Force carbing 5L mini kegs using CO2 cartridges.

[user 214470]

I've never done force carbing and I don't have Corny kegs, CO2 bottle or CO2 regulator.
I do have however, many 5L mini kegs, a CO2 cartridge (16g) dispenser/gun and I bought some stainless car tyre valves that happen to fit perfectly to those 5L keg bungs.

I want to do an experiment and see if it's possible to force carb a mini keg using that CO2 gun. Since I'm a total n00b in force carbing, I would be grateful for some advice:


1. As I understand, the keg with beer should be cooled to around 35*F before introducing with CO2?

2. What PSI should I introduce to the keg? (I can hook up a pressure gauge on the CO2 hose).

3. As I understand, after that I need to gently rock a keg for a minute or so, then pump some more CO2, rock again, etc.?

4. Or can I just fill the mini keg with a certain PSI of CO2 and leave it for a few days until the beer absorbs the CO2 by itself?


I know it's not the most convenient method of force carbing, but I just want t o give it a try with the "equipment" I already have.

 

[MrAverageGuy]

This chart will give you some guidance on carbonation pressure (depends on temperature and style): http://www.kegerators.com/carbonation-table.php.

Some people (when they are in a hurry) set the pressure to 20 - 30 PSI for a short while, then reduce the pressure, others prefer to "set it and forget it" according to the chart.

I think it will take quite a few of those small CO2 cartridges to properly carbonate a 5L mini-keg, though!

Interested in your results, please let us know how it works.

 

[user 214470]

Thanks for the chart!
I think "set it and forget it" method would work best considering my "low-tech equipment". My basement is ~62*F so I guess I could just pump in ~25 PSI of CO2 and leave it for a few days. One thing though - since I don't have a regulator, I guess the PSI would drop after a while?

This might not work, it's only an experiment after all... I had this idea about taking my homebrew when going on a camping trip, etc., and wouldn't need to worry about the sediment. If this would work, it would be a great solution
I'm also thinking about doing a mini portable kegerator (take a small cooler, put two mini kegs in, pour over with ice, make two taps outside the cooler) = 2.5 gallons of cold homebrew on tap - perfect for a camping / fishing / outdoors trip

Pretty much got inspired by this picture and the fact that a clone of it is "secondaring" in my basement

 

[MrAverageGuy]

This actually sounds like a pretty cool idea. The first pour out of the mini keg should get rid of most of the sediment.

And yes, what will probably happen is that all of the CO2 in each cartridge will get absorbed into the beer - it will probably take several of them to carbonate it the way you want. But, you really can't make any mistakes - you can simply try a little after each cartridge and see how it is.

 

[user 214470]

Sounds like it might work, the question is how "uneconomical" it is and how many cartridges it will require to carb.
Still, when planning on taking a certain beer on a trip (rocking in the trunk), you can make a "dedicated" mini-keg just for that purpose

 

[andrewf1985]

Ive always primed these mini kegs because you have no way of knowing what you've actually set the regulator to. The first half pint is generally a bit cloudy but fine after that, even after travelling. I generally get through about 1 16g cartridge in a keg and a half and thats just dispensing. I have seen some crazy set ups on a google search using a sodastream canister and regulator. Im not sure how many cartridges youd get through carbing it to how you want. As said, probably trying along the way would be best but as theyre only under 10 pints, you could end up drinking the majority of it before your happy with it

 

[user 214470]

Yeah, I guess the need to dispense a number of cartridges is the main problem. You could always buy a bigger CO2 canister though..

I was also wondering - how much PSI these mini kegs can handle? (I've read the max is 58psi, but better not to get over 35psi). I've never had one exploding or denting yet (I'm using 75% amount of bottle priming sugar).