Using carbonator cap for the first time...

I just finished kegging a few cornies and had a little bit left over, so we filled a 2L bottle with the remaining brew. It's currently sitting in the fridge getting chilled, then I'm going to hook up a carbonator cap and force carb it. What is the quickest way to do this? I was planning on hooking it up at 30 psi and I'm hoping to sample it tonight.

Big10Seaner said:

I just finished kegging a few cornies and had a little bit left over, so we filled a 2L bottle with the remaining brew. It's currently sitting in the fridge getting chilled, then I'm going to hook up a carbonator cap and force carb it. What is the quickest way to do this? I was planning on hooking it up at 30 psi and I'm hoping to sample it tonight.

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That should work, especially if you shake it while hooked up to the co2. Then, let it sit so the foam will settle. Have the brew chilled before you start, and that will help.

Ok - now another question. How long do I need to shake for? Should I just test its carbonation little by little? Thanks for the quick reply, btw.

Big10Seaner said:

Ok - now another question. How long do I need to shake for? Should I just test its carbonation little by little? Thanks for the quick reply, btw.

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Just shake until no more gas goes in, and the plastic bottle stays nice and hard. Then, keep it chilled and see if it softens up. If it starts to feel softer, turn up the co2 and gently shake until you don't hear any more co2 going in. It should be carbed up in an hour or so.

Worked like a charm, thanks again!

This may have already been answered, I just couldn't find where. But has anyone attempted to replace the carbonator with a regular soda bottle cap after it was carbonated? I would think it should hold some carbonation for at least a couple of days.

Thanks.

Bump. Same question as above. Just got one of these. Do you have to drink the brew/soda as soon as you remove the gas disconnect? Or do I remove the gas disconnect BUT leave the carbonator cap on?

I assume once the carbonator cap is removed, its just like a 2L soda where its good for a day or so.

natefrog255 said:

[...]I assume once the carbonator cap is removed, its just like a 2L soda where its good for a day or so.

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That's the one right there.

fwiw, I put any leftovers after kegging (usually a quart or so) in a two liter bottle and use the shake'n'bake fast carb method (set to appropriate pressure versus temperature to hit desired CO2 volumes, then shake until the gas stops flowing). Literally instantly carbed beer - with all the good and bad that implies...

Cheers!

kegboy5000 said:

This may have already been answered, I just couldn't find where. But has anyone attempted to replace the carbonator with a regular soda bottle cap after it was carbonated? I would think it should hold some carbonation for at least a couple of days. Thanks.

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After you carb the bottle, let it sit for a few hours in the fridge. Then replace the carbonator cap with the regular cap. It will hold the carbonation and be fine. I've done this for every batch I've ever brewed with great success.

This is all great info. I just picked one of these little (overpriced) caps this weekend.

Couple of things. First the recommendation to leave the disconnect hooked up while shaking is a little risky. Personally, I squeeze the air out and then charge the PET bottle with CO2, disconnect it, shake until the bottle gets a little soft. Repeat until bottle stays hard. Shaking with the disconnect attached risks getting beer in your gas line as equilibrium is reached.

The other thing is that although I started with a Carbonator Cap, I’ve switch to these Kents. Compared to the Carbonator Cap, they’re cheap enough that you can get several and not worry about switching to plain caps. They do require a different connection from the standard ball lock, but I put a “Y” connector off my regulator with a ball lock on one side and the Kent on the other.






edit:
Something else to keep in mind is to have the gas turned on before you hook up the disconnect. This will prevent beer from flowing back into your gas line.

If you're getting beer in your gas line, you either don't have an in-line check valve, or it isn't working properly.
Either way, that's something that should be fixed...

Cheers!

+1 on the Kents. They work great and are cheap enough to keep more around. another cool thing I use them for is making mineral water and keeping half used tonic from going flat.

day_trippr said:

If you're getting beer in your gas line, you either don't have an in-line check valve, or it isn't working properly.
Either way, that's something that should be fixed...

Cheers!

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So, you have a check valve attached directly to your ball lock disconnect? Silly me. My check valves are integrated into the shut-off valves that are screwed into the regulators. I'll have to fix that.

Cheers!

OK. Sarcasm aside (they say it doesn’t play well on the internet), I was looking through the William’s Brewing catalog this morning and saw this for the first time. Seems like the perfect fit for that gas line hanging of my regulator that I use for the Carbonator Cap and purging kegs.


GAS BALL LOCK FITTING WITH CHECK VALVE

A little pricey to use everywhere. Check valves in the gas shut-off are fine as a safe guard for keeping liquids out of the regulator. But I'll be buying one of these for my external line.

AnOldUR said:

OK. Sarcasm aside (they say it doesn’t play well on the internet), I was looking through the William’s Brewing catalog this morning and saw this for the first time. Seems like the perfect fit for that gas line hanging of my regulator that I use for the Carbonator Cap and purging kegs.

GAS BALL LOCK FITTING WITH CHECK VALVE

A little pricey to use everywhere. Check valves in the gas shut-off are fine as a safe guard for keeping liquids out of the regulator. But I'll be buying one of these for my external line.

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I've never seen those before! That's pretty awesome. I'll have to get one on the second exterior co2 line for myself.

I've been doing weird things with my second line- hooking it up to the blichmann beergun (ok, rarely- I still HATE bottling!) for one, but I also have it hooked up (but turned off) to a keg of "everyday" red wine. I don't have my second regulator on there, and so I keep the co2 off on that line and just flipped it on for a second to push the wine or disconnect it and use it for the beergun or the carbonator cap.

That checkvalve/ball lock QD would work perfectly for me!