Critique my procedure for my first kegging session!

[Dr_Horrible]

I just finished building my keezer last night, and look forward to kegging my beer this weekend. I have done a lot of "research" (reading forum posts) and generally the whole process seems pretty easy and straightforward. My LHBS gave me 7 foot lines and said that should be plenty - guess I'll find out soon enough. My first keg will be a porter, so I believe that should be on the low end of carbonation (~2).

Tonight - cold crash beer in fermenter
Tomorrow - Use oxyclean free to clean out the kegs and beer lines, co2 lines
Sunday -
Run starsan through the kegs/beer lines.
Rack the beer from the fermenter into the keg.
Set regulator to ~15psi and seal the gasket (use some keg lube on the gasket).
Fully purge and refill with CO2 a few times to purge oxygen (not really sure how I know when I'm good to go here).
Reset regulator to 8 psi @ 40F. Check back in a week.
~1 week later - enjoy homebrew

What did I miss? I decided to go with "set it and forget it" for my first keg until I verify my lines are balanced and feel comfortable with the procedure. Only then will I be brave enough to set a higher pressure, shake the keg, etc.

And so you guys have a picture to look at, here's my keezer (new tap handles should be here soon):

 

[RhodySeth]

I have nothing to offer as I don't keg (yet) but that's a fine looking keezer. Well done!

 

[CadiBrewer]

I purge my kegs before I rack into them while they are empty so that the beer goes into a relatively oxygen free environment. I then purge again after the keg is full. No real way to know if the keg is fully purged, but three or four bursts and releases works for me.

I seat my lid at a higher pressure, usually around 30psi, and I purge at a lower pressure, say 6psi.

 

[Dr_Horrible]

Thanks! For those who are curious, I actually used 3/4 birch plywood (for the veneer) and laminated it against a cheaper 3/4 plywood. Resulted in 1.5 thick collar all the way around. I didn't want to spend a whole lot of money on solid wood for the collar, eventually I'd like to make a coffin keezer and build up around this.

 

[Dr_Horrible]

I purge my kegs before I rack into them while they are empty so that the beer goes into a relatively oxygen free environment. I then purge again after the keg is full. No real way to know if the keg is fully purged, but three or four bursts and releases works for me.

I seat my lid at a higher pressure, usually around 30psi, and I purge at a lower pressure, say 6psi.

Great thanks, I'll make a note

 

[zachattack]

With respect to purging, just purge a few times like you said. Most of the O2 will be gone. If you pressurize at 15 psi with CO2 you're roughly cutting the amount of air in the headspace in half with each purge cycle, so if you purge 4 times the headspace will be 1/16 air which is pretty low.

Also, 8 psi at 40 degrees is only about 2.1 volumes of CO2, which is pretty low. 2.5 is a "medium" carbonation level for most beers, and most commercial American beer is sold at 2.6-2.7. ~12 psi will get you a level around 2.5 volumes. If you wanted lower carbonation then forget I mentioned it

 

[Dr_Horrible]

With respect to purging, just purge a few times like you said. Most of the O2 will be gone. If you pressurize at 15 psi with CO2 you're roughly cutting the amount of air in the headspace in half with each purge cycle, so if you purge 4 times the headspace will be 1/16 air which is pretty low.

Also, 8 psi at 40 degrees is only about 2.1 volumes of CO2, which is pretty low. 2.5 is a "medium" carbonation level for most beers, and most commercial American beer is sold at 2.6-2.7. ~12 psi will get you a level around 2.5 volumes. If you wanted lower carbonation then forget I mentioned it

One question I have relates to what it really means to "purge". Do you pull the valve until you stop hearing hissing? Or do you just pull it for a beat? I've read that you want to do it 4-5 times, but I haven't been able to quantify what "once" really means.

I got 2 from a carbonation chart, it recommended in the neighborhood of 1.9-2.1 for porters/stouts. But perhaps that's not a good source.

 

[zachattack]

Stouts generally have less carbonation, so you might find you like it! If it's not to your liking after 2-3 weeks just bump the PSI up a little bit. That's one of the best parts of kegging

When I purge, yes I hold the PRV until the hissing stops. 3-4 times is fine. Like I said at that point any remaining air will be a small percentage of the headspace volume, and since air is only 21% oxygen there will be barely any bad stuff left in there.

Have fun!

 

[JonM]

After it's sealed, spray some Starsan or something bubbly (but not soap!!!) around the keg lid and posts to make sure there are no tiny leaks. A tiny little leak will drain your CO2 fast!

And you forgot a step in my usual routine: "Day 4, sneak a tiny little taste, decide that it's pretty close to being carbed, pour full glass."

 

[Dr_Horrible]

One more question I thought of. My regulators feel pretty high quality and rugged, but unfortunately they don't have check valves (from what I can tell - I'm not sure I know what to look for). What are some things I should avoid doing so I don't get backpressure and beer back into the CO2 lines?

 

[day_trippr]

An anti-backflow "check valve" would usually be located inside the shut-off valve body at the regulator output. There'd be a spring-loaded SS ball inside, easy enough to detect with the valve turned open, if you can't stick a thin probe right through the valve body there's most likely a ball in the way.

Otherwise, totally avoid getting beer under pressure above the gas (IN) dip tube and you'll be fine...

Cheers!

 

[Damoxemus]

Gonna be doing my first kegging this weekend as well.

One question:

"Set regulator to ~15psi and seal the gasket (use some keg lube on the gasket)."

You start to add C02 then seal the gasket? Why wouldn't you seal it first?

 

[Dr_Horrible]

Gonna be doing my first kegging this weekend as well.

One question:

"Set regulator to ~15psi and seal the gasket (use some keg lube on the gasket)."

You start to add C02 then seal the gasket? Why wouldn't you seal it first?

From what I've read, the CO2 pressure will help you get a better seal, it can be finicky.

 

[Stealthcruiser]

Yes, use keg lube on the keg lid O-ring, then pressurize to seat the lid, ( I do it @ 30psi, check for leaks with StarSan, reduce pressure on keg and regulator, leak check again, and leave it alone.)

 

[Damoxemus]

Ahhh, I see. Thanks.

I saw a video or two where someone did that and it seemed like a "waste" of C02, but that makes sense.