Kegging outside of the fridge

[troutab81]

I have two corneys that are occupying my fridge and carbing up. I plan on getting two more kegs at a sever discount, and to force carb my other two secondaries in them.

Problem I have is that I dont have the room in the fridge for them.

My process was going to just shoot them with 12 PSI, let them sit for a day outside of the fridge, then each morning re shoot them with 12 PSI since I will put the gas back in the fridge to continously carb the others.. Probably do that for a couple weeks.

Any negative effects from this or will it tak longer than two weeks?

 

[mosquitocontrol]

Why not naturally prime with sugar if you don't need them for a few weeks. That's what I do. Gives them some nice aging time too.

 

[TipsyDragon]

i recommend pressurizing then cooling the new kegs in the fridge to get their temp down making it easier to carb. then take them out and hook up the gas then shake shake shake the kegs. you will carb them within a half hour or so. after that take the gas off and let them sit where ever its most convenient.

 

[DirtyPolock]

I just did something similar since I was in the process of building my keezer. I kegged a beer and let it sit at 12 PSI for about 2 weeks at room temp while waiting to finish the build. When I finally put the keg in and tried a pint the next day after letting it cool it was barely carbonated.

If you look at a force carbonation chart keeping it at 12 PSI at room temp is near an equivalent of having it chilled at 45 degrees at 2 PSI in terms of carbonation.

The next time I do this I will keep a room temp keg in the mid-20's for the PSI, then bleed off the pressure to 12 and chill the beer. I'm not sure if this will cause a problem but I'll find out at some point when I finally build up my pipeline.

 

[Cpt_Kirks]

If you are just going to zap them with CO2 once a day, hit them with 25-30psi.

Each day, before you zap them, pull the pressure relief and see if you still have pressure. The beer is going to absorb most of the CO2, especially early on.

 

[steinsato]

Like the 2nd poster wrote, I would just carbonate them with priming sugar at room temp for 2-3 weeks. Doesn't take any space in the fridge or use up one of your CO2 lines.

 

[Ohio-Ed]

I have two corneys that are occupying my fridge and carbing up. I plan on getting two more kegs at a sever discount, and to force carb my other two secondaries in them.

Problem I have is that I dont have the room in the fridge for them.

My process was going to just shoot them with 12 PSI, let them sit for a day outside of the fridge, then each morning re shoot them with 12 PSI since I will put the gas back in the fridge to continously carb the others.. Probably do that for a couple weeks.

Any negative effects from this or will it tak longer than two weeks?

Certainly not going to hurt anything to apply a shot of co2 daily, but at room temp, it will definately take some time to carb.

BTW... where are you getting your cornies? Any more available? Details?

 

[Quan]

I don't see a problem with it... I would shoot them with alot more than 12psi though... At 68 degrees, to get 2.28 volumes of CO2 (that's normal for most American Ales), it needs to be at 28psi. Keep in mind alot of that CO2 will dissolve and pressure will drop as a result (since you don't have continuous CO2 going to it) so I would pump it even higher than 28psi.

 

[troutab81]

Certainly not going to hurt anything to apply a shot of co2 daily, but at room temp, it will definately take some time to carb.

BTW... where are you getting your cornies? Any more available? Details?

Local HBS had a garage sale and there are multiple for $10 each

 

[ksbrain]

If you prime with sugar, do you need to hit the kegs with CO2 first just to seal the lid and maybe purge the air?

 

[Ohio-Ed]

If you prime with sugar, do you need to hit the kegs with CO2 first just to seal the lid and maybe purge the air?

It would be a good idea.

 

[steinsato]

Yes, I usually purge it 2-3 times then seal it with about 10psi. If you come back the next day and pull the relief valve no gas will come out cause the beer has already absorbed it, so don't be alarmed. But yeah, I like to pressurize it to make sure it is sealed up.

 

[Quan]

If you prime with sugar, do you need to hit the kegs with CO2 first just to seal the lid and maybe purge the air?

Yes.

If you don't seal the lid with a hit of CO2, you might not get a good seal, and as your yeast eats up your priming sugar, the CO2 would just escape through the leaky lid. The air purge is also just good practice to prevent oxidation... priming sugar doesn't make that air go away.

 

[JesseRYC]

Ya the first time i kegged, I used priming sugar and did not seal the tank. After 2 weeks of anxiously waiting, I was horrified that the beer wasn't carbed at all. All the gas escaped through the loose lid.