co2 pressure when chilling

[powderbock]

I only have room in my kegerator for 4 kegs. I have 8 kegs that need to be carbonated. I know I could prime the other 4, but I do not want to do that. I have a crawl space that stays at 63-65 degrees I can put the other 4 in and put on co2. My question is will they lose pressure when I put them into the kegerator to chill. I ask this because colder beer absorbs more co2, I think.
The relevence of the question is our homebrew club puts on an Oktoberfest with homebrews, and I need to make sure the kegs getting carbonated in the crawlspace (the ones I'm donating to the Oktoberfest) will have enough carbonation when they get chilled to serve. Or will I need to put them in the kegerator on co2 for several days before the event.
I'm trying not to take my current beer out of the kegerator to warm up and then have to cool them down again.

thanks for any help.

 

[dontman]

They do not lose carbonation, they absorb more of the co2 so they actually become more carbonated.

Just use the CO2 pressure calculator on BS to figure the pressure. This takes temp into account. For example to get 2.0 volumes at 60 degrees you would put them on 15.9 PSI. When the temp is dropped to 38 degrees the pressure would drop to 6 psi.

 

[JoMarky]

I've been in a similar situation as you and have had very little luck getting a keg to carb up at those temps. The CO2 just doesn't seem to ever fully dissolve. I cant think of anything else you can do but swap kegs when the time comes.

edit- in my experience beersmiths temp calculations dont seem to translate to real world results when starting at room temperatures, it just didnt seem to work for me but maybe i was doing something wrong.

 

[powderbock]

I'll be able to put them on CO2 for 3-4 weeks at 65. so to get 2 volumes at that temp I need to put them at 27psi??
Or because I want 2 volumes at 42 degrees, I put them on 12 psi at 65 (1.12 volumes) which when chilled to 38 will be at 2 volumes.
Do I diconnect from co2 when chilling?

 

[Parva]

I think you're complicating issues. Forget what volume you want at final temp, carb at current temp for 3 days minimum (1 week better). Carb it at whatever temperature it's sat at and that's it, serve at that via a chiller or put it in a fridge and serve.

 

[dontman]

I don't know where you're getting 27 psi. I get 17.8 at 64. And no you don't take them off the gas while chilling. What you do is put them to the chilled serving pressure during chilling. That way they will equalize at that pressure.

Most important is not to mess with it while warm. i.e. bleeding pressure. The gas is not absorbed into solution until it is chilled, at least not stably. Just chill it under pressure and within a day or two it should be ready to serve. A lot of people think that because they mess with it before properly chilled and stabilized at the new temp that the force carbing didn't work right but in fact they did something wrong.

Before I got my big fridge I did this all the time and it worked perfectly.

 

[dontman]

I think you're complicating issues. Forget what volume you want at final temp, carb at current temp for 3 days minimum (1 week better). Carb it at whatever temperature it's sat at and that's it, serve at that via a chiller or put it in a fridge and serve.

Look, I cn always accept differing opinions but this is just bad advice. The volume you want is the only thing that matters. It also doesn't change regardless of temp. 2 volumes at 70 degrees is 2 the exact same as 2 volumes at 35 degrees. The only difference is the psi it takes to force two volumes of co2 into solution. That changes with temp. The warmer the higher pressure you need to get to 2 volumes.

 

[powderbock]

I was going of the carb shart on the sticky, its rather blurry, its 21, not 27.

 

[powderbock]

I serve at 12 psi in my kegerator.
So If I have this straight.
Put on 21 psi at 65 degrees in my crawl space.
Then I'll be able to put into my kegerator for 2-3 days and serve at 12 psi and have the correct carbonation.

 

[dontman]

Perfect. Exactly right.

 

[powderbock]

Thanks a ton, you've been very helpful.
How about another quick question. Would it be bad to cold crash the beer in the secondary. Then keg it and carb it at the higher 65 degree temp?

 

[dontman]

Not at all.

 

[Parva]

Look, I cn always accept differing opinions but this is just bad advice. The volume you want is the only thing that matters. It also doesn't change regardless of temp. 2 volumes at 70 degrees is 2 the exact same as 2 volumes at 35 degrees. The only difference is the psi it takes to force two volumes of co2 into solution. That changes with temp. The warmer the higher pressure you need to get to 2 volumes.

Yes I apologise, I over-simplified the problem. I carb at 25PSI for 3 days at a room temperature of 19c (about 76f) then just leave it. It can be chucked in a cupboard or in a fridge, it makes no difference, just serve at 5-8PSI thereafter.

 

[dontman]

Yes I apologise, I over-simplified the problem. I carb at 25PSI for 3 days at a room temperature of 19c (about 76f) then just leave it. It can be chucked in a cupboard or in a fridge, it makes no difference, just serve at 5-8PSI thereafter.

Yeah, sorry for the over reaction.