The best way to fill a Cornelius keg

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oswegan

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I know this has probably been asked 100 times. But I have searched and cannot find a good primer on kegging.

This weekend I will keg my first 10 gallon AG batch and I really don't want to screw it up.

I have two kegs and all of the parts and I have figured out how to disassemble, clean and sanitize them.

Now I need a plan for filling them and pressurizing them.

I have read a lot of threads about closed vs. open and forced carb vs. connect it and be patient etc.

What I need to know is exactly how to fill the keg and seal it up and pressurize it.

Can I just rack the beer into the open keg and then purge the oxygen out of the keg? Or do I need to purge the keg of oxygen before I put the beer in?

I know this is a dumb question but my beer tastes so good I just want to do this right.:confused:
 
Personally, I purge the keg first so that there is a cloud of CO2 protecting the beer during the transfer. Other than that, just think if it as transferring from primary to secondary. Once full put your lid on, shoot it with 30psi of CO2 to get a good seal and carb as you wish.
 
I have only done three kegs and I just hook up my CO2 tank to the keg and use a spare Ball Lock Out Connector with no hose connected to it, then set my regulator to 20# and open up my shutoff valve. I let it purge for about 30 seconds, then close the valve, disconnect all fittings, open up my keg and fill it up. After it is filled, I burp the keg a few times with CO2 to get rid of any stray O2 and pressurize.

Salute! :mug:
 
What does the spare Ball Lock Out Connector accomplish as opposed to just opening the purge?

You must be talking about the pressure relief valve. It will release excess pressure if for some reason your keg reached its pressure limit, which is around 125 PSI.

I hit my keg with a few shots of CO2 before racking into it and then rack. After racking, I seal the lid and shoot it up with CO2 a few times releasing the air through the relief valve. Then I shake the keg with a steady supply of 30 PSI CO2 for about 2 minutes. I then let my keg cool down and store it until ready to consume.
 
I'm cheap. I just rack the beer into the keg, then purge it 4-5 times to get all of the oxygen out. It saves a bunch of CO2 as I'm not filling the keg with CO2 and then pushing it out with beer, and I have yet to experience oxygenated beer, even after moving a keg that had been sitting for well over a month to a new home and letting sit for another month. Tastes like beer with no hint of wet cardboard.
 
What does the spare Ball Lock Out Connector accomplish as opposed to just opening the purge?

The out port is connect to the tubing which runs from the bottom of the keg. I assumed since adding pressure from the top, it would work to push the O2 out from the bottom. If you used the relief valve, it is also located on top as the in port is. I am not certain it makes a difference, I just do it that way. You could also hook it up in reverse and force the gas in the bottom and hold the relief open to vent the O2 from the top.

6 of 1, 1/2 dozen of the other.

Salute! :mug:
 
I'm cheap. I just rack the beer into the keg, then purge it 4-5 times to get all of the oxygen out. It saves a bunch of CO2 as I'm not filling the keg with CO2 and then pushing it out with beer, and I have yet to experience oxygenated beer, even after moving a keg that had been sitting for well over a month to a new home and letting sit for another month. Tastes like beer with no hint of wet cardboard.

I usually do the same, just siphon the beer into the bottom (no splashing) and purge with Co2 when I'm done.
 
Pressurise to 10PSI, vent, pressurise to 10 PSI, vent then immediately rack the beer into it. Once full, pressurise to 10PSI, vent, pressurise, vent. At this point I bung it up to 30-40PSI and lay the keg down to expose more surface area to CO2. Shake it about a bit, repressurise a few times, stand it up and just check and repressurise a few times a day over the next few days.

Yep, some people don't bother to get the keg full of CO2 before racking the beer to it but for the sake of a little bit of gas it gives me much more peace of mind that any 'gurgling' during racking is highly unlikely to result in an oxidised beer and it's served me well so far.
 
IMHO, the beer already has CO2 in it from the yeast. If you rack it without filling the keg with CO2 all you will do is release some CO2 into the surrounding headspace above the beer. Racking takes all of 10 minutes and as soon as you are done, you hit it with CO2 anyway. Why waste the gas? Besides, if you have any air movement it is likely that the CO2 will be mixed with oxy anyway as the lid to the keg will be partially open.
 
