How can I carb a keg in 3 days?

[BrewVerymore]

There are so many posts online from reputable websites with each one giving different methods of carbonation that it has confused to crap out of me. One website said to use the set/forget carb chart for 5 days, others have said 1 week, while others have said 12 days.

I have a couple of questions.

1.) What is the way the pros do it?

2.) In my case, wanting to carb the beer(IPA) in 3 days, what is the best way to get there?

3.) Who wrote the force carb chart that everyone uses, and how many days did that author intend for people to carbonate using his method before everyone started chiming in w/ their own suggestions on how many days it's supposed to be used for?

Right now I have just been looking at old posts and heeding the advice of people with a relatively high post count. One guy said setting the kegs to 30psi for 2-3 days will bring me very within 80-90% of what the normal set/forget carb chart would take.

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[audioa84]

I typically do ~ 40 psi for 24 hours then adjust to the pressure recommended by the tables. If you are a fan (or at least don't dislike) the Brulosphy guys, they have a post on carbonation. Good luck!

 

[plazola86]

I've been doing this routine for a while with good results.

40 PSI for 24 hours - purge
20 PSI for 24 hours - purge
10 psi (serving pressure) for 24 hours or start drinking!

 

[cubalz]

I have been doing it this way: 20 psi for 3 days, purge and reset regulator to 10 psi and drink. Works every time!

 

[oceanic_brew]

I've been doing this routine for a while with good results.

40 PSI for 24 hours - purge
20 PSI for 24 hours - purge
10 psi (serving pressure) for 24 hours or start drinking!

Although I rarely do the same thing twice this is about what I do.

I've never done the set and forget method although I'm sure it would offer more stable and calculable results. The perfect carb level is something I have respect for but never really put a whole lot of effort into. By the time my keg is 1/4 kicked it's usually at a pretty good carb level

 

[j1laskey]

I keg the beer and hit it with 30psi and then purge to clear O2 from the head space in the keg. I then let the keg sit over night in the kegerator without CO2 to drop temp of the beer. The next morning I set the PSI @ 30 and I roll the keg back and forth on the floor for ~2-3 mins then leave it set @ 30psi and put it back into the kegerator. Typically the beer is ready the next day, but its more likely 2 days from start time.

 

[BeardedBrews]

the Brulosphy guys, they have a post on carbonation. Good luck!

I'll toss a vote in for the Brulosophy guide, at least it gives a basic foundation.

I do 30psi for ~24 hours, and then set to serving pressure. It's usually still a little flat after that 24 hours, but it's close. Within the next day or two it's up to the correct level.

 

[Smellyglove]

Or you can make totally sure you have as little oxygen as possible in the keg before and after filling, set the regulator to max (before PR valve opens) and roll the keg gently for some minutes and you are all set. Taste it, when its close enough (under, not over), set it to desired pressure and come back next day.. if you keep the keg in a fridge.

 

[doug293cz]

The standard carbonation chart (volumes for various temps and pressures) tells you the equilibrium point that will be reached after "long" times. The actual rate follows an exponential curve which has what is termed a "time constant." After carbonating at a fixed pressure for 1 time constant, the beer will have absorbed 63% of the final amount that it will eventually absorb. After 2 time constants - 86%, 3 time constants - 95%, 4 time constants - 98%, etc. A full keg of beer seems to have a time constant of about 1 week.

Now, just to complicate things, the beer starts out with about 1/3 of its eventual carbonation as residual from fermentation. So, after 1 time constant the beer will have 33% + 67% * 63% = 75% of target carb level. 2 tc - 91%, 3 tc -97%, 4 tc - 99%.

Increasing the pressure greatly increases the rate of absorption, but doesn't change the time constant much.

The time constant for a half full keg will be about 1/2 the time constant for a full keg.

If you overfill a keg to the point that the beer is above the straight side walls of the keg, then the surface area of beer exposed to CO2 decreases rapidly, and the time constant increases rapidly.

Brew on

 

[BrewVerymore]

The standard carbonation chart (volumes for various temps and pressures) tells you the equilibrium point that will be reached after "long" times. The actual rate follows an exponential curve which has what is termed a "time constant." After carbonating at a fixed pressure for 1 time constant, the beer will have absorbed 63% of the final amount that it will eventually absorb. After 2 time constants - 86%, 3 time constants - 95%, 4 time constants - 98%, etc. A full keg of beer seems to have a time constant of about 1 week.

