another kegging question..

[802VermontHomebrew]

while kegging I have been told 1-2 weeks and it should be good for drinking... I have kept it at about 12-14 psi now for about two days... My question is do I need to continue to purge the courney keg each day or is it only at the begining? Also when the time is up on prepping the keg and switch to 2 psi for serving, do I keep it at 2 psi or do I put it back up to 14 after when not drinking? I guess I am still a little confused on that part of the process. Or do I disconnect the co2 line completley?

 

[Walker]

You only purge right at the very start (like, literally, in the first couple of minutes). This is just to get any air out of the keg and ensure that the only thing inside the thing is beer and CO2. No further purging is necessary.

As for the PSI...

I don't think you want to drop it down to 2 or 3 psi. That might be enough to push the beer out of the keg and into your glass, but the beer will start to go flat because the CO2 that has been forced into it at 12psi will start to come back out of the beer at the lower pressure.

A lot of people (myself included) set the regulators at 10-12 psi and just leave it like that, permanently, with the gas constantly connected to the keg. This carbs the beer up in a couple of weeks and then maintains the proper level of carbonation in the beer.

If you have very short tap lines this could be a problem because the beer will possibly foam like crazy on you. If that happens, I would suggest getting longer lines.

 

[802VermontHomebrew]

thanks for the heads up! well in that case, I did it correctly I only purged it at the beggining. As for my lines they are standard keg lines through midwest supplies. I guess I will be leaving the co2 connected then and drop that in my chest freezer along with the keg... Now is that 2 weeks room temp or 2 weeks in the keezer? Right now its been room temp.

 

[Walker]

thanks for the heads up! well in that case, I did it correctly I only purged it at the beggining. As for my lines they are standard keg lines through midwest supplies. I guess I will be leaving the co2 connected then and drop that in my chest freezer along with the keg... Now is that 2 weeks room temp or 2 weeks in the keezer? Right now its been room temp.

The solubility of CO2 in the beer depends highly on the temperature of the beer. The warmer the beer, the more pressure you need to force CO2 into the beer.

There are some charts posted on this forum that show the psi you need to get the amout of carbonation you want at various temps, but I can tell you right off the bat that 10-12 psi is what you want for beer that is cold.

If it's at room temp, you will need a LOT more pressure to get the beer carbed. 12psi ain't gonna do it.

Let me see if I can find one of the charts....

 

[Walker]

Here you go:
http://www.kegerators.com/carbonation-table.php

The green band is "typical". So, if you are at room temp (75*F?) then you need something like 30psi to carb that beer.

If you put it into the kegerator at 40*F, then you need the 10-12psi range.

 

[bcstuff]

Walker, Thanks for the carbonation table. I have seen one before but that one is way easier to read and understand. </end hijack>