Hey Guys,
Someone asked that I post pics when I made a PSI guage so here you go.
Why do you need one? Well, when you store kegs for a period of time, you want to make sure the CO2 in the beer is fully absorbed so an adequate seal is maintained until you are ready to cool it for serving. You can use this handy-dandy chart to figure out how many volumes of CO2 you prefer and at what temperature you will be slow carbonating your beer. If the guage drops, you know you are not fully carbonated.
In my process, I rack the beer and immediately put it on warm gas at around 28-30 PSI. Once it sits this way for about a week, the beer will be fully carbonated and then goes in the keezer to cool to serving temp. My keezer runs at 10 PSI and they're perfect after a day.
I bought all of my parts except the ball lock from Ace Hardware.
Here's what you need:
$5.50 - Gas Ball Lock w/ threaded fitting
$7.79 - PSI Guage (look for one that is max 100--200 is not ideal)
$2.59 - Flare ADPTR104x1/4"BRS (This steps down from the guage size to 1/4")
$5.49 - 1/4 Flare Swivel Connector (Female on both sides)
Total: $21.37
Put the pieces together and tighten. You can use thread tape if you like, although it's probably unnecessary for 30 PSI. There are other variations of this where you can use barbed fittings and a length of clear tube inbetween so it's flexible in the middle. This might be useful for testing in hard to reach places. With a configuration like this, I'd go with a bottom mounted guage which were actually $3 cheaper than the one I bought. I wanted one that easily fits in my keg tackle box and is viewable from above since my kegs sit under the bar.
Thanks to jamocle for the idea! and scoundrel too!
Someone asked that I post pics when I made a PSI guage so here you go.
Why do you need one? Well, when you store kegs for a period of time, you want to make sure the CO2 in the beer is fully absorbed so an adequate seal is maintained until you are ready to cool it for serving. You can use this handy-dandy chart to figure out how many volumes of CO2 you prefer and at what temperature you will be slow carbonating your beer. If the guage drops, you know you are not fully carbonated.
In my process, I rack the beer and immediately put it on warm gas at around 28-30 PSI. Once it sits this way for about a week, the beer will be fully carbonated and then goes in the keezer to cool to serving temp. My keezer runs at 10 PSI and they're perfect after a day.
I bought all of my parts except the ball lock from Ace Hardware.
Here's what you need:
$5.50 - Gas Ball Lock w/ threaded fitting
$7.79 - PSI Guage (look for one that is max 100--200 is not ideal)
$2.59 - Flare ADPTR104x1/4"BRS (This steps down from the guage size to 1/4")
$5.49 - 1/4 Flare Swivel Connector (Female on both sides)
Total: $21.37
Put the pieces together and tighten. You can use thread tape if you like, although it's probably unnecessary for 30 PSI. There are other variations of this where you can use barbed fittings and a length of clear tube inbetween so it's flexible in the middle. This might be useful for testing in hard to reach places. With a configuration like this, I'd go with a bottom mounted guage which were actually $3 cheaper than the one I bought. I wanted one that easily fits in my keg tackle box and is viewable from above since my kegs sit under the bar.
Thanks to jamocle for the idea! and scoundrel too!