Now, just to complicate things, the beer starts out with about 1/3 of its eventual carbonation as residual from fermentation. So, after 1 time constant the beer will have 33% + 67% * 63% = 75% of target carb level. 2 tc - 91%, 3 tc -97%, 4 tc - 99%.

Increasing the pressure greatly increases the rate of absorption, but doesn't change the time constant much.

The time constant for a half full keg will be about 1/2 the time constant for a full keg.

If you overfill a keg to the point that the beer is above the straight side walls of the keg, then the surface area of beer exposed to CO2 decreases rapidly, and the time constant increases rapidly.

Brew on

Ohhhhh. Wait so does this mean I have been doing it wrong? What I've been doing is just setting the couplers on the kegs w/ pressure (say 20psi @ 34f) and just leaving it there for several days. Do you mean to say it's not necessary for me to just leave the coupler on and instead I can just hit it with 20psi until it stops hissing and then take the coupler off and leave it for a few days to absorb it?

Thanks for ur reply everyone!

 

[wyowolf]

https://www.morebeer.com/products/blichmann-engineering-quickcarb-keg-carbonator.html

supposed to work great, though I have never used it... not sure how it works exactly.

 

[TallahasseeBrew]

Ohhhhh. Wait so does this mean I have been doing it wrong? What I've been doing is just setting the couplers on the kegs w/ pressure (say 20psi @ 34f) and just leaving it there for several days. Do you mean to say it's not necessary for me to just leave the coupler on and instead I can just hit it with 20psi until it stops hissing and then take the coupler off and leave it for a few days to absorb it?

Thanks for ur reply everyone!

no, it has to stay on gas the whole time.

 

[govner1]

https://www.morebeer.com/products/blichmann-engineering-quickcarb-keg-carbonator.html

supposed to work great, though I have never used it... not sure how it works exactly.

^^^This! The system works very well and you can carb a 5g keg in under an hour. Simple setup, too.

 

[k1ngl1ves]

^^^This! The system works very well and you can carb a 5g keg in under an hour. Simple setup, too.

This system does work, and fast. I have a friend who built his own for under $40 using one of those eBay tan pumps.


Blichmann is once again price gouging for simple designs...

 

[TungstenBeer]

I'm interested in that Blichmann product but I don't have one.

I follow Brulosophy too, generally.

50 psi for 24 hours, purge, serving pressure. Pretty reliable carb within 48 hours.

 

[Dcpcooks]

The blichmann unit works very well. I carbonate 1/2 bbl sanke kegs with it in about 2 hours 10 gallon ball lock kegs in 80 min and 5 gallon kegs in 40 min.

It carbs to your exact pressure and it's easy to clean.

The pros use a carb stone in a bright tank with a gauge for head pressure in 24 hours. In that case you would dial in your pressure by matching the desired pressure on the gauge on the top of the tank. You can do that with the new bright tanks from ss or spike. I think you can do that in a blichmann conical as well.

The old tried and true method of set and forget works but takes a bit of time.

You can force carb it at 30 psi and it works but it's not accurate.

A last option is a carb stone ball lock lid. Those work as well probably better than both set and forget and force carbing as your setting your pressure to the correct levels and the stone speeds up the process because the bubbles are small enough to speed up the process. The only thing I didn't like about that set up is it's a pain in the butt to clean. Once you hit your pressure and the system is in balance some beer can work its way past the stone and into the tubing. Then you have to take it all apart to clean it.

 

[doug293cz]

Ohhhhh. Wait so does this mean I have been doing it wrong? What I've been doing is just setting the couplers on the kegs w/ pressure (say 20psi @ 34f) and just leaving it there for several days. Do you mean to say it's not necessary for me to just leave the coupler on and instead I can just hit it with 20psi until it stops hissing and then take the coupler off and leave it for a few days to absorb it?

Thanks for ur reply everyone!

No, you have to leave the CO2 attached and turned on. The pressure in the headspace drops rapidly as CO2 is absorbed by the beer.

The headspace is usually too small to hold all the CO2 needed for carbonation, at the pressures that the kegs will withstand. Typically you need to add about 1.7 volumes of CO2 to the beer to get to the carb level you want, since the beer will start out at about 0.8 volumes. So, you need 1.7 volumes * 5 gal = 8.5 gal of CO2 at atmospheric pressure. The headspace in a full keg is about 0.3 gal, so you would have to compress the 8.5 gal into 0.3 gal for a volume ratio of 8.5 / 0.3 = 28.3 X, so the pressure needed is 28.3 * 14.7 psi - 14.7 psi = 402 psi.

