First-Time Kegging

[Razorback_Jack]

Hello all,

I have posted so many times lately that I feel like this is a self-help website! Perhaps it is...

So I’m new to kegging, have already purchased my kegs, have cleaned them, and replaced old o-rings and poppets. My beer is almost ready to keg, in the amount of two 5-gallon batches. I also have a dual-tap kegerator... EdgeStar KC3000TWIN, which I’m very excited to use! I have never worked with Co2 or a regulator and I’m understandably nervous. For sanitizing I would like to fill the keg with Starsan solution, pressurize it, and run StarSan through a picnic tap, then use that solution to sanitize siphon, etc.

So, a few questions. Your advice and help is greatly appreciated.

1. What psi should I use to pressurize with StarSan in the keg?

2. Do I first set the psi, THEN connect the Co2 tank, THEN open the regulator valve (6 o’clock), THEN attach QD to my pin lock keg on the gas post? Not sure of that order. Or should QD be connected before opening valve? I simply don’t know.

3. To pressurize keg with StarSan do I just need to let in Co2 until it stops hissing? Then remove QD and shut off valve/close tank? Then connect the picnic tap? (What order?) Again, this is just for the StarSan in keg. Not beer yet.

4. Once beer is in keg and I’m ready to pressurize, what’s my order of operation and be as detailed as possible please? When do I (a) open the regulator valve to 6 o’clock, (b) open Co2 tank all the way, (c) connect QD to my gas post, and (d) connect to kegerator line?

5. When pressurizing with beer, do I first fill until hissing stops, remove QD, bleed all air from gas post, reconnect QD and repeat that process three times? Four times? Does Co2 need to be shut off before attaching a QD, and before removing it, or neither??

6. Once I’ve done that a few times (how do I know when that has been done enough), to what psi do I then set my regulator? I’m not sure I want to quick carb yet... at first I might just do the patient thing and wait a week for carbing to complete. I want to become very comfortable with the Co2 process first.

7. Finally... As I said I’m using an EdgeStar dual-tap kegerator. When only one keg is attached, does the other gas line need anything special on it to block the flow of Co2, or just the QD?

So many thanks as I continue to learn how to do this, and hope you all have a great day!

Jackson

 

[McKnuckle]

There has to be a good website for this... maybe someone has a bookmark they can share.

This post will cover the Star-San purge step.

Basically, the CO2 gas flow is like this:

Tank main valve --> Regulator [adjuster] --> Regulator valve --> gas line --> [optional manifold / valve, gas line] --> Keg

The gas line either goes directly to a QD which attaches to your keg, or it goes first to a manifold which has a separate valve, then to a gas line terminating at a QD.

Starting with parts:

1) Turn all valves completely off
2) Attach the regulator to the tank with teflon tape
3) Attach the gas line to the regulator with teflon tape
4) Set up the tank where it can stand safely
5) Thread the gas line towards where the keg will be

Now, fill your keg with Star-San. Hook up the gas line to the gas IN post using a grey QD. (Double check this every time! Even 5 years later when you know everything!) Hook up a picnic tap or faucet to the liquid OUT post using a black QD (Same warning!)

Turn on the tank's main valve all the way counter-clockwise. Turn the regulator adjustment knob til the gauge shows minimal pressure, 1-2 psi. Clockwise increases pressure; counter-clockwise decreases it. Gauge response can be delayed - not instantaneous like a radio volume knob, and that's normal.

You're not going to pressurize the keg. You're just going to use the minimal pressure to push the liquid out, then you're gonna turn off the gas.

Now, get ready to open the tap or faucet and drain Star-San into a vessel before the next step. Ready? Now open the regulator's valve to release gas into your line and into the keg. Liquid will flow out as long as the tap is open.

When it sputters, you are done. Close the tap. Close the regulator valve. Leave the main valve open and the regulator adjustment untouched.

 

[balrog]

1. Whatever psi will push it out. I use serving pressure, 8-10psi.
2. Regulator attaches to tank and stays there. Tight. Check occasionally. My feeds from regulator have cutoff valves. I close the one I'm not using there. A correctly installed QD will not leak and can be used but it must be correctly installed and leak tested.
3. Hook up picnic tap to liquid out, open tap over collection vessel, connect gas QD, turn up gas to 8-10psi. That order is not important. Tank does not have to be pressurized (to be emptied) in any particular order at this point, you just want to empty it.
4. Regulator is still set to 8-10. Connect gas to keg. That's it. People purge several times at 30psi. So in that case, hook up gas to keg, up regulator to 30psi, purge with lid mounted pressure relief valve half dozen times or whatever, change regulator back to 8-10, everything still hooked up.

