Keg-to-keg under pressure at room temperature?

[scone]

I'm new to kegging (so this is probably a dumb question) and only have room in the kegerator for a 3g corny. I'm thinking about buying a 5g corny or two to act as conditioning tanks where I also intend to naturally carbonate the beer (at room temperature mind you). Then I would be transferring 3g at a time into the 3g corny for serving out of the kegerator.

What I'm wondering is, can I do a room temperature keg to keg transfer under pressure using co2 to purge the receiving keg before-hand? If not, I figure I'm suck using the 5g cornies just as holding tanks and carbonating 3g at a time in the fridge.

 

[Suthrncomfrt1884]

This shouldn't be a problem, but you'll want to make sure the keg you're transferring to is the same pressure as the first keg. This will be tough to do if you're naturally carbonating. Something you may want to pick up is a pressure gauge that will attach to your conditioning tank. Figure out what your pressure is that way and match it with the other keg. While your transferring, if the flow of beer stops, just release pressure from your second keg.

Another thing to do...fill your smaller keg about 2/3 with water. Then pump co2 in the gas-in port. Let the water drain out of the keg. When the water is gone, your keg is completely filled with co2.

 

[JuanMoore]

For transfers you want to use a very low pressure regardless of temperature, ~ 3-5 psi. If/how the beer was carbonated has no relevance. Purge the empty keg if desired, release any pressure from both kegs, hit both kegs with the low transfer pressure (leaving the pressure on the full keg), connect kegs using a jumper from liquid out to liquid out, then gently pull the pressure relief valve on the empty keg to transfer.

 

[944play]

For transfers you want to use a very low pressure regardless of temperature, ~ 3-5 psi. If/how the beer was carbonated has no relevance.

I disagree. I say, if the beer is carbonated, it's preferable to transfer under pressure to minimize foaming.

 

[Hammy71]

I disagree. I say, if the beer is carbonated, it's preferable to transfer under pressure to minimize foaming.

Same here. Never really paid attention to the gauge when I do a transfer.

 

[JuanMoore]

I disagree. I say, if the beer is carbonated, it's preferable to transfer under pressure to minimize foaming.

I was suggesting doing it under pressure, just under low pressure instead of serving pressure. When I tried transferring at serving pressure I ran into foaming issues, but that's just my experience.

 

[wolfman_48442]

I've transferred fine under serving pressure, but it seems like the differential between the source and destination have to be close, like 3 or less psi. Bless you, spunding valve!

 

[Suthrncomfrt1884]

I was suggesting doing it under pressure, just under low pressure instead of serving pressure. When I tried transferring at serving pressure I ran into foaming issues, but that's just my experience.

Regardless of whether you release pressure in a carbonated beer or not, as soon as that beer hits a differently pressurized keg, it will foam like crazy. The beer still has 12-15 pounds of pressure in it, even if you let the excess CO2 out of the headspace.

If you want to avoid foam, you need to pressurize the second keg to the same pressure as the keg you carbonated in.

 

[LloydGM]

(Apologies for adding onto this thread many years afterwards, but I really want to learn.)

What is everyone's consensus here? Have y'all tried this? Did it work? Any gotchas I should watch out for?

I'm buying & making new equipment, can't build a keezer yet, and have been wrestling with the same issue: pressure transfer at room temperature. I will be using pressure fermentation at 15 PSI (and maybe higher PSI experimentation later). From my research so far, it seems that I just need to match pressures in the fermenter and my conditioning keg, then let a spunding valve control the keg pressure release for a slow transfer speed.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Bobby_M]

You can transfer carbonated beer between pressure vessels with no carbonation loss but the receiving vessel needs to be maintained at the same pressure the beer is currently carbonated to.

If the donor vessel has room temp 68F beer carbonated at 25psi, you would put a spunding valve (adjustable pressure relief valve) on the gas port of the receiving vessel with the vent pressure adjusted to 25psi. Then a beer to beer jumper hose would be connected between the two vessels. Then you would apply about 28-30psi of pressure into the donor vessel to initiate and maintain the transfer.

 

[LloydGM]

Super, I really appreciate the assist. I recall seeing a carbonation chart for up'ing the PSI for higher temps, and that 25PSI sounds about right, thx!

66 batches to date, all bottled with sugar priming. Lots to learn about kegging but I'm gonna have a ball learning. And making mistakes. Thx to you guys, though, I feel like I'll be celebrating the former and minimizing the latter. /cheer