Kegs arriving in 2 days, need a plan

Williams 728
Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
D

dcummings1998

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 17, 2011
Messages
106
Reaction score
1
Location
Vancouver
I have read so many threads on kegging that I can't keep it all straight, so I want to get some specific advice now before my kit arrives.

1) After unpacking everything, do I need to clean it all (kegs, lines, etc)? Or do I just clean the kegs with some OxyClean and then sanitize them?

2) I have 2 beers that have been sitting in the primary for a month, and I plan to siphon them to the kegs as soon as the kegs are ready. My plan from there is to give them 30 PSI for a little over a day and then drop it down to 12-ish and let them chill for a few days, then serve. Is this about right?

3) Um...what else? Any additional tips would really help.

Thanks!

Dave
 
1. I don't know if you bought new, used, newsed, or what, but I'd clean it all...twice. Change any rubber gaskets etc if they're used.

2. When you say 30 PSI, I'm assuming you're doing this at room temp? I leave mine at ~30 for a few days usually, but what you're talking about will work fine too. Here's a force carb chart that may help: http://www.kegerators.com/carbonation-table.php

3. Don't forget to purge your kegs with CO2 before siphoning. I still forget about half of the time and haven't noticed any oxidation, but it's still good practice.
 
I clean mine with pbw, rinse, then fill with iodaphore while I go and get my carboys. Dump the iodaphore into my botteling bucket, drop in my lid and gasket, then siphon into the keg. Once done, put the lid and gasket in place. Ramp up to 30 psi for a day or two, then drop back down to 12ish. I have never purged the tank with CO2 and haven't had any issues, YMMV.

Now, your lines. Is this a kegerator? Just a picnic tap? If a kegerator, have the lines been cleaned before? If not, here's what I do. Take two kegs. Fill one with pbw and put the lid on it. Give it CO2. Slip a piece of tubing over the spout of my faucet and run it into my empty keg. Open faucet and run PBW through my line. Repeat for my other 3 lines. Empty PBW solution and fill with hot water. Repeat process. Fill one last time with sanitizing solution and repeat the process. I do not do this process all the time. Depends on what is goign on tap. If I'm putting the second keg of my 10 gallon batch on, I don't really bother. If I'm putting something different on, then i clean it up.
 
I use starsan and hot water to clean my kegs. I take both posts off and both tubes and clean them too (soak them in some starsan in the tank is easiest). I also remove the poppit from the in/out taps. Just beware than the input and output are different sizes so DON'T mix them up. If you do you will probably get the gas connectors stuck on the taps.

I never have and never will purge (fill) the tank with CO2 before filling. I do not see any benefit, even in theory from doing this. The beer is in contact with air for such a brief amount of time that there is no way for it to be oxidized.

I do purge the headspace with CO2 when I am done however.

Also make sure you get some food grade petroleum jelly (keg lube) and run a thin coat on the main top oring (the big one) and the post orings.
 
dfess1 said:
I clean mine with pbw, rinse, then fill with iodaphore while I go and get my carboys. Dump the iodaphore into my botteling bucket, drop in my lid and gasket, then siphon into the keg. Once done, put the lid and gasket in place. Ramp up to 30 psi for a day or two, then drop back down to 12ish. I have never purged the tank with CO2 and haven't had any issues, YMMV.

Now, your lines. Is this a kegerator? Just a picnic tap? If a kegerator, have the lines been cleaned before? If not, here's what I do. Take two kegs. Fill one with pbw and put the lid on it. Give it CO2. Slip a piece of tubing over the spout of my faucet and run it into my empty keg. Open faucet and run PBW through my line. Repeat for my other 3 lines. Empty PBW solution and fill with hot water. Repeat process. Fill one last time with sanitizing solution and repeat the process. I do not do this process all the time. Depends on what is goign on tap. If I'm putting the second keg of my 10 gallon batch on, I don't really bother. If I'm putting something different on, then i clean it up.
Click to expand...

fyi: I have a spare keg that I keep filled with a starsan solution. I hook this up to the kegerator and run it through the beer line on keg changes. (once in awhile). I run it for about 30 sec or so (about a gallon)
 
Here are some advice:

* Regarding the cleaning: if it is brand new, rinse and sanitize. If it is used (kegs I guess), take apart, clean thoroughly, rinse, sanitize. Kegging might be new, but you are a brewer right ? I am sure you know what should be cleaned and how :)

* For the pressure/temperature: read the stickies. Sure you can have beer carbonated in a couple of days, but it is also a nice way to screw it up and end up with over carbonated beer. I know you want to try your new setup asap. Just consider giving time, and use the set and forget method. It really s**ks when you have overcabonated beer.
 
