First time to keg - need advice

[BradTheGeek]

I have read lots on kegging. I understand the basics of temp vs pressure vs line length, but see varied answers and lack practical experience.

I have 5 gallons in secondary right now that will be my first to keg. I have a keg pressure tested and cleaned. I want to force carb this beer. Oh, and it is going to an event in about 1 month, so I want to waste as little as possible dialing in settings.

My kegerator is not currently cooling all the way, so I will be force carbing at ~40F then dropping on ice the day of the event to cool a little further.

Since I have a month, I am thinking of setting pressure at 12PSI or so and also using that as serving pressure with a longer (10-12 foot) dispensing line. Oh, and it is a picnic tap for the event.

Any pointers to hep get this right and test with minimal waste are greatly appreciated!

 

[kegnation]

You have plenty of time to carb up if you have a month. I have racked into a keg on a Tuesday and had it carbed for a party on Sat. (wouldn't recommend it) In your case I would rack it, purge it, then let it chill down for a day. Then hit it with 20psi and shake it around a good bit and let it sit for 24 hours then turn it down to 12. It will be ready in about 5-7 days. I always use a shorter line when I go to parties, I've tried the six footer and a 1.5' line and unless you can keep the entire 6' of the line cold it's unnecessary. The first couple ounces out of a 1.5 are a bit foamy but really nothing a few seconds of settling doesn't fix.
Oh and if you do a shorter line you need to dial your line pressure back to about 7-8.

This is all my personal opinion/experience but everyone carbs and serves a little bit different.
Good Luck!

 

[antony]

I've only kegged 4 batches but this is how I do it:

Cold crash secondary for 3-5 days, transfer to kegs, hook up co2 at 30psi, purge oxygen out of kegs (a few short bursts of the release valve), let the kegs sit on 30psi for 36 hours then dial down to 10psi. It'll be drinkable after 2 days or so on 10psi. Granted, it gets better the longer you let it sit but I've successfully kegged beer on Wed/Thurs and had a nice pour for football on Sunday. Best of luck.

 

[BradTheGeek]

Unfortunately, my kegs do not have a manual relief valve. How do I bleed pressure off? I could do it buy opening the gas in I suppose...

 

[urg8rb8]

Unfortunately, my kegs do not have a manual relief valve. How do I bleed pressure off? I could do it buy opening the gas in I suppose...

What I do is depress the gas valve on the keg to release the pressure.