set and forget question

So I've been trying to train myself to be patient. I rack my beer into a keg, turn the paid up to 12psi (my keggerator is now outside so the temp is around 50 degrees on average. Still waiting g for my temp controller).

I wait 3 weeks, and its carbonated, but nothing like it should. I can't get a head on the beer unless I just let the beer dump into the cup from the faucet. This is an Irish red.

I don't have this problem when I bottle. I'm kind of lost. And I missing some secret handshake or something?

I must be, if I remember correctly, the stout I kegged and let sit this way got really good carbonation when the beer was about halfway down. But again, I had waited 3 weeks before I tapped into that.

12psi at 50f is only 2 volumes of co2. Your gauge may also be off by a couple psi. Crank it up to 15 and see how it is after a couple days.

I really don't understand why people use the set and forget method. There are way faster ways to carb the beer. I don't agree with most of the shaking methods as they often cause beer to go up the gas line which is just more work to clean. I set mine to 35 psi for three days and then it's fully carbed. Really don't need to wait so long. There's nothing magic about making it take longer for the CO2 to dissolve. So for now, if it's not carbed enough, just turn up the pressure for a day and see how it goes.

I thought 2 volumes of co2 = about what you get from a normal kits priming sugar additive (4oz)?

Suppose I am under carbonating, the beer would still have some carbonation eh? This is borderline flat. And why would my stout get better as it starts emptying?

I remember someone at morebeer talking about a carbonation stone hooked to his keg, am I supposed to use that?

Edit: and no my keg isn't leaking.

Carb stones work to get the beer carbonated faster but they are not necessary. Can you get your keg colder and turn up the pressure. That will do it.

It sounds like the variable is fridge temp.

Re your stout question, here's a theory: as the head space increases while the gas regulator setting remains constant, there is more CO2 (by mass) available to dissolve into the beer, plus there is less beer to absorb that gas. Hence the carbonation should increase...

Could be wrong but it sounds good to me

Cheers!

If beer temp and CO2 pressure remains constant, it shouldn't matter how much volume of each exists in the container. What I think happens is that the average beer temp goes down a few degrees when the bulk of it is at the bottom of your fridge. Therefore the volumes of co2 can increase.

Bobby_M said:

If beer temp and CO2 pressure remains constant, it shouldn't matter how much volume of each exists in the container. What I think happens is that the average beer temp goes down a few degrees when the bulk of it is at the bottom of your fridge. Therefore the volumes of co2 can increase.

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You must be right. I set up a simple stick on thermometer at the top of the inside of the fridge, and it never goes lower than 50 even with the fridge running on it's coldest setting. I'm gonna go get a CPU fan today.

Has anyone had any luck hooking up an outlet to the power for the light? Basically, take the light socket out and use those wires for an AC source to the phone charger rrunning the fan?

phoenixs4r said:

You must be right. I set up a simple stick on thermometer at the top of the inside of the fridge, and it never goes lower than 50 even with the fridge running on it's coldest setting. I'm gonna go get a CPU fan today.

Has anyone had any luck hooking up an outlet to the power for the light? Basically, take the light socket out and use those wires for an AC source to the phone charger rrunning the fan?

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the light only comes on when you open the door i don't think that will work as a power source

I removed most of the door so is stuck on.

JonK331 said:

I really don't understand why people use the set and forget method. There are way faster ways to carb the beer. I don't agree with most of the shaking methods as they often cause beer to go up the gas line which is just more work to clean. I set mine to 35 psi for three days and then it's fully carbed. Really don't need to wait so long. There's nothing magic about making it take longer for the CO2 to dissolve. So for now, if it's not carbed enough, just turn up the pressure for a day and see how it goes.

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While I do agree that there are faster ways to carb a keg, the set and forget method allows more time for the beer to "mature". I am almost through my first keg of homebrew. I wish I had set to serving pressure and left it alone for a few weeks. I am just now hitting the three week mark and the beer is soo much better then it was when i first started drinking it. I did 25 psi for 24 hours then 12 for 5 days and it was carbed, but it had a bit to it that is gone now at 3 weeks.

I purchased a huge 120mm fan. Figure ill just put it a couple of inches away from one of the walls and let it circulate air. I was hoping to find a small enough fan to put at the bottom of the fridge where the kegs sit, but I'm already pushing it as far as space goes for this tiny kegerator, lol.

brew2enjoy said:

While I do agree that there are faster ways to carb a keg, the set and forget method allows more time for the beer to "mature". I am almost through my first keg of homebrew. I wish I had set to serving pressure and left it alone for a few weeks. I am just now hitting the three week mark and the beer is soo much better then it was when i first started drinking it. I did 25 psi for 24 hours then 12 for 5 days and it was carbed, but it had a bit to it that is gone now at 3 weeks.

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That has less to do with carbonation and more to do with patience.

JonK331 said:

I really don't understand why people use the set and forget method. There are way faster ways to carb the beer. I don't agree with most of the shaking methods as they often cause beer to go up the gas line which is just more work to clean. I set mine to 35 psi for three days and then it's fully carbed. Really don't need to wait so long. There's nothing magic about making it take longer for the CO2 to dissolve. So for now, if it's not carbed enough, just turn up the pressure for a day and see how it goes.

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omg, effin plus 1000! This is not rocket science! Just put that effer on 30-35psi for 36-48 hours and then down to 8-10psi for a few days (or follow the above). Wow! What a bunch of babies!

Slipgate said:

omg, effin plus 1000! This is not rocket science! Just put that effer on 30-35psi for 36-48 hours and then down to 8-10psi for a few days (or follow the above). Wow! What a bunch of babies!

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:rockin:

JonK331 said:

I really don't understand why people use the set and forget method. There are way faster ways to carb the beer.

Click to expand...

Jacking up the pressure will get the job done faster, but it's harder to control. People like to 'set it and forget it', because they don't want to futz around with their beer every day or every few days. If you can wait a week or two for it to be carbed, why would you make more work for yourself to get it done faster?

A lot of us have multiple beers on tap coming off the same regulator. Fooling around with the pressure is a huge PITA.

I have 1 line in feeding a 3 way manifold that goes to 2 reg's and 1 line for force carbing. After 2-3 days at 30 PSI I open my kegerator and swap out my force carb line to the reg line. That's hardly work at all.

As in most things in homebrewing, there are a million different ways to skin a cat.

Set and forget is for brewers with an active other-than-beer life and a well oiled brew pipeline. You do a burst carb and get distracted for a couple days and now you have to babysit that sucker back down from 4 volumes. A 5 keg kegerator with 4 beers pouring lets you set and forget on keg 5 while real life is happening. That's just my perspective.

If you NEED your beer drinkable in 3 days, burst carb or plan better.

Well I have a fan now, so its helping a bit. I need a stronger one tho. Thanks folks.

phoenixs4r said:

I removed most of the door so is stuck on.

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That may be why your not cooling lower. Remove the bulb and see if that helps.