Transporting pressurized kegs at room temperature

[Indyking]

Hi, I'm moving and have to transport my chest freezer kegerator with 3 corny kegs inside it. All 3 kegs are near full of beer (12 psi) or carbonated juice (18 psi).

I was planning to just turn the kegerator off, load it to my minivan, hit the road, unload it in my destination (8 hours away), plug it, and finally turn it back on. Would that work?

My concern is that the pressurized liquids inside the kegs will raise their temperature to room temperature and that could cause damage or even an explosion or close to it, I don't know?!?

Can anybody help me get this figured out? Thanks!

 

[Kahler]

I would throw some bags of ice in it. As long as it stays closed you should be fine.

 

[insubordinateK]

Just release the pressure and re-pressurize after the transport for insurance. They will be protected with a blanket of CO2.

 

[jeepinjeepin]

12 psi at what temperature? What temps are you expecting? If you keep the car running most of the time(AC) and can keep it in the shade when it's not you will probably be ok.

 

[Indyking]

I would throw some bags of ice in it. As long as it stays closed you should be fine.

I thought about that but my kegerator has virtually no interior room left, it's almost ridiculous, I've managed to get 3 cornies plus a 10lb CO2 tank inside a 5.2 cu/ft chest freezer.

 

[Indyking]

Just release the pressure and re-pressurize after the transport for insurance. They will be protected with a blanket of CO2.

If I release the pressure, I will get rid of the CO2 in the head space, would that not eliminate the protective blanket? Well, but no O2 would get in either I suppose, so I guess no risk of oxidizing the beer?

 

[insubordinateK]

If I release the pressure, I will get rid of the CO2 in the head space, would that not eliminate the protective blanket? Well, but no O2 would get in either I supposed, so I guess no risk of oxidizing the beer?

Exactly. Just a quick release to take the pressure down substantially - no risk of oxidizing.

 

[Indyking]

12 psi at what temperature? What temps are you expecting? If you keep the car running most of the time(AC) and can keep it in the shade when it's not you will probably be ok.

12 and 18 psi at 40-42F. The AC in the van will be running all the time. I can set it at 70F but anything lower than that would be brutal for such a long drive. Would that be OK? The kegerator seals well and the collar is insulated. But I must have a back-up plan. What if the AC breaks?

 

[wildcatvictory]

Get an DC to AC power converter, they are like twenty bucks and always come in handy, plug that boy in!

 

[gr8shandini]

I don't think you need to do anything, really. 15 gals of beer is a fair amount of thermal mass tightly packed inside an insulated box. They'll probably still be cool to the touch when you get there. But even if you let it warm to 70 or 80 degrees, you're still not going to blow the relief valves. And even if that happens, it'd be the same as venting them before you leave.

 

[cfraga1978]

I wouldn't worry about it one bit. Imo I would drop psi to 8 or so. And just move them warm. Corny kegs are rated at a max psi

 

[cfraga1978]

Oops. Corny kegs are rated at a max psi of 130. No chance of a bomb.

 

[gr8shandini]

Get an DC to AC power converter, they are like twenty bucks and always come in handy, plug that boy in!

An inverter that could handle a freezer would be expensive and probably drain your battery in short order.

 

[jeepinjeepin]

12 and 18 psi at 40-42F. The AC in the van will be running all the time. I can set it at 70F but anything lower than that would be brutal for such a long drive. Would that be OK? The kegerator seals well and the collar is insulated. But I must have a back-up plan. What if the AC breaks?

I'd say you are good as they are. Think about carbing a keg at room temperature. If the kegs warmed all the way up to ambient you are still only looking at 40-60 psi. Cornies are pressure rated at 130-135psi.

 

[Indyking]

Thanks for all the answers. It looks like I don't have to do anything because cornies are rated really high psi, that's good!

How about the CO2 tank inside the Kegerator though? It's also near full. Would that be a problem?

 

[insubordinateK]

No.

 

[Bold]

Everything should be good to go...

 

[cfraga1978]

I would disconnect everything and remove the regulator. Make sure to wrap it up in something to protect it.

 

[StMarcos]

They'll be fine. The pressure increase will not endanger the kegs in any way. Burping them won't do much anyway if they're close to full, as the headspace is a small fraction of the total CO2 in the keg. Plenty of liquor shops sell warm beer. I'd trust a corny to WAY higher pressures than a standard 12oz glass bottle.

 

[MBasile]

Everybody has already said it, but I want to join in too. They'll be fine! Release the pressure if you're paranoid though. Do you think commercial kegs are stabilized by an army of elves when they're in the trailers of semi's?

 

[Indyking]

Very well, I'm convinced about the kegs, but I'm now worried about the CO2 tank. When it was shipped to me, I vaguely remember something about regulations not allowing to ship it full. Is that because there is a risk of explosion? Could I have problems with it considering my conditions? Sorry guys, I may be too paranoid about this all but I just don't want to do something stupid.

 

[kinison_fan]

Close the valve and transport in the freezer.

 

[jeepinjeepin]

Very well, I'm convinced about the kegs, but I'm now worried about the CO2 tank. When it was shipped to me, I vaguely remember something about regulations not allowing to ship it full. Is that because there is a risk of explosion? Could I have problems with it considering my conditions? Sorry guys, I may be too paranoid about this all but I just don't want to do something stupid.

It has to be shipped empty. That gets into hazmat shipping with insurance and restricted methods of transport by hazmat certified drivers. It doesn't matter if it's co2 or h2, a pressurized vessel is a pressurized vessel. You are good to go with a single co2 tank of your own. I would have to look up specs but I think those tanks are tested in the 3000psi plus range. You likely have less than 1000psi in it now. Set it out in the garage and you might get 1500psi.

 

[StMarcos]

They ship them empty for the reasons above. However, they are rated to stay intact falling off the back of a truck at 60mph or something like that. With the regulator detached of course.

 

[jeepinjeepin]

They ship them empty for the reasons above. However, they are rated to stay intact falling off the back of a truck at 60mph or something like that. With the regulator detached of course.

With a hood screwed over the valve on larger tanks.