Cornie Carb-0-Lid

I have wanted one of these for years, so I finally made one. Now I can quickly carbonate any keg I wish. The pictures don't show it, but I cut off the pressure relief, bore out the opening and then inserted the new fittings.

Genius. l'm going to have to do this now.

That looks awesome!
I get the general principle of it gas in to a line that goes low attached to an aeration stone, but what procedure would you use for carbing? Have you given it a test run yet? I looks like a realatively cheap and easy method for acheiving a faster carb.
I assume once carbed you let it sit a bit then swap the top with a standard one and re-pressurize.

there are charts out that show what pressure of CO2 you want at a given temperature to achieve particular carbonation levels. You transfer the beer, put the lid on, set your CO2 gauge and let it sit over night. I like to shake the works every now ant then, and believe it helps speed things along. When I am finished I release the pressure of the keg (through the CO2 inlet of the actual cornie. I then remove the Carb-O-Lid and put the regular lid in its place. I then attach the cornie as I normally would and start enjoying the product.

Do you allow the corny of beer to get to temp in a chill chest prior to adding the carbonaror lid?

Bravo BrewPastor!

How do you sanitize it. Drop it in Starsan? I'm assuming the brass barb hangs down in the beer depending on how full the keg is.

This is much better than the stones on the stainless dip tubes!!!

EdWort said:

How do you sanitize it. Drop it in Starsan? I'm assuming the brass barb hangs down in the beer depending on how full the keg is.

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Yes and yes. I would love stainless, but this is what I have right now.

I also take the tube and stone off as I soak it.

GreenwoodRover said:

Do you allow the corny of beer to get to temp in a chill chest prior to adding the carbonaror lid?

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That is right. I rack from my fermenter and crash chill the beer - down about 32 degrees. Then I attach the Carb-O-Lid and let it go.

What fitting are you using on the inside of the keg that threads to the gas in post?

Looks like I have a new project to get to work on. Very nice work.

So why does this carb faster? Because the aeration stone creates a lot of extra surface area?

Coastarine said:

So why does this carb faster? Because the aeration stone creates a lot of extra surface area?

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I think its because the co2 is being forced into the beer through the diffuser and from the bottom up, rather than forcing its way down through the layers of beer.

I have the B3 version of this (one of my best purchases), they suggest starting at 2 psi then moving it up 2 notches every hour until you hit 10 then let it sit there over night...PERFECT carbonation every time...

Hey... thanks for the diy!

new project for me!

That's brilliant! I love the idea. How much do you figure you have in parts?

Would this just be a more complicated way to do what simply setting the pressure at 30psi for 24 hours would do? The benefit to simply setting the pressure at 30psi for 24 hours is, no extra sanitizing, no swapping lids, less work for the same result. But neat toy.

EDIT: Why not just hook a hose and stone up to the already existing gas dip tube and save the time and expense of modifying a lid? Also, you would then not have a need to swap lids.

____________________________________
Primary- Orange Cascade APA
Secondary- AIR
Keg1- Centennial Blonde
Keg2- Oktoberfest
Keg3- Christmas Spice
Keg4- Fire In The Hole
Keg5- AIR
Keg6- AIR
Keg7- AIR
Keg8- AIR

Hmmm...

Could a special "carb hose" be created that pushes gas through the liquid post?

Just attach a liquid size post to a CO2 line?

Wouldn't be as efficient as your design, but could be done with an unmodified keg, and would deliver the CO2 to the bottom of the keg.

Cpt_Kirks said:

Hmmm...

Could a special "carb hose" be created that pushes gas through the liquid post?

Just attach a liquid size post to a CO2 line?

Wouldn't be as efficient as your design, but could be done with an unmodified keg, and would deliver the CO2 to the bottom of the keg.

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Why not just attach the hose and stone to the gas dip tube? Seems like a more user friendly fix. I think the key here is the stone, it increases the surface area, thus diffusing the CO2 faster.

