 options are to connecto the CO2 tank to the keg apply some pressure and leave it warm, or connect the CO2 tank to the keg, appply some pressure, disconnect and place the keg in the fridge. What do you recommend?

I'm thinking that the second option is best but have no idea how much pressure I should apply, at what temp should I keep the keg, and how many times would I need to connect to the CO2 tank and apply pressure.

Mawa

Are you going to have it connected to serve? I'm just trying to picture the set up.

Because co2 dissolves easier in cold solution, there are two things I'd consider doing. The easiest would be to prime the keg just as you would bottles and keep it at room temperature until carbonated. That would give you a consistent carbonation, but not force carbing.

The other thing that might work is to chill the keg. Then, add the co2 (at a high pressure like 30 psi) and gently rock the keg on your lap until the co2 stops flowing. Stick it back in the fridge and see if it's too foamy or undercarbed the next day. If it's still undercarbed, repeat- if it's overcarbed, purge and put it back in the fridge. That would definitely be an inexact way to do it, but it might work ok.

Thanks for the answer Yooper!

I hadn't thought about priming but it makes sense, I think that's what I'm going to do. Just one question, how much priming sugar shoul I use?

And yes, I will have the keg connected to serve using a jockey box with a cold plate.

Mawa

When I prime a keg, I use about 1/2 of the priming solution for bottling. So, generally about 2 or 2.5 ounces per five gallons.

I'm not sure how force carbing it and then serving with a jockey box would work- I think a couple of weeks ago, someone posted that they had all kinds of problems with foaming. Remember that co2 comes out of solution at higher temps (if the keg is room temperature) causing some foaming when it goes through the jockey box. I think priming might be the way to go in this case- but I've never used a jockey box, so I'm definitely NOT an expert on the subject!