Kegging Questions

1) Do I NEED a CO2 tank for my corny keg?

2) Will the beer naturally carbonate in my keg?

3) If so, how long should it take to carbonate?

4) How long would the keg be good for?

5) Will there be any issues with dispensing the beer?

Thanks, I'm new to this.

1) You'll need a C02 tank to get the beer out of your keg.

2) Naturally? Yes, if you prime it with priming sugar, like you would in the bottle - just in a larger scale.

3) 3 weeks or so, like the bottle.

4) years?

5) Without a C02 tank, yes.

1) Pretty much.
2) You can force carb with CO2 or naturally with yeast
3) 2 weeks to do it right, over night if you do it the quick and dirty way
4) months if CO2 is used
5) I've over carbed which made for really small pours.. I'm sure other issues could arise too..

tamoore beat me to it..

4) depends on style, some will go years, some not so much
5) if you have the correct line length, an accurate regulator, and constant temp you will have consistent pours

You will probably need a co2 source for sealing the lid initially, otherwise the co2 produced by the yeast will most likely escape and not carb your beer. Co2 will also be needed to dispense, unless you want to set up some sort of gravity feed or beer engine real ale rig.

Uh oh, I kegged my first beer this past weekend and used half the normal amount of priming sugar as recommended, but I haven't gotten a chance to fill my CO2 tank yet. Should I be worried that my beer won't carb naturally since I wasn't able to pressure seal it? The o-rings are new and lubed and I tested to make sure they were water tight before putting my beer in it (although not under pressure, obviously.) Should I be worried?

People dispense beer from kegs all the time without CO2 tanks. They use taps that force air into the keg, displacing beer. This works if you kick the keg quickly, but if you want the keg to stay fresh past a few hours, you should use CO2.