Oops...I did it again...

[homebrewer_99]

Yesterday I racked my 5th keg and realized that I did not put gas in the keg prior to racking. I did, however, add some gas and purged the air out.

I also primed it and did the old gas (25 psi) and roll/shake for 5 mins. It was only chilled to 66F. Right now it sits in the garge conditioning.

Any thoughts/comments on what I did versus what I should have done?

I want to correct this now before I learn any more BAD practices. Thanks.

 

[Dude]

Honestly I've never gotten the theory of putting CO2 into the keg before racking (unless you jumped it from another keg and wanted a completely closed transfer).

Liquid is heavier than air...so the liguid is going to purge the air up and out of the keg anyway. As long as you fill the keg and purge with C02 after you close and seal the lid, it is fine, IMHO.

 

[Chairman Cheyco]

I think the theory is that if the keg is purged with CO2, any splashing during transfer will only introduce the CO2 to the beer. If you're splashing in an oxygenated atmosphere, you could be introducing O2.

Nobody splashes around here, do they? I bet it would take a huge amount of splashing to make any difference.

 

[Bernie Brewer]

I never flush the keg with co2 first- it's too expensive!!!
Just fill it and then flush it- no worries!

 

[Fingers]

Test your keg for leaks first by pressurizing with a small amount of CO2. You don't need to fill and purge, just pressurize and test with your soap solution. Let it sit for a few minutes so that the CO2 lays on the bottom and then rack. Your beer will be covered by the residual CO2 and you'll know that the keg is good to go. Purge your headspace again when it's full just to ensure all the O2 is out.

 

[Vermicous]

I worried about splashing into the keg as well and bought a small CO2 dispenser to purge it before hand. It was a pain though, instead I clean and sanitize my kegs under pressure and leave it that way. Next time I need to keg, it is already sanitized and filled with CO2.

 

[homebrewer_99]

Thanks, everyone.

 

[david_42]

I flush and splash. Actually, I store clean kegs under pressure, so they are already full of CO2. 3 months worth of CO2 is cheaper than two tubes of yeast!

 

[gnef]

co2 is cheap. i don't know why some of you are worried about the cost of co2, unless you are using small tanks. once you go 20+ lbs of co2, it becomes extremely cheap.

i also er on the paranoid side, i flush out the keg with co2 before a transfer.

with that said, i'm sure you'll be fine. the beer you are transferring also holds co2 in solution, and when you are moving it around, some of it will break out of solution, creating a blanket on top of the beer layer. you still don't want to splash and such, but the impact of this one thing will most likely not be that great. if anything, you can use this as an excuse to drink it quickly! haha.

 

[homebrewer_99]

I flush and splash. Actually, I store clean kegs under pressure, so they are already full of CO2. 3 months worth of CO2 is cheaper than two tubes of yeast!

All of my kegs are "stored" completely unassembled.

All the posts and lids are off, the tubes are pulled, and the replacement o-rings are still in their packaging until I need to use them.

 

[knipknup]

It's all good, drink two brews and then re-address. I bet you will not care as much, and that is about what the beer does...

 

[jeffg]

I worried about splashing into the keg as well and bought a small CO2 dispenser to purge it before hand. It was a pain though, instead I clean and sanitize my kegs under pressure and leave it that way. Next time I need to keg, it is already sanitized and filled with CO2.

How do you clean and sanitize under pressure?
Sounds like an interesting option.

 

[Fingers]

How do you clean and sanitize under pressure?
Sounds like an interesting option.

You run and do your cleaning as soon as you put your extract in the pot. Now THAT'S pressure!

 

[Cheesefood]

co2 is cheap. i don't know why some of you are worried about the cost of co2, unless you are using small tanks. once you go 20+ lbs of co2, it becomes extremely cheap.

Yep! Most of the cost of a refill is the "hook-up" charge, which is the same for 2.5 lbs as it is for 200 lbs and up.

What temp do they rate tanks at? When I bought mine, it was just below green on the gauge. Over winter, it went into red and I thought I had a leak. Now it's in the green. I know temp plays a big role, so what is the standard filling temperature?

 

[Vermicous]

If the keg just needs a cleaning, I prepare a gallon of sanitizer and cleaner.
Rinse out the keg with tap water and then dump in a few cups of cleaner.
Seal it and shake it up, trying to get every nook and cranny splashed with the cleaner.
Attack a cobra tap and CO2, turn it up to about 5 PSI and run all the cleaner out the tap.
Do the same with the sanitizer and it's set to go.

 

[gnef]

Yep! Most of the cost of a refill is the "hook-up" charge, which is the same for 2.5 lbs as it is for 200 lbs and up.

What temp do they rate tanks at? When I bought mine, it was just below green on the gauge. Over winter, it went into red and I thought I had a leak. Now it's in the green. I know temp plays a big role, so what is the standard filling temperature?

what do you mean by temp? you mean for the hydro test? i don't believe that there is any particular temperature for the hydro test, but i could be wrong. to my knowledge, for the hydro test, the fill the tank with water to a certain pressure (the exact pressure escapes me, maybe something like 10% over the max? if you really want to know, look it up, as my numbers are probably wrong. haha) and what they measure is how much the tank contracts back to normal size after it expands from the pressure. if the tank doesn't contract enough, it is tossed and never used again.

the co2 tanks will be good in most commonly available temperatures, so i wouldn't worry about it. as long as you aren't directly heating it, or freezing the valve off, you should be fine.

just to say this though: be safe and careful with co2! any compressed gas is dangerous. if handled correctly, you should be fine, but never be lackadaisical when working with compressed gas.

 

[EdWort]

I think he is talking about the ambient temperature where the tank is.

In a cold environment his gauge went into the read, but when it warmed up, it is now back in the green.

 

[gnef]

ahhhh, i see where he was going now. thanks, ed!

if you look for posts from johnsma2? i forget his exact sn, but he often posts a chart showing the relationship between temperature and pressure.

edit - he posted it in this thread, further down the page:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=25450