Can I just put it in the keg and let it sit?

[gregkabob]

This past weekend I brewed three 5 gal batches of beer. 2 lagers and 1 ale. The lagers are in the keezer doing nicely and the ale is in the house doing the same.

This weekend I will be racking the ale to the secondary and then in a couple of weeks to the keg.

My question is (I think I know the answer but just want to be sure) after the secondary can I just rack the ale to the keg, put some CO2 on it and leave it sit until the ales are out of their seconday and into the keg so all three can fit in the keezer?

Second question: Why put the regulators and CO2 bottle inside the keezer? Is there an advantage other than saving space outside the kezzer?

Thanks for your responces in advace. I've learned so much from this board and have so much more to learn.

 

[Fastmetal]

Yes you can use the keg as a secondary or brite tank. Personally I would leave the ale in primary for at least 3 weeks and then keg, cold crash and put it on the gas.

 

[rycov]

yes and no. at least those would be my answers, but you may get different ones from others

 

[BBL_Brewer]

I have been doing the very same you are asking about. I brew 30 gallons at a time now and have 4 kegs. I have a kegerator that will only hold two kegs at a time. I keg up 4 batches, purge them all with CO2, slap two in the fridge and 2 of them sit outside the fridge waiting for a swap out. The only thing I do different with the kegs that sit outside the fridge is that I bump up the pressure on them after purging to around 30 psi. I just want to make sure they are sealed up good. May not be neccessary, but it makes me happy. Also, if the ones outside the fridge sit around for a while, I will very quickly and gently pull on the pressure release valves once in a while to make sure they are still sealed up. You don't want to vent any significant ammount of pressure when doing this, just enough pull to hear a quick short hiss. Again, maybe not neccessary if you know the kegs are sealed, but....never hurts to check.

As for keeping the CO2 bottle and reg inside or out....well....that seems to be debated somewhat. I keep mine in the fridge because it's more convenient. From what I have read, the only real difference is between inside or out is that the regulator gauges will read a little bit differently. Maybe becasue of the calibration temperature of the gauges.....don't quote me on that. The main thing is......wheter the bottle is inside or out, you will still have the same ammount of CO2 and will be able to carbonate and dispense the same ammount of beer regardless. Once you get used to where your gauges read and where you like the carbonation of your beer....you'll be all set.

Hope this helps

 

[Homercidal]

Sounds reasonable, although I personally would not use a secondary. Please yourself.

There is no problem keeping your gas bottle outside the kegerator if you want to deal with running the hoses. The reason the gauge reads differently inside from outside is because the density of the gas, and hence the pressure it exerts on the gauge, is different at those two temperatures.

 

[gregkabob]

Thanks guys for the info and yes it helps. I brewed 15 gal at one time for my daughters wedding and want it to be ready. Just got back into brewing after a 15 year absence.

I do see more beer in my future!