____________________________________
Primary- Orange Cascade APA
Secondary- AIR
Keg1- Centennial Blonde
Keg2- Oktoberfest
Keg3- Christmas Spice
Keg4- Fire In The Hole
Keg5- AIR
Keg6- AIR
Keg7- AIR
Keg8- AIR

I think - and I'm not sure on this answer - but the benefit from the stone is not just surface area..... When you blast carb by gassing through your Out tube, you're forcing bubbles to come up through the beer, instead of going down through the surface. This is an improvement, but the bubbles themself are still big. The stone takes the big bubbles, and makes them thousands of tiny bubbles.

By increasing the surface area of the bubbles themselves..... AND by introducing the tiny bubbles through the bottom of the liquid, not the top, .... you get the idea.

Chriso said:

I think - and I'm not sure on this answer - but the benefit from the stone is not just surface area..... When you blast carb by gassing through your Out tube, you're forcing bubbles to come up through the beer, instead of going down through the surface. This is an improvement, but the bubbles themself are still big. The stone takes the big bubbles, and makes them thousands of tiny bubbles.

By increasing the surface area of the bubbles themselves..... AND by introducing the tiny bubbles through the bottom of the liquid, not the top, .... you get the idea.

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But unless you slowly step up the pressure, won't all the bubbles just rush in and rise up, then the headspace will be pressurized just like it normally would be. I haven't used a diffuser stone, so maybe it holds pressure and releases the bubbles slowly.

The benefit of the carb lid compared to attaching to the gas post or dip tube, is you can just decompress the keg and take it off and put a normal lid.... when the stone is attached to the inside you have to wait to finish the keg to get it out...

EDIT:

Also yeah, it is best to slowly up the pressure to get the best carbonation...

RockfordWhite said:

The benefit of the carb lid compared to attaching to the gas post or dip tube, is you can just decompress the keg and take it off and put a normal lid.... when the stone is attached to the inside you have to wait to finish the keg to get it out...

EDIT:

Also yeah, it is best to slowly up the pressure to get the best carbonation...

Click to expand...

Again, why not just pressurize to 30psi for 24 hours and skip all the nonsense? No stones, no lids, just carbonated beer. The stone attached to a lid seems like the LONG way around a really simple problem, quickly carbonating beer.

Why?

I actually find 30 @ 30 to be ideal but 10 hrs is shorter than your 24.

I like to have options.

The Pol said:

Again, why not just pressurize to 30psi for 24 hours and skip all the nonsense? No stones, no lids, just carbonated beer. The stone attached to a lid seems like the LONG way around a really simple problem, quickly carbonating beer.

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If that works for you, go for it. For me this is not nonsense, but a nice DIY project that allows me to have a piece of equipment that gives me control over my CO2 levels. I like to have different levels of carbonation for different beers. I am sure you can do that with a mass of pressure, but since I do not know what those pressures are, I would have to monkey around to figure it out. I have used carbonation stones for a long time and like the results. It is also what I know and what I am used to. You can prime with sugar for all I care - if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

The Pol said:

Would this just be a more complicated way to do what simply setting the pressure at 30psi for 24 hours would do? The benefit to simply setting the pressure at 30psi for 24 hours is, no extra sanitizing, no swapping lids, less work for the same result. But neat toy.

EDIT: Why not just hook a hose and stone up to the already existing gas dip tube and save the time and expense of modifying a lid? Also, you would then not have a need to swap lids.

Click to expand...

You can do that, but you must remove the assembly before dispensing the beer and that involves opening the lid and exposing your beer to contamination. If you don't, the micro-bubbles that come from the stone as you replace the dispensing pressure will make the bear very foamy. With the modified lid, you can disconnect the stone and dispense like normal after carbonation.

By doing it incrementally you do get significant more control over your final carbonation level...

these things are great i made two a few months ago ,, but i did not drill out my presser release ,,(i like that thing dont want to lose it) i just added a port between the lever laches, just drilled a hole and added a fitting ,, the 1 micron SS air stones are great and you can carb super fast, if the beer is cold you can have it in really good shape in an hour , and some times thats what you need

why don't you let people know what parts you used?

I would like to do this since I have a lot of extra lids

brewjunky said:

why don't you let people know what parts you used?

