Probably a dumb question, but...

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jphalabuk

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I have been kegging for ~ 6 months now, and I love it.

My kegerator only has room for 5 kegs in it, and that's with me running the Co2 and Nitro from outside the fridge. Here is my dumb question:

If I carbonate outside the fridge (at room temp) to exactly the volume I want, and then put the keg into the fridge, will the amount of carbonation stay the same? I understand that temperature makes a difference in how easy the CO2 dissolves, but I want to believe that once it's dissolved, it is dissolved. Does that make sense?

Anyway, thanks for the help.
 
If I carbonate outside the fridge (at room temp) to exactly the volume I want, and then put the keg into the fridge, will the amount of carbonation stay the same?

Yup, you're good to go. Just use a carb chart/calculator to determine the right pressure at your room temp. Probably on the order of 30 psi. Once it's carbed up let the keg chill overnight, but remember to drop the pressure before you hook it back up!
 
This is actually a good question! When you carb at room temp you can get the desired level of dissolved co2 by using the appropriate amount of co2 pressure. If you then unhook the co2 pressure and drop the temperature, in theory the dissolved co2 should remain the same, as no more co2 pressure is being applied. I would guess that the amount of headspace in the keg could change the dissolved co2 by a small amount. I wouldn't worry about it though. Just do as zach says and bleed the pressure before you hook it back up.
 
Yup, you're good to go. Just use a carb chart/calculator to determine the right pressure at your room temp. Probably on the order of 30 psi. Once it's carbed up let the keg chill overnight, but remember to drop the pressure before you hook it back up!

+1. This is what I do for every brew. I have a 'charging' station in the basement with a 20# CO2 tank and a spider web of gas lines to hook up kegs. I can carb up to 6 kegs warm. Works just fine.
 
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