Natural Keg Carbing Advice

Need some advice on an issue....
I have a 4 tap Keezer along with 8 corney kegs. In a perfect world I will have all 4 taps running and 4 full kegs on standby naturally carbed up. As of yet I haven't naturally carbed a keg, only force carbed. I understand that you use 1/2 the amount of sugar you normally would for bottling.
My issue is this... I assume for the keg to carb you will need it to be at 70 degrees for 2-3 weeks. My house upstairs is only around 66*-67*, downstairs where I keep all my brewing stuff is usually 60*-62*. I have a dual stage fermenting full size fridge w/ a heat lamp I can stick them in....but is almost always tied up with fermenting carboys. I have 4 empty kegs right now and plan to brew once a week to start filling the pipeline again. How can I get these things naturally carbed up if I can't get them at 70* without tying up my fermenting chamber?? Any ideas would be appreciated!

They will carb up fine at that temperature. I ferment all of my beer in the low 60's fine.

Also, the 1/2 sugar used is just a rule of thumb. If you have some brewing software, I would consult that to get a more precise amount

what' the reason for using 1/2 of the sugar?

bknifefight said:

They will carb up fine at that temperature. I ferment all of my beer in the low 60's fine.

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If I do prime and stick the keg in room thats 66*-67*......how long do I let it sit to ensure the yeast did their thing and I'm not going to be drinking unfermented priming sugar?
Last year this time, my bottles wouldn't carb up at that temp unless I put them in in a tupperware bin with Xmas lights laced around them....

Hopper5000 said:

what' the reason for using 1/2 of the sugar?

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More yeast in a single vessle to attack the sugar maybe? Not 100% sure...

Hopper5000 said:

what' the reason for using 1/2 of the sugar?

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I found that my beer was undercarbed when I used only half the sugar. I now use 3/4 the amount recommended for bottling, and it has worked out much better for me.

I am not sure of the reasoning, to be honest.

It is difficult to know when it is carb'd up all the way, I would just give it 3 weeks. That should be long enough. If it doesn't carb 100% to the level you want, it should be carb'd enough when it gets up on CO2 and that will bring it up to the proper level.

I've read on this board that it is due to the amount of headspace.

Hopper5000 said:

what' the reason for using 1/2 of the sugar?

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WDT said:

I've read on this board that it is due to the amount of headspace.

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Yep, that's exactly why. If you put 5 gallons of beer in a 5 gallon keg, there is very little headspace compared to the 1.5 inches in 50 bottles.

I normally use 2.5 ounces of corn sugar (by weight) for a 5 gallon keg.

In my experience, though, beer takes a LONG time to carb up for me under 65 degrees. If I couldn't store it at above 65 degrees, I probably wouldn't naturally carb, and instead go with force carbing.

WhiteEagle1 said:

I have a 4 tap Keezer along with 8 corney kegs. In a perfect world I will have all 4 taps running and 4 full kegs on standby naturally carbed up. As of yet I haven't naturally carbed a keg, only force carbed.

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I'm in the same boat as you. I have my first naturally carbed keg sitting in the basement @ 67 degrees. I'm not really looking to fully carb (as much as preserve it and get it started)the keg like i would a bottle, because to serve it I will put it on gas and chill that should finish off the carbonation in a couple of days if it falls short on priming sugar

I krausen some of my belgians in the keg for carbonation. I have used a cheap heating pad + a folded towel under the keg to help keep warm in winter months that works well- of course, the belgians always like it a bit warmer....