Oh, another one:

* check for leaks. If it is on the gas side, you will just have to refill your tank. But if it is on the beer side, you will end up cleaning a mess.
 
Hey, thanks to everyone for the advice!

I failed to mention a few things:

1) The kit is coming from KegConnection, and according to them, "These kegs have been cleaned and soaked in a hot "Brew Clean" cleaning solution, re-rinsed, lubed and re-pressurized to check the seals. "

I take this to mean that I can go with just swirling some Oxy around the inside briefly, rinse, and then add the StarSan, correct?

2) I have a kegerator kit, but I also added picnic taps so I don't have to tap the fridge immediately. But again, all the parts are new, so probably not necessary to fully clean all those parts.

3) I'll read more about the carbonation and figure out what works for me. One of the beers to be kegged is a Belgian Wit that seems to carb quickly in the bottle, so I'm hoping that one will be ready to go ASAP.
 
dcummings1998 said:
Hey, thanks to everyone for the advice!

I failed to mention a few things:

1) The kit is coming from KegConnection, and according to them, "These kegs have been cleaned and soaked in a hot "Brew Clean" cleaning solution, re-rinsed, lubed and re-pressurized to check the seals. "

I take this to mean that I can go with just swirling some Oxy around the inside briefly, rinse, and then add the StarSan, correct?

2) I have a kegerator kit, but I also added picnic taps so I don't have to tap the fridge immediately. But again, all the parts are new, so probably not necessary to fully clean all those parts.

3) I'll read more about the carbonation and figure out what works for me. One of the beers to be kegged is a Belgian Wit that seems to carb quickly in the bottle, so I'm hoping that one will be ready to go ASAP.
Click to expand...

For you first point: amoung the 4 kegs I got from them, only 2 were clean, and the other two were not spotless either. Get used to take them apart, lube the o-rings, and put them back together. It won't hurt, and you can make sure that everything is there and clean.
 
I seem to have a little problem. When I remove the in posts from the kegs, it all comes off as one unit, rather than the post, gas in tube, and poppet. This doesn't match up with anything else I have read, and I'm not sure how to disassemble this part so I can clean it and put new gaskets on.

Any help?
 
mperceau said:
Are you sure it is in one piece ? The dip tube is probably stuck in the post. Have you tried to move it ?
Click to expand...

Got it, it was jammed tight in there and I had to crank on it to free it. I now have 2 pieces; the poppet doesn't seem to want to come out, but I can work with that.
 
Beers are in the kegs! I really cleaned them out, put in new o-rings, sanitized, and then filled. I also harvested some yeast for the first time!

I need some advice: I have heard to put the kegs in the fridge to chill (NOT ON GAS) overnight and then put them on gas the next day and force carb. Can I hook them up right now at 30 and get it going, or should I wait until morning to put the gas on?

I know this has been beat to death, but I can't find a straight answer!
 
This is the method I'm referring to:

1: seat the lid with 30PSI
2: disconnect gas, and chill overnight
3: reconnect gas at 30PSI for 48hours
4: disconnect gas, bleed off pressure in the keg
5: reset regulator to serving pressure (10-12psi for me)
6: reconnect gas, and let sit for 2-7 days
7: get drunk
 
Just set it to serving pressure (12psi or whatever) and shake the keg up. That way it carbs quicker but you can't overcarb it.

Be patient. Don't rush the carbonation. The kegs will be around for a long time unless you have lots of help drinking. Buy a last 6 pack of commercial beer and enjoy it for a week while the keg carbs.

I filled my first 4 kegs in June and still have 10 gal of beer to drink.
 
dcummings1998 said:
Beers are in the kegs! I really cleaned them out, put in new o-rings, sanitized, and then filled. I also harvested some yeast for the first time!
Click to expand...
Congrats on both!!:mug:


I need some advice: I have heard to put the kegs in the fridge to chill (NOT ON GAS) overnight and then put them on gas the next day and force carb. Can I hook them up right now at 30 and get it going, or should I wait until morning to put the gas on?

I know this has been beat to death, but I can't find a straight answer!
Click to expand...

The beer will absorb CO2 better once it's cold. You could theoretically carb it warm, but then it will have to re-carb once it's chilled anyway. Pressure changes with temperature.

I just put mine in the kegerator and put on the CO2 lines at serving pressure and let it sit for 7-10 days. Many on here have had success with the 30psi for a day or two and then drop it to serving pressure technique. Either way it will not absorb the right amount of CO2 until it's fully chilled though.

