I’m in the process of building my kegerator and I ordered a 5-way distributor. I rarely have more than 4 beers on tap and I’m thinking the extra nipple on the regulator can be used for carbing waiting kegs.
But, I’ve been reading about cask ales and I’ve seen people use a fixed pressure propane regulator as a cask breather. My question is this though: If I’m running all my kegs and a cask from my CO2 distributor at 12 psi with a fixed pressure propane regulator, does that mean the propane regulator will only allow 2 psi or whatever into the cask keg? I feel like I asked that awkwardly.
Will a propane regulator only allow a fixed amount of CO2 in, even if the distributor is pushing 12 psi towards the cask?
The propane regulator is used to keep low CO2 pressure in the cask to prevent oxidation when the cask is not going to be consumed in a day or two, not to vent the cask. There was a good article in Zymurgy a few issues ago as well. You could probably set it up on one of your lines, as the purpose of the low pressure regulator is to keep the pressure around 2-3 psi, as you surmised.
I’m wondering though, if I’m pushing 12 psi to ALL of my kegs (including the cask) through the distributor, will the low pressure regulator ONLY allow 2 psi in? That would give me the blanket of CO2 required to keep the cask from staling, but not enough to carb it.
I’m wondering though, if I’m pushing 12 psi to ALL of my kegs (including the cask) through the distributor, will the low pressure regulator ONLY allow 2 psi in? That would give me the blanket of CO2 required to keep the cask from staling, but not enough to carb it.[/quote]
Right cask-conditioned ales are carbed usually to a low level of 1-2 volumes by fermentation in the keg, like bottle conditioning. The purpose of the low pressure regulator is to keep O2 out, especially in a home situation where you are not going to drink an entire cask in a few days, not to provide carbonation. You will add a little sugar at the time of kegging, and give it a week or two to carb.
I’m wondering though, if I’m pushing 12 psi to ALL of my kegs (including the cask) through the distributor, will the low pressure regulator ONLY allow 2 psi in? That would give me the blanket of CO2 required to keep the cask from staling, but not enough to carb it.[/quote]
Right cask-conditioned ales are carbed usually to a low level of 1-2 volumes by fermentation in the keg, like bottle conditioning. The purpose of the low pressure regulator is to keep O2 out, especially in a home situation where you are not going to drink an entire cask in a few days, not to provide carbonation. You will add a little sugar at the time of kegging, and give it a week or two to carb.[/quote]
Thanks again for the reply, but I think I’m not asking my question clearly.
What I want to know is, if my co2 tank is pushing 12 psi to all of my kegs through a distributor, including the cask, will the propane regulator only allow the cask to get the 2 psi required to blanket the beer and keep it fresh? Will the propane regulator ONLY allow the 2 psi into the cask, even if it’s got 12 psi pushing towards it?
Thanks again for the reply, but I think I’m not asking my question clearly.
What I want to know is, if my co2 tank is pushing 12 psi to all of my kegs through a distributor, including the cask, will the propane regulator only allow the cask to get the 2 psi required to blanket the beer and keep it fresh? Will the propane regulator ONLY allow the 2 psi into the cask, even if it’s got 12 psi pushing towards it?[/quote]
Yes, I think so. They are designed to do exactly that to prevent excessive pressure making it into gas grills, etc.
