First Keg Question

[midlifecrisis]

I am new to kegging and have a new dual tap kegerator, CO2 tank, regulators, ball lock kegs that I recently bought off craig's list. I have a beer that is ready to bottle/keg today but I just got back in town and there is no shop open today to get the CO2 tank filled.

I was hoping to prime the beer with corn sugar, bottle 1/3 of the batch, and rack the rest into a cleaned (onestep) and sanitized (starsan) ball lock keg and leave it a week or so at room temp to carbonate.

The problem I have is that since I have no CO2 I don't know how effective the sanitation will be without forcing the starsan through the dip tube/posts. The kegs were cleaned by the previous owner and look by eye to be quite clean. Can I just reclean and sanitize without forcing the starsan through the diptube/posts?

If not I'll just bottle the whole batch and wait till the next batch to start kegging.

Sorry for the "newbie" question,

 

[Yooper]

I am new to kegging and have a new dual tap kegerator, CO2 tank, regulators, ball lock kegs that I recently bought off craig's list. I have a beer that is ready to bottle/keg today but I just got back in town and there is no shop open today to get the CO2 tank filled.

I was hoping to prime the beer with corn sugar, bottle 1/3 of the batch, and rack the rest into a cleaned (onestep) and sanitized (starsan) ball lock keg and leave it a week or so at room temp to carbonate.

The problem I have is that since I have no CO2 I don't know how effective the sanitation will be without forcing the starsan through the dip tube/posts. The kegs were cleaned by the previous owner and look by eye to be quite clean. Can I just reclean and sanitize without forcing the starsan through the diptube/posts?

If not I'll just bottle the whole batch and wait till the next batch to start kegging.

Sorry for the "newbie" question,

Take off the posts with a box wrench or deep socket that fits. Don't mix them up, as they are NOT interchangeable! I put the "in" parts in one bowl, and the "out" parts in another bowl, with the long diptube next to it. Then clean and sanitize, and put the keg back together. You should break down the keg like this often (I do it after every keg) but some people get by with doing it every three kegs. Hops debris and trub clog up those little poppits.

While you have the keg apart, check out the state of the o-rings. If you have any keg lub, you can lube them (they'll last longer, plus it helps prevent some leaks!).

 

[DMartin]

If its not too late, I'd just put off the whole thing till you have some CO2. I wouldn't trust a stranger's sani process, I barely trust my own.

 

[Slipgate]

Also with no CO2 you'll be kegging your beer onto O2. Wait till you have the CO2.

 

[midlifecrisis]

I thought since I am priming the beer with dextrose that this would make its own CO2. This is a 5.6 gal batch (estimated after racking) I was hoping that I could rack the whole thing-add corn sugar--then bottle 2 gals (3 six packs) and keg the remaining 3.6 gals and let it prime in the keg. Are you saying the extra head space will be a problem without CO2 to put on immediately?

Thanks--if nothing else I've got the kegs cleaned out now and ready to star san.

 

[Yooper]

I thought since I am priming the beer with dextrose that this would make its own CO2. This is a 5.6 gal batch (estimated after racking) I was hoping that I could rack the whole thing-add corn sugar--then bottle 2 gals (3 six packs) and keg the remaining 3.6 gals and let it prime in the keg. Are you saying the extra head space will be a problem without CO2 to put on immediately?

Thanks--if nothing else I've got the kegs cleaned out now and ready to star san.

I'd probably NOT be inclined to keg a beer and leave that much headspace without the ability to purge with co2. I have a couple of kegs that won't seal well without a little shot of co2 besides, although that isn't a huge issue in this case for you as that wouldn't cause any oxidation. It's just another reason to wait until you have some co2.

 

[midlifecrisis]

OK I found a homebrew shop in Raleigh that is open today. I'll head down and get the CO2 so I can purge. Hopefully this will allow me to carry out my plan.

 

[aplus01]

OK I found a homebrew shop in Raleigh that is open today. I'll head down and get the CO2 so I can purge. Hopefully this will allow me to carry out my plan.

Where did you find a store that was open? American Brewmaster? Their a website said they were closed! I needed replacement poppet valves!

 

[midlifecrisis]

Yes American Brewmasters was open! I managed to transfer to the keg, purge with CO2, and bottle 20 bottles. I'm still trying to get the hang of how the ball lock QD connectors work...but otherwise it was a good (but longer than I thought) day.

 

[aplus01]

Yes American Brewmasters was open! I managed to transfer to the keg, purge with CO2, and bottle 20 bottles. I'm still trying to get the hang of how the ball lock QD connectors work...but otherwise it was a good (but longer than I thought) day.

It took me longer than anticipated on my first attempt too. Still was less cleaning and time involved than bottling though.

Wish I'd gotten over to the the store while in Raleigh. My local store is closed tomorrow. Guess my cream ale will have to wait. :-(