Tap connected while carbonating

[benoj]

I’m currently waiting for a keg to carb up (on around 30psi) and am taking samples regularly.
I have a party tap that I’m planning on using until I can convince my wife to let me put a keggarator in..

At the moment I’m cleaning the tap after each sample and removing.

I’m just wondering if I can leave the tap on while force carbing and skip the cleaning step so much?

 

[h22lude]

No really difference between that and not cleaning a regular tap after each use (which I don't think anyone does). I do spray StarSan in any tap I use at the end of the night to help flush the opening of the tap a little. You could do that with your picnic tap too.

 

[bracconiere]

i would say if you're burst carbing at 30 psi, and pouring at that, probably going to have mixed results......

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

" I’m just wondering if I can leave the tap on while force carbing and skip the cleaning step so much? "

Unsure that is written. Is this a cobra tap with some length of serving tubing? Or, this this a tap directly attached to the keg? Each has their own requirements.

 

[Jayjay1976]

Yeah sure, no problem leaving a tap attached and pulling samples as it carbs. Foam in the glass is the only drawback. I like to force carb @50psi for 2-3 days, then dial it down to 5 psi for serving.

 

[bracconiere]

Yeah sure, no problem leaving a tap attached and pulling samples as it carbs. Foam in the glass is the only drawback. I like to force carb @50psi for 2-3 days, then dial it down to 5 psi for serving.

LOL! i don't know if that's joke or not.......

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

Geez... 50psi! Wow.

 

[bracconiere]

Geez... 50psi! Wow.

i really liked the 5psi serving pressure......just in case sounds, lopsided, balancing......

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

i really liked the 5psi serving pressure......

AKA pushing slowly (or maybe thinking this a cask serving?)

 

[bracconiere]

AKA pushing slowly (or maybe thinking this a cask serving?)

usually people push slowly with longer lines, so the keg doesn't lose carbonation......

 

[day_trippr]

I would definitely not leave a picnic tap connected to a keg with the pressure set to 30 psi as there've been too many tragedies resulting from even lower burst carbonation pressures. But that should only be a matter of a day, day and a half at most, assuming the beer was cold at the start...

Cheers!

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

Was just a joke as we really don't what what the OP was doing (or thought they were doing, or wanted to do, or hoped to do...)

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

I would definitely not leave a picnic tap connected to a keg with the pressure set to 30 psi as there've been too many tragedies resulting from even lower burst carbonation pressures. But that should only be a matter of a day, day and a half at most, assuming the beer was cold at the start...

Cheers!

Including mold. I know as a party a few years ago I bring up my kegs from the keezer, put them in a bucket with ice and connect 5 foot tubing (yes, clean and sanitized) with cobra taps on the end. End of night, we're tired and probably had a bit too much of my homebrew, to clean up (unhook the taps, clean the taps and put away the kegs. Next day. Mold in the lines.

Lesson learned.

 

[day_trippr]

I was referring to losing a keg of beer due to the picnic tap being overwhelmed by pressure.
If you look at their construction the valve travels in the same direction when open as what the beer pressure is trying to do - which is pretty much the opposite of "real" beer faucets, where the valve opens against the flow.

Given enough hydraulic pressure a picnic tap will simply leak. There are plenty of keezers full of beer stories on HBT...

Cheers!

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

Even keezer tubing, no matter the type of tubing, will leak between the keg and the tap. So, day-trippr's concern applies to any tubing. This has been my experience. This is why I don't connect the tap QD to the keg while the keg is carbonating in the keezer.

 

[bracconiere]

i keep my taps hooked up, while carbing at 8psi......

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

i keep my taps hooked up, while carbing at 8psi......

And what happens when the first glass is poured after a while? Is carbonated. but not as carbonated as subsequent pours.

 

[day_trippr]

i keep my taps hooked up, while carbing at 8psi......

While surprisingly low (do you keep your beer at 30°F?) 8 psi is well below the top of the commonly recommended pressure range for picnic taps (roughly 18 psi). Beyond that pressure they have a tendency to not seal at the end of a pour, and above that they can open on their own.

Again, it's not the "tubing", it's the crude valve present in picnic taps....

Cheers!

[edit/ps] For a historic example of the paradigm... Just FYI...Force Carbing w/ Picnic Taps on

 

[bracconiere]

While surprisingly low (do you keep your beer at 30°F?)

i don't like my beer all that carbed....gives me bloating...and no it's at 42f......

 

[day_trippr]

So a scant 2 volumes. But I can dig it. I mean, it's either cut back, or turn down the gas, right?

Cheers!

 

[benoj]

Wow lots of replies here haha
So the tap I have here is: Beer Storage and Dispense - New and Used KEGS and Fittings - Premium Party Tap & Line - The Malt Miller | The Malt Miller

So has a decent bit of tubing. My plan was to burst carb and then reduce to serving pressure before testing pouring.

For a historic example of the paradigm... Just FYI...Force Carbing w/ Picnic Taps on

Probably best to leave it off when it’s at 30 psi to be safe!

I guess my real question now is, if it’s full of beer and inside my keggerator fridge do I need to be worried about mold in the pipes?