Kegs and CO2

[Merz69]

Would a 10 lb co2 tank be better than 2 5 lb tanks ?

How do you store full corny kegs that are not tapped yet ?

 

[bracconiere]

Would a 10 lb co2 tank be better than 2 5 lb tanks ?

How do you store full corny kegs that are not tapped yet ?

swaps would be about the same price. but you'd only be swapping one.


i store my untapped kegs under pressure to carbonate.

(just my two cents, as a guy that's probably more excited about your first pour then you! ...my first extract batch didn't work out either..)

 

[Noob_Brewer]

Would a 10 lb co2 tank be better than 2 5 lb tanks ?

How do you store full corny kegs that are not tapped yet ?

You need to think of all the ways you will be using your CO2 in the future, not just now IMO. I use a 5lb tank for my 6 tap keezer and it lasts quite a while and I force carb with it as well. I haven't really kept track but Im thinking ~15 +/- 2 kegs dispensed + force carbing each. I keep my 5lb tank in the keezer and that's all it does: keeps 6 kegs at dispensing psi and force carbs fresh kegs as needed. I also originally had a second 5lb tank to use for my fermentation systems which is useful when dry hopping, purging kegs of star san, etc. You can see a pic of it in my fermentation system build in my signature. I've since switched my fermentation CO2 tank to a 20lb one and have swapped it once. Since I later bought this 20lb CO2 tank, I now keep my second 5lb tank on the side and full for when my keezer runs empty and I just swap it out. Then at my leisure, I go to my gas store and swap it. FWIW, CO2 is pretty cheap. You initially pay a little more for the extra tank itself but then you just swap them for another tank full of CO2. So, if I were you, Id pay a little more for 2 5lb tanks (like I did originally). as you will have a lot more utility for the other tanks use as you go down your home brewing rabbit hole lol. The keezer 5lb tank really lasts longer than most expect as long as you don't have a leak lol.

 

[palmtrees]

When you ask about untapped kegs, what scenario are you imagining? Are you worried about not having space in a keezer/kegerator for all your kegs, or do you just want to know what to do with them while they're in the keezer/kegerator but before you're ready to drink? The carbonation will be a lot different at room temp than cool. I'd recommend always keeping full kegs cool, unless you're naturally carbonating them. You can't really store beer long-term in a keg without carbonating it, because you need to keep some pressure on it in order to ensure oxygen doesn't get in. Most kegs can't reliably keep a seal without some pressure. And of course when you pressurize it, the beer is going to absorb the co2 and become carbonated. (If you're leaving the keg hooked up to your gas supply, then it will continue to pull in co2 until the beer is carbonated at the level of the set pressure. So you'd want to leave it at serving pressure of 12-15 psi for long-term storage. If you're not leaving them hooked up to your gas supply, you will need to re-pressurize the keg every 12-24 hours until the beer is carbonated, then it will keep the set pressure until you tap it.) You will get better and more easy-to-predict carbonation when your beer is cool, rather than room temp.

Bottom line, you can leave a keg sitting untapped for basically as long as you want if it's hooked up to your gas line and pressurized. If it's not hooked up to your gas line, it's a little more high maintenance until the beer and the headspace reach equilibrium and it can keep pressure. Either way, I'd plan to keep the keg cold.

 

[Merz69]

We’ll I have a big July 4 party every year. I envision myself with a 2 tap keezer by that time, but I’d like to have an extra 2-3 kegs ready to go when one empty’s. The kegs will not be ready at the same time hope by then to have a couple fermenters going at the same time

 

[bracconiere]

We’ll I have a big July 4 party every year. I envision myself with a 2 tap keezer by that time, but I’d like to have an extra 2-3 kegs ready to go when one empty’s. The kegs will not be ready at the same time hope by then to have a couple fermenters going at the same time

commercial beer doesn't go bad in a can/bottle....but it takes about a day for a keg to get cold enough to serve.....

 

[PCABrewing]

The keezer 5lb tank really lasts longer than most expect as long as you don't have a leak lol.

That's a good reason to have 2x5 lb.
I have had a leak once that pretty much emptied a tank. If all I had was a single I would have been drinking beer with a straw
As it was I swapped the new tank in, found the leak and I was back in business. I always keep a spare on-hand.
Of course you could do that with 2x10 lb as well.....

 

[Merz69]

Yeah. We went through a dozen cases and a couple handles this year. I will be able to keep 4-5 kegs in the keezer - just gonna have 2 tapped at a time. If I carbonate in the keg and keep it in the keezer untapped - how long would it last ?? Which beer style would hold better for a month or 2 ?

 

[PCABrewing]

Would a 10 lb co2 tank be better than 2 5 lb tanks ?

How do you store full corny kegs that are not tapped yet ?

I naturally carbonate and leave the kegs in the basement at ~60 degrees until I serve them.
Sometimes a month or so. I don't notice any ill effect. I have even taken a keg out of the fridge that was only half empty because I got tired of it. Tapped another until finished then put the first one back in. Of course it was already carbonated and I made sure it maintained pressure during that time. It was also a big beer at 10.6%. If anything I think the time at 60 degrees did it some good.

 

[MikeCo]

Would a 10 lb co2 tank be better than 2 5 lb tanks ?

It depends on what better means to you. A 10 or 20 lb tank will be cheaper per pound of CO2 than a 5 and will be more convenient with respect to replacement frequency. They will take up more space if kept in a keezer.

I have a 20 lb tank for my main kegerator supply and a 5 lb tank I use as a back-up and utility tank for purging kegs, transfers and such. I only have a two-keg kegerator, and the 20 lb tanks last me almost two years, so my overall cost for CO2 is not very high, but I appreciate not running out often. The advantages of a smaller tank are compact size if you need it to be in your kegerator/keezer and portability if you need to take kegs somewhere else for serving.

 

[odie]

The biggest CO2 tank you can fit is what you want. Per unit CO2 costs practically nothing. A 20# tank costs practically the same as a 2.5# tank. It's the labor of inspecting, swapping, filling, writing up the sale, etc that cos the gas supplier t at the homebrew scale of things.

A 20# CO2 is the same size as a keg if you are fitting a kegerator.

Storing full kegs? Ideally cold and already carbed to your desired CO2 volume. But as long as it's too warm and has some pressure, it should be fine.

 

[deuc224]

I have a 20 lb tank and 2 5lb tanks, the small tank stays in the chest freezer keeping the beer carbed and ready. The 20 lb tank is next to the kegerator feeding my 3 taps. Its been feeding it fo a year already lol.