The one caveat here might be to disconnect gas from keg if keg is really really full because changing pressure on regulator down, while keg has 30 psi now, if full, might blow beer back up the gas in line and if that happens you are looking at disassembling the regulator to clean and dry the beer.
5. Hook up gas. Will hiss (20-30s). Bleed (2-3s). Hiss as fills(20-30s). Bleed (2-3s). It's not that critical.
6. It's never enough if you ask some folks, it's up to you. @doug293cz did a calc where it showed x% O2 flushed for a certain fill volume, certain keg volume, ceratin purge pressure, certain number of times. I have a masters in Physics and it made MY head hurt. Purge 6-10 times at 30psi. "If you're stressing over homebrewing you're doing it wrong."
Read. There's a bazillion threads on force carbing vs set and forget two weeks. Decide what you want to do. It's all up to you. Poopoodeedoo.
7. Again, anything that is leak tested is fine to hook up. Many people do it. Some people fill kegs with CO2 and disconnect. It's up to you. But the leak testing is really really Really REALLY crucial.

Unless you like empty CO2 tanks.

 

[McKnuckle]

Following the purge, now put beer in your keg.

Put the keg in your keezer/kegerator, where hopefully you have now situated your gas line. Let me first describe the basic process for hooking up the keg. Purging headspace, which is optional but recommended, can be addressed later.

Remember how you left the main gas valve open and the regulator set to 2 psi before, and now the regulator valve is closed? You pretty much never close the main gas valve unless you are taking things apart. You turn flow on and off with the regulator valve, and you adjust pressure with the regulator knob.

Okay, attach the gas line to your keg. Turn on the regulator valve. Gas will flow in and you'll hear it hiss. Turn up the regulator adjustment to about 12 psi. You'll have to experiment over time, but this is a reasonable starting point for serving pressure. Now you just leave it there.

Leave the beer alone for at least one week to carbonate. It will take 2 weeks to condition and fully carb, but at one week it can be tasted to indulge the impatient.

 

[McKnuckle]

Now let's purge the headspace.

Turn the regulator valve off. Pull the PRV on the keg until it stops spitting. Turn the regulator valve on and wait for the headspace to fill (you'll hear it hissing and groaning and then it will get quiet). Turn the regulator valve off. Pull the PRV... repeat as many times as you want. I do it three times. Some people go nuts.

At the end, turn the regulator valve back on and let headspace fill up, then leave it alone again at 12 psi.

 

[GrowleyMonster]

Hello all,

I have posted so many times lately that I feel like this is a self-help website! Perhaps it is...

So I’m new to kegging, have already purchased my kegs, have cleaned them, and replaced old o-rings and poppets. My beer is almost ready to keg, in the amount of two 5-gallon batches. I also have a dual-tap kegerator... EdgeStar KC3000TWIN, which I’m very excited to use! I have never worked with Co2 or a regulator and I’m understandably nervous. For sanitizing I would like to fill the keg with Starsan solution, pressurize it, and run StarSan through a picnic tap, then use that solution to sanitize siphon, etc.

So, a few questions. Your advice and help is greatly appreciated.

1. What psi should I use to pressurize with StarSan in the keg?

2. Do I first set the psi, THEN connect the Co2 tank, THEN open the regulator valve (6 o’clock), THEN attach QD to my pin lock keg on the gas post? Not sure of that order. Or should QD be connected before opening valve? I simply don’t know.

3. To pressurize keg with StarSan do I just need to let in Co2 until it stops hissing? Then remove QD and shut off valve/close tank? Then connect the picnic tap? (What order?) Again, this is just for the StarSan in keg. Not beer yet.

4. Once beer is in keg and I’m ready to pressurize, what’s my order of operation and be as detailed as possible please? When do I (a) open the regulator valve to 6 o’clock, (b) open Co2 tank all the way, (c) connect QD to my gas post, and (d) connect to kegerator line?

5. When pressurizing with beer, do I first fill until hissing stops, remove QD, bleed all air from gas post, reconnect QD and repeat that process three times? Four times? Does Co2 need to be shut off before attaching a QD, and before removing it, or neither??

6. Once I’ve done that a few times (how do I know when that has been done enough), to what psi do I then set my regulator? I’m not sure I want to quick carb yet... at first I might just do the patient thing and wait a week for carbing to complete. I want to become very comfortable with the Co2 process first.

