What to do with multiple kegs?

[lotusworker]

Just started kegging and need some guidance. I have a 20lb tank, dual regulator and 4 way manifold. Obviously my first keg will be pressurized fine, but what do I do about my 2nd keg when it is ready. Ideally a double regulator or second tank would be ideal, but I don't have the dough to get those for a bit. Any suggestions?

 

[Topher79]

You can naturally carbonate in the keg until you get a dual body regulator. Just add the same amount of priming sugar you would for a 5 gallon batch and then purge the air from the keg; give it a few weeks and enjoy! Check CL or eBay for deals on a dual regulator body; I got my dual body taprite off ebay for around $25 shipped. Now I serve (3) and carb one in the kegerator; I've also got a spare tank and reg to carb a second keg so I can keep all taps flowing.

 

[billybryson54]

You said you have a 4 way manifold? Is it running off your Co2 tank? If it is, why can't you just pressurize off of one of the spots on the manifold?

 

[Topher79]

You said you have a 4 way manifold? Is it running off your Co2 tank? If it is, why can't you just pressurize off of one of the spots on the manifold?

Serving pressure is generally lower than carbonating pressure. The manifold applies equal pressure to all 4 outlets, so if you only serve @8 psi, then your beer would not carbonate to the proper volumes. The advantage to a dual body reg is that you can serve at one pressure and carb at another. You could also add another manifold to a dual body reg and carbonate/serve multiple kegs at the same time, or if you have the $$$ then you can add multiple secondary regulators coming off a primary and do whatever your heart desires!

 

[billybryson54]

Gotcha. I only asked cause I'm one of those guys that has his regulators set at 12 PSI and they rarely move. I do not boost-carb, and 12 is my preferred serving pressure. I guess I made the mistake of assuming the OP was doing the same.

 

[day_trippr]

Serving pressure is generally lower than carbonating pressure. [...]

No.

A properly tuned dispensing system maintains the ideal carbonation pressure...

Cheers!

 

[Rivenin]

i only have 1 regulator... i dont drink constantly so i just disconnect the gas from the other 2 kegs

 

[Topher79]

No.

A properly tuned dispensing system maintains the ideal carbonation pressure...

Cheers!

So....I carb at 12 psi for around 2 weeks, serve at 8, and have had no issues. What am I doing wrong? My beer is carbonated properly and has stayed that way for a year, keg after keg. I would call that "balanced". I have 8' of 3/16" beer line, and going to 10' for a few kegs did not make a difference. If you have any pointers let me know; I don't want to steer anyone in the wrong direction.

 

[day_trippr]

So....I carb at 12 psi for around 2 weeks, serve at 8, and have had no issues. What am I doing wrong? My beer is carbonated properly and has stayed that way for a year, keg after keg. I would call that "balanced". I have 8' of 3/16" beer line, and going to 10' for a few kegs did not make a difference. If you have any pointers let me know; I don't want to steer anyone in the wrong direction.

Read what you just wrote: you carbed at 12, but you serve at 8. How does the beer maintain the same carbonation level you achieved at 12 psi when the head space is ever increasing at 8 psi?

Answer: you don't. You've accepted the way your system works, but it by definition is not ideal...

Cheers!

 

[Topher79]

Read what you just wrote: you carbed at 12, but you serve at 8. How does the beer maintain the same carbonation level you achieved at 12 psi when the head space is ever increasing at 8 psi?

Answer: you don't. You've accepted the way your system works, but it by definition is not ideal...

Cheers!

Back to the drawing board, I guess. I'll search the forum for some help, and see what I can up with.

 

[day_trippr]

It's all a matter of balancing resistance versus CO2 pressure.
Not quite the level of a space shuttle launch

Unfortunately, 98% of the purported "beer line length calculators" get this problem practically wrong for home dispensing modalities, and I'd wager an equal proportion of "home kegging kits" are shipped with 5 feet of 3/16" beer line as a result. Hence a forum loaded to the gunnels with "Help! My Pours Are Too Foamy!" threads.

But there is one place that gets it right, and I highly recommend it when tuning a beer dispensing appliance. I used its predecessor spreadsheet when I built my first and second keezers with great success and I am a believer in the science behind the results...

Cheers!

 

[day_trippr]

Just started kegging and need some guidance. I have a 20lb tank, dual regulator and 4 way manifold. Obviously my first keg will be pressurized fine, but what do I do about my 2nd keg when it is ready. Ideally a double regulator or second tank would be ideal, but I don't have the dough to get those for a bit. Any suggestions?

Had to read that a couple/few times, but I think I get you: you have a single-body/dual-gauge regulator, hence you can only maintain a single gas pressure through your four-way manifold. If I'm wrong, the rest is eminently forgettable

Here's my suggestion: you're fine, you don't need to spend another dime. Pace yourself drinking the first keg while the next is chilling out and connected to your gas system. In two weeks that keg will be ready to serve, and the beginnings of a nascent pipeline will have begun. Set your brew schedule accordingly and you'll never have to rush a keg through carbonation and end up trying to save it from a foamy grave...

Cheers!

