First Time Kegging

[Mexibilly]

I like to chill the beer in the keg and then hook up to 30psi for 23-36 hours. Then dial down to 12psi for serving. I like this method as it carbs the beer up adequately in less than 48 hrs, and the process limits variables. This way, your results are easily repeatable.

I have nothing against rolling kegs, I just find it (and as others have posted) easy to overcarb. Then you have to deal with the hassle of degassing, which eats up more of your time.

I will agree though that while the beer is drinkable after a few days on gas, the taste improves after a week or so.

30 hours will be tonite about the time I get showered after work.
Should I crank it down to 12 and purge some pressure off?
Just crank it down to 12 and pour off a little?
I bought a picnic tap with 5' of hose. It sounds like longer hose makes for a better pour. I do have 20' of some 3/16 or 1/4 hose I might be able to use.
What are the symptoms of serving hose being too short?

 

[Natdavis777]

Kill the gas, purge the keg, turn gas back on and set to 12 psi, and see how it pours. As for the line, you may have to dial the pressure down a bit due to lack of resistance (it is safe to assume 1psi per foot of 3/16" line).

If the beer seems like it still needs some carbonation, crank it back up to 30psi and check it every few hours so you verify if it's where you like it and avoiding overcarbing

 

[Helloworld]

So I recently acquired 2 ball lock corny kegs and a C02 tank, regulators and hoses with ~60psi.
I have 5 gallons ready to keg/bottle this weekend.
I'm soaking the kegs now, will clean over he next day or two and sanitize.
Is kegging as simple as ~10 psi for 3 weeks then start enjoying?
I've looked, and have multiple kegging instructions open on my phone.
I'd prefer to be drinking in a week or so.
I admit I haven't done my due diligence investigating, and I hope for someone with experience to help guide me through the 5 gallon kegging process.
Any detailed reference from fermentor to glass would get me started...

I fill my keg, put it in my kegerator, and connect the CO2 at serving pressure. A week later it is ready to serve. Some people speed up the process by overcarbing or shaking the keg, but I just let it sit.

 

[m00ps]

I set it at 30psi and jostle it back and forth a bit to speed up carbing at the beginning. You can hear the CO2 going into the beer. Ill then just leave it at room temp hooked up or purge then set at serving temp in the kegerator. Its never taken me more than 2-3 days to get a good carb and so far hasnt led to overcarbing...

 

[ol-hazza]

What are the symptoms of serving hose being too short?

If your hose is too short you will get foamy pours, too long and you get slow/no pour.
With 1/4' line you need a lot longer line than with 3/16' line. Its to do with resistance (i dont really science)

Check out this calculator and it should get you within the ball park.

What temp do you have your keg sitting at? 55° I read earlier, if this is going to be your serving temp the I would be keeping the keg at 17-20 psi. Personally I drink my beer quite a bit colder, around 41° and get good carb at 14psi.

All of that depends on the beer style and personal preference as well though.

 

[Mexibilly]

If your hose is too short you will get foamy pours, too long and you get slow/no pour.
With 1/4' line you need a lot longer line than with 3/16' line. Its to do with resistance (i dont really science)

Check out this calculator and it should get you within the ball park.

What temp do you have your keg sitting at? 55° I read earlier, if this is going to be your serving temp the I would be keeping the keg at 17-20 psi. Personally I drink my beer quite a bit colder, around 41° and get good carb at 14psi.

All of that depends on the beer style and personal preference as well though.

Dropped it to 8 from 30 after 28 hours, poured off some foam and discovered I racked way too much s**t to the keg. It was clogging the tube in the keg, but breaking free and pouring.
Carbonation is slight. Bumped it up to 32 and will drop it to ~15 before bed, then leave it there and leave it alone for a few days.
It's a hazy, chunky first keg at this point, but I just poured myself a beer from my own personal tap. I know it's getting better...

 

[ol-hazza]

First couple of pours can be like that, don't stress about it.
Is your serving temperature 55°? Temperature makes a big difference in what pressure you need on the beer.

 

[Mexibilly]

First couple of pours can be like that, don't stress about it.
Is your serving temperature 55°? Temperature makes a big difference in what pressure you need on the beer.

Don't recall why I picked 55. Probably because my cellared beers are at 55. Would dropping into the mid 40s improve the integration of CO2?
I openly admit I did not delve deeply into the kegging process, rather I picked the brains of fellow members.
Time is short. Weekends are few and far between. 45 minutes of lunch break to run home and what I can accomplish after work don't leave much time for study.
I'm sure I'll get this, and I'm in no big rush to carb and drink this keg.
That said, it is carbed now to a slight degree, I jostled it a little and set it to 15 and am totally patient.
What I have are a couple of kegs and CO2 that happened to pop up at a good deal and just as I had a batch ready to rack.
It smells delicious, tastes pretty F'in good mostly flat, and I'm happy to wait carbonation out.
If dropping into the 40s at 10psi is advisable I'm down. I'd prefer to serve a little warmer than that, but to get it carbed and gain some experience from my first go round is the ultimate goal.
Thank you all for your input...

 

[ol-hazza]

At 55° set the pressure to 17-20 psi and you will get what I consider a standard carbonation level.

Some beers like stout, porter or bitter do go well with a lower carbonation level, but that's also down to personal taste.

If you get a foamy pour with this pressure up you can use a longer beer line to reduce this, or thinner beer line.

 

[Mexibilly]

Can't get it to pour tonite.
Yesterday it seemed like the tube was clogged but it broke free. No pour at all tonite except drips. I'm half inclined to rack it to a bucket and bottle.
Any advice on dealing with a clogged tube?

 

[NewJersey]

Anyone here use an o2 Stone in the keg to force carb?
Your beer could be perfectly carbed in half an hour. I've never done it but want to soon.
I JUST started oxygenating with o2 from a tank and its the best thing ever.
I expect carving through a stone directly into wort will be a similar step forward

Anybody?

 

[Mexibilly]

Duh. Hooked the pressure line up and gave it a little puff.
Still not carbed, but pouring at least

 

[Natdavis777]

Anyone here use an o2 Stone in the keg to force carb?
Your beer could be perfectly carbed in half an hour. I've never done it but want to soon.
I JUST started oxygenating with o2 from a tank and its the best thing ever.
I expect carving through a stone directly into wort will be a similar step forward

Anybody?

I've carbed through the dip tube (where most people put the diffusion stone) and it still takes the same amount of time to carb from the top end. Only way to carb the beer up in less than an hour is to shake/roll

 

[Mexibilly]

Very nice pour at 8psi

 

[wilserbrewer]

Any advice on dealing with a clogged tube?

Try higher pressure in the keg to blow it free???

Or reduce pressure to zero and try again.

Any way to put the co2 on the serving side and blow it free ?

I wouldn't rack to a bottling bucket to quick.....must be a way to unclog the line.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Any advice on dealing with a clogged tube?

Try higher pressure in the keg to blow it free???

Or reduce pressure to zero and try again.

Any way to put the co2 on the serving side and blow it free ?

I wouldn't rack to a bottling bucket to quick.....must be a way to unclog the line.