Does the 30 PSI over 48 hours carb method waste more gas?

[eltorrente]

When you hook up the gas line again, if the pressure gauge goes up past your serving pressure, just bleed a bit then re-connect. Do it again if needed to equalize to your serving pressure.
MOst times you shake while gas line is connected so that more gas enters keg during shaking. And gas enters cold beer much better. Might not be a bad idea to do it again now that beer is cold. Connect gas, set to 30 psi. Shake until hissing stops. Then disconnect and chill for a couple days...

Nope - not a good idea to do that.

Shaking a cold keg at 30psi is going to significantly overcarb and waste gas.

If you shake a cold keg, then it should be done at 12psi, or the required psi for the desired volume, until the regulator stops dumping into the keg. This will carb it exactly to the desired co2 volume and it won't overcarb or waste any gas. Once the foam dies down, it's ready to drink.

 

[SouthernCross]

Gotcha. I merged both methods there. I typically do mine directly after filling, then purge and charge, roll just a bit, then put in kegerator for a few days.

 

[AnOldUR]

Gotcha. I merged both methods there. I typically do mine directly after filling, then purge and charge, roll just a bit, then put in kegerator for a few days.

If your into the shake or roll thing, that's not a bad method. 30 PSI at room temperature is just about right for serving volumes.

 

[SouthernCross]

Hmm. Unfortunately I'm into instant gratification! The final step of waiting to drink just kills me... Shaking seems a bad thing to do, but I guess as long as I purge first it's ok. I usually roll it a few times on my lap, but that's it. I frequently put some in a tap-a-draft when i keg, and just crank a couple co2 cartridges in it so I can taste test while the keg gets going...

 

[RandomBeerGuy]

Ok, So that I understand, when I get home I'll check the keg. The beer was cold when I charged it @ 30 psi and shook. I should bleed some out until it hits serving pressure right? I just want fast carbing brew. No more two week waits like bottling. The advice on the forums are so back in forth its sometimes harder to understand whats being said.

 

[Homercidal]

I'd only shake the keg if I were in a huge hurry. And I'm not. The set and forget method is foolproof. It's not worth it to have to vent and degas from overshooting. Unless I had a party or competition that would require my beer in less than 14 days.

 

[AnOldUR]

The beer was cold when I charged it @ 30 psi and shook. I should bleed some out until it hits serving pressure right?

Here's the problem with shaking. If you over carb there's too much CO2 in solution. You can vent the head space, but that will only allow a small amount of gas to be released. After that, more CO2 will come out of solution until equilibrium is reached between the liquid and head space. You will still have over carbed beer. It may take repeated venting over several days to correct the situation.

So the effort to speed up the process can actually slow it down.

 

[eltorrente]

Here's the problem with shaking. If you over carb there's too much CO2 in solution. You can vent the head space, but that will only allow a small amount of gas to be released. After that, more CO2 will come out of solution until equilibrium is reached between the liquid and head space. You will still have over carbed beer. It may take repeated venting over several days to correct the situation.

So the effort to speed up the process can actually slow it down.

Yup - at 30psi, shaking will prob overcarb.. but you CAN'T overcarb if you simply set it to the required psi, which is usually 10-12psi or so. I would never shake it at higher than the required pressure.

If the beer is cold, then you shake at 12psi until the regulator stops filling. At that point, the beer is carbed to the perfect pressure. You then just set it aside for several hours until the foam dies down. Keep it hooked up and at 12psi the whole time.

 

[RandomBeerGuy]

Ok, Thanks for the information. I guess I'll enjoy this over carbed brew for this first keg.

 

[RoadKing]

For what it's worth here's how I force carb..(And I just got done doing 3)
Say I want 2.47 volumes and by beer is 40 degrees that would be about 12 lbs..
I set regulator for 30 psi and shake , roll, push ,kick, etc..for 20 mins..
then I shut the co2 valve off and continue to shake. The high pressure gauge will drop off to zero then the low pressure gauge will begin to drop. If you keep shaking and it stops at 10 lbs ya need a little more, if its at 12, your done.
It takes a little getting used to but it works for me.
The co2 bubbles may be a little large at first but I set the serving pressure to the volumes I want ,depending on how cold kegerator is, and in a day or 2 it's perfect.

 

[jvcjbl]

I've run 30 PSI for less than 3 days and overcarbed.

It's important to note that charging a cold keg will give different results than charging a warm keg. Cold kegs accept more CO2 and faster.

I run for 3 days at 38'f liquid temp and it is usually about ~90% carved. No shaking, no rolling nothing. I vent off the 30 psi and dial to serving pressure and drink.

 

[mrduna01]

I run 30 psi at 72 hours. 48 and it is no where near carbed (I carb almost everything to 2.6 vol./CO2. You are expelling CO2 into another sealed vessel. There is nothing "waisted" you just run the risk of the beer absorbing more than the desired amount of CO2.

Really? That is odd. I do 30 for 36 hours and its usually 90 percent there.

 

[RandomBeerGuy]

Update: So the lager is over carbed like you guys siad it would at 30 psi. I just kegged my pale ale on sunday using 20 psi shake n bake method. I tested it on monday and it has great carb. Not overcarbed like the lager. This is a nice smooth carb! Thanks for all the info.