Force carbonation

[puzx]

Hello,
I am force carbonating at 30 PSI. It has been two days and I want to bring it down to regular serving PSI, which I believe is around 8-10 PSI. My question: When bringing down the PSI from 30 to 10, do I first turn off the CO2 and lift the pressure release valve ring on the keg to completely remove all pressure, and then put the pressure back to 10 and turn the CO2 back on?

 

[wsmith1625]

Yep, sounds right to me. Remember to turn the dial all the way down on the regulator and then increase to your serving pressure. Going from high pressure to low doesn't work.

 

[Bobby_M]

Hello,
I am force carbonating at 30 PSI. It has been two days and I want to bring it down to regular serving PSI, which I believe is around 8-10 PSI. My question: When bringing down the PSI from 30 to 10, do I first turn off the CO2 and lift the pressure release valve ring on the keg to completely remove all pressure, and then put the pressure back to 10 and turn the CO2 back on?

If it's been 2 days at 30psi and the beer has been cold (around 35F) the entire time, you have already over carbonated the beer. If that's the case, disconnect the gas and then pull the vent ring to completely vent the keg's headspace. Then wait about an hour and do it again. THEN set your pressure to 10psi and connect it to the keg. See how that pours. If it's all foam, repeat the above a couple more times.

 

[Vinny]

I agree, 30 psi is way out. @puzx, just look for a forced carbonation chart on the net and you will find many of them. It will provide the temperature and pressure requirements for a given target volume of CO2 dissolved in the beer. lowering the temperature will increase the solubility of the CO2, also, increasing the surface contact with a diffuser will speed things up a lot. 8 - 10 psi @ 35°F (2.3 - 2.6 volumes) is where I tend to land, however, different styles have different carbonation requirements.

Vinny D.
Once you keg, you never go back!

 

[VikeMan]

It has been two days and I want to bring it down to regular serving PSI, which I believe is around 8-10 PSI.

There is no "regular" serving pressure. Serving pressure depends on the temperature of the beer and the equilibrium CO2 level you want to maintain. Balancing the system should be done in this order...

- Determine the average temperature inside the fridge.
- Decide how many volumes of CO2 you want
- Using a keg carbonation chart, find the PSI needed to maintain the CO2 level you chose, given the temperature
- Given the PSI from the previous step, determine the length of beer line you need to balance the system, so that the beer exits the faucet fast enough for a reasonably fast pour, without excessive foaming.

 

[wsmith1625]

Use a chart such as this one to calculate co2 volumes. It's quite simple. I keep a small bottle of spring water in my kegerator to measure the beer temperature.

https://www.kegerators.com/carbonation-table/

 

[Broken Crow]

Lately after force-carbing, I've taken to connecting the liquid side and not the gas and pouring a pint or two to relieve pressure as well as see how well it carbed, and then I connect the gas.... mind you; it does come out pretty fast with a little extra 'first-pour' foam, but levels out quickly. Others experience may vary.

 

[tracer bullet]

My force carb routine is to set the CO2 pressure to 14psi, connect it to the keg, and roll the keg around on the floor (back and forth of course, not full circles haha) for about 10 minutes. I then stick it in the frig on a constant 12psi serving pressure, wait a day (let stuff settle out a bit) and it's perfect every time. Might be another ideas to try.

 

[Vinny]

My force carb routine is to set the CO2 pressure to 14 psi, connect it to the keg, and roll the keg around on the floor (back and forth of course, not full circles haha) for about 10 minutes. I then stick it in the frig on a constant 12psi serving pressure, wait a day (let stuff settle out a bit) and it's perfect every time. Might be another ideas to try.

I've done that, 10 - 15 min and your good to go! lately, I've been lazy allowing the keg to sit for a few days at pressure to carbonate, seems to come out ok, no rush. for me it's more about the process than the product, so waiting works. I do have a 10 or 11 ft line coiled at the top of my keg outlet for pressure drop to the tap.

Vinny D.

 

[Neldog0]

I use 12 Psi as my set pressure. Set my temp to 36f. Wait 7-10 days. Always finishes 2.4-2.7 volume depending on beer style. Perfect every time. I have been using this method for over 20 years.

 

[Beermeister32]

I used to finish at 10 psi. These days I’m liking 9 psi on most beers.

 

[deuc224]

42 psi for 24 hours, then set to serving psi for 24 hours and ready.

 

[BongoYodeler]

Looks like there's a lot of different ways folks use to get there. Me? I put a newly kegged beer in the keezer and leave it for 24 hours to cool. Then I set the regulator to 30psi for 24 hours. Purge and set the regulator to 20psi for 48 hours. Purge and set it to serving pressure. Of course I'm sampling along the way too.

 

[hottpeper13]

I like having a pipe line so i don't need to do a 2 or 3 day carb. 3 kegs in the lagerator at 33* and 15 psi CO2,awaiting room in kegerator set to 12 psi. When i move one over I don't pop the PRV just hook it up and serve, first one is dumped and maybe the second one(pulled around 6 hrs later) by the 4-5 beer it's perfect.

 

[VikeMan]

I like having a pipe line so i don't need to do a 2 or 3 day carb. 3 kegs in the lagerator at 33* and 15 psi CO2,awaiting room in kegerator set to 12 psi.

How long are these kegs sitting at 15 PSI and 33F? If long enough to reach equilibrium, that's almost 3.2 volumes of CO2.

 

[hottpeper13]

Somewhere between 2-3 weeks,I'll admit sometimes the first couple of pours are heady,but I'd rather be over then under. Besides you only need to turn off the CO2 and burp it a few times to get it to 2.7 vol, which is where i like it.