I blast in a little co2. I'm no expert, but when I fill the keg I run tubing to the bottom of the keg so there's little splashing. CO2 is heavy, so thats in the bottom too. As the beer level rises, it pushes up the blanket of gas with it. So, I use very little gas, and have never had a batch go bad.:mug:
 
probably unnecessary..but if it gives you peace of mind give-er. proper racking adds very little O2 exposure to the beer....even a little less than proper technique will most likely leave your beer fine.

rack into keg....pressurize/purge a few times....done.
 
IMHO, the beer already has CO2 in it from the yeast. If you rack it without filling the keg with CO2 all you will do is release some CO2 into the surrounding headspace above the beer. Racking takes all of 10 minutes and as soon as you are done, you hit it with CO2 anyway. Why waste the gas? Besides, if you have any air movement it is likely that the CO2 will be mixed with oxy anyway as the lid to the keg will be partially open.

Because the minute cost of a bit of CO2 far outweighs the risk of losing 4 gallons of hard toiled over beer to oxidation. As I said, it works for me and I see no reason to change. :)
 
I hook a beverage out connector to my Co2 line and then I flush Co2 down the stainless tube all the way down to the bottom of the keg.
 
So it sounds like either way you are putting a blanket of CO2 on top of the beer and pushing the O2 out of the relief valve. The difference being that some people like the blanket of CO2 to be there during racking and some don't mind it being exposed for a few minutes.

So today I am cold crashing the beer and tomorrow I will hopefully receive my CO2 tank and be able to do this thing.

I will be taking off Tuesday and wont be back for a couple of days so once they are full and the O2 is purged, do I just hook them up at 10-12 psi and leave them in the fridge?

I was hoping to drink some beer Saturday night.

Thanks for all of the help.:mug:
 
That's pretty much it but you will need to check the CO2 pressure in the keg periodically for the first few days as the beer will absorb some. After 3-4 days it should remain consistent and can then be forgotton about.
 
The out port is connect to the tubing which runs from the bottom of the keg. I assumed since adding pressure from the top, it would work to push the O2 out from the bottom. If you used the relief valve, it is also located on top as the in port is. I am not certain it makes a difference, I just do it that way. You could also hook it up in reverse and force the gas in the bottom and hold the relief open to vent the O2 from the top.

6 of 1, 1/2 dozen of the other.

Salute! :mug:

If you're venting from the bottom, then you're venting CO2. The CO2 is heavier, so it goes to the bottom and the O2 goes to the top. Imagine O2 is oil and CO2 is water. If you pour water into a glass of oil, you can't vent out oil from the bottom, because that's where the water goes - you'd just be venting out the newly added water (CO2).
 
After reading many of the previous threads on this subject I have come to the conclusion that this so called "blanket of CO2" is a myth. The co2 mixes with the o2 and takes a long time to become a distinct layer in the keg. Unless you use a lot of co2 you will still have some o2 in the keg touching your precious beer! So even if you "purge" the keg I recommend racking gently and venting the keg a few times after the keg is full to get the last bit of o2 out. I personally don't purge before racking and have never had a problem.
 
Slight hijack: I've seen several references to shaking after pressurizing the keg, but others don't mention it at all (they just say, pressurize to 30psi for 24 hours, drop to 10psi and serve). Is shaking necessary?
 
It is not necessary. You can shake if you want it to carbonate faster. I think there are 4 main methods.
#1 put it at 30 PSI and shake the hell out of it till it is at the level you want, vent and set to serving pressure
#2 Put it at 30 PSI for 2 days and drop to serving pressure
#3 set at serving pressure for a week
#4 put in priming sugar and let it set at room temp for 3 weeks

And various combinations. All can result in good cabonation, some of these can overcarbonate if you are not careful. 1-3 require the keg to be chilled.
 
It is not necessary. You can shake if you want it to carbonate faster. I think there are 4 main methods.
#1 put it at 30 PSI and shake the hell out of it till it is at the level you want, vent and set to serving pressure
#2 Put it at 30 PSI for 2 days and drop to serving pressure
#3 set at serving pressure for a week
#4 put in priming sugar and let it set at room temp for 3 weeks

And various combinations. All can result in good cabonation, some of these can overcarbonate if you are not careful. 1-3 require the keg to be chilled.

Assuming I am leaving town for three days, which method would you reccomend? I am planning to keg tonight and I want to drink beer Saturday.

Thanks!
 
