CO2 injector/kegging newbie

[Bartmannj]

Hello,
I just bought all the necessary replacement parts to get my 3-gallon used keg operational. Instead of using a CO2 tank, I bought an injector with cartridges. Because this is the first time that I will be doing this, I have some very basic questions:
1. With the injector attached, when I press the trigger, does the beer start flowing automatically from the "out" picnic line? Do I need to have this attached first? Looking at this setup, I'm not sure what gets the beer flowing. Does just attaching the black disconnect depress the poppet and open the keg? It's not anything on the faucet itself, which just releases the beer from the tube into the glass, right?
2. If all the beer in the keg is not drunk during one session, can I disconnect everything (return the keg to the way it was before tapping it for the first time) and still be able to dispense next time without any problems with carbonation?

Thanks for any help. I realize some of this is very ignorant.
Bart

 

[ArcaneXor]

1.) The beer will only flow if you open the tap. What gets the beer flowing is the pressure differential between the keg and the atmosphere. When you charge the keg, you increase the pressure inside, hence the beer will flow when you open the tap. The disconnect depresses the poppet, which allows beer to flow from the keg to your beer line, where it gets stopped by the closed picnic tap.

2.) Yes. Just make sure the poppets re-seal properly. Sometimes they get stuck in a partially open position, which will leak CO2 or beer.

 

[Bartmannj]

Thank you for your quick and informative response.

As a follow-up to this, I was thinking about buying a manual hand pump for the keg. It seems like a good idea, and I'm afraid that adding CO2 from the injector will stir up the yeast at the bottom, so having it condition and settle will have been for nothing.
Any product suggestions to fit a Corny Spartan 3-gallon keg?

 

[malkore]

on #2, not exactly. you MUST completely dispense the CO2 bulb before you try to remove it. don't try to store the charger with a partial bulb inside.

You realize a hand pump injects oxygen into the keg, so you'd HAVE to drink it all in a day or two, or it'll be stale after a week?

Also, the CO2 injects at the TOP of your keg, so it doesn't ever touch the yeast sediment. the sediment is always picked up by the dip tube for the dispensing post, whether you force carb, hand pump, or use sugar to prime the keg.


I think you need to re-read some stickys on kegging...doesn't quite seem like you understand some of the components.

 

[Bartmannj]

Thanks. Will go back to reading more in the meantime...