I would like to do this since I have a lot of extra lids

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A parts list is tricky because of the variables involved. There are two types of cornie kegs, one from Cornelius and one from Firestone. There are different style lids. There are different threadings on the quick connects, as well as different styles of connects (ball and pin).

I used old and spare parts for both the lid and the gas ball connect. Go with the gas connection so it works with your existing set-up.

I used a Cornelius lid with a automatic (non-manual) relief valve. Firestone has a lid with a plastic relief valve that simply unscrews, leaving a nice, clean hole. I would have used one of these if I had one, or bought it if I did not already have a spare lid. I had to cut the valve off my lid and then bore it out and clean it up with a step bit. I bought my carbonation stone from Northern Brewer but they are available from many suppliers. There are two types, one is for aeration the other is for carbonation. The stone has a barbed end.

I took all my parts to Lowes and picked out what I needed. I believe the compression fitting that worked on the cornies quick connect was a fine thread 3/8" compression fitting. It had both male and female pipe threads on the other end into which the hose barb fitting is attached. One thing to watch for is that the compression fittling have a wide enough collar to hold a metal washer and gasket. I had a stainless washer already and the rubber gaskets. The barb fitting on the carbonation stone determines the size of tubing you will buy, as well as the size of the barb fitting you attach to the compression fitting. I think mine was 1/4" but I am not certain.

You can see that you will need to play around a bit with all of this. I spend under $10 on this, but as I said, I already had much of what I needed.

The problem with "blast" carbonation at elevated pressures is that you can never be sure what your resultant carbonation level is since it's time dependent. The diffused CO2 method will NEVER overcarb if your final pressure is based on the volumes chart.

Yes, surface area is why this works. When you do a set and forget carb, the CO2 to beer surface area is exactly (4.5^2) x pi. Microbubbles through the column probably triples it or better.

You could adapt the gas in tube to have a hose and airstone on it but you'd need one for each keg you own.

Bobby_M said:

You could adapt the gas in tube to have a hose and airstone on it but you'd need one for each keg you own.

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How would that work for dispensing? Wouldn't create foam?

For those who use the fast carb methods....

Do you have problems with off flavors due to carbonic acid? I use the set and forget method and never taste my beers until at least a week or two of sitting on pressure. I would think that if you carbonated in 10 hrs, you would be left with quite a carbonic bite... maybe that's wrong though.

I dunno, but I'll find out. I have a contest beer due by 5pm Wednesday, and I kegged it last night at 8pm. I put it on 30psi, warm, and shook for about 10 mins, then left the keg at 30psi (but not hooked up to the gas) and put it in the fridge to cool. When I get home tonight, I'll take a quick sample as-is, and assuming it's not nearly carbed enough, I'll put it on 30psi cold, and shake. Gotta be able to BMBF it tonight! And that's in between election-related drinking!!! NOT GOOD! I wish I hadn't gotten busy and forgotten to keg it. Damn damn damn!

Seems like a great <$10 weapon to have around if needed.

My last experience with a quick carb and carbonic bite lasted about 1 day. I was able to bottle right away so I retained some advantage.

This post reminded me I bought one of these from More Beer as a deal of the day. Have to find it and give it a go!

Mike

EdWort said:

How would that work for dispensing? Wouldn't create foam?

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I highly doubt it because the CO2 bubbles would immediately rise to the surface of the keg whereas the dispensed beer comes from the bottom.

EdWort said:

How would that work for dispensing? Wouldn't create foam?

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Williams sells one and it only says it will foam when using a CPF. Keg Carbonation Stone @ Williams Brewing

I think it has more to do with how close the stone is to the dip tube. I'd recommend having the stone sit a few inches higher.

Boerderij Kabouter said:

For those who use the fast carb methods....

Do you have problems with off flavors due to carbonic acid? I use the set and forget method and never taste my beers until at least a week or two of sitting on pressure. I would think that if you carbonated in 10 hrs, you would be left with quite a carbonic bite... maybe that's wrong though.

Click to expand...

all Disolved CO2 is in the form of carbonic acid thats how it does it.

Carbon dioxide is soluble in water, in which it spontaneously interconverts between CO2 to H2CO3....H2O + CO2 = H2CO3 (carbonic acid).