Purging & Carbonating a Keg

[ObsidianChef]

Good Day,

I have recently decided to start kegging my beer,

I am however new to this process, and need some assistance,
I use A-type spear kegs (30 liter {7.9 Gallon}).

1. After I have purged the keg, filled it with beer, and sealed it, what pressure must I pressurize it to for storage.

2. does one need to add dextrose for carbonation (Like in bottling)

3. How long must a keg stand before consumption, (e.g. bottles stand for 1-2 months)

4. How long does a CO2 tank last, I have a 2kg (4.4 Ib) and a 5kg (11 Ib)

Thank you very much

 

[Peyope]

1. I set my beer at the pressure I want to drink at (at the temp I want to drink). Typically 10 psi for stouts, 12-14 for ipa. If you are not carbonating cold you'll need to increase the psi.

2. No dextrose needed. Some people do keg condition with sugar though.

3. One to two weeks at the pressure and temp you want to drink. You can force carbonate quicker, I'm too lazy for that.

4. The 4.4lb should last 5-10 kegs.

 

[j1n]

Well, to carbonate you need to know the beer temp and the volume of co2 you want in the beer and that will determine the psi you need to hit the keg with. Force carbing is easier and faster than priming with sugar.

I would suggest carbing the beer first then put it away for storage. The keg can be consumed as soon as the beer is carbed up.

 

[ObsidianChef]

Thank you very much,

well lets see how it goes, kegging the 1st one tomorrow night.

 

[ObsidianChef]

after is has stood for 1-2 weeks, do i set my regulator to the psi i want the beer to be or do you use a different psi for dispensing?

 

[Roadie]

I think most people use the set/forget method. Hook the keg up at serving pressure and let it sit in your keezer/kegerator for 1-2 weeks. By that time the keg should be carbed up.

 

[hezagenius]

Make sure to purge the O2 after you've filled it. You can even put some CO2 in before you fill it if you so desire to help reduce oxidation during racking.

Either way, after you fill the keg, close the lid and hit it with CO2 until you don't hear the gas hissing through the gas line. Disconnect the CO2 and pull the pressure relief valve to let the air and excess CO2 out. Repeat that a few more times. That should get rid of most of the air in the keg.

Also, I recommend using keg lube on any seals/gaskets/o-rings to get a better seal.

 

[ObsidianChef]

What is the set/forget method? My kegerator only takes 2kegs, what about the others I want to store and use later on in my jockey box?

 

[Joseph503]

The set it and forget it method is when you put the keg into the kegerator/keezer at serving pressure and let it sit for 1-2 weeks while it carbs.

What I do personally is I keg the beer and purge it, then set it up at ~35psi for 24 hours, after this time has passed I purge the keg of the pressure and set it back down to serving pressure. This will normally get me somewhat close to my desired carbonation level. Over the next couple of days it will stabilize.

Edit: If you have more kegs than you do kegerator space, then you can fill the keg, purge the co2, and use priming sugar to let it carb naturally.

 

[ObsidianChef]

If I prime it, or store the kegs for later use, what pressure do i dispense it at.

 

[ObsidianChef]

Forgive my ignorance, I have read that when carbonating a keg. The co2 has to be pumped in through the outlet valve. I am very confused. Please can some one explain to me what the process is starting from preparing a keg after it has been sterilised. Thank you all for your assistance.

 

[Joseph503]

If I prime it, or store the kegs for later use, what pressure do i dispense it at.

That depends on what style the beer is, or personal preference for carbonation levels. Take a look at http://www.kegerators.com/carbonation-table.php for carb levels by temp.

Forgive my ignorance, I have read that when carbonating a keg. The co2 has to be pumped in through the outlet valve. I am very confused. Please can some one explain to me what the process is starting from preparing a keg after it has been sterilised. Thank you all for your assistance.

You don't have to carbonate through the dip tube. The idea on this is that if you carbonate through the keg outlet, then the co2 will be forced to travel through the beer and it will somehow cause it to carbonate better/quicker. However, if you just attached the keg as you would normally (to dispense) then the pressure in the keg will force the co2 to bond with the beer, carbonating it in the process.

I'm still fairly new as well hovering around 9 batches. But this is the process I take to keg from the fermenter:
(optional) Move beer from fermenting location to kegerator and cold crash. This is to help drop everything out of suspension and get a clearer beer.
1. Siphon beer from fermentor into cleaned and sanitized keg being careful not to splash and being vigilant of sanitization as always.
2. Seal keg and purge oxygen by hooking keg to co2 line at 6-10psi and bleeding the co2/oxygen out. (I usually do this 2-3 times to be safe)
3. Carbonate however desired:
3.1. Force carb by pressurizing to 35-40psi and letting it sit 24-36 hours and then setting to serving pressure.
3.2. Slow carb by pressurizing to serving pressure and letting it sit. Usually takes 1-2weeks.
3.3. Slow carb (or natural carb?) with enough priming sugar to reach desired carbonation level. Nearly the same time as bottling. (priming sugar would be added prior to purging)
4. Drink homebrew.

Also, if you're still confused I suggest going to youtube and search for kegging videos. There're a few out there, some of which helped when I was confused as well. Sometimes it just helps to see it visually.

Edit: There are other methods of carbonating as well (especially force carbing), but I just listed some of the most common.

 

[acidrain]

Your serving pressure is the same as your carbonation pressure.
Carbonation pressure is determined by looking at the chart and finding the temperature and co2 volumes you want to carb to.

The idea is to serve at the same pressure you carbed at so that the co2 does not come out of solution or become over carbonated. Both conditions cause foaming.

The pour rate is determined by the length of beer hose used between the keg and faucet. Most serve at 10-12 psi, which requires about 10 ft. of 3/16 id beer line.
If the line is too short, or too big an inside diameter, the beer will pour too fast and cause foaming.

 

[ObsidianChef]

Do I use the temperature of my beer in the fermenter or the temperature of the fridge?

 

[j1n]

Do I use the temperature of my beer in the fermenter or the temperature of the fridge?

The beer temp.

Use this calculator to figure out how much psi you need to hit the keg with.

http://www.brewersfriend.com/keg-carbonation-calculator/

 

[ObsidianChef]

Thank you all very much. lets see how it all turns out.

 

[zachattack]

The beer temp.

Use this calculator to figure out how much psi you need to hit the keg with.

http://www.brewersfriend.com/keg-carbonation-calculator/

Just to clarify, he means the temperature of the beer in the fridge. Priming calculators need the fermentation temperature because they calculate residual CO2, but in this case that's irrelevant.