Basic Kegging Questions

I'm new to this hobby and, thanks to all that I've learned in the last month or two by reading this forum, I've got one batch under my belt and and will soon be bottling batch #2! After spending some time cleaning 50 used bottles, I'm realizing that the bottling process is the one part of home brewing that I could live without, and I think that a kegging system will be my next investment. I've done some research, but still have a couple of basic questions.

From what I understand (I'm new, so please correct me if I am wrong), when using kegs the beer is carbonated with the CO2 canister and it is no longer necessary to use a priming sugar. It still takes a couple of weeks in the keg before the beer is properly carbonated, however, similar to bottling.

My question is, is it important for newly-kegged beer to remain near room temperature or is it OK to refrigerate this beer immediately? I'm looking at a three keg system and it seems that all kegs would be connected to the same CO2 canister. If I have two ready-to-drink kegs refrigerated, is it OK to just throw a newly-kegged beer in the fridge and plug in to this same system? If so, do I need a dual body regulator in this scenario?

If the beer would ordinarily be ready to bottle then it is also ready to keg and begin chilling down and start carbonating. If it still needs more time to mature it's best to do this at ale temps (assuming it is an ale). Carbonating is either done by adding priming sugar to the keg or by force carbonating from a CO2 bottle. Using priming sugar is cheaper but it takes longer, is less accurate and adds more sediment to the bottom of the keg.

To carbonate a keg with force carbonation simply set the regulator at the desired pressure and let the beer sit at serving temperature for 2 weeks. Alternatively you can set the regulator at 20-30psi for 24-36hours and then down to the desired pressure. Using the second method the beer can be carbonated in ~4 days although I typically give a week to mellow out a little as I sometimes find that the beer will have somewhat of a bite if I carb it very quickly and begin drinking it quickly as well.

Welcome to homebrewtalk!

You can still use priming sugar to prime a keg if you'd like, but most people use CO2. Your beer will more than likely be fully carbonated in 5-7 days, but it still takes a few weeks for the carbonic acid taste to mellow enough so the beer tastes right.

I keg a beer straight from primary and put it in the fridge. I have a solid pipeline of brews though, and usually have 2-3 other beers on tap...so I'm never in a huge rush. I leave it in the fridge for around a month at 12-15 psi (depending on my temps), then I'll tap it. It doesn't take a month, I just like to let it condition a little.

No need for a dual body regulator if you're using the "set it and forget it" carbonation method that I mentioned. You may end up with a stout and a pale ale on tap at the same time, and one of them won't be carbed perfectly to style, but who cares? I don't usually worry about if it's off by a little bit. If you really want everything to be perfectly carbed to style, you may want a dual body.