First keg done

[Tritonal]

Well I had a moment of weakness while cleaning the bottles to bottle my latest batch and decided to go out and buy all the stuff needed to start kegging. After a trip to my LHBS and Lowes this is what I ended up with.

She's not much to look at and is only temporary until I find a dedicated minfridge for some actual taps but I think it'll get the job done!

So far the actual kegging process has not been difficult at all with only one small question so far.

I hooked up the c02 line ran 5psi and burped it a few times like a video on youtube said to do, it did not however say if I should fill it again with 5psi the disconnect or leave the regulator open at 5psi the full 24hrs?

 

[gdbrewer]

I didn't watch the video, but this is what I always do. Once I'm ready to connect my co2, I purge a few times at 8-10 psi. Then I hit it with about 25-30 psi to get the lid seated. If it is ready to drink, I leave the gas connected at 25-30 psi with it on and refrigerate it. In about ~24 hours it should've carbed and ready to drink.

If I want to store it at room temp, I do the same, but I purge it until there is about 10 psi left and then disconnect my co2.

Make any sense?!

 

[jmichaeldesign]

I used picnic taps with two kegs in a mini fridge for years before building something more permanent. After burping the keg just leave the co2 on at serving pressure. I typically just leave my kegs at serving pressure for a few days before I start pouring beer.

The correct serving pressure depends on the temperature of the beer and the desired carbonation level.

There's calculators online or on most brewing software to figure out the right pressure for a given beer style.

You may end up needing a different length of beer line to get good pours at serving pressure. You'll figure that out in time but most people find that 8-10 feet of 3/16 beer line works well for the average home keg system.

 

[Tritonal]

Thanks for clarifying things. I'l ramp it up to 25psi here soon and let her sit for 24hrs and see what I got.

 

[gdbrewer]

Thanks for clarifying things. I'l ramp it up to 25psi here soon and let her sit for 24hrs and see what I got.

Good luck! Also remember that by using the quick carbing method, your beer can be way over-carbed. Easy fix though. If it is, just keep purging it until you find the volume of co2 that you like. It might take a couple of days of trial and error though.