Hi guys, first time user of the quick carb here. I ran mine and worked amazing but bubbling stopped only after 5-10 minutes, I cant spot any leaks with soapy water so I am wondering if this is maybe normal?? I left it for the entire 60 minutes now I am waiting a couple of hours before tasting the brew.
Luis—
Welcome to the world of EZ Carbing!
I'd suggest you take the time to read this whole thread, you'll get lots of information that will make you more confident, save you time, and give you a better sense of options.
When your brew comes up to pressure, the Blichmann will stop bubbling. Keep running it for a bit— they say 45 min. total. I usually give it more because I can, if no other reason— I rarely carb that closely back-to-back. I often leave it overnight, and sometimes have forgotten it for a couple days.
I carbonate at 25 psi and use a short hose to tap at 8-13 psi. I let the CO2 integrate, and blow off the extra pressure if it comes out too frothy. I figure with my fridge temp, this gives me about 1 atmosphere. I'm not terribly picky about this.
The carbonation will be better, more integrated, more stable, the next day, but if you are impatient, go for it and drink right away. I've never noticed much difference in flavor as some claim, but I definitely notice a different mouth feeling, which is probably from the chemical reaction of CO2 actually dissolving in the water to make carbonic acid instead of remaining as small bubbles.
Sometimes I step up the pressure in a couple increments, but it really doesn't seem to be necessary. What I love about this system (or its homemade equivalents) is that it's fast and easy, very little bother. I do turn on the pump and let the lines fill before connecting the gas. I figure the more microbubbles, vs. CO2 in the headspace, the quicker the carbonic acid forms and carbonation is done.
My only twist was to get an extra power supply, so one is near the fridge I carb in and one is near the sink where I pump it clean. I typically rinse then CIP (clean in place) with cleanser followed by sanitizer, instead of disassemble as recommended.