After reading many of the previous threads on this subject I have come to the conclusion that this so called "blanket of CO2" is a myth. The co2 mixes with the o2 and takes a long time to become a distinct layer in the keg. Unless you use a lot of co2 you will still have some o2 in the keg touching your precious beer! So even if you "purge" the keg I recommend racking gently and venting the keg a few times after the keg is full to get the last bit of o2 out. I personally don't purge before racking and have never had a problem.

So why does my keg contain a visible 'fog' when I gas it up and purge a couple of times before racking the beer into it? CO2 is heavier than air, it therefore follows that if you've pressurised and purged a couple of times you are likely to have more CO2 than regular air in there. I dare say many have got away with not doing this, I just say that for the small expense of a bit of gas it's an additional safety-net.
 
It is not necessary. You can shake if you want it to carbonate faster. I think there are 4 main methods.
#1 put it at 30 PSI and shake the hell out of it till it is at the level you want, vent and set to serving pressure
#2 Put it at 30 PSI for 2 days and drop to serving pressure
#3 set at serving pressure for a week
#4 put in priming sugar and let it set at room temp for 3 weeks

And various combinations. All can result in good cabonation, some of these can overcarbonate if you are not careful. 1-3 require the keg to be chilled.

I carbonate perfectly well at 30-40PSI at room temperature. Indeed, if I dropped the temperature to fridge-chilled I would be looking at around 15PSI, 30PSI would be far too much at them sort of temperatures.
 
I carbonate perfectly well at 30-40PSI at room temperature. Indeed, if I dropped the temperature to fridge-chilled I would be looking at around 15PSI, 30PSI would be far too much at them sort of temperatures.

I also have carbonated at room temp, but I can't lay out all 300 ways you could carbonate a keg, just gave a general layout of some basics.

If you need to leave town for 3 days you could probably spend 15 minutes or so with it at 30 PSI shaking it then put it in your fridge at around 12 psi (Depends on temperature and how carbonated you want the beer) by the time you get back it should be near the carbonation you'd like.
 
So why does my keg contain a visible 'fog' when I gas it up and purge a couple of times before racking the beer into it? CO2 is heavier than air, it therefore follows that if you've pressurised and purged a couple of times you are likely to have more CO2 than regular air in there. I dare say many have got away with not doing this, I just say that for the small expense of a bit of gas it's an additional safety-net.

Um. That 'fog' is CO2.

At least for me....... at $14 for a 5# fill, and with that 5# tank only lasting me 4-6 weeks on average.... It's worth it not to purge the keg before filling.
 
Oh and in case it wasn't covered you need to leave the Co2 hooked up while shaking and while it is sitting in the fridge finishing carbonation.
 
the layer of heavier co2 is not a myth, but it also doesn't immediately settle to the bottom as if it were a liquid. it's more like the grenadine in a tequila sunrise, settling to the bottom more the longer you let it sit.

when i purge a keg (full or empty) i hit it with co2 and then wait a few minutes for it to settle. then i pull the release valve, confident that what's coming out is mostly oxygen.
 
Um. That 'fog' is CO2.

At least for me....... at $14 for a 5# fill, and with that 5# tank only lasting me 4-6 weeks on average.... It's worth it not to purge the keg before filling.

Yes I know, that was the point I was trying to get across. :)
 
Um. That 'fog' is CO2.

At least for me....... at $14 for a 5# fill, and with that 5# tank only lasting me 4-6 weeks on average.... It's worth it not to purge the keg before filling.


Wow. You sure you don't have a leak? How many kegs are you pushing to last only 4 to 6 weeks? I'm no lightweight and my 5 lb tank lasts 4 to 6 months.

I rack into an o2 filled tank and just purge the headspace. As was stated earlier, simply racking the beer will cause some CO2 to come out of solution and blanket the surface of the beer. Even if it didn't, that short exposure is ridiculously small and insignificant. Oxidation happens when there is large scale injection of O2 into the beer.

Right after racking I hit it with 12 psi a couple of times and purge the headspace then put it on 30 psi for a few days in the keezer. Drop to 12 again and serve.
 
4 to 6 weeks is a very short time, unless you are serving up 50 pints of beer a week (and even then it's still short). I've hammered my CO2 from day one and I've had it well over 6 months now. It's a 7Kg bottle, 15Lbs in imperial speak (ish). If you're going through so much that you can't spare the gas to prime a keg that you are racking beer in to then I'd be looking at leaks.
 
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