kegging - a bit of confusion on pressure

[adamtroxel]

I just kegged my first batch last night.

I cooled the secondary and the keg itself to 40 before I transfered.

Set my PSI to 30 and put it all in the fridge. Was planning on doing this for 48 hours.

I want the beer to be around 2.5 (Kolsch). So I know my pressure should be 12 PSI or so. So after 48 hours I purge the co2 and set to 12 psi.

When Im ready to drink the beer, what should I set the serving pressure to? I have about 4 feet of line if that matters. (if it helps I bought the midwest kegging kit)


thanks!

 

[Double_D]

I like mine about 10psi. But for something with a good Co2 level like that don't forget to turn it back up to 12 or maybe a little more when you're done drinking for the weekend. That way it stays at your desired level of carbonation.

 

[BendBrewer]

That is an argument around here. Some turn it down to 'serving pressure' while others consider the physics of the system and conclude that lowering the psi will ultimately lead to the system balancing out and your beer will in turn lose carbonation. If you want you beer at 12 psi based on calculations, serve it at 12 psi.

 

[TipsyDragon]

i would turn the PSI down to what ever it needs to be to prevent you from getting a glass of foam. then when your done drinking turn it back up to your carbonation pressure. if you dont need to change the pressure then great leave it alone.

 

[BendBrewer]

If you are foaming at desired psi level than your gonna need a longer hose. Trust me. That's what she said.

 

[Bobby_M]

i would turn the PSI down to what ever it needs to be to prevent you from getting a glass of foam. then when your done drinking turn it back up to your carbonation pressure. if you dont need to change the pressure then great leave it alone.

If that's how kegging had to work, I'd just bottle everything. Leaving the thing alone for the full 5 gallons is one of the biggest conveniences.

 

[adamtroxel]

Jokes aside, how long should a hose be? I was going to order some today as well as a rip tray and faucet.

should I get a few different lengths?

 

[Homercidal]

Listen to Bobby. There is a right way to do things. I have tried the "serving pressure" method a few times until I got it all figured out and it sucks and uses more gas.

What you want to do is look up your beer style in a chart which shows the

Line Length
Line Diameter
Carbonation PSI
Kegerator Temperature
and Height of lines (still not sure what that has to do with anything...)

Anyway, basically you want to carb your beer to proper PSI and leave it there. Use the proper length of hose for that pressure and Temperature.

This will give you the proper carbonation and proper beer temperature with a minimum of foaming.

Having to set the keg pressure constantly is a PITA, IMO and although I have done it before to get me by until I had the proper length of hose and found my kegerator temperature, it's so much better now that I'm not charging and purging all the time.

And it's worth the effort to check the ENTIRE CO2 system, including regulator, and ALL connections for leaks. The only thing worse than having to mess with charging and discharging your CO2 is not being able to because the CO2 all leaked out overnight!

 

[adamtroxel]

anybody have a link to this chart? the only one I found was the psi temp chart.

and thanks for all the replies!

 

[Homercidal]

Jokes aside, how long should a hose be? I was going to order some today as well as a rip tray and faucet.

should I get a few different lengths?

Generally I use about 10' of hose. That is pretty close to what is recommended for the beer temp and pressure. Do a web search for a carbonation chart for a more precise measurement.

You don't have to be ultra precise about everything, but if you can get a good length of hose, a temperature pretty close, and hit the carb pressure, you will have MUCH better luck and enjoy kegging so much more.

 

[Homercidal]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f84/beer-line-length-pressure-calculator-35369/

 

[Double_D]

What you want to do is look up your beer style in a chart which shows the

Line Length
Line Diameter
Carbonation PSI
Kegerator Temperature
and Height of lines (still not sure what that has to do with anything...)

Does anyone have a link to a chart with this many variables on it? That would be a good one to have since mine only has Co2 volume @ temperature/psi

 

[Double_D]

oh man. i didn't go to the end of the thread...

 

[Mudflap]

I'm a new kegger and have learned a lot browsing these forums. Can't thank you guys enough! This site is the tits! But one question I can't seem to find an answer on: Do you always have to have the gas hooked up to keep your keg at your set pressure? My scenario is I only have one tap at the moment and one airline built up, but I have multiple kegs. I have an IPA on tap that has been on gas at 10psi for two weeks. I'm assuming that I've carbed properly and the beer is saturated with as much CO2 as it will hold at that pressure.
If I take the airline off of the IPA to start carbing a keg of stout for a couple of weeks, will the IPA's CO2 come out of solution? Or will it stay carbed as it was when I took the air off since there is no headspace and the kegged was pressurized to 10psi? Note: temps remain constant and the keg wasn't purged or anything...
Thanks for any help

 

[BendBrewer]

The Co2 won't come out of solution unless you release the pressure in the keg. Once it is balanced it's just like a big can of beer.

 

[Special Hops]

Start with bout 12 feet of beer-line. Then cut it back about a foot at a time until you get the serving pressure you want.

