Set and Forget Carbonating Corny Keg and PSI loss

[bkatz]

I have two corny kegs of a blonde ale hooked up to a kegerator with a single CO2 regulator split to two gas lines . One I force carbonated by carbonating at 30 PSI for two days and then turning it down to 10PSI and letting sit for another 2 days before drinking. At that point I hooked up the second keg, so that they're both being pressurized continuously at 10 PSI and I could use the "set it and forget it" method to carbonate the second keg, while I drink from the first. I leave the regulator on at all times. I have two questions:

1. Should I leave the second gas line flowing at 10 PSI to the keg that I'm not currently drinking from after the 6-10 day set it and forget it period ends (it may be a month or so before the first keg is tapped and I move on to that one) or will it become over carbonated? If I take the gas line off should I blast in a layer of CO2 before I do so??

2. Since hooking up the second gas line, I've walked up to the regulator a few times in the past week to find that the PSI has dropped to 0. No idea why. I turn it back up to around 10, I can hear it start to flow and it seems to hold there for a few days but I'm wondering what may have caused this.

 

[geoffm33]

As an answer to question 1, yes. If 10PSI at the current kegerator temperature will give you the carbonation level you want then yes you leave it on. Once it gets to the carb level based on 10PSI and your temp, it will stop there since the co2 in solution will reach equilibrium with the co2 in the headspace.

EDIT: Just to add, if you want to remove it for space considerations or some other reason yes you can after about two weeks. It will remain carbed barring any leaks. You won't need to leave a "co2 layer" since it should already be present. But just be sure you are purging the headspace when you initially put it on gas.

 

[Gnomebrewer]

1. Leave gas at 10psi to both kegs or disconnect the second once it's carbonated. No problem either way. Probably better to disconnect it - that way if there's a leak, it doesn't lose it's carbonation. It takes about 2 weeks to carbonate at 'set and forget' pressure though (not 6 to 10 days). If it stays connected, it won't become over carbonated. There's no reason to blast in CO2 when you disconnect.

2. That's odd. It could be that your CO2 cylinder is nearly empty? They struggle to deliver the goods when they're nearly done. Or maybe a faulty regulator (has it had beer accidentally run in to it?). Check for leaks, but if that was the problem you should have an empty cylinder by now!

 

[Jako]

1. Leave gas at 10psi to both kegs or disconnect the second once it's carbonated. No problem either way. Probably better to disconnect it - that way if there's a leak, it doesn't lose it's carbonation. It takes about 2 weeks to carbonate at 'set and forget' pressure though (not 6 to 10 days). If it stays connected, it won't become over carbonated. There's no reason to blast in CO2 when you disconnect.

2. That's odd. It could be that your CO2 cylinder is nearly empty? They struggle to deliver the goods when they're nearly done. Or maybe a faulty regulator (has it had beer accidentally run in to it?). Check for leaks, but if that was the problem you should have an empty cylinder by now!

second point is spot on i just added a new keg and my tank was almost empty it didn't carb much at all after 4 days on tap. just had my tank filled wooooo.

for me i will hit a keg with 30psi down the dip tube. shake it up untill the co2 slows then the next day or 2 second morning purge the keg and set to 10 psi. not a huge fan of set and forget. as the tank chills and co2 goes into solution my regulator will drop in pressure setting so i have to bring it back up to 10 psi.