It might be possible to do something like that with a half full keg. For a half full keg, you need 2.5 * 1.7 = 4.15 gal of CO2 for the beer and about 5.1 gal for the headspace. So, 9.25 gal in 2.8 gal for a pressure ratio of 3.3. Pressure needed is 3.3 * 14.7 - 14.7 = 33.9 psi.

Brew on

 

[Sadu]

Nobody mentioned the shake method yet?
I set to 20psi and turn the keg on its side then rock side to side on my knee for 2 mins. This gets you about 70% there. Then turn the reg down to 12psi and leave a day or 2 to finish off.
You can go all the way with the shaking if you want but there is the risk of overcarbing so best to let it settle and let it finish off at serving pressure. This method works great for me and beers are always ready within 3 days.

 

[harsradish]

I brew a lot of IPAs and have tried many different methods. If you want to carb quicker, set your psi to about 15-20. Set a timer for 5 minutes and rock the keg back and forth. You will hear the co2 bubbling into the solution. Let the keg sit in 32 degree F temp for 24 hours. Purge and taste. You can always repeat this process if it's not to your liking. Don't forget to turn your regulator back down to serving pressure.

 

[spittybug]

I use a cheap chinese pump, a SS T fitting, two quick connects and a diffuser stone attached to my C02 bottle. Lay the keg down so that it primes the pump, turn on the gas and plug in the pump. 1 hour later it will be to whatever pressure you set the regulator to. Easy peasy.

 

[wyowolf]

I use a cheap chinese pump, a SS T fitting, two quick connects and a diffuser stone attached to my C02 bottle. Lay the keg down so that it primes the pump, turn on the gas and plug in the pump. 1 hour later it will be to whatever pressure you set the regulator to. Easy peasy.

can you explain that a little more? or pic or two?

 

[boasist]

I had a similar situation this weekend.

I put it on gas on Friday afternoon, 30psi
Saturday morning I purged it
Took it out of the kegerator, laid it on its side, hooked it up to gas at 30psi again
Gently rocked it back and forth, watched the meter go down during rocking, then back up when resting.
3 hours later we were all enjoying it. First time I've done this and it worked great for me.

So 24 hours, my quickest carb yet.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

Wow.. I thought I was impatient
Things went from set and forget for 2 weeks to
30 psi for 36 hours to
40 psi for 24 hours to
$179 for a 1 hour carb contraption

More power to ya for adding to your equipment arsenal but I'm stickin to 40 for 24. If I keg at 5 today I'll be drinkin by 5 tomorrow with zero work...that's pretty quick

 

[BrewVerymore]

Wow.. I thought I was impatient
Things went from set and forget for 2 weeks to
30 psi for 36 hours to
40 psi for 24 hours to
$179 for a 1 hour carb contraption

LOL. Who is gonna be the first one to suggest one of these?!

 

[Dcpcooks]

Wow.. I thought I was impatient
Things went from set and forget for 2 weeks to
30 psi for 36 hours to
40 psi for 24 hours to
$179 for a 1 hour carb contraption

More power to ya for adding to your equipment arsenal but I'm stickin to 40 for 24. If I keg at 5 today I'll be drinkin by 5 tomorrow with zero work...that's pretty quick

You forgot to add the $1000 bright tank option! Lol

 

[BrewVerymore]

Hello everyone. I just did 30PSI for 48 hours and one keg is alright, but the other is nothing but foam

Does anyone have suggestions on what I should do? The only thing I am presuming is different between the two kegs is that one has more headspace perhaps because I was drawing samples off of the keg that is foamy right now. Should I just set the pressure down to serving pressure and relieve pressure every couple hours?

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

Hello everyone. I just did 30PSI for 48 hours and one keg is alright, but the other is nothing but foam

Does anyone have suggestions on what I should do? The only thing I am presuming is different between the two kegs is that one has more headspace perhaps because I was drawing samples off of the keg that is foamy right now. Should I just set the pressure down to serving pressure and relieve pressure every couple hours?

You could switch the lines from keg to keg. If the foam follows the line you know you have an issue somewhere down stream of the keg. Some beers just seems to foam more than others for whatever reason