Force Carbonation Chart

[rockstar55667]

Can someone please explain to me how to use this chart? I really want to buy a kegerator but I don't quite understand the carbonating step.

http://www.kegerators.com/carbonation-table.php

I know its very useful, but how do I use it?

I know I want to hit the green PSI depending on the beer type. So lets use an example. Lets say I want to hit 2.42 PSI. I will be using the force carbonating method that takes around a week, not the fast way (shaking the keg and whatnot).

My question is, what do I set the regulator to, and for how long, to receive this PSI? When bottling, I will just cut down on the amount of priming sugar depending on the beer style.

After about a week I would dial it down to 10-12 PSI from what I understand.

Some might say leave it at 12 PSI for a week, but wouldn't that vary by style? It might work for a Pale Ale or IPA, but it might be too much for a Stout. How do I know what is ideal? Is it trial and error, or is there a method based on this table?

How do I know what to set the regulator to to achieve the desired PSI of the beer?

Thanks

 

[day_trippr]

First, decide what level of carbonation you want for a specific brew. You can find "to style" tables on the intertoobs.

Let's say you're going to carb up a pale ale. 2.5 volumes of CO2 is in the middle of the range for pales and IPAs and a whole host of other styles.

Next, you need to know the temperature of the beer when you're going to hook it up to the gas. Some folks carb at room temp, some at serving temp. Doesn't matter which you do, but the gas pressure will greatly differ.

Let's assume you're going to carb at "cellar" temperature - say 55°F - to 2.5 volumes of CO2.

First, find 55°F, then go across the row to the column that most closely hits 2.5 volumes, then go straight up the column to find the CO2 pressure required (in this example, 20 psi). Hook your keg up to the regulator, set it for 20 psi, and wait a couple of weeks.

If you move the keg to a kegerator set for, say, 40°F, you'll want to lower the CO2 to 12 psi according to the chart, to maintain the same 2.5 volumes of CO2. If you left the pressure at 20 psi, eventually that beer would reach around 3.2 volumes of CO2, which would be well above "style".

And that's all there is to that...

Cheers!

 

[Joeywhat]

The "ideal" carb level is whatever you like it it...so experiment and find that. The chart should be used as a reference for how many beers are typically carbed when done to style.

First things first, figure out what temp your beer is, or can be at. If you're going to carb it warm you'll need considerably more pressure then if you do it cold. So let's assuming you can do it at 40*F. Then look to the right of that row to find what is closest to your target carb level, then go up to find the desired pressure to set your regulator to. So to get 2.42 volumes of CO2 @ 40*F (2.39 is the closest) look right in that row to find 2.39, the up in that column to find the regulator pressure of 11 psi.

Also, the carb levels on the chart are not PSI, but rather the volume of CO2 in the beer (per a given volume of beer that I don't remember).

 

[rockstar55667]

Thank you guys!

So a week to 2 weeks is a good amount of time?

 

[day_trippr]

fwiw, one "volume" of CO2 is defined as 1 liter of CO2 in 1 liter of fluid at 1 atmosphere pressure at 20°C temperature...

Cheers!

[edit]

So a week to 2 weeks is a good amount of time?

I have a separate carbonation fridge set for the same temp as my serving keezer - 36°F - and at that temperature I find two weeks gets the beer to where it's enjoyably carbed, but another week gets it perfect...

 

[zachattack]

Thank you guys!

So a week to 2 weeks is a good amount of time?

It will take about 2 weeks to carbonate, but you want to leave it at that pressure until the keg's empty.

 

[rockstar55667]

So lets say I brew 2 beers, one a stout and one a pale ale. Obviously the PA is going to have more carbonation. Is there a way using a standard regulator to set the two different kegs set at different PSIs?

 

[Joeywhat]

No. You can get dual regulators that will do that, however.

Although another option is to get both kegs up to the pressure you desire (individually), then periodically each day switch the hookup so each keg remains pressurized. It takes a good bit of work, but it doesn't require another regulator.