Newbie to Kegging

[CorianderCortex]

Hi all. Completely new to kegging and had a couple quick questions.

1. How long does it take to carb a 5 gallon corny at roughly serving PSI? (10 ish psi).

2. Do most of you all force carb for awhile and then back off?

3. Do you need to continue to add CO2 after the desired carb is reached or can you basically disconnect the tank and move on?

Finally got rid of my leaks and excited to have my first pint on draft!

Thanks in advance.


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[Curtis2010]

1. Absorbtion rate of CO2 is a function of time, temp, and pressure. Without knowing temp you can't solve for time. There are formulas/tables/apps for this...a quick search should turn them up for you.

2. Safe to say most carb at initially higher pressures. Beyond that mostly divided into 2 camps: "set and forget" and "agitate". Shaking/rolling and otherwise causing more liquid surface area to be exposed to gas will speed up carbonation. I'm in the set and forget camp.

3. Serving levels of positive pressure are adequate to keep the gas in solution. But if you disconnect for storage you should maintain the pressure by reconnecting periodically.


Remember too that different styles of beer have diff carb levels.

 

[Rev2010]

1.Already answered above, but at general refrigeration temps in the 30's most say 10-14 days with two weeks being the safe answer for set and forget.

2.Merely depends on how quick you want or need to have the beer ready. If I needed it quicker I'd do the 30psi for 24 hours then purge the gas and reset to my desired psi and leave it a few more days.

3.Can't answer this one as I'm still new to kegging myself and haven't had a need to disconnect, I just leave the gas on. Once it's at pressure it's not going to keep sucking CO2.

Welcome to kegging! I'm over-joyed to have finally switched.


Rev.

 

[CorianderCortex]

Thanks for the replies fellas. That clears up a lot.


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[itsrolled]

I force carb. What I do is keg my beer from the carboy. Then hit it with 30psi and purge what oxygen is in there and make a good seal. I then put it in the fridge over night or intill it cools. after its cold I force buy turning it up to 30psi and rocking it back and forth. you will hear it gluging. then I leave it in the fridge on the gas at 30psi. Over night or till it has time to settle. Then I let all the air out or most of it and hook it up to serving psi.

I had a keg that was leaking in the popit and the only way to save my gas from leaking was to unhook it. I could pull beer off of it for awhile and every now and then. I would just hit it with some more gas because it seemed to taste flat after awhile.

 

[Yooper]

"Force carbing" means using c02 to carb the beer, instead of priming sugar.

Most folks who keg do force carb, but a few will naturally carb.

I think what some people are calling setting a high pressure to start carbing faster is BURST carbing, not force carbing, as when even the "set it and forget it method" is used, c02 is being forced into the beer to carbonate it.

So, I think in #2 you are actually asking if people might burst carb for a bit, and then back down to the correct pressure?

Yes, many people do that to help speed up the process. For me, if I'm in a hurry, I'll set the regulator at 30 psi for 36 hours, then purge and reset at 12 psi (my regular pressure for my system).

 

[Curtis2010]

"Force carbing" means using c02 to carb the beer, instead of priming sugar.

Most folks who keg do force carb, but a few will naturally carb.

I think what some people are calling setting a high pressure to start carbing faster is BURST carbing, not force carbing, as when even the "set it and forget it method" is used, c02 is being forced into the beer to carbonate it.

...

Yes, more accurate and generally accepted terminology I think.

OP: A nice side benefit of having a kegging system is that now you can "force carb" lots of other stuff too. I use it to make carbonated water/mineral water for example. Have made force carbed root beer and even "sparkling" mead.

 

[CorianderCortex]

Okay so new problem: no beer is coming out. I open the taps and nothing. It's definitely carbed at least partly. If I open the release on top it hisses but still no beer flowing.

Thoughts?

I released the pressure and checked for clogs in the line...nope. I'm at a loss.


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[brdb]

Okay so new problem: no beer is coming out. I open the taps and nothing. It's definitely carbed at least partly. If I open the release on top it hisses but still no beer flowing.

Thoughts?

I released the pressure and checked for clogs in the line...nope. I'm at a loss.


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Did you make sure your fittings are connected to the right posts and not switched (e.g. gas in fitting connected to gas in post and liquid out fitting connected to liquid out post)? Also, can you see beer in your beer line or is it empty?

 

[CorianderCortex]

The lines are correct. There is a small amount of beer in the line. When I pull the tap I get a tiny trickle and then it stops. Just a couple drops really. I even tried my second keg and it seems to be about the same.


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[Rev2010]

Might sound silly, but is your gas valve open at the regulator?


Rev.

 

[CorianderCortex]

Yea. I'm have them open and I mean it seems to have pressure. So I'm really flummoxed.


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[Jupapabear]

clogged poppit or dip tube might be the cause. Just pull your keg off of the gas, relieve the pressure and pop the lid off. With the lid off (assuring that you wont have gushing beer everywhere!) use some plyers to unscrew the Liquid post. You can check the poppit and dip tube for clogs.

It happens to me with some of my IPA's and other dry hopped beers. Even trub in the keg can cause this. Let us know what you find. Good Luck.

