Trouble Force Carbing

[ciphin78]

Setup:

2 kegs
1 10lb CO2 tank
1 gas line hooked to a manifold with two lines - one to each keg

Keg 1 = Kolsch
Keg 2 = Dry Stout

I'm newish to kegging but these two beers represent the 2nd time i've kegged and force carb'ed. First time went great, no problems.

This time I kegged both beers, purged the O2, put the gas on both at about 11-12psi and just forgot about it for 7 days. Went to sample both...almost no carbonation in either. I checked my lines and connections and can't find a leak, also my CO2 tank still has plenty of gas so it's not leaking (that I can tell). What gives? The first time I did this it only took like 3-4 days and I had a good amount of carbonation.

So, I did the "lay the keg on it's side, crank up the gas and shake" thing. Seemed to work well. Checked the next day and there appears to be no additional loss of co2 in the kegs...

 

[Bobby_M]

What temperature are you holding the kegs at?

 

[ciphin78]

I've got a keezer. The dial is set to 36'ish (since it's a dial its hard to tell exactly) The temp probe is hanging in the open (not touching anything) about 5 inches off the bottom of the freezer.

 

[Bobby_M]

I've never experienced the set and forget method producing full carbonation in 3-4 days. Even between week 2 and 3 you can tell it's still carbonating a bit more. Most people find it to be carbonated, at least perceive it so, at about the 12-15 day mark.

A lot of people find it easy to leave it set to 30psi overnight, then purge back down to the chart pressures for the rest of the ride. It shaves a few days and prevents from overcarbing.

 

[ciphin78]

Interesting, I guess everything is fine then. Maybe my first time took longer than I remember. Clearly the problem lies between the keyboard and chair at this point.

 

[TopherM]

ciphin,

I use the carbonation table and it has never been wrong. I like a bit of extra carb, so I always read the chart then bump it up to the high end of the shaded range. Using the chart, I find that you get a servable amount of carb after 7 days, but it does continue getting more dissolved into the beer for 5-6 days after the 7 day mark and peaks at about 2 weeks. Good luck!

http://www.kegerators.com/carbonation-table.php

 

[ciphin78]

Thanks, I'll print that out!

 

[osagedr]

Interesting, I guess everything is fine then. Maybe my first time took longer than I remember. Clearly the problem lies between the keyboard and chair at this point.

 

[badmajon]

Simple method: hook up keg, set to 30 psi, wait three days, drink beer

 

[badhabit]

Simple method: hook up keg, set to 30 psi, wait three days, drink beer

I use a very similar method, set to 30 lbs and disconnect C02 until the next day then do it again, do the same for 4 days straight....and I've never had a problem. If I want more carbination after the 4 days I just do another day, if there is more carbination than I want, I bleed off the pressure for a day or two until I am where I want to be.