Ok another annoying newbie with questions

[oldstyle244]

So I brewed for a few years and then quit because I got tired of the bottles, went to a friend of a friends the other day and he had the freezer/keg set up, so I am back in business.

I bought the pin lock set up; freezer should be here this weekend; and an Amber Ale is in the fermenter.

I have been reading up on how to keg and the opinions are, well you guys know. So here is my plan and questions, please let me know what you think.

1) I believe I have room in the freezer for 3 kegs and one carboy as long as I put the CO2 over the hump, can the CO2 bottle lean or be sideways or does it have to be straight up?
2) So when ale is ready drop in freezer for 24 hours
3) When I force carb on a pin lock system how to I release the O2 that is in there?
4) Force carb at 30 PSI for 48 hours and then release the gas and bring down to 4 PSI, have a glass and see how it tastes, if needed force carb again at 12 hour intervals until good tasting beer.

Does that sound like a decent plan until I get familiar with the process

 

[mmb]

Gas bottle should be upright. It can't lay on its side.

You don't have to cold crash if you're happy with clarity. Or, use finings.

If you don't fill over the level of the gas dip tube, you can apply gas to the sealed keg then remove the gas connector and depress the poppet to purge the o2.

I force carb at 20psi for a day and then set at 12psi for the rest of the time on tap. What you set the keg to is a factor of temp, hose length, and volumes needed in the beer for style.

 

[Hello]

I echo force carbing at 20 PSI for a day then back down to 12 psi. Serve at whatever the line/style/temp suggests.

Also, you can keep the gas tank outside if you want but you're likely to build some kind of collar, right? Just make it tall enough to allow for the tank plus regulator to fit.

Congrats on getting back to brewing.

 

[oldstyle244]

Thanks for the replys. I wasn't going to do a collar, I think the freezer is tall enough for clearance so I was going to start with party taps and maybe eventually do a tower on the top, but if the gas is now a concern if I have to keep it upright, shouldn't be an issue if I only want three kegs in there, but if I wanted to add another keg or carboy I would have a problem I think, will have to check when it arrives.

So hit it with 20 PSI for how long and then remove the gas line and release the o2, how long do I do that (how do I know I got it all out) then back on 20 for 24 hours, back off to 12 PSI for another 24 hours, then to whatever it should be.

Thanks again!

 

[mmb]

So hit it with 20 PSI for how long and then remove the gas line and release the o2, how long do I do that (how do I know I got it all out) then back on 20 for 24 hours, back off to 12 PSI for another 24 hours, then to whatever it should be.

Thanks again!

Hit it with 20psi to set the lid, then take the gas off, depress the poppet to remove o2, then reset the lid and let it cruise for a day at 20psi. Or, you can use 20-30psi after clearing the o2, shake it for 10 minutes, and then set it down to serving pressure.

It's a guess if you've got all the o2 out, but co2 is heavier than o2 and it will blanket the beer. Maybe do the o2 purge twice, but I'm fairly comfortable with a couple second burst of 20psi co2 and then totally purging the keg from the pressure release on my ball lock kegs. Since you've pin lock kegs, you need to ensure that your liquid level is not over the gas dip tube as you'll be voiding the keg from the gas poppet. Liquid level that is over the end of the gas diptube will end up giving you a beer facial.

 

[oldstyle244]

Cool thanks I am ready to give this a shot, now just waiting for the beer to get ready

 

[oldstyle244]

Maybe beginners luck...... I put it in the keezer for 24 hours, then I hit it with 20 PSI, released it to let some 02 out, set it on 20 for 24 hours, then released it and hit it for 12 for 24 hours, came home tonight and poured some and it has a little head but settles down nicely, I released and set it on about 7, second beer poured a little less head, but again its not a foamy mess, it settles down nicely pretty happy with my first go at this

 

[mmb]

You'll dial it in based on your preferences of temp, hose length, and preferred carb levels. It's nice when something works the first time.