 

[Yooper]

Yea. I'm have them open and I mean it seems to have pressure. So I'm really flummoxed.


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It sounds like it could be either the quick disconnects (they are black), or a clogged diptube or poppits. The fix would be to depressurize, and take off the posts on the "out" side, and check those for debris and then pull out the long diptube on that side, and hold it up to the light. Eyeball through it, and see if it's occluded. I'm assuming the keg is assembled correctly, with the long diptube on the "out" side, and that the post has the poppit correctly seated, but it's good to double check that when you have a clog.

 

[Rev2010]

clogged poppit or dip tube might be the cause.

He noted he gets the same when hooking up his second keg, so maybe the disconnect? OP, did you try a different liquid out QD? No pinches or kinks in your lines?


Rev.

 

[CorianderCortex]

Yep. Tried another quick disconnect. Is there some step during the kegerator setup I might've missed?


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[fj605]

Not likely. Gas in should result in beer out.

Press down on the outlet poppet with a nail. If nothing comes out, check the poppet and/or dip tube. If you get a beer shower, it's probably the connection.

 

[CorianderCortex]

Beer shower achieved. So what part of the connect is the issue? The quick connect?


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[Rev2010]

So let's see: You've tried a different QD, it was on a different line as well? I ask just to eliminate a kink in your liquid line. If you've tried through two different lines then it's not a kink in your line or in the tower - I've read a post where one guy had the tubing kinked against the side inside the tower. You've verified gas is indeed flowing, you've tried two different kegs. I'm at a loss.


Rev.

 

[CorianderCortex]

Yea me too. Tried a different keg, different lines, checked the in and out sides, check for clogs in the poppet. Tubing doesn't seemed kinked...

No ideas left. Thanks for your help. Hope someone has some creative idea that I haven't tried.


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[day_trippr]

Beer shower is a good sign

I didn't note what type of kegs are being used here, but if they're ball locks, it might not be obvious that the disconnects are fully engaged with the posts. That's an advantage for pin locks as it's obvious when they're properly hooked up.

If these are indeed ball lock kegs the locking rings on the QDs should snap back down when the QD is fully engaged with the post.
So there's that.

The other possibility: if the Out poppets have particularly strong springs and the disconnects are on the weak side, it may be that the poppet springs are overwhelming the QD plunger springs and thus the poppets aren't actually opening.

This has happened to some HBT folks when an oem poppet was replaced with either the wrong poppet type or a "universal" poppet was used on a short post. For the former, the correct oem poppet much be obtained. For the latter, the "fix" often is to cut a loop from the universal poppet spring...

Cheers!

 

[CorianderCortex]

They are ball locks. Great tips. I'll check into those.

Thanks so much for your help.


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[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

CorianderCortex

3 things, you might have backed up into your regulator and needs to be cleaned, the way to get around this besides buying a check relieve valve is to disconnect the keg before changing pressure and purge the keg, another is your popit is clogged, best way to fix this is get a crescent wrench take it apart clean and soak the put back together.

another is your serving tube is clogged by a dry hopper bag or sludge or yeast

 

[Ilan34]

I'm voting for the QD not being fully engaged. Make sure it's pressed down all the way onto the post. You have to lift up that bottom lip on the QD while pushing down.

 

[CorianderCortex]

We have a winner! Strangely you are the first person to ever mention pulling up the lock skirt. Now the problem is that the skirt won't go down when the QD is pushed in far enough to tap the keg. Maybe the spring is too long as another poster suggested?

Finally enjoying my first glass of homebrew double IPA.


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[Rev2010]

So glad to hear the problem has been identified! I'm still curious though, you mentioned a few posts back that you tried a different QD. So both are having issues clamping down onto the posts?

Rev.

 

[day_trippr]

There's the moment when a first-timer successfully latches a QD on a ball lock keg that sticks with him/her forever.
The OP hasn't gotten there yet
I'm betting he's not using sufficient down-force on the QD while pulling up the locking ring to get past the poppet and plunger resistances...

Cheers!

 

[Rev2010]

I'm betting he's not using sufficient down-force on the QD while pulling up the locking ring to get past the poppet and plunger resistances...

I just watched a few Youtube vids before even ordering my kegerator to get acquainted. I saw how they popped them on and off by pulling up the lip, pushing down hard, and releasing. Youtube sure does come in handy to acquaint oneself with some things


Rev.

 

[Ilan34]

We have a winner! Strangely you are the first person to ever mention pulling up the lock skirt. Now the problem is that the skirt won't go down when the QD is pushed in far enough to tap the keg. Maybe the spring is too long as another poster suggested?

Finally enjoying my first glass of homebrew double IPA.


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Cool, glad to hear it! I mentioned it because I was also puzzled the first time I hooked up my keg, having never seen it done in person, or even on YouTube.

 

[CorianderCortex]

Rev - yea so far I haven't gotten it. Maybe it is force. I'm going to take another shot at it tonight and see if I can get it to finally cooperate.

I'm grateful for all the help from you all. And hopefully this'll solve the problem.

Cheers


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