 

[motobrewer]

beer line spreadsheet does not work for me, especially with higher-psi beers

l = 1800*(d^5/Q^2)*(p-0.44h)

where:
l = hose length (ft)
d = hose ID (in)
Q = flow rate (gpm)
p = gauge pressure of barrel (psi)
h = height difference between middle of keg and faucet (ft)

So if you've got a keg that you'd like at 12psi, the faucet is 2ft above the middle of the keg, you're using 3/16" tubing, and you'd like a flow rate of 0.7gpm:

l = 1800*(0.1875^5/0.7²)*(12-0.44*2) = 9.5ft.

(If the faucet is above the keg, h is positive; if the keg is above the faucet, h is negative.)

 

[Homercidal]

I'm a new kegger and have learned a lot browsing these forums. Can't thank you guys enough! This site is the tits! But one question I can't seem to find an answer on: Do you always have to have the gas hooked up to keep your keg at your set pressure? My scenario is I only have one tap at the moment and one airline built up, but I have multiple kegs. I have an IPA on tap that has been on gas at 10psi for two weeks. I'm assuming that I've carbed properly and the beer is saturated with as much CO2 as it will hold at that pressure.
If I take the airline off of the IPA to start carbing a keg of stout for a couple of weeks, will the IPA's CO2 come out of solution? Or will it stay carbed as it was when I took the air off since there is no headspace and the kegged was pressurized to 10psi? Note: temps remain constant and the keg wasn't purged or anything...
Thanks for any help

You can take the gas off of a keg once it's reached the saturation point, but as soon as you reduce the pressure in the keg (By removing some of the beer) it will start coming out of solution and you will have to recharge it. Not only that, but since there is so little headspace, the amount of CO2 available to push the beer out goes very quickly when the keg is new.

Once you have the keg down a bit, it takes more pours to slow down the serving pressure.

So, yeah, you can do that, but your keg is new, you will probably have to top it up with new gas every few pours.

I STILL only have one gas line for two kegs.

 

[Mudflap]

Awesome! That's what I was hoping to hear. The 'big can of beer' analogy is perfect. Thanks guys!

 

[wildwest450]

There is no such thing as "serving" pressure. No such thing, unless you enjoy flat beer and foam. The correct method is to set the psi to match the beer temp and desired carbonation level, then LEAVE it until the keg is empty. How you carb it is up to you, if you go the high psi route you may have foaming issues until the keg balances out.


_

 

[adamtroxel]

i do the same thing. I do have one of these though.

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/bleeder-valve-assembly.html

piece of mind...

 

[CPooley4]

My kegging calculator/how to should be a good resource for those looking for a simple solution to a sometimes complex issue. Just plug in the desired numbers and follow the directions and voila you have perfectly carbed beer with a balanced system. You can download my brew chart below in my signature. It's free to use for everyone. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.

Good luck.

cp

 

[brentt03]

I'm not trying to hijack this thread but there is a lot of good info here. I kegged a porter on Saturday, segment fridge temp to 34 and based on beersmith calculations I set the pressure at ~8 psi.

I checked it today and the pressure on my co2 tank was at 0???? So I turned it back up (this time to 15) as the carb level just wasn't high enough.

Any ideas why this dropped off??? I had a full 5lb tank and it's halfway empty now.

Any tips, ideas?????

Thanks guys!!!!

 

[Yooper]

I'm not trying to hijack this thread but there is a lot of good info here. I kegged a porter on Saturday, segment fridge temp to 34 and based on beersmith calculations I set the pressure at ~8 psi.

I checked it today and the pressure on my co2 tank was at 0???? So I turned it back up (this time to 15) as the carb level just wasn't high enough.

Any ideas why this dropped off??? I had a full 5lb tank and it's halfway empty now.

Any tips, ideas?????

Thanks guys!!!!

The gauge that shows you how much co2 you have left is useless. Just put some masking tape over it so you don't look at it. It'll read that it's got "500 psi" in it from the time you put it in the fridge until it's almost completely empty and go to 0. So, if the tank is "halfway empty", that means you weighed it and know that. If that's the case, you have a leak. If you're going by the gauge, that's meaningless.

The psi gauge shouldn't go down, but sometimes that happens to mean when the beer aborbs the co2 and I have to adjust. Never from 0 to 15, though! Usually, I set mine at 12 and occasionally it'll be at 9 or 10 after I hook up a fresh keg. I assume you had the gas on, of course.

 

[brentt03]

It must be that my keg is leaking!? I posted up a thread with a pic. I'm assuming thus is the culprit. I set the pressure on 8 and two days later it was at 0, which makes me think it equalized and then it wasn't enough pressure to keep it up so it dropped off :/

 

[Yooper]

It must be that my keg is leaking!? I posted up a thread with a pic. I'm assuming thus is the culprit. I set the pressure on 8 and two days later it was at 0, which makes me think it equalized and then it wasn't enough pressure to keep it up so it dropped off :/

Yes, I saw your picture. Leaking will definitely use up a co2 tank FAST!

I always set up my keg, give it a big shot of co2 once it's closed and spray with a star-san solution. If it bubbles at all, I fix the leak and try again.

 

[Double_D]

Are you using cornelius kegs? Mine sometimes leak. But the reason for that is they are designed to operate at pressure significantly higher than we as brewers use(30psi). They're converted syrup kegs for soda so they needed that pressure to move such a viscous liquid. Just like Yooper, I hit it with a big shot of Co2 and wait to hear hissing. The good thing is gas isn't expensive..