So Very Confused

Hey again, So I have taken the step and bought a keg setup and have it mounted in my refrigerator. That was the easy part. I have been reading on here for awhile about kegging and I get more confused each day.
I have 2 beers ready to be kegged, an Irish Stout and an American Amber. The fridge temp is 40 but I can change that if I need to. Am I just supposed to syphon the beer into the keg and pressurize at 10# for 3 weeks at 40 degrees? I'm not sure if I'm supposed to do it at room temp or cold, 10# or 30#, shake the keg or let it sit, purge or not purge. You get the point. (I'm Lost) Somehow this step seems harder than switching to all grain. Maybe I'm just not getting all the charts and different techniques. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Well, yes. Siphon the beer into the keg. Hit the keg with about 30# to seat the lid. Purge a tad and then hook up.
What pressure you use is dependent on temp and line length, and yes you should pressure in the fridge. CO2 absorbs faster at colder temps. My lines are 5 feet, 3/16 so I pressurize at 12# for however long it takes to carb. That's generally about 2-3 weeks.

This chart can help. http://kegman.net/balance.html#resistance

Pick a temp, reference your charts, set the reg, gas the keg and walk away.

If your rotation is slow, I think this is ideal.

rack into keg hit keg with 30 psi to seal the top purge a few time then lower to 10 psi and let her go fo however long to carb . Mine are usually pretty well done at or around 2 weeks

first RDWHAHB. your over thinking things. here is what i do.

1. clean and sanitize the keg
2. connect gas to in poppet
3. turn gas on at 5psi for 10 seconds
4. siphon beer into keg
5. close keg
6. pressurize to 5 psi and pull release valve. repeat 5 - 6 times.
7. carbonate the beer. you can carbonate at room temp or cold its up to you. use the appropriate amount of pressure for the temp of the beer.
8. shake the keg till you no longer see the gauge move or hear gas hissing
9. let sit for a week
10. if carbonated at room temp turn the gas off and purge then represurize to 12ish PSI
11. chill your beer.
12. drink.

He's overthinking it, relax, but here's 12 steps..?

6. questionable if you really have to do this 5-6 times or if once or twice is enough. I do it twice.

8. Shaking at the chart pressure will reduce the length of carb time by a couple days. Not necessary though.

9. Depending on how much shaking you did in step 8, this could be a week or more likely 2-3 weeks for absolute full carbonation (the volumes on the chart)

10. You don't have to purge before chilling. The pressure will automatically drop when it chills down. You do have to reset your regulator to the new pressure based on the new temperature.

Great! Thanks for the responses. I'll be back in town tomorrow night, I guess I know what I'll be doing. I'm still confused on the volumes in the charts, but I'll keep reading tonight at work about those. Once again, thanks for the help. I can't wait to have beer on tap and not have to wash bottles.

after shaking and dailing in to the desired temp, do you leave the valve going from the regulator to the keg in the on position or shut it off until dispensing?

fata2683 said:

after shaking and dailing in to the desired temp, do you leave the valve going from the regulator to the keg in the on position or shut it off until dispensing?

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It stays on until the beer is gone.

wildwest450 said:

It stays on until the beer is gone.

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copy that, I know this sounded like a dumb question but like the OP, this kegging stuff seems very intimidating. My freezer and controller arrive on Thursday, my tank was filled today, and I'll be filling my first keg on Saturday so thanks to all of you for the advice!!

6. pressurize to 5 psi and pull release valve. repeat 5 - 6 times.


Not a good number, is this a typo? I can clearly hear the lid seating in the keg when the pressure is north of 20+ psi. I use 30, but 25 might work.

fata2683 said:

copy that, I know this sounded like a dumb question but like the OP, this kegging stuff seems very intimidating. My freezer and controller arrive on Thursday, my tank was filled today, and I'll be filling my first keg on Saturday so thanks to all of you for the advice!!

Click to expand...

I know it's intimidating. But trust me, it's easy! If I can do it, anybody can. I had a friend actually show me a keg before I bought mine, because I thought it was difficult. I remember being a waitress as a teenager and those corny kegs seemed so mysterious! Trust me. If I can do it, you can. It's much easier than it sounds. A keg really is just like a big bottle.

Don't worry about shaking the keg, purging, etc. If that sounds hard, you can do what I do. Siphon the beer into the keg. Give it a shot of co2 and check for leaks. Then put it in the kegerator and set it at 11 psi. Walk away for two weeks, then sample!

I could condense it to what I do:
1) Rack (siphon) beer from fermenter to keg.
2) Hook up keg to CO2, CO2 for me is always simply set at 12 PSI.
3) Check for leaks
4) Purge a few times to rid of any air in the head space.
5) Let sit for 1 week

I did have one leak but I know they can be set at 12 PSI. Looks like I may have missed the 30 PSI requirement and may start doing it.