Keg Warm Conditioning

[butterblum]

Guys,
I am about to keg for the first time on Tuesday, and I wanted to ask some questions. I would like to rack to my keg, and then let the beer condition at room temperature for a week or so.
So I rack my beer to the keg, and I purge all of the oxygen from the remaining headspace. If I would like to condition outside of the kegerator and without a CO2 tank connected to it, do I pressurize it at serving pressure (the serving pressure when it will be at it's final colder temperature) and then just let it sit? If so, what do I have to do when I actually want to put it in the kegerator? Will I still have to wait a week for it to carb up at the colder temperature?
Thanks

 

[Yooper]

Guys,
I am about to keg for the first time on Tuesday, and I wanted to ask some questions. I would like to rack to my keg, and then let the beer condition at room temperature for a week or so.
So I rack my beer to the keg, and I purge all of the oxygen from the remaining headspace. If I would like to condition outside of the kegerator and without a CO2 tank connected to it, do I pressurize it at serving pressure (the serving pressure when it will be at it's final colder temperature) and then just let it sit? If so, what do I have to do when I actually want to put it in the kegerator? Will I still have to wait a week for it to carb up at the colder temperature?
Thanks

It doesn't matter. I give my keg a blast of c02, usually at about 30 psi, to make sure the seals seal up. I have a couple of pesky kegs that will leak, so I pressurize and purge, repeat, then pressurize ( to purge the 02 out that I can). Then I spray some star-san around the posts and poppets and lid to make sure it's not leaking.

The c02 in the headspace will be absorbed in the beer, so make sure you check it again for leaks when you put it in the kegerator. Sometimes when a keg loses some of it's pressure via absorption, the keg will leak a little around the seal.

It won't be carbed up when you put it in the kegerator, unless you prime it first with priming sugar.

When you put it in the keg, just set it to your desired pressure. If you're not in a huge hurry, then set it at 10-12 psi and it will be ready in 10-14 days or so. If you are in a huge hurry (although, you wouldn't be, if it's already been sitting for a week so this is unnecessary I suppose), then you can set it at 30 psi for 36 hours, then purge and reset at 10-12 psi and it will be ready in about 3 days or so.

If you have a c02 tank, why not leave the gas on it while it is warm? Then it can condition at room temperature as it carbs up. For room temperature, about 30 psi is appropriate. It will take 10-14 days to fully carb up, but then at least you've got a headstart on it when it goes into the kegerator.

 

[butterblum]

If you have a c02 tank, why not leave the gas on it while it is warm? Then it can condition at room temperature as it carbs up. For room temperature, about 30 psi is appropriate. It will take 10-14 days to fully carb up, but then at least you've got a headstart on it when it goes into the kegerator.

That is probably what I will do for this one. I just built a 2-keg kegerator with the CO2 tank located on the compressor hump inside, so this solution will only be feasible when the CO2 tank isn't already tied up with a keg or two in the kegerator. Maybe I will buy a second regulator and CO2 tank to streamline this process.