Attempting to force carb, 1st try

[TsunamiMike]

I have an Oktoberfest lager that just finished the Lagering stage. It is at 38 degrees when I racked it to the keg and sealed it. I keep seeing there is a table but it doesn’t make sense to me. My kegerator is at 34 degrees and it looks like hooking the gas line to the liquid post add 5 psi and check for leaks and then if all is good throw it under 30 psi listening for the bubbles and then hit the valve a few time to let the air escape. Leave for 24 hours and then reset pressure to serving temp and wait another 24 to try it.

Sound right?

 

[1HW]

No need to force carb through the dip tube. There appear to be two basic models to force carbonation:

1) set it and forget it: that is, set it to your correct CO2 volumes and go play solitaire (our friends across the pond call the game Patience) for a week. Patience Begins.

2) burst carbonate: that is, do something to speed up the process such as setting it to 30 psi for a period of time, or putting the keg on its side and using it as back roller. Then, after some shorter period of time, you reduce to serving psi, say a brief prayer to the carbonation gods, and hope that it is neither over carbed or under carbed.

 

[grampamark]

If you want to split the difference between “set and forget” and force carbing, try this-set the pressure to 30 psi and leave it for 18-24 hours. Don’t shake, rattle, or roll the keg, just set the pressure and walk away. The next day, shut the gas off and leave it alone for 12 hours. Or a little more. There isn’t a specific, magic number. During this time, the beer will absorb the gas in the headspace. Then turn the gas back on at your chart pressure and leave it alone. You will find the beer to be drinkably carbed at this point and, over the next few days, will reach the level you can live with without worrying about overcarbing.

The carb charts aren’t that complicated. Find your temp on the left. Follow the row to the right until you find a number close to your desired level of carb, in volumes of CO2. Then go up that column and set your regulator to the number at the top. The OP says he’s at 38° with an Oktoberfest Lager. Figure at least 2.5 volumes. That would put his chart pressure at 11-12 psi. The type of faucet and the length and diameter of the liquid lines are all variables, and, as the user gains familiarity with a particular draft system, the necessary tweaks to pressure, line length, etc., will get worked out. The method described above is a pretty basic way of establishing a baseline while still getting the beer carbed without a lot of fussing.

 

[day_trippr]

^Very good^
And to be clear, line length is subject to chart pressure, not the other way around.
Get the beer carbed properly, keep it at chart pressure, and tune the lines to handle whatever that pressure is.
If one has to turn down the CO2 pressure to dispense a decent pour, the system is not tuned properly...

Cheers!

 

[Sammy86]

I have an Oktoberfest lager that just finished the Lagering stage. It is at 38 degrees when I racked it to the keg and sealed it. I keep seeing there is a table but it doesn’t make sense to me. My kegerator is at 34 degrees and it looks like hooking the gas line to the liquid post add 5 psi and check for leaks and then if all is good throw it under 30 psi listening for the bubbles and then hit the valve a few time to let the air escape. Leave for 24 hours and then reset pressure to serving temp and wait another 24 to try it.

Sound right?

30 PSI 24 hours
20 PSI 48 hours
Serving Pressure-72 hours...carbonated beer

 

[bracconiere]

There isn’t a specific, magic number.

i find 1.3oz's of co2 is my magic number? of course i'm weird like that......

edit: i just burst carbed some alco-pop with 2.5oz's, because it was tap water...should be ready to pour as soon as it's cold....and i gotta say, near the end it was tough getting it to take more weight! i don't think i like carbing alco-pop! now that i got my scale steady, can't wait to carb some beer, that allready have 1vol co2! should be a lot easier only trying to get it to swallow 1.3oz's!

 

[kenmcchord]

^Very good^
And to be clear, line length is subject to chart pressure, not the other way around.
Get the beer carbed properly, keep it at chart pressure, and tune the lines to handle whatever that pressure is.
If one has to turn down the CO2 pressure to dispense a decent pour, the system is not tuned properly...

Cheers!

Just curious, and have plans to build my keezer in the near (ish) future. What does it mean to have a properly tuned system when it comes to beer lines in a kegorator or keezer?

 

[bracconiere]

Just curious, and have plans to build my keezer in the near (ish) future. What does it mean to have a properly tuned system when it comes to beer lines in a kegorator or keezer?

you have to tune the lines to have the same resistance as the pressure the beer is carbonated to.....that way it gently comes out the tap, and the co2 stays in solution...there's calculators for it....

 

[day_trippr]

Two indispensable links for dispensing: Our favorite carbonation table for determining "chart pressure", and the only beer line length calculator worth using...

Cheers!

 

[kenmcchord]

Two indispensable links for dispensing: Our favorite carbonation table for determining "chart pressure", and the only beer line length calculator worth using...

Cheers!

Bookmarked, thanks!

 

[A-Bus]

I've had very good luck with insert just the Co2 line and increase pressure to 25-30 psi. I lay my Corney Keg on its side (make sure you don't pull over your Co2 tank) and i roll it back and forth for five minuets. This is the accelerated "Burst Carbonation" technique I've been using with very good success. After five minuets, I put the Corny Keg in my keg-o-rater and set the Psi to 13-15. I leave it one day then attach the beer line and adjust the psi as necessary but always lower the Co2 to around 10-12 psi at some point on my system.

 

[Yooper]

I have an Oktoberfest lager that just finished the Lagering stage. It is at 38 degrees when I racked it to the keg and sealed it. I keep seeing there is a table but it doesn’t make sense to me. My kegerator is at 34 degrees and it looks like hooking the gas line to the liquid post add 5 psi and check for leaks and then if all is good throw it under 30 psi listening for the bubbles and then hit the valve a few time to let the air escape. Leave for 24 hours and then reset pressure to serving temp and wait another 24 to try it.

Sound right?

I carbonate my lagers while they are lagering- just hook the gas up to 12 psi and then in 10 days or so it's fully carbed. That's the easiest and most dependable way to do it.

I always give a keg a shot of c02 to seal it and check for leaks first, and usually purge it once or twice to ensure a good seal again before setting it at 12 psi for the duration.

If you're in a HUGE hurry and can't wait 7-10 days, then you can put the gas on 30 psi for 24 hours, purge and reset to 12 psi and then leave it along until it's gone.

 

[eric19312]

Two indispensable links for dispensing: Our favorite carbonation table for determining "chart pressure", and the only beer line length calculator worth using...

Cheers!

Did anybody ever come up with proper roughness coefficient for EVA Barrier tubing?