Can I keg w/o CO2?

[kbuzz]

I have everything to start kegging except the CO2 tank. My buddy has a full tank w/ dual regulator that he said he'd give me for free, but he's out of town for about two more weeks. I have two batches that are ready to be kegged right now, can I just naturally carb them in the kegs without CO2? Then hook up the CO2 when I get the tank? Only thing I think I'm worried about is getting a good seal...I've heard that most people that naturally carb in kegs, still hit it with a shot of CO2 to get the seal. Will I be okay without doing that? I've already put off bottling these batches longer than I should...temps in the room that they were conditioning hit about 75 the other day and that's bound to happen again soon.

What should I do?

 

[jessebymail]

Might as well natural carb them so they are ready to go when you get your co2. If not you will have to wait for your co2 tank to carb them anyways. If there isnt much head space your fine, if there is a lot of head space purge the keg after a few days of carbing to get the oxygen out

 

[JuanMoore]

There is a slight risk of them not sealing, but I've done it several times without problems. I suggest taking your empty kegs and sealing them up in a cool corner of your house. Set them in the sun or somewhere hot to warm up a bit and build some pressure. Pull the pressure relief valves and only use the kegs that give a nice satisfying blast. If you have keg lube, lubing the lid o-ring will help a lot.

 

[FromZwolle]

i've naturally carbed in a keg that didn't seal well. when i hooked the keg up (several weeks later) it was completely flat. I just force carbed at that point. the beer turned out great.

 

[KevinM]

In addition, check your kegs first with sanitizer to see if they get any leaks when you flip them upside down. I have one keg that does this and I have to pressurize that one, however the remainder all seal without requiring this, and because they have a good seal, they pressurize on their own without a problem. (well, with the sugar addition of course). (It may not be the best of tests, but it's a decent one if you don't have the cylinder)

 

[kbuzz]

Alright...awesome info...next question...how much priming sugar for each batch??

 

[Scroto]

Alright...awesome info...next question...how much priming sugar for each batch??

I've used the same amount I would have for bottling and it turned out perfect, exactly the amount of carbonation I would expect if it had been in bottles.

Lots of people will say that you should use less sugar for kegs but frankly I don't really think thats right..... or at least I can't wrap my thick head around the logic behind it.:cross:

 

[FromZwolle]

i've had good luck with the same amount i would use for bottling. You might consider using a little less, though. It's easy to up the carb level when you hook up the CO2, but it's a bit of a pain to try and lower the carb level.

 

[ETCS]

I've actually been thinking about the same thing. Once the beer is done doing it's natural thing and I hook up the CO2 tank, what pressure should I set the regulator for serving. Keep in mind this is the first batch that I will keg. Any advice will be helpful. Thanks.

 

[FromZwolle]

that depends on the size and length of your beer lines.

 

[JuanMoore]

i've had good luck with the same amount i would use for bottling. You might consider using a little less, though. It's easy to up the carb level when you hook up the CO2, but it's a bit of a pain to try and lower the carb level.

+1, same experience and thoughts myself.

 

[Scroto]

I've actually been thinking about the same thing. Once the beer is done doing it's natural thing and I hook up the CO2 tank, what pressure should I set the regulator for serving. Keep in mind this is the first batch that I will keg. Any advice will be helpful. Thanks.

You should optimally serve @ whatever pressure is needed to carbonate to your desired volumes.

For example, if your kegorator is @ 40F then according tothis chart you would set your regulator @ 12 psi for a total of about 2.5 volumes. The volumes of co2 in your keg will equalize to whatever you set your regulator to.

 

[dabeers]

Sorry if I am hijacking this thread, but have a similar question. My cousin and I are going to be supplying the majority of the beer for our family reunion this summer. Both of us bottle currently but he is going to get set up to keg. He has a bunch of corny kegs he is lending me. Would it be better for me to rack to keg and naturally carb with sugar vs. bringing filled kegs to his place after I rack to charge up. I guess I am leaning towards at least giving a few days natural carb at my place in order to get most of the O2 out of the kegs to avoid oxidation in transport.

 

[KevinM]

Thread hijack, oh noes.
Ordinarilly I'd say nturally carb. The question is, how long will you have after the transport? When you naturally carb, you're going to have extra yeast sediment in the beer. Not really a problem when it just goes a few steps from point a to point b, but for a longer trip, it's going to shake up the sediment. You'll want to chill it for a few days to get that to go back down.

If you have the time (like you naturally carb, bring them down where it'll sit for a week before being tapped) then sure, naturally carb.

If not... well, I'd kinda say, buy a co2 tank & regulator and carbonate at your place.
(Unless you're doing hefe's then naturally carb).