Opinions on going to kegging

[tag0304]

I have brewed and bottle for awhile now. Started 20 years ago with my dad and after a hiatus got back into it last year. Bottling has become a pain, and I look forward to jumping to kegging. I have a few options I am pursuing on building a keezer. Here is my dilemma. I have 3 batches ready to bottle. I am running short on bottles right now as I still have some other batches still in bottles. I could purchase some more bottles to do these 3 batches. Or I could bottle 1 batch and get some kegs. Since I do not have a keezer yet I would need to force carb at room temp. I know I could prime and naturally carb in kegs but think I want to avoid that and just force carb. I'm not in any hurry to drink this and should have my keezer done in a couple weeks. 3 tops.

I really don't want to purchase more bottles knowing I am going to go into kegging soon anyways. I'm thinking that I get 2 kegs, co2, regulator lines etc to get 2 going. If I read correctly putting these kegs that will be at around 65-68 degrees in basement at 25-30 psi should work? Just not sure on once I move to keezer if simply lowering to serving psi and all should be good? Will sitting at room temp at 30psi for a few weeks use up lots of Co2? Should a 5# tank be good for a 2 keg setup? Nice Danby mini fridge on craigslist near me others have used here is one of the options I am looking at. Good deal at $50. Eventually would like to go bigger in a chest freezer and give this one to my dad (he stopped brewing but with the kegging option that he didn't have 20 years ago is interested in starting again).

 

[TallDan]

If I read correctly putting these kegs that will be at around 65-68 degrees in basement at 25-30 psi should work?

Yes. This here is a good carbonation chart that will help out:
http://www.kegerators.com/carbonation-table.php

Just not sure on once I move to keezer if simply lowering to serving psi and all should be good?

Yes. Also, if not connected to co2, the pressure in the keg will lower as the kegs is cooled.

Will sitting at room temp at 30psi for a few weeks use up lots of Co2?

it will take the same amount of co2 to carbonate as it would at refrigerator temperature. The temperature at which you carbonate does not affect this.

Should a 5# tank be good for a 2 keg setup?

Perfectly fine. I used a 5# on 4 kegs for quite a while. One thing to consider though, is that i pay only slightly more to exchange a 20# tank than i do a 5#, so in the long run, a larger tank will save some money. It also saves trips to get tanks refilled.

Nice Danby mini fridge on craigslist near me others have used here is one of the options I am looking at. Good deal at $50. Eventually would like to go bigger in a chest freezer and give this one to my dad (he stopped brewing but with the kegging option that he didn't have 20 years ago is interested in starting again).

Sounds like a good start if it's in good shape and works fine.

 

[tag0304]

Thanks for the input. Yeah I know going bigger on co2 is a worth while investment. For now I think I will go 5# but if things go as planned I plan on giving my dad this setup to go bigger myself.

At my work (Collision shop) we get tanks delivered and exchanged for our welders. We all used to play paintball in woods behind the shop, about 15+ of us. We would just rent a 100# co2 tank to fill our own paintball tanks. Don't remember what we paid but it was pretty cheap added to the other tanks we got.

 

[tag0304]

One other question. So keeping it around 25-30 psi at those temps for a few weeks will be no issue? Is there any effect on long storage 1-3 months at room temp? Just curious should get more kegs down the road before I upgrade to a larger keezer.

Also. You mentioned pressure lowering as cooled. What would be best procedure of taking keg at 65 F degrees at 25-30psi then moving to fridge to serve. Disconnect gas and let it cool in fridge for day or so. Or turn gas down to serving temp keeping it connected and let it equalize? The kegging is new to me so want to be sure on how it works. Do I need to burp the keg when I put it in fridge to lower or will it naturally as it cools?

 

[TallDan]

One other question. So keeping it around 25-30 psi at those temps for a few weeks will be no issue? Is there any effect on long storage 1-3 months at room temp? Just curious should get more kegs down the road before I upgrade to a larger keezer.

Also. You mentioned pressure lowering as cooled. What would be best procedure of taking keg at 65 F degrees at 25-30psi then moving to fridge to serve. Disconnect gas and let it cool in fridge for day or so. Or turn gas down to serving temp keeping it connected and let it equalize? The kegging is new to me so want to be sure on how it works. Do I need to burp the keg when I put it in fridge to lower or will it naturally as it cools?

If it is carbonated and the keg is pressurized, it's just the same as being in a bottle for that time. It will age and mature, but as long as it's not infected and you purged the keg of air, it's just fine. I carbonated and kept a keg of RIS in my basement all spring/summer/fall last year and tapped it in the winter. I'll be kegging another one soon to do the same thing with. I also kept a blonde ale at basement temperature for 4-5 months more recently. Of course, most IPAs and other hoppy american styles are best fresh.

As far as moving from cellar to refrigerator temps, if it's fully carbonated and pressurized, that pressure change will happen naturally without being hooked up to co2 at all. I'll usually let the excess pressure out and leave it at the lower serving tempeature personally, but those few hours where the beer is cooling won't make much of a difference on a beer that is already carbonated.