Force carbonating with a manifold.

[bhapnin]

I have an event in 9 days and would like to force carbonate 5 kegs in that time. I have limited equipment and obviously limited time. Considering all the different styles should need similar volumes of co2 is connecting them to the same regulator an acceptable practice? (with manifold that I dont own yet)
I guess I should back up and
Ask the the more obvious question. When I pressurize the keg I am supposed to leave it connected for two days? It would clearly solve my problem if I only had to "charge the keg" once then move to the next one.
The other problem I have is that the lowest temp I would be able to use is around 68
I have read hundreds of threads but haven't been able to answer many of my questions. (there are more to come)

 

[Yooper]

You can use a manifold. At 68 degrees, you'll want to use 26 psi for about 2 weeks for a "standard" carb level. If you're rushed, I'm not sure the beer will be fully carbed in 9 days. I wouldn't try different carb levels, unless you have something like a champagne or a cask conditioned ale that needs to be noticeably different.

 

[bhapnin]

You can use a manifold. At 68 degrees, you'll want to use 26 psi for about 2 weeks for a "standard" carb level. If you're rushed, I'm not sure the beer will be fully carbed in 9 days. I wouldn't try different carb levels, unless you have something like a champagne or a cask conditioned ale that needs to be noticeably different.

Most of carbonation tables I have seen don't indicate a length of time it takes. I was under the impression it was 1-2 days. It seems all the places I have read are missing one or two critical details. Is there a more comprehensive source? Sort of a kindergarden for carbonation.

 

[Yooper]

Most of carbonation tables I have seen don't indicate a length of time it takes. I was under the impression it was 1-2 days. It seems all the places I have read are missing one or two critical details. Is there a more comprehensive source? Sort of a kindergarden for carbonation.

Those force carbonation tables all assume a pretty long length of time- usually two weeks is enough, but certainly not 1 or 2 days!

I haven't really seen many good "carbonation for dummies" (no offense intended- I was looking for something like that a few years ago) type of reads, but there may be some helpful information in the stickies at the top of this forum. We went through the links a year or so ago to make sure they were all up to date.

 

[Golddiggie]

I would advise reading Bobby_M's thread here... Basically, 24-48 hours at high pressure (at serving temps) then reduce to serving pressure and leave alone for at least a week.

I have my second keg in process now for this method. Although I won't have the additional gas line feed for that keg for a few more days.

IF you have styles that call for very different CO2 volumes ranges, I would get enough manifolds to cover and either a dual, or multi, body regulator to feed the manifolds. IF you can get away with just one pressure level to satisfy all the styles, go for it.

I want to have the option of two different (well, three if I use the paintball gun size tank/regulator) carbonation levels for my brews. So I can have my ESB's and porters at one pressure/CO2 level and my cream ales at another. Or whatever two styles I have on tap, I can carbonate closer to the correct level/range. Do keep in mind that unless you're planning on serving radically different styles, or the brews taste better at different CO2 volume levels, you could get away with a single manifold setup.

Oh, and next time, I wouldn't wait until the 10th hour before getting all this lined up.

 

[bhapnin]

Thank you. I am under no real obligation as the friend who asked me to do it knew it was a pretty unrealistic time frame to work with but I wanted to see what I could come up with. I can get them to serving temp if that will speed things up.
I'll take all the help I can get.

 

[Yooper]

Thank you. I am under no real obligation as the friend who asked me to do it knew it was a pretty unrealistic time frame to work with but I wanted to see what I could come up with. I can get them to serving temp if that will speed things up.
I'll take all the help I can get.

Well, at serving temperature it won't really speed it up. EXCEPT- when you chill the kegs that are carbonated at room temperature you may have a day or two of foaming until the kegs are chilled. If you can chill them while carbonating them at the proper pressure (probably 12 psi or so) that will help quite a bit.

If you can chill the kegs and keep them cold you could try having them at 30 psi for 36 hours, then purging them and holding them at 12 psi for the final 7 days. That should get them carbed up in 9 days, without excessive foaming.