force carbing

When i force carb fo i need yo leave the co2 connected the whole 5 days or just set the pressure snd then disconnect or does it matter?

You need to leave the gas connected and on. I take the precaution of not connecting my out line until after it’s carbed up and ready. I’ve know folks who’ve come home from work to find a pool of beer because of a problem with the tap though this could conceivably happen at any time (just like a washing machine hose that burts).
RDWHAHB!

There are many ways to force-carb, some faster (over-pressurize and shake) and some slower (set and forget). I usually attach the gas at 30psi at room temp and start chilling, leave it for 2-3 days, then release the pressure and set for 15 psi, start drinking after another day or two at 39F.

Well i only have 1 regulator and like to keep it hooked to my ready to drink or is it better to just switch over to the kegs that are ready when its time then switch back

Remember to pressure check every keg every time after it is cleaned, then you won’t have to worry about leaving the gas hooked up. I’ve had several issues with a leaky beverage poppet leaking beer into the fridge or a bad pressure relief valve killing my tank. I use the gas leak detector stuff similar to what NB sells, just pressurize, swab it on, wait 10 min, and look for bubbles.

I have pressure checked and passed. So i can set and forget then? I dont have to leave it connected?

“Set and forget” means to attach the CO2 to the keg, set the pressure that you need to achieve the level of carbonation that you want, and then forget about it for 7-10 days while it reaches equilibrium. So yes, you have to keep the CO2 connected.

What do you mean by "equilibrium? Will the pressure gage drop when the keg is carbed properly?

+1. I used to set-and-forget at 10-11psi, but it would take at least a week if not longer to get carbed properly. Now I do pretty much what shadetree does. I set it to 30psi for 24hrs, release the pressure and dial it back to about 15psi for another 24hrs, release the pressure then take it down to about 10psi. I’m now drinking my beer in about 3-4 days compared to 7-14 days with the set-and-forget (aka slow-and-low) method.

[quote=“micahkoll”]What do you mean by "equilibrium? Will the pressure gage drop when the keg is carbed properly?[/quote]No, the regulator is measuring the pressure in the headspace of the keg, so the pressure will remain the same throughout the process - in the beginning the beer is absorbing the CO2 and then when it absorbs as much as it can (dependent on beer temp and headspace pressure) it will stop as the gas in the beer is now in equilibrium with the gas in the headpspace. Turn the regulator up, and more gas will go into the beer, turn the regulator down (and bleed off the pressure in the headspace) and gas will come out of the beer until it is again in equilibrium with the headspace.

I recently kegged my beer for the first time. I hooked up the CO2 tank to it and set it to 10PSI. It was set at 10PSI for about 2 days. I was not happy with how long it was taking to carbonate so cranked it up to 25PSI, in hopes to speed up the process. It was on 25PSI for about 2 hours. I went back and checked on my CO2 tank only to find that it was empty.

Am I doing something incorrectly? Could I have a leak or not have connected the hoses properly? Or are there any other explanations for why my CO2 tank would be depleted after 2.5 days and my beer has no carbonation? Can the beer still be salvaged by getting another C02 Tank?

Further, from this post it sounds like standard practice is to leave the CO2 on until the keg reaches equilibrium. If that is the case, once the keg reaches equilibrium, do you turn the CO2 off? Will the keg sustain enough carbonation with the CO2 turned off?

I am new to this and haven’t been able to find any good resource on how to keg online. Would love if someone could answer the above and point me to a good online resource.

At the very bottom of this page is an article out of Zymurgy on kegging, it is old but still relevant.
http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/pages/zymurgy/free-downloads
It’ll hopefully help provide some clarity on the process.

[quote=“dmgonzal”]I recently kegged my beer for the first time. I hooked up the CO2 tank to it and set it to 10PSI. It was set at 10PSI for about 2 days. I was not happy with how long it was taking to carbonate so cranked it up to 25PSI, in hopes to speed up the process. It was on 25PSI for about 2 hours. I went back and checked on my CO2 tank only to find that it was empty.

Am I doing something incorrectly? Could I have a leak or not have connected the hoses properly? Or are there any other explanations for why my CO2 tank would be depleted after 2.5 days and my beer has no carbonation? Can the beer still be salvaged by getting another C02 Tank?

Further, from this post it sounds like standard practice is to leave the CO2 on until the keg reaches equilibrium. If that is the case, once the keg reaches equilibrium, do you turn the CO2 off? Will the keg sustain enough carbonation with the CO2 turned off?

I am new to this and haven’t been able to find any good resource on how to keg online. Would love if someone could answer the above and point me to a good online resource.[/quote] You have a major leak some where in your set up. get some Dawn dish soap and water or use some Star San rub it all over the top of your keg and gas lines. A bottle of Co2 should last a long time. When I put a new keg inline I set my co2 reg to 25psi on that tank for 2-3 days then I turn the pressure down to 6-8psi and leave it at that for the rest of the time till the keg is gone.

GoldenChild and Flip, thanks so much for your help. Both the article and the insight on the leak are incredibly useful. I will get my CO2 tank refilled and then check for a leak.

No problem, it can be a bit confusing at first but once you get your order of operations down and chase down all the leaks it becomes very simple. :cheers:

+1 I remember reading tons of stuff before I started kegging and thinking “this is insane” But its not, its really simple and (To me) much more enjoyable then bottling. Have fun with it.

This thread just reminded me to turn up the pressure on my kegs. I just filled two kegs to put in my kegerator. I only have one regulator so usually I just have to set and forget because I am still serving out of the otlher keg. I just upped the pressure to 30psi and hope to have my amber ale and honey wheat carbed by the weekend.

I don’t want to overcarb so does anyone have any idea how long I should leave them at 30psi?

[quote=“Bigfloppy”]This thread just reminded me to turn up the pressure on my kegs. I just filled two kegs to put in my kegerator. I only have one regulator so usually I just have to set and forget because I am still serving out of the otlher keg. I just upped the pressure to 30psi and hope to have my amber ale and honey wheat carbed by the weekend.

I don’t want to overcarb so does anyone have any idea how long I should leave them at 30psi?[/quote]
If you shake or bounce the keg on the floor it will carb almost immediately at 30lb. Try shaking it back and forth about 100X then turn down the pressure to whatever you dispense at, pull the release to get the pressure down to about that and pour a test pint. If it is not carbed enough do the shake with high pressure again. If it is over carbed try pouring some more test pints or pitchers (testing is so much fun) without the CO2 connected to try to calm it down.

Back to the OP. To test for a leak an easy method is to get a spray bottle, fill it with a soapy water solution and spray all your fittings. A leak will bubble right up.