Carbonating and dispensing levels

[pretzelb]

My equipment should arrive this week to start my first kegging experience and I'm trying to read everything I can. I have read most of the stickies and I think I'm prepared but I'm still confused on the levels for carbonating and dispensing.

I want to try the slow "set and forget" method and using one of the charts I've found at 45 degrees for 2.4 levels it looks like 14 psi. Good. But for dispensing it sounds like I probably need to consider 10 psi after some trial and error or looking at my line lengths. I start to get confused when I think about adding kegs later.

1. Won't the keg start to lose it's target carbonation if left at a dispensing psi (since 10 or so is lower than 14)? In practice do you alter the psi to regain that target carbonation level and then switch back to dispensing again?
2. How do you slow carbonate a new keg while keeping the existing keg at dispensing pressure? Do you disconnect or shut down the finished kegs while carbonating the new one?
3. If someone has multiple kegs on tap (which seems like most do) how are they running separate pressures all the time? The most I've seen is a dual gauge regulator and that only accounts for two different pressures.

 

[rawlus]

dispensing pressure should equal carbonation pressure - use line length to control resistance for a foam-less pour.

most keggers end up on one of two paths - either they run one regulated tank through a manifold and carb and serve all their kegs the same, or they run multiple regulators or a combination of regulators and manifolds to have different pressures for different kegs.

regulators can be piggybacked like this one from kegconnection.com too...

i carb and serve multiple kegs off one tank and one regulator and it does not present any major issues... but for some people who might have widely varying styles of beer going, running different pressures might be more important to them (albeit more costly)

 

[pretzelb]

If you adjust line length to get the correct dispensing pressure then won't you need to change the line length each time your style carbonation level changes? Or do most people pick a general target and then let all the kegs run off that (ending is some being too high and some being too low)?

I didn't know you could piggyback regulators. That makes me feel better about not getting a dual regulator from the start since the one I have isn't going to waste.

I guess if you pick a "house" psi (say 14 for example) then you adjust your lines to get a good pour, then you are all set for carbonating and dispensing. The only issue is some might be too high and some too low. I wasn't sure what most people did. That dang thread showing all the keezers with kegs in them has me excited and flustered about starting this venture.

 

[rawlus]

im not sure i could detect by taste the difference between 11psi, 12psi, 13psi and 14psi without comparison... in other words, if i had a brown ale at 12psi, don't know if i'd be able to say "i think this one would be better at 11psi"

so i try not to overcomplicate things and just "run what i brung"

brown ale, amber, pumpkin, wheat and blonde all seem to taste fine at the same pressure to me... between 12-14 for my setup... would the wheat be better slightly higher? probably, but not better enough for me to spring for additional regulators. i can always add more gadgets as time goes by if it becomes important.

i dont change the line length and i generally dont change the house serving pressure (which is the carbing pressure as well)

like i said, there is really no too high or too low when temp is a constant... you're talking a variance of a few psi one way or the other. no big deal IMHO.

 

[jgourd]

Most people don't have more than 2 or 3 different carbonation levels for beers. In my case, I mostly brew American Pale Ales, and IPAs. So most of mine are carbonated at around 2.2 volumes. But in case I ever want to force carbonate or if I want to put a pilsner or some other beer that requires a different level of carbonation, then I have a separate regulator. In any event, I always keep my regulator at the appropriate pressure to carbonate the keg and keep it so (equilibrium). I vary my serving line length to result in a good pour. If you keep to 2-3 styles (of different carbonation levels), then you only need a few different lengths of line.

 

[BeerBrent]

my question is this: what are the calculations for running dispensing lines and getting the right carb levels without foaming over? in other words, what are the calculations for the perfect pour?

 

[Naked_Eskimo]

Came across this website that is pretty helpful in balancing your system:
http://www.iancrockett.com/brewing/info/kegbalance.shtml

 

[shortyjacobs]

Carb pressure = serving pressure. Yes, you can change carb pressures depending on style, (I like ~13 for IPAs and ~9-10 for stouts/milds...etc), if you have multiple regs, or you can just pick a middle ground, (which is what I typically do, cuz I'm lazy).

Just make the lines a bit longer, and you don't have to worry about foaming. Mine are 10', no foaming issues. People complain here that that's not "balanced" according to some formula, but I don't care, I get a pint in <10 seconds and it isn't foamy.

In fact, one of my taps has 35' of 3/16" tubing on it, as I was using it for soda. I wanted another beer on tap though, so I just hooked it up at my standard 11 PSI. Know what? It still pours. Plus I can pour with anything from no head to 3" head depending on how I move the glass as it pours. It takes around 30 seconds to pour, but dammit it pours.

In my mind, just get slightly longer lines, carb and serve at whatever pressure you like (as long as they are the same), and don't worry about it.

(I actually burst carb at 34 PSI for 48 hrs, then set/forget carb at 11 PSI for a few days to let everything level off....then serve at 11 PSI as well)