Spunding Valve Questions

[brew703]

Trying to determine if a spunding valve would work for my needs. I currently have a two tap keezer. At some point down the line I will add a 3rd.
There are times when I brew where my two taps are full. I would like to be able to carbonate my 3rd keg naturally (no plans to ferment in a keg).

First, is it desirable to naturally carbonate after FQ has been reached?

Can this be done at room temp with no affect on the end result?

To naturally carbonate, I would add sugar at the end of fermentation (once transferred to keg) and set the spunding valve to the appropriate PSI? Seems like there was a chart that shows how much sugar to add to achieve a desired PSI. Can't seem to find that.

By adding sugar at the end of fermentation, would this not change the FG/final product?

If anyone who has done this, is it worth the extra time, satisfied with the result or is it best to just add the 3rd tap?

 

[Gnomebrewer]

First, is it desirable to naturally carbonate after FG has been reached?

Yes. Or transfer to keg before FG is reached and begin spunding.

Can this be done at room temp with no affect on the end result?

Generally yes. Or at least minimal effect.

To naturally carbonate, I would add sugar at the end of fermentation (once transferred to keg) and set the spunding valve to the appropriate PSI? Seems like there was a chart that shows how much sugar to add to achieve a desired PSI. Can't seem to find that.

You don't need a spunding valve if you add sugar to the keg after fermentation is complete. I find about 2/3 of the sugar that you'd use for the same amount of bottled beer is good for priming. It's not critical though - if it's a bit over, you can vent the keg. If it's a bit under, give it a burst of higher pressure CO2. The alternative method is to transfer to keg with about 4 to 10 points of gravity remaining and attach the spunding valve - no need for sugar that way.

By adding sugar at the end of fermentation, would this not change the FG/final product?

Yes. But not by much.

If anyone who has done this, is it worth the extra time, satisfied with the result or is it best to just add the 3rd tap?

It doesn't take much extra time. I prefer naturally carbonated beer, but it might just be in my head!

 

[friarsmith]

I've been doing this for the past few years with great results on both ales and lagers. I do not usually use a spunding valve.

1. Save a quart of wort from the kettle in a sanitized mason jar in the fridge during primary fermentation, or mix up 4-5 oz DME in 6-8oz water and boil it a few mins & cool on kegging day.
2. When beer hits FG (within a day or two), add solution from #1 to keg, purge keg, rack beer to keg, then let keg sit in a room/area for 5-7 days that is a few degrees warmer than where you did primary. The final product (after priming sugar works) will usually be the same FG as when it was racked from PF. If the beer seems to be running really clear from the fermenter to keg, it doesn't hurt to rouse a little yeast by swirling your fermenter a few seconds. This step essentially doubles as a diacetyl rest.
3. Chill for a few days, then enjoy the nice tight head, great mouthfeel, CO2 savings, and extended shelf life.

IMO, you only need a spunding valve if you are kegging beer a few points north of FG and using the final steps of fermentation to develop CO2. Beer produces about 1 volume CO2 for every 2 points drop (ie 1.014 to 1.012 would produce about one volume CO2). I found this method to be a little finicky, especially if the beer dries out more than expected, so I just started waiting until FG. Forced Fermentation Tests during brew day can predict FG but it adds an additional step.

 

[homebrewfinds]

The great thing about Spunding Valve is that you can cap off fermentation towards the end to carbonate without adding additional priming sugar. Or, you could add priming sugar if you wanted. Check out my Spunding Valve build post for a breakdown on uses and how to put one of these together. The BlowTie is also worth a hard look. My post on balancing your draft system has a carbonation chart. Just pick your desired carbonation level and the temperature the keg will be stored at and set your Spunding Valve to the corresponding pressure.

 

[Carolina_Matt]

The great thing about Spunding Valve is that you can cap off fermentation towards the end to carbonate without adding additional priming sugar. Or, you could add priming sugar if you wanted. Check out my Spunding Valve build post for a breakdown on uses and how to put one of these together. The BlowTie is also worth a hard look. My post on balancing your draft system has a carbonation chart. Just pick your desired carbonation level and the temperature the keg will be stored at and set your Spunding Valve to the corresponding pressure.

For the ready-made spunding valve that you link to on ebay (sold by Lion Brewing), can I safely assume that it's easy to rotate the gauge so that it's laying sideways instead of sticking straight up? I would be fermenting in a chest freezer and there's probably not enough height for the gauge to stick straight up.

 

[Gnomebrewer]

I use BlowTie valves (which I find are excellent). They attach to a QD via tubing, so can definitely hang down the side of the keg.

 

[brew703]

Thanks for the replies.
I've never did any transfers before FG was reached. Guess I could look into that to naturally carbonate instead of adding priming sugar.
I also have a spare keg I could use to ferment in. Only problem with this is the amount I can ferment. I usually ferment 5.75 gal in my brew bucket so if i were to use a keg i would probably have to go with 4.75 gal or something like that. Not sure I would want to go that route. Transferring before FG is reached probably will be the best option.
When you transfer to keg prior to FG, do you transfer as you would normally do (i do closed transfers) or just dump from fermenter to keg?
I like the look of the Blowtie spunding valve. May order that from Ebay and give it a try.

 

[brew703]

Dry Hopping. Lets say it takes 3 days for a beer to get to 90% of FG. If I plan on transferring to a keg on day 3, how would one go about dry hopping? When I brew NEIPA's i usually DH on the day after fermentation kicks off. I would prefer not to DH in the keg. With that said, would it be best to just wait until FG is reached then transfer to keg and add primimg sugar?