Kegging -- Can't wait

[baron]

I am really pumped -- getting my keg equipment tomorrow from kegconnection.

Can't wait to keg my pumpkin ale this weekend after 10+ years of bottling.

I'll still bottle once in a while -- but the convenience of kegging is a nice option.

 

[Yeahman99]

I would suggest bottling 6 or 12 from each batch still. Nice to give some away, competitions, age. The one thing about having a keg is the convenience of having cold beer all the time and it will not be around as long as if it were in bottles. Kegging rules btw!

 

[TwoGunz]

I went to kegging this summer and have been loving it. It's helped me actually have a pipeline.

 

[Wolfhound180]

I'm excited too. I should be getting 4 cornys in the mail tomorrow that I got for $14 a piece on cornykeg.com.

 

[baron]

I'm excited too. I should be getting 4 cornys in the mail tomorrow that I got for $14 a piece on cornykeg.com.

Wow. That's s great price!

 

[SPR-GRN]

Congrats man I just picked up my second hand kegging system that i'll be supplimenting with extra cornies soon.. Ok, I'm going to thread Jack;
this is the process I'm going to follow, lmk if i'm wrong.
Sanitize my kegs with star-San
flush O2 out of keg
rack beer to keg
set my pressure to 12ish psi
wait for sir to stop flowing, turn off gas, open valve
close valve turn gas back on
leave pressure on the keg in the fridge for three weeks

now I just leave it at 12ish psi while I serve correct?

(12psi is based off the CO2 volumes pressure v temp chart.)

 

[shortyjacobs]

Congrats man I just picked up my second hand kegging system that i'll be supplimenting with extra cornies soon.. Ok, I'm going to thread Jack;
this is the process I'm going to follow, lmk if i'm wrong.
Sanitize my kegs with star-San
flush O2 out of keg
rack beer to keg
set my pressure to 12ish psi You may need closer to 30 PSI to seal the keg
wait for sir to stop flowing, turn off gas, open valve
close valve turn gas back on for this bit you can go back down to 12 PSI if you needed 30 PSI initially to seal the keg....also, I'd repeat these two steps 3x....one purge isn't really enough...if one purge gets rid of 90% of the O2, the second will get that up to 99%, and the third will be 99.9%
leave pressure on the keg in the fridge for three weeks Will probably be ready in 1.5-2 weeks, but of course longer doesn't hurt.

now I just leave it at 12ish psi while I serve correct?

(12psi is based off the CO2 volumes pressure v temp chart.)

My notes in red above.

 

[SPR-GRN]

Sweet thanks for the clarification, baron you can have your thread back now

 

[baron]

Sweet thanks for the clarification, baron you can have your thread back now

U saved me from creating a new thread-- because that was my next question. lol

 

[Skarekrough]

Welcome to the wonderful world of kegging.

I took the plunge a year ago and am glad I did. It was the single thing that got me into homebrewing full-on. I've learned a ton and made some amazing beer and had a blast!

I too grappled with the question of how much bottling I would want to do. This past Spring I came to the conclusion and unloaded all my bottling gear. I haven't regretted it. I have however made a bottling wand and will likely keep a few growlers on hand for family occasions.

But other than that...bottle free and loving it!

 

[baron]

Just received my Corny, co2 tank, regulator, etc. from kegconnection.

Going to try to get co2 filled tomorrow.

If so -- keg tomorrow or Sumday.

The corny keg us in excellent condition-- no dents, no stickers.

 

[day_trippr]

Before you put beer in that keg, give it a good cleaning inside and out, then sanitize it. And while you have some sanitizer still in the keg, seal it up, put just a little gas pressure on the In port (like 1 PSI) and carefully run some sanitizer from the Out port (just press the poppet in with something that won't scratch up the post).

Finally, with some sanitizer still remaining in the sealed keg, raise the gas pressure to ~15 psi, and check the posts, poppets, lid and relief valve for leaks. You can use a dish soap/water mix, or a standard Star San solution, with either a soft brush or a spray bottle, and look for bubbles. If the lid leaks, try raising the gas pressure to 30 psi for a few seconds to see if that seats the lid seal, before dropping the pressure back down to see if the seal holds.

It's best to expose any problems now, before you load the keg with beer.

fwiw, when I get a new-to-me keg, when I clean the keg inside and out I also take the posts off, pull the dip tubes, strip off all the original O-rings, take out the poppets, clean the tubes and posts using a dip tube brush, before reassembling the keg with new O-rings. Then I do the sanitizer and leak-test thing...

Cheers!