carbonation of cider in Cornelius keg

[tim fallows]

hi all
I have put my last batch of cider in a corny keg and have seen that the people that sold me the keg has a different lid for sale for carbonating , do I need to use that lid with a pipe and carb stone or can I just keep it under pressure for a few days to do the same job
thanks all

 

[Maylar]

Standard lid with pressure relief valve is all you need.

 

[tim fallows]

thanks Maylar , I suppose I just gas it up as I would if I was to connect to my line ready to pour but leave it under permanent pressure for a few days

 

[Maylar]

It's just like kegging beer. You gotta purge the keg of air first. The kegging/bottling sub forum has details on that.
My procedure is to purge the keg through the liquid post. I do 8 purges at 25 psi at room temp. Then I'll give the keg a good shake and listen for the hiss of gas going into solution. Repeat that a few times every hour until it no longer hisses. Then attach the CO2 to the inlet post, lower pressure to 12-13 psi and put the keg in the fridge. Good to go the next day.

 

[MarkKF]

So what's the lid with an airstone for? Hype or better?

 

[Maylar]

See

So what's the lid with an airstone for? Hype or better?

Beats me. I guess it's an alternative to pressurizing from the liquid post. Supposedly lets you carbonate more quickly without having to shake the keg.

 

[Yooper]

What I do is speed up carbonation by setting it in the kegerator at 30 psi for 36 hours, then purging and resetting to 12 psi (my desired carbonation level) and keeping it there. It's carbed up pretty well in 48 hours this way.

The carb stones speed up the process by bubbling c02 through the bottom, and it can make it carb up faster that way. Not much faster, however- and most people don't use them.

 

[tim fallows]

thanks for the replies will look at the sub forum before I totally mess it up , I don't have the option to put a keg in the fridge , I am looking to force carbonation at room temp in the shed then transfer to outside bar and run through a Cornelius maxi 210 under bar chiller .

 

[toms_Jeep]

I carb this way and there are a few charts for CO2 pressure at different temps. At 68 I think I set it at 22lbs and in about 7 days it was carbed how I like it.
No shaking or anything it was simple

 

[tim fallows]

thanks for the replies guys , one more question is should I use co2 or should I use a co2/nitrogen mix , I will be using a Cornelius keg to a cornellius maxi 310 to a cornellius strongbow font and tap

 

[Maylar]

CO2 only.

 

[tim fallows]

thanks