Carbing 3 kegs at the same time

I just recently picked up the gear from my LHBS to start kegging. The guy who runs the place told me that I could carb 3 kegs at the same time off of one 5lb. CO2 tank. I took his advice and bought a 3 way splitter but in pressure testing my kegs it seems like I'm getting different pressures to different kegs. I'm basing this assumption on the fact that when I release the pressure on the kegs I don't get the same burst of gas from each one. I don't think my kegs are leaking, I don't hear gas escaping.

How long would I have to leave the CO2 running at 10psi (just an example) to ensure that all three kegs are completely pressurized? In my testing to this point I've only left it connected for a couple minutes at most.

Assuming that, that's my problem and that I just need to leave it sit longer how long would it take to carb 3 full kegs of beer? The guy at the LHBS said 2-3 days. This may be something that there's no hard and fast rule for but any suggestions would be beneficial.

I believe a bunch of people around here keg at 30psi for 3 days, This is on a very chilled down keg. Low 30's.

Unless there is the exact same amount of headspace in each of the kegs I think this is an expected result.

I've carbed up multiple kegs at the same time before with any problem, usually I leave them on for at least 4-6 days at the pressure and temp I want.

30psi? That seems awful high based on what I've been told. The charts I've looked at from the links under "Sticky-Kegging FAQ's" state that if the beer is at ~38F I should be looking at 10-12psi to get a CO2 volume of 2.4 which is what I'm shooting for. Is 30psi if you're carbing at room temp, ~72F?

Turkeyfoot Jr. said:

30psi? That seems awful high based on what I've been told. The charts I've looked at from the links under "Sticky-Kegging FAQ's" state that if the beer is at ~38F I should be looking at 10-12psi to get a CO2 volume of 2.4 which is what I'm shooting for. Is 30psi if you're carbing at room temp, ~72F?

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30 psi is a recommended setting for rapid carbonation (when you don't feel like waiting 10 days to drink your beer).

Turkeyfoot Jr. said:

30psi? That seems awful high based on what I've been told. The charts I've looked at from the links under "Sticky-Kegging FAQ's" state that if the beer is at ~38F I should be looking at 10-12psi to get a CO2 volume of 2.4 which is what I'm shooting for. Is 30psi if you're carbing at room temp, ~72F?

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I'm sorta a n00b...but heres my thoughts...

I think the 30psi is what some folks use to force carb super fast. If the corny is cold that could take a few days, if its warm I'd guess a week or more maybe.
I just set my psi at 12 (corny in fridge around 40f) and in 6-7 days I have the carb I want.

Like Bokonon said...different head space will cause different bursts of CO2 from each keg.

Like McBrew said...30PSI for 36 hours is a pretty typical routine for fast carbing your kegs.

Remember to turn off the gas, release the excess pressure and then dial up the PSI to about 7-10 before you try and sample...otherwise you'll get nothing but foam.

Just leave it at 10 psi, and it should be ready in a little less than a week.

There are a number of reasons you aren't getting the same burst of air from the valve, most of which are not a problem (headspace was mentioned). To be sure of no leaks, spray some Star San on all the connections from the tank to keg, and around the lid and posts and everything. If it is a slow leak you probably won't hear anything, but you will get bubbles.

I only have 2 taps, so when I kick a keg I want the next one to be ready asap. I push 30 or so psi for 36-48 hours and that gets most beers where I'm happy with them.

I fast carb my kegs ( after they have been purged & chilled ) by:

- set PSI to 30
- rock keg back & forth for 2 - 3 min. , then disconnect lines.
- put it back in the fridge for at least 10 hrs. , usually overnight.
- release pressure, attach lines, set to 4-6PSI .
- RDWHAHB

Since I am new to kegging, I'd like to get an idea of how people go about force carbonating one keg while serving another (i.e. a dual faucet setup). Do most of you have two regulators? How do you go about force carbing one keg while maintaining pressure in the other? I'm buying a kegorator and am trying to figure this out myself... I understand that you need two regulators to have two different pressures. With one regulator, can I force carb one keg while serving the other? If this case, I'd need to force carb at serving pressure. How long would I need to wait for a keg to force carbonate at serving pressure? Alternatively, I could have a third keg carbonating with priming sugar that I could swap in when I kick one of the tapped kegs.

Which do you reccomend?

Bopper359 said:

Since I am new to kegging, I'd like to get an idea of how people go about force carbonating one keg while serving another (i.e. a dual faucet setup).

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The day will come when I have an armada of regulators. Literally one regulator per keg and a few for untaped kegs.
For Now, I hit a freshly kegged beer with 30 PSI and set it in the basement. 24 hours in the cooler when there is room, Release the pressure and set it up with the others at 12psi....good to go. It does take about another day to really equalize and get to a "Normal" Point.

Here is the set-up I run for a 2 keg set-up. They are also way easier to adjust than the conventional regulator (no screwdriver needed.)

http://www.micromatic.com/draft-keg-beer/regulators-pid-642-Battery.html

Weizenheimer said:

Here is the set-up I run for a 2 keg set-up. They are also way easier to adjust than the conventional regulator (no screwdriver needed.)

http://www.micromatic.com/draft-keg-beer/regulators-pid-642-Battery.html

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i Have the same set up.....best system out there..a bit pricy but works like a charm. I keep one at 12 PSI..that I have atached to 4 kegs for the dispencing and the other at 30PSI for force carb.. and cleaning..ect..



Jay