New to kegging

Ok so I just received my new keg setup purchased from morebeer. I have a citra ale that has been dry hopped for 10 days. I am currently on the hunt for a new kegerator or fridge that I can convert. Can I keg my citra and just let it sit at room temp like I used to do with bottles or should I wait and keg it when I have a way of refrigerating the keg

bigskooter said:

Ok so I just received my new keg setup purchased from morebeer. I have a citra ale that has been dry hopped for 10 days. I am currently on the hunt for a new kegerator or fridge that I can convert. Can I keg my citra and just let it sit at room temp like I used to do with bottles or should I wait and keg it when I have a way of refrigerating the keg

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Are you planning on force or natural carbing? Force carbing should be done with refrigeration while natural carbing will be able to be done at room temp.

bennie1986 said:

Are you planning on force or natural carbing? Force carbing should be done with refrigeration while natural carbing will be able to be done at room temp.

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By natural carbing you mean using priming sugar

bigskooter said:

By natural carbing you mean using priming sugar

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Yes.

bennie1986 said:

Yes.

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I was planning on force carbing by putting about 12 lbs in and letting it sit at room temp. If I prime it with sugar naturally how much c02 would I want to put in if the keg will be sitting at room temp

bigskooter said:

I was planning on force carbing by putting about 12 lbs in and letting it sit at room temp. If I prime it with sugar naturally how much c02 would I want to put in if the keg will be sitting at room temp

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You won't get a your desired carbonation level force carbing at room temp. There are calculators out there that will help you determine where to set your regulator at a certain degree.

If you natural carb I would set the lid by hitting it with 20-30 psi then disconnect the co2 an turn down to 12. Purge the 20-30 psi to remove the oxygen from the head space and connect the gas again and purge the head space by pulling the relief valve a few times for a few seconds then take the gas off and let it prime for a few weeks. All this of course after adding the priming sugar.

I have not yet tried the natural carbing in a keg but have been planning on trying it because my keg fridge recently has been used as a fermentation chamber.

you can put C02 on it and purge out any O2. then it can sit for sometime.

You can force carbonate to a desired level at any temp you want. Just reference any carbonation table...

Cheers!

What's the psi rating on a corny keg? I was nervous about setting it at or above 30psi for extended periods of time. Not to mention it would take more gas.

bennie1986 said:

What's the psi rating on a corny keg? I was nervous about setting it at or above 30psi for extended periods of time. Not to mention it would take more gas.

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30 psi scared the heck out of me the first time, but it'll hold. Look on the side of the keg - it probably says "Do not exceed 180 psi" or some huge, way-beyond homebrewers' needs on there.

Just make sure it's sealed around the lid and the posts - otherwise that pressure will leak out fast.

Bigskooter, please forgive me as I was incorrect with some of my information. That being said I would still prefer to only force carb under refrigeration because I'm assuming it uses less gas because its less psi.

the relief on your regulator is likely 50-60PSI and will go off before that pressure reaches the keg. plus there is a relief on the keg. both those safeties would need to be faulty.

JDGator said:

the relief on your regulator is likely 50-60PSI and will go off before that pressure reaches the keg. plus there is a relief on the keg. both those safeties would need to be faulty.

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Good point I had not thought of that!

Folks, it does not matter if you carbonate a keg to (for example) 2.5 volumes at 40 degrees or 80 degrees, the amount of CO2 in the beer is the exact same...

Cheers!

day_trippr said:

Folks, it does not matter if you carbonate a keg to (for example) 2.5 volumes at 40 degrees or 80 degrees, the amount of CO2 in the beer is the exact same...

Cheers!

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I'm confused, why then are there carb tables with temps vs carb levels vs psi?

bennie1986 said:

I'm confused, why then are there carb tables with temps vs carb levels vs psi?

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Because pressure will vary with temperature for the same amount of co2. Same reason an aerosol can will explode in a campfire...if the amount of gas is constant, pressure varies.

When I setup regulator to 12psi and put it in the fridge it stays at 12psi so I don't get it.

day_trippr said:

Folks, it does not matter if you carbonate a keg to (for example) 2.5 volumes at 40 degrees or 80 degrees, the amount of CO2 in the beer is the exact same...

Cheers!

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But it still requires a higher psi correct?

bennie1986 said:

But it still requires a higher psi correct?

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Correct. And that's why carbonation calculators/tables/charts exist...

Cheers!

bennie1986 said:

But it still requires a higher psi correct?

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Yes, at a higher temperature, the same amount of gas will be at a higher pressure with the same volume.

bennie1986 said:

When I setup regulator to 12psi and put it in the fridge it stays at 12psi so I don't get it.

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The regulator only gives you a pressure...it takes more gas to develop the same pressure at lower temperatures.

The gas expands at higher temperatures causing more pressure...but it is still the same amount of gas.

wilserbrewer said:

The regulator only gives you a pressure...it takes more gas to develop the same pressure at lower temperatures.

The gas expands at higher temperatures causing more pressure...but it is still the same amount of gas.

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Thank you, I got it!