force carbonation question

[THEDIETZ]

I typically have force carbinated by chilling my kegged beer and then shaking the keg at 30 psi for a few minutes and then hooking up to my 10psi keggerator for 2 or 3 days. This works but you can not control the carbination levels.
I just bought 5 more corny kegs on craigslist today ($80..pretty good score)...so now i want to try to have a more consistent carbinating practice. So here are my questions

1. Can I keg a beer...then at room temperature hook my extra CO2 up to it at 10psi for about 2 weeks.....will this fully carbonate my beer?

2. If #1 does work that way...can I then disconnect my co2 from that keg after the 2 weeks...will it remain carbonated until I put it in my kegerator?? if not how long will it stay carbonated for?


Thanks for the help. If what i am thinking is not correct...can you please tell me how this all works? Thanks

 

[Suthrncomfrt1884]

10psi won't carbonate a beer at room temp. The colder the beer, the more easily co2 will be absorbed into it. So, at 10psi, you would need to have your beer at around 35 degrees in order to get around 2.5 volumes of co2.

At room temp, if you wanted to carbonate, you would need 30+psi depending on what the room temp was. It would also have to sit for a few weeks in order to be carbonated.

I just use a set it and forget it method of carbonation and it's very consistant. I've never overcarbed a beer. I just put my co2 at around 10-15psi depending on temp and let it sit for 2-3 weeks.

 

[samc]

What he said, use this http://hbd.org/ford/brewinfo/kegcarb.html as a guide to proper psi @ whatever temp you have to work with.

 

[THEDIETZ]

After the beer is carbonated can you take it off the tank and let it sit at room temperature? Will it hold carbonation?

 

[THEDIETZ]

Also...i have a two way manifold coming off of my tank...if I have my tank set for 20psi are both kegs actually getting 20psi or only 10? If not 20psi is there an equation to figure it out?

 

[Suthrncomfrt1884]

Both kegs are getting 20psi.

I've not done a whole lot of research into co2 and I'm no scientist, so I'm not 100% positive that your beer will hold carbonation at room temp....but here's my theory. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

When you carbonate at a lower temp, the co2 absorbs into the beer easier. If you used the "set it and forget it" method for a few weeks, then your beer should reach it's "carbonation equilibrium". In my mind, once the equilibrium is achieved, you can change the temp as much as you want, as long as when you finally tap the beer, it's at the same temp it was when it was carbonated. I think the co2 will probably come out of solution a little bit when it's warmed but, but getting it cold again should fix that.

Just make sure if you're planning on doing this, that you allow your beer to reach it's original carbonation temp and let it sit there for a few days before tapping.

 

[AnOldUR]

I think the co2 will probably come out of solution a little bit when it's warmed but, but getting it cold again should fix that.

The CO2 that comes out of solution is just enough to create the amount of pressure in the head space that matches the number on the carbonation charts. If you have a minimal amount of head space you won't notice any difference in carbonation level of the beer even if it's warm. If the keg only has a little beer in it, it will go flat at the warmer temperature, but return it previous level after spending enough time chilled to reabsorb.

 

[Suthrncomfrt1884]

If you have a minimal amount of head space you won't notice any difference in carbonation level of the beer even if it's warm.

If you carbed a keg while it's cold and then tapped it while it's warm, wouldn't you end up with a ton of foam? I guess there's no reason to tap a warm keg, unless you're using a jockey box I suppose.