 

[619Brewer]

Here's my suggestion: you're fine, you don't need to spend another dime. Pace yourself drinking the first keg while the next is chilling out and connected to your gas system. In two weeks that keg will be ready to serve, and the beginnings of a nascent pipeline will have begun. Set your brew schedule accordingly and you'll never have to rush a keg through carbonation and end up trying to save it from a foamy grave...

Cheers!

This ^^. I have one 20lb CO2 tank and a four way manifold in my kegerator and I don't bother with a dual body regulator. I just hook up the keg to my manifold at my serving pressure (10psi) and wait an extra day or two and it's carbonated just fine.

I've found you can do it this way or you can force carb at 30ish psi for a day then release pressure and then hook it back up at 10-12psi and it'll be nicely carbed in a few days. This is all of course at serving temp.

 

[iaefebs]

I don't know what the OP has in mind from his post. If you are thinking that you want beers carbonated at different volumes because of different styles then you need multiple regulators. If you are carbonating all beers at the same volume you just need to attach your kegs and let the newer ones a couple weeks to reach carb level. If you want to force carb the new beer at 30psi for a day to speed the process you shut off the gas to the original keg, turn up the gas to 30 psi and attach to the new keg. After the 20 ours or so of force, shut off the gas, depressurize the new beer, lower the pressure of the CO2 tank to whatever you run serving pressure at and open the valves to all tanks.

 

[billybryson54]

This ^^. I have one 20lb CO2 tank and a four way manifold in my kegerator and I don't bother with a dual body regulator. I just hook up the keg to my manifold at my serving pressure (10psi) and wait an extra day or two and it's carbonated just fine.

I've found you can do it this way or you can force carb at 30ish psi for a day then release pressure and then hook it back up at 10-12psi and it'll be nicely carbed in a few days. This is all of course at serving temp.

That's the real kicker right there. Chilled makes all the difference. I used to carbonate at 30 psi for 36 hours or so, then drop it to 12. It was unbelievable how many times that I would say to myself "Ok, on Tuesday I back the regulator back down to 12" then by some kind of horrible luck, I have to work late, and I'm too tired to remember when I get home. lol. Lesson learned. I stick with 12 psi at 42 degrees, and like I said earlier, that VERY rarely changes. Takes longer, sure. But more consistent results for me, and standardizing my brewing is priority #1 for me personally.

 

[lotusworker]

I guess I am looking for a standard practice myself being new. I tend to want to do it right the first time (or close to it without any workarounds) and I am patient. I will just throw the next keg in there at serving pressure & temp and wait a few weeks before use.

Thanks all for your insights!

 

[TimmyWit]

Your setup is fine as long as you are ok with carbonating all your brews to the same level. If you find yourself brewing a wide variety of styles, some of them may require more or less Co2. For example, you may have an ordinary bitter set to 6 psi, a pale ale set to 12 psi and a weizen set to 24 psi. I like to brew a wide range of styles so I have a secondary regulator.
http://www.micromatic.com/draft-keg-beer/regulators-cid-616.html

To save myself from constantly changing beer lines for various pressures, I use Perlick flow control faucets. https://www.perlick.com/store/webcatalog2.php?catno=1&sectno=1&grpno=3
You can adjust them to simulate the resistance of a longer line.

Of course, this stuff is not mandatory to get the beer from the keg to your mouth, but it might be worth considering down the road.

Here's a handy carbonation calculator
http://www.brewersfriend.com/keg-carbonation-calculator/

 

[BigFloyd]

Back to the drawing board, I guess. I'll search the forum for some help, and see what I can up with.

Try 12ft lines and both carb/serve at 11-12psi. Works fine for me. Pours are great. Carb levels are about 2.4-2.5. I just leave my reg set on the one pressure and swap kegs out unless I have the rare pressing need to burst carb something. My temp is 38-39*F with 3 taps.

 

[Topher79]

Thanks for the help, BigFloyd. I'll go to 12' lines and see what happens. I know 5' is WAY too short, so steered clear from that; as I know it leads to the foamy pours daytrippr was referencing. I don't have an issue with foamy pours or carbonation....now I understand it isn't balanced. Sorry I misguided the OP!

 

[BigFloyd]

Thanks for the help, BigFloyd. I'll go to 12' lines and see what happens. I know 5' is WAY too short, so steered clear from that; as I know it leads to the foamy pours daytrippr was referencing. I don't have an issue with foamy pours or carbonation....now I understand it isn't balanced. Sorry I misguided the OP!

No worries fellow kegger. It takes a while for any of us to fully wrap our hands around what's needed to get a kegging system set up and balanced. Once you do, however, it's really nice.

 

[billybryson54]

Recently I scored a free 50lb Co2 cylinder (Score!) that I plumbed into a 4 way manifold, and then to the kegerator. Given my basement's temp, I found using the ever-useful carbonation chart that I need 22 psi out of my manifold to carbonate to my desired volume at room temp. The line runs from the manifold to a secondary regulator that I have inside the kegerator that is set to 12 psi. I'm doing a little experiment right now to see how long it takes to carbonate two kegs at room temp. Both are the cream of 3 crops recipe, one is carbonating naturally, and the other has a diffusion stone in the keg. Anyone ever used either of these methods? Curious as to what to expect...


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