Enjoy!

tesilential said:
Just set it to serving pressure (12psi or whatever) and shake the keg up. That way it carbs quicker but you can't overcarb it.

Be patient. Don't rush the carbonation. The kegs will be around for a long time unless you have lots of help drinking. <snip>
Click to expand...
I do NOT know what you're talking about. :)

I can't figure out if someone is sneaking into my garage and taking some or what but I can't seem to keep my kegs going for more than a few weeks. :)

A pint with dinner every night or two... A growler for my dad... a growler for my son (and co-brewer)... a growler to take to a get-together with a friend or two.... All of a sudden it's gone!:mug:
 
dcummings1998 said:
Beers are in the kegs! I really cleaned them out, put in new o-rings, sanitized, and then filled. I also harvested some yeast for the first time!

I need some advice: I have heard to put the kegs in the fridge to chill (NOT ON GAS) overnight and then put them on gas the next day and force carb. Can I hook them up right now at 30 and get it going, or should I wait until morning to put the gas on?

I know this has been beat to death, but I can't find a straight answer!
Click to expand...

Well, for some reason some people want to carb in a day or two by increasing the temperature. Even though it might work, it is the only way to overcarbonate your beer. So what I would recommend, is what works for me and a bunch of other people:

* rack the beer to the keg
* close, purge and seal the keg.
* put it in your fridge, and put them on gas at serving/choose a name/carbonating pressure. Really, there is only one pressure, it's the one that will give you the right amount of carbonation given the temperature of your fridge. Use the table in the stickies for this. It is usually around 11psi.
* forget it. I know it is the hard part for you because you just started. But you know what, you can taste your beer everyday, even though it is not carbonated yet. It's your beer, you do whatever you want :) Just remember that the more you wait, the better it will be.
 
a_shorething said:
The beer will absorb CO2 better once it's cold. You could theoretically carb it warm, but then it will have to re-carb once it's chilled anyway. Pressure changes with temperature.
Click to expand...

Just to comment on this: you can carbonate at room temperature with something around 30psi. You would not need to re-carb later. But it will take a week or two to reach the right amount of carbonation. Once the CO2 is in solution, it is not going anywhere :)

This can be useful if you do not have space is your keezer, but want a keg fully carbonated and ready to go once a space is available. But since it will take some time anyway, priming the keg is a good solution as well (this is what I do and works for me).
 
I carb at room temp. I put the reg at 22 and let it sit for a week. Then chill it, tap it and drink it. Perfect carb level for my taste.
 
I built a kegerator with space for 2 kegs, and I bought 4 kegs. My current plan is to prime the kegs and wait the two weeks for them to be ready. Eventually I will always have two kegs in the kegerator and two full ones out. When one of them goes empty in the kegerator, I'll have one to replace it that has been conditioning for probably about a month so it will be delicious.

The main reason for choosing to keg condition is I don't want to buy a second co2 tank and regulator for now. Not saying that won't change.

I have my first keg conditioning that will be ready to tap a week from tommorow. Excited!
 
mperceau said:
Just to comment on this: you can carbonate at room temperature with something around 30psi. You would not need to re-carb later. But it will take a week or two to reach the right amount of carbonation. Once the CO2 is in solution, it is not going anywhere :)

This can be useful if you do not have space is your keezer, but want a keg fully carbonated and ready to go once a space is available. But since it will take some time anyway, priming the keg is a good solution as well (this is what I do and works for me).
Click to expand...

Thanks for the clarification, this is true. There is a formula and you could figure out exactly what pressure to apply to carb at room temp (as mentioned, about 30psi or so) then chill later.

I still think it's still going to have to 'equalize' at the new temp at serving pressure just a bit though just because the real world is usually a little different from the calculations you do. Your kegerator may be set to 38 but the bottom may be colder than the top or it may be a little bit out of calibration or the sending unit may not be in the perfect place or...

So there would *probably* still be a bit of pressure change that would occur after you chill it and apply C02 anyway, just nowhere near as much and it would probably occur much faster.
 

Similar threads

F
Sanity check - keg purging / conditioning
Replies
2
Views
428
fuzzybee
F
R
Help. Lager in 18 days????
Replies
37
Views
2K
RabbitHole
R
Jordan Richendrfer
The Ultimate Soda Water Setup?
Replies
2
Views
516
IslandLizard
IslandLizard
RichBenn
Keg gaskets, sealing gaskets and leaks
Replies
28
Views
2K
mac_1103
mac_1103
x3la
Kegging/Carbonation advice
Replies
16
Views
1K
x3la
x3la

Latest posts

Back
Top