7. Finally... As I said I’m using an EdgeStar dual-tap kegerator. When only one keg is attached, does the other gas line need anything special on it to block the flow of Co2, or just the QD?

So many thanks as I continue to learn how to do this, and hope you all have a great day!

Jackson

1. You don't need much. A couple pounds is enough to push the solution out. A 5 gallon batch of solution is IMHO worth saving and using again, so let it go into a bucket for re-use.

2. Connect everything with the cylinder valve closed, any discharge valve closed, gas line disconnected from keg. Open the valve slowly. Just crack it at first until you see the tank pressure gauge move. Then open completely and close it back down about 1/8 turn. That way you never try to open it past fully open and jam the valve.

Check regulator, make sure knob is screwed out (CCW) until there is no resistance, and regulator discharge gauge shows zero. Connect gas line to keg. Open regular valve if there is one. Slowly screw in the regulator knob until you see a couple pounds of pressure. Check for leaks. Spray on star san and watch for bubbles at connections. Now set the pressure as desired. Remember, screwing the knob IN, Clockwise, opens up the regulator. Screwing the knob back out, shuts it down. When you screw it all the way out to where there is no resistance to turning, the regulator is all the way closed.

3. To purge keg, give it some gas and open the faucet, in whichever order. A couple pounds is plenty. Leave the gas hooked up and reg at a pound or two until the faucet is just blowing bubbles. Close the regulator OR the regulator discharge valve for a bit and let all the solution gather at the bottom, and foam break down, maybe an hour, then go some more. Close and remove faucet. Leave the keg with 2 to 5 lbs CO2 pressure in it, so cooling won't contract the gas in the keg and pull air in via the keg post valves.

4&5 When you are ready to fill with beer, release the pressure. You will be filling with the beer post. You can run a line from the gas post to the gas lock hole in the stopper, and if you have a spigot down near the bottom of the fermenter, run a line from the spigot to the beer post on the keg, so you have a closed system. Beer goes into keg by gravity, pushes CO2 out and into fermenter, so no air gets sucked in. No need to waste CO2 from your cylinder.

When beer is in the keg, break your connections and get ready to pressurize. First, decide what pressure you want. If you do not want to quick carb, then just use typical serving pressure for the type beer you brewed. I brew medium to heavy ales and they do well with low pressure, 4 to 6 pounds. A Pilsner might need like 20 lbs depending on how much head you want. It only takes a couple of pounds to push the beer out, and any more is just for the sake of maintaining carbonation.

So let's say you are just going to set it at serving pressure and leave it for a few days to carb. Let's say you have decided on 10lb pressure. Make sure there is room in fridge or kegerator for the keg. A lot of this is not critical but first close the cylinder valve and bleed pressure from regulator and associated piping and tubing. Connect to the keg's gas post. Ensure regulator knob is screwed out all the way to zero. Slowly crack the cylinder valve open, then open wide, all the way and then back it in 1/8 turn. Check for leaks with a spray bottle of star san. Open regulator discharge valve if there is one. Slowly screw the regulator knob in i.e. clockwise until you feel resistance. Screw it in some more until you see a little pressure. Since it is connected to the gas port, it won't bubble in the beer but you will hear the gas moving. Check keg top for leaks again. Increase pressure slowly to your desired serving pressure.

Put keg in fridge or kegerator if it is not already inside. After a couple of hours, check it again and adjust if needed. Let it stand in there for at least a couple of days. Hook up your beer line any time. And yeah, you can leave the gas hooked up to the keg. You can disconnect if you like. Whatever blows your skirt up.

Around day 3 or 4, draw off a short glass and if you get too much foam, reduce pressure to about 2/3 of what you got. After a few days try again and once more adjust up or down 1/3 of what you got, until you get the pressure right. You can also use a regulated faucet, and you can use a longer beer line to reduce foaming. A little excess foam is no biggie. Just let it overflow into the drip tray. The higher carbonation will be welcome while the glass is being drank. The pour that gives you a perfect draw is usually not the perfect drink.

You are dealing with very low pressures, downstream from the regulator. You can disconnect from or connect to the keg whether or not there is pressure. Sure, you can be anal and drop pressure in the line, but what a PITA to depressurize the keg, before disconnecting! So why bother?

