How does it take to chill for force carb

Made up a 4 gallon batch of root beer this afternoon and kegged it with 30lbs of co2, finally talked her into letting me put it in the fridge to chill it.

My question is how long do I leave it chilling before topping off the pressure and shaking it up to force the carbonation?

I'd give it 12-24 hours to chill down inside the keg, then put it onto the gas again. Give it a solid week before you pour any out of it. Also, use this chart to figure out the pressure you need to put the keg onto in order to get the carbonation level you want.

Also, I wouldn't use the shake method... IME, better to use the two week 'set and forget' method... You'll have better carbonation that way and won't need to use the pressure relief in the keg to stabilize it (or reduce it to where you want it to be)...

Do you really really want to shake it? Only because if you can picture a 12 ounce soda, shaken, and opened, you can get a small idea of what 4 gallons of shaken soda would be like. It'd be explosive, foamy, and a mess.

If you really, really, really NEED to drink it in a day or two, you can turn the carb level up to like 50 psi for 36 hours, then turn it back down to 30 after that, keeping it at 40 degrees.

Make sure you have at least 25' of 3/16" beerline to serve it, 30' would be better.

When you say give it a solid week, your not talking in the fridge the whole time are you? There is no way the wife is going to allow me to store it in the fridge for that long.....

dpalme said:

When you say give it a solid week, your not talking in the fridge the whole time are you?

Click to expand...

Actually, I am... Otherwise you'll need to use even more pressure to carbonate faster. If you try to do it outside of the fridge, you'll need to use even more pressure still. Colder liquids carbonate at lower pressure levels than warmer liquids. This is reflected in the chart I linked to.

I think it's time you started hunting on Craigslist, or the local classifieds, for an used fridge/freezer to use. Get a freezer and either add a Johnson or Love controller to it or modify the internal thermostat so that it won't go too cold (and freeze what's inside the kegs). Then you can start kegging and carbonating with CO2 properly.

I'm using a fridge with just it's internal temperature controller. That way I can also use the freezer for my hops (and not have them get too warm). I have three taps through the fridge door, with four 3 gallon kegs inside. I put the CO2 tank outside so that I have more room inside for kegs/beer.

Chill it to 40F, apply CO2 @ 30 PSI, set it on its side on the floor and rock it back and forth with your foot (with CO2 connected). It takes 10-15 minutes. I usually take a couple of breaks. Set it upright and leave it alone for several hours. With the gas off, vent the pressure off of the keg. It's ready. It will taste better in 2 days, but hey, the kids can't wait that long.

I always do this outside just in case, but, so far, no mishaps.

The chart is a little confusing, I understand the matter of temp vs. pressure, but I see no mention of time.....how do you know how much time to make sure its carbonated?

dpalme said:

The chart is a little confusing, I understand the matter of temp vs. pressure, but I see no mention of time.....how do you know how much time to make sure its carbonated?

Click to expand...

Standard is two weeks... You can try it after a week, but there's a 99.x% chance it will need either two weeks (or closer to two weeks) before it's carbonated fully.

I'm not doing soda yet (space in the brew fridge is reserved for BEER), and I don't have any kids that are whining for soda. Even if I did, they'd wait their turn. :rockin:

Shelley
How much gas do you vent off?

dpalme said:

Shelley
How much gas do you vent off?

Click to expand...

Get one of these, or something like it (other vendors have similar items, but this one is rock solid) so that you KNOW when it's at pressure and stabilized. Otherwise, go with the set and forget method...

BTW, rapid force carbonating is more complicated and can be more difficult to get stable than the two week method. Some people manage to get it right more often than now, but it's still not guaranteed of success.

Golddiggie said:

Get one of these, or something like it (other vendors have similar items, but this one is rock solid) so that you KNOW when it's at pressure and stabilized. Otherwise, go with the set and forget method...

BTW, rapid force carbonating is more complicated and can be more difficult to get stable than the two week method. Some people manage to get it right more often than now, but it's still not guaranteed of success.

Click to expand...

for quick I do 30 psi for 1+ days 20 for 1 and back down to serving of five for remainder... of keg yes it gets better but it's drinkable at day 5 and not over carbed.

dpalme said:

Shelley
How much gas do you vent off?

Click to expand...

Most of it. Then I hook it back up to serve. I don't think it's necessary, just making sure no foam blows out.

Pulled it out of the fridge this morning, and hooked the Co2 back up, it absorbed over half of what I put in yesterday to seal the lid, etc. rolled it on the floor for about 15 minutes or so, until the Co2 stopped refilling....taste tested not bad, carbonation needs to be more fully absorbed, and the wife gave permission to keep it in the fridge for a "little while longer" Of course that is open to FI (Female Interpretation).