6. Just set it to your serving pressure. Leave it connected.

7. Ideally you would have two regulators for that setup but if the beers are similar and work well with the same pressure, just leave them both connected. At typical serving pressure the QD connector is capable of holding pressure if it is disconnected. Spray with star san and check for bubbles, if you want to prove yea or nea. It would be nice if there were at least a separate gas valve for each line. If I were you I would upgrade to a twin regulator system or else have a separate bottle and reg for each keg. The twin reg setup makes a lot more sense.

Finally, you will make and hopefully live to learn from mistakes. Just don't let them be big ones. A CO2 cylinder is pressurized at 600lb or more and when released to the atmosphere it expands umpty zillion times and displaces all the air in an enclosed or semienclosed space. The moral of that story is don't asphyxiate yourself. Don't let all that pressure slam into your regulators or other components. Open valves slowly. Be sure to tighten hose clamps securely. Check for leaks and fix them.

 

[Razorback_Jack]

All of this... ALL of this, is so extremely helpful! I had been fearing a Co2 tank explosion if I did something wrong! It is stabilized inside the kegerator, and attached carefully to the regulator. So, about testing for leaks at the QD. What’s the best way? Spray with StarSan? And again, if there is a leak, is there danger of explosion inside the kegerator? One of my biggest fears is of exploding tanks (and balloons haha!)

 

[balrog]

The best way?

Submerge the entire system in a swimming pool and watch for leaks.

Not necessarily the easiest way. Starsan is a good idea. Submerge subsystems under pressure in bathtub is another way.

 

[McKnuckle]

The biggest gotchas I've had with kegging have all been faulty connections on my liquid lines! I recommend MFL-equipped QDs over barbed ones. Pulling the line off a barb is a pain in the a$$, and can cause micro-tears that leak, with predictably unpleasant results.

I have been lucky to have no gas leaks since I set up my keezer maybe 3 years ago. [knock knock] Just wrap threaded connections with teflon, tighten everything well but not to an extreme, and always use hose clamps on any barb that connects to a gas line.

And every time you do something in there, assume that you are an idiot, and triple check the position of valves and taps. (Because we are all idiots sometimes!)

 

[Razorback_Jack]

I do have another question though. I have pin lock kegs with no prv on the lid. So..... purging. Do I continuously remove the QD and purge air out of the gas line, reattach QD and fill again, then disconnect and purge again, continuously?

 

[GrowleyMonster]

I do have another question though. I have pin lock kegs with no prv on the lid. So..... purging. Do I continuously remove the QD and purge air out of the gas line, reattach QD and fill again, then disconnect and purge again, continuously?

Myself, I don't know. I have never used pin lock keg fittings.

 

[Jayjay1976]

This is a great thread, I just started kegging myself and without this information I almost wrecked my brand new regulator. Thanks everyone.

 

[mullet6577]

I do have another question though. I have pin lock kegs with no prv on the lid. So..... purging. Do I continuously remove the QD and purge air out of the gas line, reattach QD and fill again, then disconnect and purge again, continuously?

Yes, or use one of these and still have to do essentially the same thing
https://www.kegconnection.com/pin-lock-keg-poppet-valve-depressor/

I have one that was misplaced after my first keg, and just found again in the past couple of days. I've been doing basically what you describe the whole time

 

[GilSwillBasementBrews]

You could also just fill the keg with sanitizer and push that out with the co2 and you’ll have a purged sanitized keg ready for filling.

 

[SouthBounds]

So, about testing for leaks at the QD.

I spray water with a little dish soap on all the fittings. It will bubble anywhere there is a leak.

Kegging is a lot of fun to tinker with also. I try different carbing techniques, pressures, line lengths. It's almost a hobby in itself.

 

[Razorback_Jack]

Thanks again for all the advice in this thread. Tonight I fully cleaned a keg, sanitized it, filled it with beer, set up my kegerator, Co2, and regulator, connected to my keg, started carbing, and cleaned up my kitchen and equipment.

I get pretty detailed when I clean anything, including a keg. The whole thing from clean to carb to cleanup took me about 6 hours.

 

[GrowleyMonster]

Thanks again for all the advice in this thread. Tonight I fully cleaned a keg, sanitized it, filled it with beer, set up my kegerator, Co2, and regulator, connected to my keg, started carbing, and cleaned up my kitchen and equipment.

I get pretty detailed when I clean anything, including a keg. The whole thing from clean to carb to cleanup took me about 6 hours.

Yeah well I spend at least as much time cleaning up my brewing and kegging mess, as I do brewing and kegging. So far I have not made a single batch without making a terrible mess in the brewing room (GF calls it the "kitchen") and the fermenting room. (AKA "dining room") So, yeah I feel your pain.